Apr 20, 2014 / Community Pool

Community Pool

The Community Pool is for those of you looking for feedback, whether on post ideas, writing, blog design and layout, or anything else.

If you have a post, page, or idea you want to bounce off someone, leave a comment. Your fellow bloggers can then click through and offer input either on your site, or in the comments here (feel free to indicate which you’d prefer).

Read on for the ground rules and to leave a comment . .

TIP: To keep from losing your place in the comment thread while you visit others’ blogs, right-click on a link to open it in a new tab or window.

  • You’ll get the best feedback if you can be as specific as possible about what you’d like people to respond to or where you’re struggling. If you simply leave a link to your blog, it’s likely to be overlooked.
  • Please keep all comments civil and constructive. We’re here to help and support one another, not to beat anyone down.
  • If you haven’t looked at our Commenting Guidelines in a while, now might be a good time.
  • No running on the deck.

Photo by t_a_i_s.

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    1. Happy Easter, Aul. I tend to focus on the hope and renewal of Easter, as opposed to mankind’s sin. Just as Our Lord forgives us our sins, we may forgive ourselves as human, not divine.

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      2. My URL is kittomalley.com. I write about living with bipolar disorder and thoughts about God. The thoughts about God are primarily seminary papers that I have published on my blog as pages.

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      5. Oh, I see. Your blog could be a bit more updated on certain pages, but I like how in depth it is in others.
        Aul

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    2. Happy Easter! He is alive!

      I do not think that God is angry with us. I like to think that by taking on human form, He sought to understand us, and so live among us. Even on the Thursday before the crucifixion, Jesus displayed human emotion, but stood firm in what His father called Him to do. He died, literally, of a broken heart.

      What a beautiful sacrifice.

      But He is risen. Thank you for sharing this with us. Blessings.

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      1. Well, it’s easy to see that God does get angry with humankind. You can see that a lot in the Old Testament. I was TRYING to say–and I apologize if I didn’t succeed–that you might expect God to be angry and have extreme wrath, but instead He forgave us. I apologize for the confusion.
        Aul

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    2. I immediately went to look for an About page but you don’t have one – I’m guessing you are a writer but I do want a clear description of what you are trying to do.

      I don’t really find your content engaging – most of your posts are “Visit the XXX page for updates”. Engage people, ask for comments, create posts that are conversational and make people want to respond. It’s great that you publish fiction but try to write an intro to each of those fiction pieces. Your content feels very distant and not at all engaging.

      I invite you to take a look at my own blog and to some of those who visit me and comment for some ideas about content and tone.

      Add a bit of colour and some images too – black on white is not visually appealing. Perhaps a header image or background image?

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    3. Hey man!
      Attractive-wise, I think that some more color would be great. Make sure that however you design the site, it always reflects what its about, or something about the Paradox. The site is definitely appealing to readers considering that you provide easy access to all of the pages!
      Aul

      Liked by 1 person

    4. Lewis, try using one a WordPress’s visually appealing themes and replace the themes header image with a cropped image from your gallery that engages the imagination. The post here could be added to your site to begin a relationship and give and take with readers and video watchers.

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      1. I don’t know why, but I never even thought about using one of my own images! Thank you for your feedback, I hope to build on what everyone’s said over the next month…

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    6. Your blog looks like just a page. Its very white. Its like someone trying to send me a facebook link to watch something. You have to tell us why you are here, what you are writing about and make us engage with you. When I clicked on it, it looked quite dull to me. Your first page should be like a an attractive package “think about when you select an ice cream from the choice of many icecreams” – so when we look at it we should think ‘lets check it out’, this should be exciting. And ofcourse would love to know your story, why you are here and what made you start this.
      Try adding an image to your header. Think of ways you can engage us. You can do this by visiting many exciting and popular blogs on wordpress. Look carefully and surf through their pages, think what you like about them. Then come back to your blog, and try make some changes.

      Good luck 🙂

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    7. I agree with everyone’s suggestions regarding having an about page. At first sight I had absolutely no idea what your blog was about and the material I could expect from it. I would also suggest having some kind of pertinent graphic to again assure the visitor they’re in the right place for the material you offer.

