I'm Just Sharing

What Do You View As Failure?

Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Dec 16, 2011

Last night I saw a link to a post on a blog called Engage, which looks like it has multiple writers. In this case the writer’s name was Andrew Hanelly and the post was titled 5 Lessons From my Biggest Blog Fails of 2011. In the post he talked about articles he’d written this year that didn’t get much attention and how it was his own failure that caused it.

I commented on it, then decided to write about it more here. This concept of “failure” is a tough one for me to deal with because of its strong negative connotations. While some motivational and sales training types try to turn the word into something that helps you become better, I find that having words such as failure linger too long in one’s mind, such that you’ll concentrate on it more than you will the good things you did.

I thought about posts I’ve written in the past on the subject, in its own way. Years ago I participated in something titled 34 Questions and my answer to #17, which was “What Do You Fear The Most”, was failure. I also wrote a post titled The Fine Line Between Blog Visitors Success and Failure where I was saying just how you never know when good things will happen based on something you do and how others react to it.

We all see failure in our own way. For instance, this guy talked about 5 posts that didn’t generate the publicity he expected they would, then examined why he thought they didn’t work as he had hoped. I wrote in my comment that no one hits a home run with every single post they write. I alluded to my recent article about 14 Favorite Posts and said how I looked at over 280 posts to come up with 14 that I thought were somewhat superlative. I decided that, in my own mind at least, I didn’t come close to failing with this blog because I’d written so many posts here, and on my other blogs, in the past year and other years.

When you’re putting out a lot of material, you always try to do your best, and there’s a lot of good stuff out there, But let’s do a short comparison between Mozart and Beethoven, if I may. Mozart wrote more than 600 compositions that we know of; Beethoven wrote 200. Mozart was a “staff writer”, if you will; he was employed to write music, pure and simple. When whichever benefactor he was working for at the time said music was needed for something, he wrote it. Sure, he wrote things on his own as well, but sometimes he had to write something really fast, in less than a week. I used to write music and songs would come to me fast, but I was on my own time; I’m not sure I’d have been able to have the kind of output Mozart had.

Beethoven was different. He was a professional composer, one who lived at a time when musicians were finally being seen as artists and not lower class workers. Because of this, Beethoven got to take his time writing, and he was known as a perfectionist. And yet, even as a perfectionist, he had his flops. His opera Fidelio flopped, even after many revisions, and it bothered him the rest of his life. Some of his sonatas connected with audiences while others threw them off. Of all things, his 9th Symphony, considered one of the greatest works of all time now, had a grand opening, mainly because of the respect he garnered, then failed miserably with every other performance until the 1900′s.

Or did it fail? As I said, these days its seen as a major triumph, especially when we consider that he was deaf when he composed it. The same with Mozart’s music; do we consider any of it as “failed” music because he couldn’t take all the time he might have wanted while composing it? For the rest of us, if we produce consistently, can anything we do really be considered as failure, even if it doesn’t all resonate with the masses?

This is why I’ve written in the past, and need to reiterate again now, that most of us have to realize that we need to think of ourselves when we write. I’ve read those who write about how to make money that we need to write for the customer, write to their level so that they understand and will buy your product. I tend to believe that unless you’re hired to do something specific you have to like what you do in order to give your writing personality. If you do that, you can never say you’ve failed at anything. Maybe it didn’t do as you’d hoped, but failed… never!

Now, if your favorite football team goes 0-16… well, we’ll save that for another time. lol
 

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Where Do You Come Up With This Stuff? – Guest Post

Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Dec 3, 2011

Most of you know that Mitchell Allen of Morpho Designs and I are pretty good friends. We play email chess together and work on encouraging each other to do great things. He’s also one of the most creative writers I know. I’ll admit that I may not always understand it, but it challenges me, which doesn’t happen all that often. I asked him to write this guest post on his thinking process and, well, how he comes up with his stuff; this is his response.

I often get asked this question when I post a piece of fiction. I love answering the question because, over the years, I can see how my answers evolve. I take more credit for the process than I used to. Yet, I’m quick to acknowledge that elusive spark when I’m at a loss to explain where that stuff came from.

ENGINEER OR ARTIST?

