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softgreysentences · 4 years

Text

TTS Fic - arms outstretched

id like to preface this with 1) @woogwoo-wren is an enabler and 2) @finnoky is an absolutely fantastic source of inspiration. that’s all folks

ao3

Varian skitters across the cold stone floor, grappling for purchase and breath stuttering violently - he can’t believe it, at first, he can’t - and slides to a stop too far away. The gap between them feels enormous; not just in a physical sense, but in how Eugene’s fists clench at his sides. In how his eyes narrow, a complicated mix of raw anger and concern, in how Varian’s ribs bend and catch fire in his chest, forcing out the air rotting in the bottom of his lungs. His vision swims and cuts out altogether, a dizzying black - his head cracks against stone, lolling sideways, smearing red - before he blinks and the blues above him waver back into focus.

He’s quick to kneel, to reach. “Listen, please!” Varian cries out, one arm outstretched, the other curled close. With anyone else - he might be composed. His voice might ring strong; he might have the upper hand, a fighting chance at changing their mind.

But this is his brother, and in this one moment, he has everything to lose.

“You have so much to hold onto,” he pleads. It’s not a scream, not a breath, but some rough mix of both, tearing and forcing its way up his throat. He’s right here in front of Eugene - is he not enough? Is he not worth casting aside the stone for? Tell me I’m right, he begs. But those words do not make it out. They die deeper in his chest, in the space below his heart.

Anger flashes across Eugene’s face, brittle and offended as if perhaps - perhaps he thinks this is holding. As if he believes he is the one in control. As if the stone does not glitter like a shard of glass on his chest, ready to cut its holder into pieces, ready to prick the finger of the hand that dares to touch it. And Varian realizes...he can see. But Eugene can’t.

He needs Eugene to think. He needs Eugene to-

“Choose!” he screams, voice tearing through the cavern. Varian gains ground in his desperation, stepping forwards and fisting his brother’s tunic and reaching, reaching, reaching - but his arms aren’t strong enough, fingers not steady enough, and he can’t manage anything but lunges far too weak to accomplish his goal.

The moonstone gleams in the center of Eugene’s chestplate. It’s a bright, bright blue. It calls, and for a second, he almost wants to answer. But there is a haze in Eugene’s eyes that not even his little brother’s frantic, sobbing pleas can get past. There’s a struggle under the surface of that unfamiliar electric blue, violent and twisted. There’s a disjointed mess to the logic his brother is weaving for himself, a tightening in the noose his brother has slipped his head into.

His broken choose still echoes louder than the other words he’s breathed. He needs Eugene to choose. He needs Eugene to think. And Varian fights, shaking, pushing, pulling. He grits his teeth, snarls and tears and bites out words until he can barely make out his own voice, jumbled together in a panic-

“That’s enough, Varian.” The grip on his wrist latches on, tightens impossibly. Varian can’t breathe. His chest burns.

He stretches his fingers, reaching out for the stone, but Eugene’s hold doesn’t flinch. It merely shifts slightly, twisting, and Varian resists the instant urge to fall to his knees.

“Yes, sir,” he chokes out, hopelessly small. It is all he can say.

Please, he thinks.

I can’t lose you, he thinks.

The tension builds in his lungs. It writhes under his skin, coiling around his spine and blurring his vision with tears.

It’s time to choose. And Varian knows he can’t stop fighting. Not until he has his brother back. Not until he can yell and chip away at the pocked marks in his brother’s soul; not until brown eyes stare back.

And when Eugene forces him away, watches him stumble on feet caught unaware and twists a cage of rock around him, something in his chest fractures. It’s to keep him safe and nearby, he reasons with himself, frantic in the face of Varian’s horror. His brother’s eyes shutter - the fear melts away, the determination rears its ugly head. Can’t he see that he shouldn’t fight? That this is for him, not against him?

But a part of Varian closes off, in its own defense, and Eugene is left colder than he’s ever been. Now I have nothing left to lose, he whispers to himself. Because - he’s lost Varian. He’s lost his brother’s trust. He’s lost his brother.

The murmurs in his ear ring too great to ignore, silvery and soft and everything the black rocks he’s twisted for himself aren’t; strong where he is fragile, venturing where he hasn’t thought to go. The mindtrap, they tell him in impressions, in feelings that aren’t words at all, but somehow slipped past his defenses and strung his fears into thoughts. You haven’t lost anything yet, not at all.

He could get his little brother back. If Varian wouldn’t see…

Well, Eugene could just make him, couldn’t he?