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    1. This was a thoughtful, well written post. I think the post is a good reminder that we as educators (in particular) have to always be mindful of: public perception.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Great post. Thank you so much. Interesting how our online friends can be so much more supportive of our writing and art than our “real life” friends and family. Complex dynamics in our relationships with personal or familial history.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Hey Suzie–I really liked your post and I commented on it and offered a suggestion, and then I realized I was on your actually blog and not on here, so I’m sorry about that. It probably looks really rude in the middle of your comments to have someone say GIFs are distracting and what do other people think. As I said, I thought I was here and not there. Sorry!

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      1. Hi! You’re more than welcome to comment wherever you like – thank you for taking the time to do so! Gifs are still a huge question of debate – some love them, others hate them. I’m on the fence – sometimes I’ll use them, sometimes I won’t. I’m really pleased you liked the post!

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    1. I think your blog is off to a good start but the font is way too small for me. Also you might consider making your post a tad shorter content wise. Other than that I found your writing to be very interesting!

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    4. Took a look at your blog. It looks like you’ve put a lot of yourself in your writing, which is appropriate given your title. Your color choice for the text seemed a little on the light side for me, but perhaps that’s just myopia creeping up on me :). Also, on your about page, a well-chosen picture of yourself wouldn’t be a bad idea. People like it when they have a mental image of who is speaking to them to go along with the writing.

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      1. Thank you so much for your feedback, I will def. add the picture and update the about me. This is so new to me, so I REALLY appreciate your honest feedback!

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    5. I really like the blues on your header and font and I’m drawn to the pictures. I did not know, at first, that the blog was about teaching – which I’m interested in as an ex-educator (no longer in the school system) – perhaps that could be your tagline. I would also suggest being clearer regarding what you want to less; less wordy, more paragraphs and more to the point. You have something to say, you just don’t want to lose the reader’s interest before you get to say it. Good luck.

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      1. Thank you, I have always been long-winded.. so I def. need to edit and cut it down. Perfect feedback, thank you! Do you know how to add to the tag line? This is all new for me.

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    6. Awesome zombie outfit! It’s very cool. I think your ideas are awesome and great use of pictures. There were a few typos at the beginning–pretty minor, but I think people judge us teachers more strictly. I too thought a more descriptive tag line wod be nice. Um: the bee’s knees for teachers. Or Teaching: The Bee’s Knees. Oh, I don’t know, but you get the idea. And not to hijack your post, but as another teacher, I thought you might be interested in my blog too. http://www.mindsparklearning.com/blog

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    1. Your writing is deep, provoking and enjoyable. The only Issue I have is with your site’s format. You should limit the amount of post you can scroll down to.

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    2. I like the simplicity of your blog’s design. The color of the last posted poems text could be a little darker for more contrast, similar color, just deeper. Thank you for sharing your photos and poems with us.

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      1. Thank you so much for this feedback! I will try to limit my posts to 7 or about. I’m still now here in wordpress that’s why I still don’t know to add an about page. Can you help me? Thanjs

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      2. You’re welcome. For posts it will automatically create another page once you adjust it. To limit your pits per page: go into dashboard, scroll to settings, hover over and another menu will appear. Click on writing, scroll to bottom and you will see portfolio pages. That is where you enter the number. After seven post, it will say older post at bottom and your readers can click it to reveal more.

        If you want to add a page to put into your menu. A page other than home you do this from dashboard as well. On side scroll down just a bit and you’ll see add pages. Click on it and you can name your page etc.

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      3. still *new.

        Thank you so much. I did all the steps. It was all very helpful. But with adding a page I got confused. Maybe next time I’ll try it. ‘Cause I still don’t know what pages are for. Thanks again so much.

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    2. I agree about the About Page. I was able to discern you enjoyed the show Prison Break, have strong feelings about love, and would like to be an architect from your posts. But most people won’t take the time. Tell your readers not just who you are but what you are offering them if they read your blog. This is something I just revised on my own About Page, since it isn’t just about what I want to say, its what others would want to know.

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      1. Thank you very much for this feedback. I appreciate it all. I will take this as an inspiring thought coming from you. I will take it in a positive way. Again thank you so much! I will try to compose my thoughts about what others would want to know. 🙂

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    3. It looks great, but I think you could use an ‘about’ page (I don’t know what the blog is really about) and maybe an index to make accessing past posts easier.

