So, it’s Day 4 of Blogging 101, and to be honest, the assignment is asking for a longer post than I feel I can commit to, after the wonderful progress I made last night on the first chapter of Finding Dragons.

Because I only have four days until my self-imposed deadline and I really want to get back to my writing, I’ll post the assignment below, and hopefully I can come back to it at some point, but no promises.

Instead, for now, I’ll leave you with this awesome idea that I initially saw posted in Brad Takei’s Facebook feed, but wasn’t able to trace back much further than this website, called Indulgy.com:

I saw this, and thought it was such a great idea!  I really could have used it when I read GRRM’s epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, and I even recall the constant flipping back and forth to the maps in the front of Anne McCaffrey’s novels of Pern and many other fantasy novels when I was younger, trying to keep track of where everything was.

As for my own work, I’m definitely going to need maps to show where everything is as my characters make their way across the regions, and while I may not have a ton of say in how a publisher prints my book, I will certainly request this idea.

Anyway, now I’m off to write about an evil ceremony in a giant six-sided crystal pyramid, which I managed to describe well enough yesterday, and also tweaked the sketch I had done of the layout.  I feel better about finishing by Sunday at midnight now!

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day!

(Here’s the Blogging 101 assignment I’m skipping, but hopefully coming back to later…)

We often create posts hoping that someone in particular will see (and appreciate) our work. Today, publish a post you’d like that person (or people) to read — and stretch your blogging chops as you do.

Today’s Assignment: publish a post you’d like your ideal audience member to read, and include a new-to-you element in it.

Why do this?

• Writing with a specific person in mind is a great way to focus both your thoughts and your goals for your blog.
• Exploring new elements and post styles adds more tools to your storyteller’s toolbox.
• Publishing different types of posts and media adds visual interest and keeps people reading.

Even if you’re simply blogging to have a place to practice writing, there’s someone you’re hoping will read. Maybe it’s your dad, so he’ll finally understand your life choices. Maybe it’s the head of Random House, so she’ll skyrocket you into literary limelight. Whether serious, frivolous or purely hypothetical, focus on your dream reader and write a post — about anything — aimed at him or her.

This doesn’t need to be the Greatest Blog Post of 2015 — it can be on any topic at all. The key is to keep your dream reader in mind as you write, and see how that influences what you create.

In your post, include one new kind of element. If you’re a photo blogger, try adding context to your images with some haiku. If you’re a parenting blogger, add a photo. If you’re discussing current events, embed the tweets of other folks chatting about the same topic. If you’re an Instragram or Pinterest user, embed one of your own shots or some pins. Embed a song that resonates with what you’re posting about, or a map of a place mentioned in your post.

Trying something new brings an interesting twist to your blog, and thinking about what you post from a different angle is a useful exercise for any blogger. And the more tools you have at your disposal as a blogger, the more effectively you can tell your story.

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