Comments on: A Chat Among Friends https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/ Writer, Teacher, Speaker Sun, 04 Aug 2019 18:17:52 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jaden Terrell https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-632 Sun, 04 Aug 2019 18:17:52 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-632 In reply to Javierhucky.

Javier, this is a good question. I got a very similar one (in fact, it was identical) a while back, and since the answer I gave before is still relevant, and since I think a lot of people might have a similar question, I’ve turned my answer into a post. You can find it here: http://www.jadenterrell.com/a-warm-up-for-writers/

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By: Jaden Terrell https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-633 Sun, 04 Aug 2019 18:06:30 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-633 In reply to Diana.

Hi, Diana. Since I’ve gotten this question a few times, I turned my answer to you into a post. Hope you enjoy it. Here’s the link: Since the answer I gave before this still relevant, and since I think a lot of people might have a similar question, I’ve turned my answer into a post. You can find it here: http://www.jadenterrell.com/a-warm-up-for-writers/

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By: Javierhucky https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-629 Sun, 04 Aug 2019 14:54:20 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-629 First off I want to say excellent blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I have had a hard time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there. I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Thanks!

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By: Jaden Terrell https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-213 Sun, 20 Nov 2016 05:26:46 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-213 In reply to Louella.

Hi, Louella.

To be honest, it should take more work than it does. I have a goal for 2017 to be more consistent with posting. As for keeping everything updated and working well, the thanks for that goes to my web designer.

The tips I could offer about writing a blog depend on what you want from it. Keeping a journal is a great place to start because it helps you explore your ideas and decide what’s important to you. If you want a small blog for family and/or friends, you can do pretty much anything you want, but if you want to build an audience and use it in a professional capacity, there’s a little more to it. The first step is to figure out what you’re going to focus on. Is it going to be philosophical discussions, funny anecdotes, musings on your life, a blog about some hobby or craft or art you’re pursuing? Or are you an author trying to build a readership? When you know what you want, you can start building an audience.

A good way to build an audience is to do guest posts on other blogs about your topic. They’ll usually let you add a brief bio, and often you can include the URL for your own blog. Then on your blog, the day you’re featured, post an announcencement about the guest post, with a link to it. Make sure the window opens in another tab. That will keep readers from leaving your site when they click to read the guest post. Some of the readers from that other blog will probably be interested enough to find and follow your blog. Once you have a good following, you can start putting your original content on your own blog and doing fewer guest posts.

At that point there are two things you should focus on. The first is consistency. You should post no less than once a week.Google rewards consistency, but if you let your blog languish, your rankings will fall.

The second thing is content. Your content should be valuable to your audience, well written, and relevant to the focus of your blog. If your blog is about dog training, don’t post articles about grunge music, politics, or women’s fashion. Stick to dog training or things that are closely related and will appeal to your audience. So while most of your articles would be about dog training, you might also throw in a cute dog video or a recipe for homemade gourmet dog biscuits.

That’s about it. I hope it helps. Best of luck with your new blog.

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By: Louella https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-210 Sat, 12 Nov 2016 14:36:53 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-210 Hey! I кnow this is somewҺat off-toρiϲ but I had to ask.

Dоes managing a well-established website lіke yourѕ take a ⅼot of work?
I am completely new to гunning a ƅlog however
I do write in my diary on a daiⅼy basis. I’ԁ like too staгt a blog so I can easily
shɑre my experience ɑnd feelings online. Please lett mе
know if you ɦave any kind of recommendations or tips
for new aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!

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By: Jaden Terrell https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-151 Thu, 14 Jan 2016 03:06:28 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-151 In reply to Diana.

It’s different for everyone. Spending 10-15 minutes getting yourself ready to write isn’t unreasonable. It helps to go into it with an idea of what you want to write about. If I don’t know before I start, I’ll spend some time writing longhand, just playing with ideas until the scene I’m working on becomes clear. Then I can write it out. It might be something like this: Jared is riding his horse when he hears Frank’s car. There’s some small talk that isn’t small talk–“Are you working?” “Skip traces, etc.” “You’re wasted on that. What happened to Josh wasn’t your fault.” Lots of subtext. Frank tells Jared they need him to come down to his office and identify the body of an Asian woman found in the dumpster. Jared says he doesn’t know any Asian women and can’t help. Frank pulls out a photo and says, “This was found in her hand,” and it’s a photo of Jared’s dad from the Vietnam war. Dad is in front of a shack, along with a smiling Vietnamese woman and two small children. A family Jared never knew existed.

This is very free-form. I just throw in whatever comes to mind, but when I’m done, I’m ready to write the scene. If the scene is already planned but I’m still having trouble focusing, that’s another issue. Sometimes it really does take a while to get immersed in the scene–and sometimes it’s a struggle all the way through–but I just keep putting down words. You can always make it better later.

Some writers find it helpful to have a writing ritual. Maybe they always work in the same place, or they light candles and meditate for a few minutes before they start. Some like to listen to music. Some set up a little mascot, like a Superman or baby T-Rex. By doing the same little ritual every time, you’re training your brain to think, “Whenever this thing happens, we write.”

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By: Diana https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-113 Tue, 29 Dec 2015 09:31:15 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-113 First of all I would like to say wonderful blog!
I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head
before writing. I’ve had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.

I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually lost just trying to figure out how to begin.
Any recommendations or tips? Appreciate it!

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By: Jaden Terrell https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-5 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 20:30:55 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-5 Thank you, Tim. I hope they keep that narrator too. He’s from Oak Ridge, so he’s a genuine Tennessee boy. I don’t have any say in that side of things, but I feel really fortunate that Blackstone picked Nick Sullivan to be Jared’s voice.

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By: Timothy Carver https://www.jadenterrell.com/a-chat-among-friends/#comment-3 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 01:32:52 +0000 http://www.jadenterrell.com/?p=363#comment-3 I loved your first book (so entertaining) and will be reading the others soon. It’s so cool actually being able to read your books, well I listen to them, which is also cool because in the first book you got a great narrator and it made it even better. I hope you keep him for the next one. Anyway, thanks for the great entertainment and its stationed in my own home town of Mt. Juliet, TN, just great. Tim

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