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      1. How to use an ‘about page’? And what is it for? Can you help me? I’m still new at this wordpress thing. So I don’t know it yet. And what index? Thanks

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      2. Abi, some themes have a little sidebar where you can click directly on a post. You may want to look into another theme if yours doesn’t have one. It’s also not at all necessary, but if you want your readers to look at past posts without having to scroll all the way through, it’s a good idea. My blog has one. You can look at if for an example.
        For the About page, its just a really simple statement of what your blog is about. If it’s about random things, say so. If you have a topic, say that too. To add an About page, you can go into your dashboard, and right where you add a post, it should have an option to add a page. My blog also has an about page if you want to look at if for a reference.
        You can get some great tutorials for WordPress on Lynda.com or probably on Youtube.

        Good luck!

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      3. I understood it very well. Thank you for this comment. I’ll look on to your blog and see what I can do more to improve mine. Thanks again.

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  7. Hi bloggers! I need help with my widgets: I adjusted their visibility so that some widgets show only on the posts page, while some other widgets show only when you actually click to open the post. I thought it would be helpful but isn’t it confusing to see one set of widgets one time and another set of widgets another time? Your thoughts would be much appreciated! Happy blogging & happy Easter!

    The blog I need help with is: http://www.maraeastern.com

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      1. Hm, that’s a good point, thank you a lot for saying so! I checked on my Samsung smartphone, where it’s ok, and the theme, though it’s free, should be fully responsive, so I’m not sure why this is happening. Sorry about your bad experience! I’ll try to research into the issue 🙂

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  8. Recently updated my theme and layout of my blog. Would be interested in what you think. Is it user friendly and any suggestions for additional widgets. Theme has a left and right widget area along with footers I currently am not using. Thanks

    http://jedsplayhouse.com/

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    4. Seems rather straightforward to me. Although I didn’t quite get having the tags underneath the titles. Seemed to detract from the cleverness of the words above

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      1. It’s a part of the theme. I may look into customization and see how hard it would be to remove those. I agree they are a little distracting and I hadn’t paid attention to it until you brought it up. Thanks for your input.

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  9. Hi Bloggers, i am fairly new to Word Press and would love to post blogs about the thing that i love, like games,films and music.

    I would love to review things and just post stuff that i love and are passionate about.

    Does anyone have any suggest of games,film or music that i could review?

    Thank you for your time 🙂

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      1. Well in terms of films…i could probably sit down and enjoy all kinds apart from Horror but my favourites are Thrillers.

        With games, I am open to all kinds. Anything made by Naughty Dog or Quantic Dream ( and exclusive to Playstation) but will explore all kinds of games.

        Music. Anything.

        Thanks for the reply.

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      2. I don’t know if the Divergent series would be considered a thriller, but that would be one. Many people are saying the book was great (which I agree), but the movie was sub-par.

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      4. Start with a mix of your favourite films and current films whether you like them or not. Most film buffs will read reviews of films that are much older if only for the discussion.

        Good luck!

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    2. Hi there! As you’re a blogger who likes to review film and music, I thought I’d drop by to your blog. (I’m obsessed with film and I blog about this, too.)

      First of all, I really like the clean layout – it makes your content pop. Your tagline is also useful because it lets readers know what you’re all about.

      If I could provide two suggestions:

      – You could drive more traffic to your previous posts (the ones further down your landing page) by using the Categories Widget (under Appearance, I believe). You could put that Widget in your side-bar on the left. That way, if people are curious to see what posts you’ve made under Music, Movies, Games, etc they can access those posts with a simple click of a button to the left – without having to scroll all the way through.

      – You could try doing reviews of films that are absolutely horrific (in the “bad quality” sense of the word). As a film buff I really enjoy listening to someone rip into a bad film from time to time. These reviews can be quite funny, especially if you use colourful analogies.

      For example, I did this in a post I called 5 Epic Plot Twist Fails:
      http://verbiageorwhat.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/5-epic-plot-twist-fails-recent-cinema-history/

      Of course, if you ever want to watch any of those films, perhaps don’t read that post, which is full of spoilers.

      Happy blogging. 🙂

      Cheers from Australia.