There is a shard of light in his hands, jagged and blue, etched with the same symbol emblazoned on his chest, the same one printed neat and small behind Varian’s ear.

There is a boy he needs to protect held tight in the cage he created, broken and fighting, scrabbling against the rocks with an unrestrained fury and weakening by the second. There is red dripping from the corner of Varian’s mouth, a color that would shine bright scarlet if the rocks surrounding them didn’t leech all the warm tones from the cavern. There are tears tracking down his face and cutting deep fractures. There are bruised fingers clenched around the sharp spikes.

There is a moment, between them - there is a second where Varian’s eyes land on the power in Eugene’s hands. There is a flicker of recognition. A flicker of grief. The rush of blood in Eugene’s ears is too loud to hear past - but he can read the no on Varian’s lips clear as day. He can time the beat of his heart with the repetition of that one word, as if by speaking it Varian could delay - could delay -

Eugene doesn’t know what to call it. How to think about it. He needs to do this, he insists. You must.

He must.

There is a second moment, between them. Varian fights even harder, but they both know his bonds are unbreakable. There is nowhere to run. From Eugene? From his brother?

No, from his own fear of what he does not know. Why would he be afraid of Eugene? This is for protection. This is their only option.

Eugene is sick of helplessness. He’s taking what’s his.

His hands tighten around the mindtrap.

Varian’s struggling ceases immediately. He slumps against the black rocks, cradled in their curves, and goes frighteningly still.

Varian, he whispers. Varian?

There is doubt, sour in his gut. Hesitation. A what-if question so painful he can’t put it to words. Then Varian’s head lifts so slowly, eyes blinking open, fingers raising to curl loosely against stone. Gentle. Every move he makes wavers and softens; Eugene remembers early mornings, shaking him, watching him wake. It feels much like that.

The sourness won’t fade. The haze in his thoughts thickens. He waves a hand, dispels the cage. Now that he has Varian; well, there’s no need. His brother spills limply onto the ground at Eugene’s feet.

Varian, he whispers. It’s okay. It’s okay.

The boy shudders and trembles and pushes himself off the ground with unsteady hands. He tucks his legs under him, looks up with wide and blank eyes; and he is kneeling before Eugene, head drifting forwards, neck arched. He does not speak. He barely breathes.

Eugene holds out a hand, bracing their forearms together and pulling. Varian comes up easily, fine movements still weak but supported by the steel in his bones and the magic in his blood. It is so easy to pull his brother closer. It is so easy to press a hand to the top of his head, protective, possessive.

He can’t help the dry, small smile. Varian tilts, just barely, nudging into the palm of Eugene’s hand. See, kid, he says. I knew you’d come around eventually.

He leads. He pushes forwards. Varian follows, always at his side.

Eugene shifts his hand to Varian’s jaw, lifting his head with a gentle, firm nudge. Relief trickles cold down his spine, a feeling adjacent to pride rising at the blue glow that casts a highlight on Varian’s cheeks, the unburdened and quiet expression, the slow and steady beat of Varian's pulse under his fingertips.

This is how he will protect them. This is how he will keep them together and keep them safe. This is how he takes power; claims it for himself.

(He remembers life in these eyes, just minutes ago. A fire he hadn’t wanted to put out. But this was necessary, just so Varian could understand. Just for now.)

(But Varian never will - never would - never gets the chance. Because the mindtrap will never be shattered and his eyes will never clear, not so long as the stone has a grip on Eugene's mind.)

And it is those two - one standing tall, unable to see the world for what it is; the other leaned forwards, drifting, unable to see the world at all - together with the black stone that rises around them-

It is them that cuts a tragedy into the dark of the night.

#tts #tangled the series #tts fic #varian #eugene fitzherbert #team awesome #kinda nervous to post this because i dont know a whole lot of the detail behind the au but damn did i love that art #take all this with a grain of salt ig anxious laughter #my fic #the google docs title for this is thoughts many mind(trap) full #im hilarious thanks its like 3 am i dont really know what im doing anymore #anyways jazz hands #dk au #i think thats the tag?#moongene #if this doesnt fit with their characters in the au... oops ;-;

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sugarfreecapsicle · 5 years

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binding

royal!au bucky barnes x reader

word count: 1800+

A/N: I’m rusty, but I hope this is something you can enjoy! I had originally planned for this to be much longer (including smut) but I got bored of the detail I’d put in and didn’t want a reader to tire of it. Feedback is always appreciated - please forgive small errors as I use google docs and it doesn’t quite catch everything. Big thanks to @moonstruckbucky & @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan for beta-ing the very rough draft!

Within the hour, you’d become a wife, and the week, a queen.

