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We all live in a fast-paced society, where nobody has time for anything! There's no patience, as people want everything done yesterday! If there were 48 hours in the day, it would still not be enough time to get things done. As a woodcarver, I'm out of the art and craft world, and not out of the writing world, so I'm new to writing. In college, I did not major in English, communications or journalism. With respect to woodcarving I wrote about how I got the idea for the piece and then I described how the piece was put together, and how and where it was photographed. So, this is how my interest in writing began. A few years ago, I was invited to join the Southwest Writers Workshop, by the then President of the organization, Eileen Stanton, who has sold over 5,000 of her articles to some of the top newspapers and magazines in the country. With over 1,000 members nationwide, SWW has some of the most talented and accomplished writers anywhere. As you might expect, I was flattered by the invitation. About this time, is where I thought writing would be of interest for my future, so I completed two writing correspondence courses (in my 40's), and a creative writing class at the University of New Mexico. This is one of the best things I've done for myself, because my confidence in my writing went up right away. I completed the writing courses before the Internet and websites were around. * Interesting: If a person reads a book, an article, sees a movie or visits a website, it MUST be interesting or that person will find something else to do. I've been in the humor business for over forty years, and when I built my website, I knew there would be plenty of humor. But, my top priority was to make my website interesting as well. To do this, I had to write articles on various issues that were important to me, such as good healthcare; the environment; losing weight; stopping smoking and so forth. I knew there were millions of websites out there on the Internet, and all of us would be competing for people's TIME. What's interesting, is that more people have commented that my website is interesting...than humorous, and that's what I wanted. * * * The purpose of my website is to share, educate, to help; inspire/motivate; to entertain and to help people get more humor into their lives. And, so it is with my articles...the same purpose. * Hook/title: Because TIME is a factor, I wanted a short, catchy title for my website, so I chose "humordoctormd." The same thing for my email address, so I chose, "humordoctor." A title that, I hope, people will remember easily. I wanted short titles for my articles as well. I'll change the title over and over again for an article if I have to, until I get something better. I MUST get somebody's attention quickly! As for the "hook," I have to keep it short and concise. I think a short title, and a brief summary is the most important part of the article. If I fail here, people won't read the entire article, and go do something else. I have to find a way to keep the reader interested in the entire article. This is where "interesting," and "style" come in. What's the sense of getting a million "hits" on an article, if visitor's are not going to read the entire article? No feedback...no ratings...no comments...no nothing! I would like for my articles to get the feedback required, so that I can see what's working and what's not. (Remember, I'm new to writing) * Share/educate/help: What's the best way to learn? From others, right? Their experiences...good and bad...their wisdom...their struggles in life, and how they have overcome obstacles in their lives, etc. Several of my articles have been written about my experiences, both good and bad, in an effort to help others because of my experiences. What I want from my articles is for the reader to learn, "straight from the horses mouth," and I think this is the best way to teach...and to learn, too.
In my articles, I must help others, and/or put a smile on somebody's face. * Inspiration/motivation; I want my articles to inspire and motivate others, if possible...to try do something in their lives that they have never done before. It might be to get the courage to sell their work at an arts and crafts show. Or, maybe take a refresher course in writing; or lose weight or stop smoking, etc. * Entertain/humor: I've been in the humor for over forty years. But, being funny and writing funny are two different things. It's easy to BE funny...it's not easy to WRITE funny. Because of this, I have had to teach myself to WRITE funny! People like to laugh and have a good time. And, if I can get a smile out of somebody, then I hope that person goes on to read some of my articles that are not written to be amusing. *Competition: I have a brother-in-law, who is not competitive at all. He won't even play softball out in the park or throw hoops in the backyard. But, I'm a very competive person, and I don't like to lose at anything...golf; cards; checkers; ping-pong and so forth. So, when it comes to competing on the Internet, I'll be right there! When I participated in an arts and crafts show, there were many excellent and talented artists...and, I knew I had to get better if I wanted a sale. The artists and craftspeople made me better! And, so it is with article writers...there are many talented writers out there...and I have to get better, if I'm going to compete with them for people's TIME. At least for now, my articles are on a wide range of subject matter. Topics of things that most of us can relate to, and should be important to all of us. But, more than anything else, I hope some of my articles will make, at least, a tiny difference in somebody's life!
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