The first time I answered this question, I was the one who asked. I’m introspective like that. So I sat down, a man beside himself, and worked out this whole left-brain, right-brain dichotomy. A conversation sprang up between Elbe and Arby (get it?) Elbe was all analytical, while Arby simply tried to keep the words flowing gracefully. When the two had shut up, I was satisfied with the result. Elbe the Engineer and Arby the Artist had carved up my poor brain and staked their claims to the creation process.

If I am asked today, it’s likely to be from the writer folks at CreativeCopyChallenge.com. Twice a week, we write stuff, based on a list of ten word prompts. In this instance, the whole idea of a creative spark seems to be more relevant.

I have written entries on that site that leave me shaking my head. Other times, I have been in conscious creation mode, as when I wrote the chapters of Sisterhood of the Void, a science fiction story. When my writing buddies ask me the question, I usually tell them which word set off the chain-reaction.

MUSES

To be honest, I misappropriated the nine ladies of the arts. I didn’t know I was supposed to invoke them before setting my pen to paper. I just thought it was cool how writers personified the essence of their creative force. So, I name-dropped them collectively. I made up assignments for them, such as tending to the seeds of creative ideas. In general, I pawned off much of the credit for my ideas to these mythical mistresses.

Let’s be clear, I’m being metaphorical. There are a lot of crazy people in my head, but they’re all real! They talk to me every day and, none of them is named Thalia.

MAGIC

In truth, I don’t think most people really care where anyone gets their ideas. We’ve all seen enough mind-blowing brilliance from writers that we know the answer is simple. It is magic. And, just as the magician chooses not to reveal the secrets of the guild, we writers shouldn’t work too hard to analyze our mental sausage factories. Rather, we should invoke a few juicy images, roll them around in dirt and hold them up for a quick peek before putting the whole mess into our carryalls.

The next time someone asks me where I come up with my ideas, I’m going to assume the real statement is one of wonderment: “How did you do that?”

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

There are some people who really, really want to know. If that’s you, I’ll let Elbe and Arby take over. One or the other character is always spouting off on my blog.

You can read the result of the conversation between Elbe and Arby on my 2008 Father’s Day Introspective.

Elbe gets jiggy with it, expounding on the use of allegory to understand stuff.

Arby dreamily replies, telling Elbe that he should loosen up and just let things go.

And, when I can’t take their bickering any longer my head explodes.

A final thought: when Elbe dominates, I write poetry, because Elbe is obsessed with meter. When Arby is ascendant, I kick out some vignettes. When all three of us are humming, we work on science fiction stories.

Bio

“I had to choose between being the funny dad or the creative dad.

However, when I stepped into the plasma, I tripped over a roller skate.

The result was a mad scientist who cackles a lot.”

You’ll see this quirky bio all over the web. I like to have fun. If you like to have fun, too, check out my Virtual Dinner Party and other goodies.
 

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Yasmin Shiraz – Writer, Filmmaker, Social Media Star

Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Aug 18, 2011

Yasmin Shiraz does everything I mentioned above and more. Yes, she’s made movies, and she’s written books. She does speaking engagements. And she’s helped to spread both her message and her reputation through social media. I met her on Twitter and to me she’s proof of the good people on Twitter who need to be better known by the masses. She’s also one of the people I highlighted in my post on 21 of the Top Black Social Media Influencers. One of these days I’m going to be in one of her films (okay, she didn’t say that, but who knows right ).

1. Can you tell people all that you’ve done and do?

I’ve written 7 books that have been published — a couple of best sellers, an award winner, and even a critically acclaimed book that was taken from my teenage diaries.

The Blueprint for My Girls: How to Build A Life Full of Courage, Determination & Self Love; Retaliation: A Novel, The Blueprint for My Girls in Love: 99 Rules for Dating, Relationships & Intimacy; Exclusive: A Novel; Privacy: A Novel; Teens, Handle Your Business: 24 Tools for Motivation & Success; and The Blueprint Guide to Success & Motivation: Identify, Focus On, & Achieve Your Goals.

I’ve written, directed and produced 2 films – one a 4x award winner – Can She Be Saved? is my documentary film about teen girl fights. It won several awards including Best Documentary at the NC Black Film Festival. They Call Me Dae is a short film that explores the life of a teen bully.

I’ve keynoted and conducted speeches for the Essence Music Festival, the NAACP, Planned Parenthood, Congressional Black Caucus, and at least 60 colleges throughout the US.