None of your previous years of schooling and training prepared you for this. The dressmaker interrupts her last minute stitching and hemming with a hand on your leg to steady your balance. As a young girl, imagining this occasion comprised of so much more than political arrangements. Love, adoration, joy. Instead, you are shuffled from one room, one person to another, and the world blurs.

No one outside the castle, not even the court, had seen your betrothed since the war - many spread rumors that he’d already died and the king couldn’t bear the thought of losing his country, that the young soldier and prince had run away to a neighboring land out of fear while defending his own people.

A duty to your family keeps you planted, flexible only to instruction from your new assistants. Your sister, young and frail, would be on the market as a working girl. Your mother would be devastated - her hard work in the quiet night voided should anyone of power discover her educating the poorer children. Father...well, he’s the mastermind of your marriage. Debts forgiven, as it were. But at what benefit to the throne?

Wavering at the thought, the dressmaker supports your legs with some poorly hidden irritation. You were the only woman of title who could bear children for miles, and with tensions remaining in the aftermath of war the king found no solace in the potential of his neighbors.

There’s no time to waste once your dress is done. You’re escorted to the door of the hall where music bellowed off the walls and murmurings of court carried over the banisters. Your father says nothing but threads your arm with his, a hand over your clammy one.

A maid enters from a small door across the foyer, and by order of the dressmaker fusses over every detail one last time. The words leave you before you think better of it. “Is he kind?”

She blushes. “Immensely, Your Highness.”

The music begins to swell, large oak doors creak open, and the room stands. Your heart pounds with every step nearer, the knot in your throat bobbing and scratching. Could you sound smooth, deliberate in promising your vows? Could he be full of dread?

The prince, your betrothed, stands poised - the perfect soldier. Broad shoulders, dark velvet blue accentuates the chocolate brown hair pulled together neatly at his neck. A prominent dark metal hand inlaid with gold clutches one of flesh behind his back. The exchange of your hand between your father and prince moves slow, deliberate. The new sensation of cool metal pricks against your clammy hand, and a silent prayer asks that the hardness in his slate blue eyes is a result of ceremony rather than the prospect of marrying you specifically.

The priests words run together in baritone, the vows hardly more than white noise behind the pounding of blood in your ears. Something in your chest stretches tightly. Vision darkens at the edges. Breaths shallow.

And then, the prince’s voice reverberates through your touch.

“I swear upon my life and my kingdom.”

You’re next to swear your vows before the gods and the court, and sweat begins to bead on your hairline at the priest’s silence.

“I swear upon my life and my kingdom.”

Rings are exchanged, (could his hands be trembling the same as yours?) your arms link, and you turn as one, the room bowing deeply followed by cheering applause. You’re both escorted onto a carriage and paraded, waving, tossing candied fruits to those around the streets.

Once paraded, you return to the castle and the pair of you are directed to a set of bedchambers, men standing guard outside. Part of you wants to believe in a higher power when there are no guards or attendees inside to...observe.

He’s staring, eyes roaming over your finery in some kind of assessment. Jaw still clenched, eyes cold.

“If you disapprove-“

“I don’t.” Short. Effective. “You’ll make a fine queen for my people.”

Not at all a romantic.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

He bows and doesn’t give a reason for his dismissal from the room. A sob crowds the knot still trapped in your throat. The rest of your days would be spent trying to tolerate a frigid man with no love for you while trying to do what’s best for the people.

Weeks pass with no affection. James, your new husband, is busy with matters elsewhere that keep him occupied. Not that you have too much time of your own to notice - your new role commands attention to multiple details across the grounds, interior, even some event coordinating. Most nights it’s all you can to do fall into bed and snore before your head hits the pillow. Your husband rarely finds bed before you and is always out of bed before you wake.

Some of the maids and help around the grounds provide a little solace, most with stories of his quiet action to their aid. James - reserved, a man of action, subtle, caring, kind. Give him time, they’d said. He has his reasons.

Once ready for the day, you smooth your skirts and expect to plan the first of many holiday celebrations but your train of thought is stopped. James stands nervously at your door and smiles.

“Good morning.”

The smile broadens. “Good morning. Would you...walk with me? If you have the time.” James offers his arm and without breaking eye contact, you accept.

A sharp breeze dances in the sunset leaves, and the day new enough to glimmer of morning dew on the shrubbery. Orchids in bloom fill the air with pleasant sweetness. The two of you have hardly spoken as you walk together, guards’ eyes following.

“The gardens are beautiful.” It’s a start, you suppose. He’s trying.