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      1. Heyy,

        Thank you sooo much for your advice. I am really going to give everything you mention a go. I have never done anything like this but people seem to always want to know my opinion in things, so I thought I would do a blog.

        Once again, thank you for your advice.

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    1. Easter is a very expensive holiday for those with children in their lives. I tend to think of new church outfits, Easter baskets, eggs that need to be colored, traveling and the time that it takes to prep kids for church Easter speeches. It would be cool if one of these mom bloggers create a post on how to make next Easter more meaningful.

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      2. Making Easter more meaningful is to think about where your focus is and make whatever changes that are necessary. Happy Resurrection Sunday.

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    1. A nice write-up 🙂 I love the design of your blog: Hemingway theme is gorgeous and the colours you chose are very much to my taste, so for me, it’s great!

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    2. You could do with writing an “About” page, I know your quote at the top basically defines it, but a longer intro wouldn’t go amiss – otherwise you leave the reader to figure out what your blog might be about.

      Good luck!

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    3. I liked your design, and the font used. There’s a lot to be said for simplicity. I have two constructive suggestions for you. 1) Be careful of your spelling. Without looking too hard I caught a couple (like heat instead of heart) that could alter the meaning of what you say and interrupt the ‘flow’ for someone reading your posts. 2) Make an About page. Obviously you have no problem revealing your thoughts to the world, so some basic info shouldn’t be too terrifying. A well-chosen picture would help too, as readers like to see who they’re listening to. Hope this helps and welcome to the Community Pool

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      3. I checked out your blog and found it easily navigable and your writing engaging. Attracting more readers usually involves getting the word out that your blog exists ( if you don’t already, use the Publicize tools to notify your contacts on social media that you’ve published a new post. Do your best to tag effectively. And keep doing what you just did–engage other bloggers. It will draw the curious to your blog and even inspire you to check out theirs (shameless self-promotion there on my part). You might find some engaging reading material that interests you, and when you do, don’t forget to share the love, liking and following where appropriate–just as you want others to do. Sometimes I tell myself that I have to remember to listen (read) in addition to just talking (writing). Hope this helps

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      5. I tend to make a lot of mistakes because I write too fast, and when I revise I don’t pay much attention cuz I know what I have wrote, it’s like reading by heart. Thanks a lot for the suggestion, their VERY helpful. 🙂

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    4. August, I meant to reply to your post AND post my own question, but I guess they both showed up here :/ Anyway… I actually kind of like that you have a few type-o’s. It makes your blog seem a little bit more authentic and raw. To me, the point of a blog is to seem really personal (you’ve done a GREAT job with this) and over-writing can take that away. Not that you SHOULD make mistakes, but if it happens, I don’t think your readers will mind. Keep it up!

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      1. I checked your blog, its quite neat. However I would want to see a header image, it tells a lot about the blogger. Just some suggestions. You can change the name from categories, also remove the meta, change the name archives. Maybe can add some custom image widgets linking to your post popular posts or categories. I learnt if you want to engage people and have custom links in your posts, you want people to click on those. Why one should click a back button always and try looking for other stuff, when you can provide those links within your posts. Try few things. You can definitely make lot of improvements:)

        http://eatallfresh.me/

        https://wordpress.com/dailypost/?dp_assignment=201-archive-traffic

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  12. Hello fellow bloggers! This is my first time reaching out for support with my blog. I have recently considered changing my theme. I am interested in feedback on my current theme and layout. I also would love suggestions on how to expand my audience and which widgets may be helpful for that. Lastly, how is the content of my ‘About’ page and should I give more/different details. Thanks so much in advance for anything you can offer! I’m still relatively new to the blogging world and have lots to learn. Here’s my blog: http://foodradical.wordpress.com

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    1. Your current theme looks very variable and clean. You don’t have too many widgets, though, maybe you should consider adding Archives, Categories, perhaps Tags… It is not that easy to navigate your site because what you have is only the recent posts page and no more options to click on, such as the Recent Posts widget.

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      1. Thank you so much for this feedback. I just recently read about adding archives and I’ve seen other blog pages use categories widgets. I am slowly trying to figure out how to add these widgets.
        Thanks again! I will work on these things.

