This spider gave me a fright today, as I tried to hang out the washing. It’s a golden orb. Harmless, but still scared me. Later, though, it inspired a haiku.
Got a minute? Social Media in less than 60 seconds
If you’re a writer or illustrator, you have probably heard that you need to use social media to promote yourself and your books. But if you’re anything like me, you are balancing your creative work with promotion, with raising a family, with reading, with day jobs and author talks and maybe some exercise or some housework or… My point is, you may well feel that social media is just one thing too many. And it can, if you let it, sap a lot of your time. There is no limit to how much time you could spend on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram (have I missed some? I’m sure I have!)
But we’re living in a digital world, and the fact is, the things you do on social media can and will attract readers and purchasers, as well as getting your name known for potential speaking gigs.
The good news is, that once you have set up accounts on your chosen social media platforms, there are lots of things you can do in a minute or less that keep your feed ticking over.
- Take a photo. Your desk, your bookshelf, a cloud or a bird you saw on your morning walk, your
cat, your dog, your book cover, you. Add a sentence or two and you have a perfect post for twitter, Instagram or facebook. - Share a link. Anything you find interesting online, someone else will find interesting too. Again, add a line or two explaining what the link is for, and pop it on twitter or facebook. If you struggle to find interesting stuff, set up a Google alert, or check out Feedly.
- Share someone else’s content. Retweet a clever tweet, share a facebook post, repin a pin. Again, adding a sentence or two of your own shows why it’s significant to you.
- Interact by liking or commenting on someone else’s status. Start a conversation on twitter, facebook or Instagram.
- Join in a challenge or meme. There are lots of such challenges on both Twitter and Fecbook that challenge you to post something every day for a set period (such as the #postitnotepoetry challenge on Twitter in February). Joining up gives you one topic to post about every day for that time. Some ask for a photo each day, others a poem or piece of writing.
You’ll notice that most of these are not about directly promoting yourself. Rather, you are building relationships, with the two fold benefit that when you do promote it becomes more meaningful and effective, and at the same time you are having fun and making new friends. Perhaps that’s the topic for another blog post.
A minute is not a lot of time, and these five things can each be done in less than a minute. Social media doesn’t have to be an all-day every day proposition. In less than the time it’s taken you to read this post, you can tick promotion off your to-do list each day.
(PS. If you want to see what I’m doing on Social Media, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram ),
Poetry Friday: Ducks
Among the other wildlife that abounds in my suburb, there are many many ducks. I love seeing them on my walks, and out my front window, though I’m less keen on seeing them when I’m driving. I have to admit it puzzles me that they insist on walking on roads, when they could fly! Fortunately, most drivers slow down and give them to cross.
Anyway, because it’s Poetry Friday, and because I’ve been thinking a lot about these ducks, here’s a favourite duck poem, from Ogden Nash, and a favourite duck photo that I took a while ago.
The Duck
by Ogden Nash
Behold the duck.
It does not cluck.
A cluck it lacks.
It quacks.
It is specially fond
Of a puddle or pond.
When it dines or sups,
It bottoms ups.
What I love about this poem is that, like so much of Nash’s verse, it makes me smile. The humour in the choice of rhyme, and the duck-like flow of the short sharp lines never fails to bring a grin.
Poetry Friday today is hosted at The Logonauts. There you will find links to lots of other poetry goodness.
Poetry Friday: Singapore, Salad, and Sally’s Stance on Poetry
It’s Poetry Friday and I’m glad to be back. Last week I missed posting
on Friday – but I had a really good excuse. I was in Singapore, attending the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), as well as checking out this amazing city, which I had not visited before.
At the AFCC I participated in two panel sessions, ran an eight hour masterclass (on the subject of book reviewing) and also presented a one hour session on the value of poetry and verse novels. So, because it’s Poetry Friday, I thought I would share a poem which I shared in that session, and talk a little bit about why I shared it.
This is my first published poem for children which appeared in the School Magazine in 2002:
Summer Salad
Cool
Crisp
Crunchy
Carrot
Luscious
Leafy
Lacy
Lettuce
Delicious
Delectable
Delightful
Dressing
Summer Salad
(Copyright Sally Murphy)
I shared this poem in my session for two reasons: firstly, because it is special to me as my first published children’s poem, and secondly, because I was talking about why we share poems with children.
My feeling is that, even in the educational setting, poetry should be fun. Summer Salad could be used for lessons on healthy eating, or alliteration, or even to begin a writing exercise (crafting a list poem).
But, when children read it, what I hope is that first and foremost they will enjoy the way it plays with words, using vocabulary which is interesting and, perhaps, unfamiliar. Words like ‘luscious’, and ‘delectable’ might be new to child readers, and so the poem invites them to find out what they are, to enjoy playing with these words.
If all we want to do is use poetry to teach stuff, then I may as well have written:
Eating healthy salad
Is very good for you
You should go and find
A lettuce leaf to chew!
(copyright Sally Murphy)
Bleh. Writing poetry (and sharing it with children in or out of the classroom) should not be a cynical exercise in force feeding them poetry OR salad.
If we write poetry that invites readers to connect with the topic, with the language, with the emotions expressed, educational benefits are likely to follow. But the pleasure should be foremost!
Have a great Friday. You can see more poetry posts at the roundup, which this week is hosted at Jama’s Alphabet Soup.
Gnomes – and a poem
As part of a family outing yesterday we stopped in to look at Gnomesville, in the Ferguson Valley about half an hour from home. There are thousands and thousands of gnomes there, all left by visitors. There are gnomes under trees
and in trees:
in houses:
and taking transport:
There was every gnome-pun imaginable, but my favourite was this one:
And there was this guy, who of course is not a gnome, by gnome-body told him that:
I’m sure there’s a new story or poem brewing from all of this, though it hasn’t come yet. But it did make me think of one I wrote many years ago:
Lucky
A new day dawns, the sun is bright;
I’m basking in the morning light.
The birds they sing their lovely song
And I will listen all day long.
The flowers smell so very sweet;
The grass it grows beneath my feet.
I’m lucky that this is my home
Because, see, I’m a garden gnome.
(© Sally Murphy)
Happy New Year
The old adage ‘start as you mean to continue’ is particularly apt, I think, on New Year’s Day. There’s something special about a whole fresh year lying ahead with pages waiting to be filled.
I started the day early with a trip to the beach with my beloved and our youngest son, with a spot of fishing and a lovely walk along the sand. Three of my intentions for the year right there: make the most of every day, enjoy more quality family time, and get outdoors as much as possible.
Back at home, I stopped to admire my tomato plants I planted a month or so ago – and found this, ready for harvest: my first, perfect, cherry tomato:
And another intention right there: find joy in small things. Oh, and then another: eat healthily. It may have been small, but there was a lot of flavour in that little tomato.
And, of course, now I’m blogging, so there’s another intention: write every day.
I’ve started well – and plan to keep at it to make this year wonderful for me and those around me.Here’s wishing the same for you.
Happy New Year!
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