A Blog-Lift

            It’s done.
            My family is moved into the new house and a majority (at least 51%) of the boxes are unpacked. As promised, it is time for me to get back on track with my writing and that includes this blog.
            When I started this blog my vision was to share the knowledge of experienced authors with unpublished writers like myself. That and to post bits of random silliness of my own devising. Along the way I’ve learned a few things.
            Nearly every successful blog that I’ve encountered has at least one regular feature. During almost a year of bumbling along I’ve banged my head against the keyboard coming up with spontaneous ideas for columns. I don’t know why it took me so long to notice and act on that observation, but format for the blog will be changing.
            A regular feature does a couple of wonderful things for a blog. The first, and most important for me, it gives the author a focus on what they will write. Posting interviews with published authors fell into that category and those posts have been the most successful for me. The author still needs to come up with something to fill the slot each week, but they have a starting point.
            Another benefit of a standard weekly feature is that the readers know what to expect. If you have movie reviews on a Monday, then those followers who want to find out about the latest cinema offerings will be sure to stop by the blog at the beginning of the week.
            It doesn’t hurt to have a schedule. If you post on Mondays, Wednesday s, and Fridays your fans will know they can show up on those days and be treated to a dose of whatever it is you provide. That should eliminate the disappointed feeling of visiting a blog only to find an old post waiting for you.
            I suspect that this is not true for blogs which rely on posting of the daily thoughts and events of the author. They target the unsuspected occurrences that a person encounters. If that is the kind of blog you write just ignore most of what you just read.
  
            Now, on to the changes.

            My ambitions may get the better of me, but I plan to post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I added a post on Monday’s because I expect that to be relatively short and easy. And this is what I have planned:

            Monday will have Prompt Prod. This will be a short feature designed to give writers a little exercise to start their creative juices flowing for the week. It’ll include a few comments about the type of prompt being used and then the prompt itself. Anyone wanting to participate can post a link to their short – 100 to 250 word – creation in the comments section. (If I can find an affordable way to generate some prizes I may start awarding a prize each week.)

            Wednesday will be more of what I’ve been doing; movie reviews, bits of silliness, and random writing topics. Not much else to say about that.

            Friday will have This Week In The Blogverse. (Do you think “Blogverse Tour” sounds better?) I already posted my first installment of that last Friday. With this feature I attend to discuss which blog really caught my attention during the week and what made it stand out. This is a chance to give some kudos to my fellow writers who are doing an outstanding job with their blog and give all of you some ideas for your own.

            So, what do you think? Is this an improvement? Is there anything I’ve missed?