I’ve owned several businesses including a hip hop magazine, Mad Rhythms. I’ve interviewed more celebrities than I care to recall – though Johnnie Cochran and Martin Lawrence are among my favorites. I’ve been to Diddy’s house in the Hamptons and Jay-Z once threatened to throw me out of his dressing room. (He has a wicked sense of humor.)

2. Where did you get the passion to do all these things?

I love LIFE. I love doing things that I enjoy. I love music. I love being creative. Every day I push myself to enjoy myself through work. I feel that if I’m alive, I should use my life to enjoy myself and be happy.

3. What’s it like putting a movie together?

Wow! Putting together a movie is fun, creative, grueling, exhilarating. It pushes you to your limit. Just when you think you have nothing left, a film lifts you up and you feel satisfied that you didn’t give up on yourself. Its one of the best experiences of my life.

4. Your stuff is so edgy and real; do you ever worry that people will stereotype minorities because of it?

No. I don’t worry about stereotypes. My goal is to educate and give a voice to the voiceless. I want young people’s pain to be heard, seen and felt. If you look at one of my films and are not more in tuned with a young person’s experiences then you have missed the message.

5. You’ve written seven books, even winning awards. What awards have you won, and how did you get your first book published?

My first young adult fiction book, Retaliation won the Top Ten Reluctant Readers Award from the American Library Association in 2009. It was a major moment for me. My Blueprint books have been on various bestseller lists. After numerous agents rejected my manuscript, I wrote The Blueprint for My Girls and published it myself. 6 months after I published it, Simon & Schuster offered me a book deal.

6. You’ve written both fiction and nonfiction. I find fiction difficult; how have you broken through in your mind to be able to write both?

I love writing. I don’t overanalyze it. But, I love writing. I love expression. If I have an idea that I need to express in a non-fiction format then I work it in that medium. If I decide that the message will be better expressed in a fiction medium, then I go with it. I never limit myself or my writing. I’ve written poetry, raps, biographies, screenplays, interviews etc. You name it, I’ve written it. Most writers who truly love writing, love it in all forms. I am a writer’s writer.

7. Which social media outlets do you use and how have you seen it help you?

I use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… I love the concept of social media and so I’m always game to try it on.

Twitter has helped me reach new people and meet new people. I love it. Facebook has helped me to show people in a sorta intimate way what I really do. It has made me more familiar to people. LinkedIn has brought me new business customers.

8. You also do speaking engagements; do you enjoy that as much as I do?

I don’t know how much you enjoy it, but I am thrilled with it. I love writing speeches and delivering them knowing that I can capture a phrase, or a word in such a way that it punctuates the moment. I love how speeches allow me to be part comedian, part actress, part activist, part showman. I get to do it all when I’m speaking.

9. You do a lot; how do you script your time?

I keep to-do lists and every day I make sure I “to-do” what’s important. (LOL)

10. You’ve already done it all; what’s left?

Getting really paid for it. LOL. But also, I love to continue to stretch myself. Who knows what tomorrow brings? So, I push myself to see if I can make tomorrow a little bit different from today.

To follow Yasmin on Twitter: @yasminshiraz
To Visit her site: www.yasminshiraz.net
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yasmin-Shirazs-Still-Eye-Rise-Friends-Fans/139699712763511

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What Is “High Quality Content?”

Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Feb 25, 2011

On the heels of my little rant on writing a few days ago, I find myself reading a blog post talking about ways to reduce your bounce rate and find myself getting irritated once more. It’s a guest post, which I figured it had to be because I’ve never seen the author, Karen, write anything this, well, I said I would be nice. So, let’s just jump to what’s irking me, as if you hadn’t already figured out by my title and by checking out that blog post.

The first recommendation is to write “Fresh, High-Quality Content”. Frankly, I see this particular phrase often, and at this point it makes almost no real sense. Well, not that it doesn’t make sense; it makes no sense that no one ever tries to explain what they mean by it.

Let me ask you this in two parts. One, how many times have you seen that phrase in some incarnation? Two, how many times have you actually seen anyone describe what they mean by it? I’m betting the answers are “a lot” and “none”.

To me, unless people start backing it up, it’s a useless statement. Here’s the reality; everyone thinks they’re writing high quality content. That is, if they’re actually writing the content at all. Scrapers aren’t writing anything so we know they don’t care. And the people who pay a dollar a post don’t care either.