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    2. Well, I’m not a great fan of your theme, twenty-ten and the other twenty-something themes are used a lot, so it doesn’t give a unique feel. Maybe you’d like to personalise your theme a bit more by widgets or by a more striking header image? Just suggesting… 🙂

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      1. Thank you for the feedback 😀 I’m going to try out some different headers and see how other themes look. I definitely want it to seem personalised, so your advice is great, thanks again!

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    3. Your content appears to be exactly what is advertised. If you tag your posts well you should be able to attract readers with your same interests. Not sure I like the mint green background, but that’s just personal taste. (Ironically I love mint ice cream, but I don’t look to it for advice 😉

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      1. Thank you for your feedback 🙂 I think I’m going to keep experimenting with background colours, I wasn’t totally sold on that colour either. Thanks again :’) P.S mint ice cream is my favourite too

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    4. The theme & colours seem to really suit your content (I’m guessing you’ve changed them since the previous comments about mint green…. and I love mint ice cream too!).
      I think you’ve done a great job, and you have enough variety to get enough people interested!

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  14. Hey gang. Could you all take a read at my latest post? I would GREATLY appreciate feed back. Also, do you think that it is perhaps time for a new avatar (the dog)?

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  16. We’ve noticed people click ‘like’ or write a comment based on the one photo in the Reader; oftentimes they don’t click through to the original article on our blog. Any suggestions to indicate that there’s more to the blog post than just one photo and half of one sentence??! We choose not to allow entire post to be read from Reader, figuring we paid for a custom theme and that money would be wasted if no one bothers to look at the actual blog, but just uses the Reader. Any others having similar frustration?

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  17. Hey, bloggers! So, I’m young and fairly new to WordPress. I have had blogs on other bases before, but have always had a big of difficult having a varied audience. In many cases, I find it hard for people to take me personally – I can act like quite the ‘teenager,’ sometimes, be it with my content or my style of writing. I tend to write the way I speak which could be both a good and bad thing. I was just wondering if any of you would be so kind as to take a look at my page – http://summatinyourteeth.wordpress.com – and let me know what you think I should continue/improve upon, in trms of keeping an engaged audience of all kinds. This could be my layout, background, writing style, topics, etc. I intend to stay true to myself, but it would be nice to know what others think. Thank you!

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      1. Hey macktoasty,
        From what I saw of your blog, it looks well designed and updated. The instagram and things such on the side gives it a good, well attended feel too.
        Aul
        By the way, feel free to check out my blog http://montairyus23.wordpress.com/ I’m writing a book and want to get the word out. Thanks!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Hey macktoasty,
        From what I saw of your blog, it looks well designed and updated. The instagram and things such on the side gives it a good, well attended feel too.
        Aul
        By the way, feel free to check out my blog http://montairyus23.wordpress.com/ I’m writing a book and want to get the word out. Thanks!

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    2. Hi, i’ am quite new to WordPress and you blog is good.

      I like that your blog is quite personal and i like the informal tone to it and i don’t think you should change this. At the end of the day it all depends on who you want to attract to your blog. If you type the way you talk etc…you attract people who speak the same and are interest in the same things…this could at first start at very small but at least it may be an audience that will follow your blog and be “loyal”.

      The only thing i would suggest is adding some images to your blog. The long pieces of writing can causes people to switch off and maybe adding images spaces out the text and make it more interactive.

      Hope that helped 🙂

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      1. Makes sense! I appreciate your feedback =] It helped a lot. I totally agree with the images. It’s never been something I’ve done so I never really considered including images in my entries but I’ll be sure to think about doing that in the future. Thanks so much

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    3. Hi! Your writing style seems pretty mature to me. I would say it is likely the topics you are writing about that causes this barrier. You seem to choose to write about topics that would interest teenagers because you are one (or that’s what i gather). I personally do tend to attract a variety of different types of people because I write poetry on my blog (a topic that has an audience coming from all walks of life). HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean you should change your topics. Your blog has a life that is developed around your experiences and things you relate to. (a bit of a journal vibe). Keep writing about topics that interest YOU. And you will notice over time that your interests and topic choices will change as you get a little bit older– and will, in time, bring forth some new types of followers. I think you should keep writing the way you have been. It will be interesting for you to look back one day and see the sorts of things you concerned yourself with when you were younger.

