Those of you who were reading Confident Writing this time last year might recall that I ran a group writing project in December called Simply the Best. It was based on reviewing then selecting your best post of the year gone by, and explaining why you thought it was simply the best.
It was a popular project and I thought I’d run another version along similar lines to wrap up 2009.
This time I’m going to stick with the theme of essential writing and ask you to pick your Essential Lines from 2009.
Here’s how to take part:
1. Select your essential post
Sift through what you published in 2009 to select the post you’d call ‘essential’.
You can define that in different ways, for example:
- A post that matters: that mattered to you then, that mattered to your readers, that still matters to you now
- A post that captures what your blog’s all about
- A post that reflects what 2009 has been about, for you or for others
- A post that models essential writing
2. Write a post to highlight your choice
Include an explanation as to why you chose it.
What makes it essential in your eyes?
3. Bonus extra: include some knock ‘em dead lines
Some pieces of writing seem essential to us because they contain a few words or phrases, some lines or a paragraph that seem to have a power punch.
Some words that really seem to get to the heart of what you want to say.
If the post you’ve chosen has some of those lines, make sure you include them so I can show the best ones off in the round up post.
4. Let me know
- Include a link to this post (it’s a way of helping to spread the word and encourage others)
- Leave a comment on this post to make doubly-sure I find your entry
- Submit your entry by 27 December 2009
5. Wait for the round up post
I’ll publish the completed list of essential lines from 2009 just before the end of the year.
Watch this space for some of the best writing in the blogosphere!
~~~
Any questions, or anything you’re not clear about… just ask.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by PublishingGuru: Essential Lines from 2009: Group Writing Project http://bit.ly/52VrQb…
Well, I’ve got it narrowed down to three choices, but I’m awful at picking just ONE (grin).
.-= –Deb´s last blog ..Are You Doing What You Love? =-.
From my blog, “Writing Memorable Words”
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Little Alliterative Commentary on Idiotic Idioms
All Litter Rationalized
By Susan L. Lipson
“My bad!” they say,
Moralizing minor mistakes,
Like leaving litter lying,
Forgetting familiar faces,
Dripping dirty dishwater,
Clumsily creating clutter,
Erroneously erasing email,
Instilling immorality in innocent interactions–
just by saying, “My bad.”
Whatever happened to “Oops—sorry”?
Mine was this: http://geminianeyes.com/?p=4034
I wrote it mainly to justify the change of my blog’s name, but it was also a reminder to myself to keep on living, no matter what happened. It’s essential to me because it tells me to keep my eyes up to the sky, to keep on hoping, a marked difference from the previous name of “Broken Shield and Sword.”
Would it be cheating if the selected quote was written by someone other than me? ^^l Cause mine’s from the actual song itself:
Reach into your soul, even if you cannot see tomorrow
Yes, if you have the strength to live
.-= Naoko´s last blog ..On Evil =-.
[...] Your blog post must contain a link back to the announcement post. [...]
[...] Joanna wants to know which post of 2009 I would consider essential? As in, showing the very essence of my blog, as well as being essential to my readers? [...]
Okay, Joanna. Mine is up!
http://punctualityrules.com/2009/12/01/back-to-essentials/
.-= –Deb´s last blog ..Joyful and Jubilant =-.
[...] Young asks, What is your essential post for 2009? Please consider participating in her group [...]
Hi Joanna – Here’s my post – http://www.wordsellinc.com/blog/online-marketing/my-essential-blog-post-of-2009/
Thanks for hosting this great group retrospective!
.-= Brad Shorr´s last blog ..Marketing and Really Good Jerky =-.
[...] a little early, and a little less desperately, by announcing her group writing project, “Essential Lines From 2009” (and I just realized her title rhymes; how cool is [...]
Here’s my entry, Joanna: What’s It All About, [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]?
Thank you for a powerful exercise! It was just what the doctor ordered.
.-= Terry Heath´s last blog ..What’s It All About, [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]? =-.
[...] Essential Lines from 2009: Group Writing Project [...]
Joanna, it was a difficult choice, but here’s mine
http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/2009/12/essential-lines-from-2009-big-wheels.html
Here’s my post re the Essential Post of 2009 my blog
[...] Young’s challenge to find the essential lines and the essential posts of 2009 wasn’t easy easy. But it was fun and I managed to find the essential lines for both me and [...]
I am happy to report that my entry has been written, published and twittered
It’s been really fun and I hope you don’t mind that there are two posts…:P
.-= Alina Popescu´s last blog ..WoBM’s Essential Lines from 2009 =-.
My favorite/best entry was part of a blog that was deleted in its entirety a few months ago. Nevertheless, it’s a post that its readers loved and found extremely helpful, and it was widely copied and re-posted in other fora both before and after its demise. It was called simply “Yuck,” and here is a link to a site that reprinted it – except, of course, for the pictures – under the subheading of “Respect for MLC.”
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2009,1029-schwartz.shtm
The best line? “They’re not creepy or horrible or disgusting or nasty or scary. They’re just dead.”
[...] the writers online are still writing With prompts, reviews and round ups But the deadlines are slipping past us Let it snow, let it snow, let it [...]
[...] Joanna Young at Confident Writing has challenged us with a group writing project: Essential Lines from 2009. [...]
Joanna,
Squeezing in at the deadline: http://lillieammann.com/2009/12/27/a-post-that-matters-to-me/
.-= Lillie Ammann´s last blog ..A Post that Matters to Me =-.
[...] a little early, and a little less desperately, by announcing her group writing project, “Essential Lines From 2009” (and I just realized her title rhymes; how cool is [...]
[...] a little early, and a little less desperately, by announcing her group writing project, “Essential Lines From 2009” (and I just realized her title rhymes; how cool is [...]