But those of us who do care, me and all of you who visit this blog (and I thank you for it), believe that we’re writing high quality content. But are we? Well, for the first time someone’s going to break down what is considered “high quality content”. Yeah, it’s going to be me. Of course this is my opinion, and you can debate me on it later on. But I have a feeling you won’t, and either you’ll learn something new here, or be able to finally say “hey, that describes me” and know that you can pass right by any other posts that talk about “high quality” content as the way to get more visitors or subscribers or backlinks or reduce bounce rate or… well, anything that’s not actually new, tangible, or a case study.

1. If you’re writing about something that’s supposed to teach someone something new, did you explain it well enough? Did you write something like “take this code and paste it into this file, upload it and it’ll work”? Or did you write something like “if you’re trying to fix something add this code to this file in this place so that it will do this; then upload it and look to see if it worked? To me, if you take the time to explain in some fashion why you’re asking people to do something, or giving step-by-step instructions, you’ve just written high quality content.

2. If you’re trying to tell a story and you don’t skip on details, such that people are left wondering “what the heck was that about”, then you’re creating high quality content. No one wants to read War and Peace every day, but no one wants to read Dick and Jane anymore either. If you believe you can tell good stories and you can do it verbally, then you should be able to do it by writing it. Don’t try to finish your story too soon, and don’t try to be funny if you’re not funny. Tell it like it is, and if it’s a funny story and you tell everything that happened then it’s high quality content.

3. Are you writing something about a particular belief or thought? Have you taken the time to explain why believe as you do, or are you just saying something and moving on? Saying “I don’t believe in same sex marriages because the Bible says so” is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen or heard. Saying it and then getting into a rational reason (because there’s no place in the Bible that even talks about same sex marriages; people “infer” it from a few places, but it’s not there specifically), even if I or anyone else disagrees with you, ends up being high quality content. The same would hold true with “I think Lady Antebellum stinks” and not following it up with something that you really don’t like that makes sense. If you said “I don’t like the way they look”, that looks and sounds idiotic; if you have constructive criticism about it, or want to say that you like someone else better for whatever reason, that’s high quality content.

4. Are you being true to yourself? This is the real truth. If you’re writing because you want to get ratings and you’re trying to write what you think people want to hear, you’re fooling yourself. You can’t ever write high quality content if you don’t believe what you’re writing. Trust me, with all the blogs I’ve written for other people, there are times when I’ve looked at the content and said “man, this stuff is garbage”, and I knew it was. The people I sold it to thought it was great because that’s what they wanted, but it was garbage all the same. Some of what wrote for Demand Studios way back when was junk because that’s what they wanted; that’s why Google’s going after those article farms.

If you’re writing what you know, what you feel, to the best of your ability, you’re writing high quality content. And you know what? Unless you’ve cracked the top 100 blogger list you’re going to have lots of bounces. Unless you have a sales page that draws in a lot of people who spend a lot of time looking around you’re going to have a lot of bounces. And the best high quality content isn’t going to reduce it one bit.

Think of it this way. What we strive for is to get people to subscribe to our blogs in some fashion. We want them coming back. That’s our first goal. Our secondary goal is to try to encourage people to look at some of our other content in some fashion. I link within posts to previous posts on this blog. On another blog I use the recent posts widget. My two main blogs are both under 200,000 per Alexa, and both have bounce rates of more than 70%. That’s just how it goes.

Overall, you want to do the best you can. People love that, and they’ll love you and keep coming back for more. High quality content; you do that with every post you write. Keep that in mind; y’all are great!

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Writing – A Rant

Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Feb 22, 2011

Lo and behold, today I’ve got a video for you, and I’m ranting about writing. I’ve had something on my mind for a couple of weeks and I’m trying to get it out of there so I can move forward. Sometimes you just have to take an action to get bad stuff out of your mind. In my case, it’s this video. More after the jump (I wonder why they call it “the jump):

If you’re wondering, yes, I did feel a little bit better after getting that off my chest. Of course, I’d look a lot better if I’d remembered NOT to record in Hi-Def. lol I’d really like your opinion on the topic, if you watched it. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for blogging tips or book writing tips, which are in actually just more writing tips, look at the page tabs above and click on one, then check out any of the articles on there. I actually have to update those, and by the time you see this post I hope to have done that. After all, writing and blogging are subjects I’ve talked about often enough here.

So, is this considered a short post or not? Eh; doesn’t matter.

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