      One thing I WOULD suggest you change is your ‘about’ page. If you introduce yourself as ” genuinely not that interesting of a person,” people might be turned off by that. Sure, some people will not be fond of your blog (no one is liked by everyone). BUT let them decide for themselves. I bet lots of people will find you very interesting if you don’t prompt them with the notion that you are not.

      If you dont mind me asking, how old are you? 🙂
      Just for curiosity sake. You do seem to be a pretty skilled writer

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      1. Yeah, I tend to start off putting myself down from the jump. I’m not entirely sure why xD
        Guess it just seemed better than not including an About Me section at all. Thanks so much though, this did help a lot.
        I am approaching 19 years.

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      2. Alright 🙂 I’m 21 and if youre anything similar to me you will probably notice a change in interests very shortly. There’s something about leaving high school that changes your outlook on life quite a bit. As I went to university by the end of my first year I noticed I saw the world quite a bit differently and its continued to change each year onward 🙂
        I’ll follow your blog. I think it should be interesting . Cheers!

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  18. Hi Everyone! I’m a poet and I made my about page in a sort of poetic manner. Could you have a look at it and tell me if it’s alright? Attached is the link:

    About

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    3. I really like the signature/name but maybe its because I’m getting older, but it weas a little too teensy for me to read. Once I saw the name of the blog, I realized that was what was written in script, but it would be nice if it were bigger.

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    4. I like the design. Your blog name is a little tough to read, though. But overall a really nice blog and style for what (I assume) you’re going for

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  19. Ok my turn – I have a writing blog which I feel is quite successful but I have one page that nobody seems to visit! It’s a list of useful resources and tools for fellow writers. Are writers not interested in such pages? Would they rather discover such resources for themselves? Should I just ditch the page?

    The page is here

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    1. Oh no, why ditch it? Maybe people just need more time to find the page and realise its usefulness. It doesn’t bother there, so I surely wouldn’t go for removing the page.

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    2. Is it locate in the link “best of web”? It would dawn on me to look there for useful tools. I would look there to be entertained or something. Could you title it “Useful Resources and Tools for Fellow Writers”?

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      1. It has had several names over the years: “web resources”, “around the web”, “useful tools for writers”. Perhaps I should use something sexier like “Goodies for writers” or “Writing Essentials”?

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      2. Yes. Believe or not, some of your readers may not be writers; but they may be pondering whether they should do so or not.

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      3. Good point! Most of those who already comment are writers but I never thought about those who are curious and want to give it a go.

        I should take a fresh look at it to see what I can do to make it more appealing. Thanks!

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    3. This has been mentioned, but I’ll back it up: I would consider changing the name. Best of the Web is pretty vague and could mean a lot of different things. Personally, I LOVE when people give lists of good writing resources, so something like “Helpful Writing Resources” would make me more likely to visit it.

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      1. As I mentioned, I tried that 🙂 But thanks to everyone for their suggestions, I should be more descriptive and give it a sexier name

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    1. Your writing is good but there is a lot of work to be done format wise. First you might want to add some color to blog, Secondly try limiting the amount of post readers see per page so you do not have “the scroll of death”. The addition of a menu would help with navigation too. Other than that I think your writing is pretty good, you just need some format issues worked out.

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    2. Hi Rebecca,

      I agree with the previous suggestion about the format. Your title is a bit small and a menu would be a great idea. Also would suggest an about page. As an author, you want your readers to know a little bit about you and even what you look like. While I write a travel blog, I did write (& publish) a young adult novel many years ago, so I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the writing process. Best wishes

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  22. Hello everyone! I know this is a lot to ask but I’m curious to know which style of writing suits me best – funny and satirical, serious and informative or somewhere in between. I would greatly appreciate any feedback at all. Thank you!

    Surayya

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    1. Hello Sarayya, your content and style is conversational and more humour never goes a miss with something that genuinely attempts to engage people.

      Good luck with it!

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    2. Hi Surayya. I’d go with the funny and satirical with doses of informative. I personally write a travel blog, and while there are lots of other blogs that write about the same places I’ve been, what they DON’T offer is my sense of humor and comical slant on the experience. That’s what I offer my readers and I know I’d be inclined to read something that is informative in a funny, satirical manner above a serious, strictly-business piece

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  25. Hello, g’evening 🙂 I need suggestions for my blog http://etherealjinxed.wordpress.com/ . I have improvised on the layout what I felt was the simplest to navigate. As per the content, is it ok to have two different kind of contents in one blog – one for book reviews and another for poems etc?

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    1. Your blog looks fine for having the two different content types. Personally, I have a page for my book reviews with links (an A-Z here). That’s how I have preferred to set mine out but yours works just as well 🙂

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      1. I like the way you have prepared the list of all books reviewed by you with corresponding links onto a static page. Need one suggestion: When I give a link of my own post in another post of mine, it appears as pingback and as a comment item in the latest comments section of my sidebar. Any option to skip that?

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    2. I use my blog for both poetry and short stories because I find they’re relatively similar in topic. Check out my front page if you like and see if you might want to try something similar. In my menu I have My blog split up between the two topics and then have subtopics listed below.. This way if people want to read through one specific topic, they wont be weeding through stuff they arent interested in to get to what they want.
      Hope this helps 🙂

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      1. Hey Louise, I specifically liked the section “What’s on my mind” for every month, where you have crossed out the previous month section. It’s like engaging the audience on your thought process. Thanks

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    3. Hey Alka,
      It looks very easy to navigate! It’s simple and not too crazy, so it’s fine in that regard. I read the opening post, and I liked it a lot! Suggestion: don’t put things like (chorus) in or (background). I understand why you’d have to for the “background”, but I think your readers will understand what the chorus is, because it’s repeated. Otherwise, it’s just distracting.
      I think it’s okay to have different sections for different things…no problem with that!
      Aul
      please feel free to check out my blog http://montairyus23.wordpress.com/ I’m writing a novel and want to get the word out. Thanks!

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      1. Thank you Aul for the suggestion. And yes, I checked your blog, looks promising. Also, I liked the meaning of your pen name – “Giver” in Elven language, based on the novel you are putting across. Keep it up 🙂

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    4. I think it’s fine to have mixed content. My site is full of it so i just make sure to categorize carefully. You might want to add ‘poems’ to your menu tab at the top though.

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      1. Thanks. I will change the section name from Personal to Poems since till now I have only posted poems. I am still working on completing a story, so may be I will another section Story later on.

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      2. That sounds awesome. A series of one single chunk?

        Also, would you perhaps be interested in collaborating? I’ve been mulling over the idea of having a ten part story with a write for each section.

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    1. I think you’re free-verse it quite good. You have a good sense of when to use line breaks and I really liked Saturday Night, though some of wording and line lengths could do with a second look perhaps. The only advice I can really give here is to just keep going at it.

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  28. I’m trying to work out the best way to present my writing. Has anyone got any ideas of how I can feature older pieces of creative writing so that they don’t get forgotten underneath piles of post?

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    1. There is a super helpful post about this that just came out today. You can find it here: https://wordpress.com/dailypost/dp_assignment/201-archive-traffic/

      A cliffnotes version of my personal preferences:
      — Feature an old piece of work each week/two weeks/etc. either by 1) Reblogging old posts 2) Making a sticky post with an old piece of work that changes each week/two weeks/etc.
      — Create a “best of” page in which you include links to some of your (or your readers’) favorite works

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    2. I was just struggling with the concept myself when I chanced upon the suggestion of doing a “best of” page. So I created a new page for my travel blog, added links to my favorite posts and the ones that had the cleverest titles. I also linked my Best of page to my About Me page, so that curious readers have another incentive to read my earlier writing. Hope this helps

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  29. I try and vary my blog posts as much as I can. One of the most pleasurable types of writing for me is, and always has been, humour (both reading it and composing it!). As I am taking a break from writing for five weeks, I thought I’d ask other bloggers if they’d be kind enough to read the link below and give me some feedback. I shall now be working my way down the comments on here! See you end of May!
    http://alienorajt.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/family-outing-from-hell-daily-prompt/

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    2. Since most of my best ideas come to me late at night (and usually in the dark) I say go with your gut. If the words try to escape–let them. They’re the ones that deserve to be there. Oh, and for the record I did enjoy the poem. Thanks for sharing

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