“Thank you.” You grin over at one of the fountains collecting fall leaves in a pool of water. “Shall we sit? I need the sun more than I thought.”

A true gentleman, he waits for you to arrange your skirts and move to sit before taking his place next to you by the fountain. Somewhere in the trees birds chirp and sing, chattering along.

“My mother always loved the birds,” James murmurs with eyes darting in the treeline. “She insists on the feeders hidden throughout.”

“I’m sure you gave your mother some reason to hide them,” you smirk, tucking an errant waft of hair behind his ear. His cheeks flush, even his ears turn a shade of red.

“Plenty of reason. And often.”

You breathe out a laugh and notice a page rushing over with a sealed letter in hand. So much for an easy morning.

Although you can’t get the thought of his smile, the way he grins more on the left side of his mouth than the right, out of your head all day. Plenty of your advisers noticed your distraction but said nothing. Finally, just before dinner, you settled back into your own right mind: You won’t bed him without love. You’d rather claim a mistress’ child as your own than compromise yourself. According to other ladies of the court, it happens all the time.

A visit to a nearby village is announced at dinner, and James’ parents decide the opportunity for the two of you to make an appearance as the future rulers of the country. Notorious for his solitude, you fully anticipated an excuse of important meetings from James - but once again, he surprises you with an agreement.

The scheduled visits happen semiannually, and traveling to the further reaches necessitates a week or more. By the third day, you’re not sure how you’ll remember all the names of lords, ladies and other important members of the court. Sunset warms you through the window of the carriage, rolling green hills and farmland passes by. Your accompaniment including your husband keeps quiet - the adviser sleeping, your husband keeping a watchful eye on the countryside.

His head lifts from his hand, the dark metallic one reaching at his hip for his blade. Blue eyes meet yours in an instant.

“Stay here. Don’t leave this carriage no matter what you hear. Do you understand?”

You nod once and remember the knife you’d stashed in a garter beneath your skirts. The noise of battle cries and swords clashing interrupts the rhythmic clip of horse hooves and wooden wheels. An ambush - assassins, spies from Hydra coming for you, or the future king, or both.

A blink, and he’s out of the carriage with a slam of the small door. The chaos of yelling and metal on metal has you scrambling for the knife, shaking hands grasping the opalescent handle.

James grunts, shrill iron against his arm sparking with anger, and shoves the assailant backward. Thuds of fists landing punches, knives ripping fabric all overwhelm your senses. Coppery blood even scents the air around you.

As quickly as the fight began, all became silent once again aside from crunching pieces of road and rock beneath heavy boots. A set ends just outside the carriage door - your adviser cowering in the floor.

“Princess?” James pants and knocks three times. “If I open the door, you swear not to impale me?”

“Only if you speak for yourself and not in surrender.”

Hesitantly, the small door opens, and James peers and you with a tired smile. “To you only, I would surrender.”

Once the men are settled and wounds triaged, you’re able to inspect the prince. James is scratched and bruised, a bit bloody and finery torn. Without thinking, your hands are wiping at his busted lip with a handkerchief and worry twists your expression. Most of his lip is clean when you notice a tenderness you hadn’t seen before - something in the way his eyes settle on you, in the set of his mouth, the way his flesh hand lets his fingers brush your free hand.

“I know I can’t stop you from it, but I wish you would consider the kingdom before rushing at murderers.”

“You are my kingdom,” he says a bit breathless. “If my wife commands it, I will make it so.”

His hand doesn’t leave yours the remainder of the ride home.

That night, you’re twisting a thread on your nightgown wondering if perhaps there was more to your prince than your first impression. Meetings and duties keep him away from you for most of the day, and over dinner you catch up on what you’re not involved in directly. He keeps certain things from you - direct threats, certain uglier parts of his duty as heir to the throne.

It’s in the quiet of night, few candles crackling, when you ask the tired man next to you, “Do you love me?”

He turns from his back onto his side and holds your cheek, “I would lay down my life for you and everyone in this country without hesitation. Do not think for one moment that I don’t love you as a king. And as your husband.”

You haven’t kissed since the wedding but his lips on yours work gently to ask permission and light kindling in your chest. He pulls away too soon for your liking, unadulterated want dancing behind the glittering yellow flame over blue.

“My kingdom, my home, my land benefits from your thoughtful consideration. You refuse to demand more than what our staff can provide, and you have a kindness I’ve never seen from title. I cannot find nor will I look for any reason not to love you.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fan fiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fluff #bucky x reader #bucky fluff #bucky fic #bucky fanfic #bucky fan fiction #bucky imagine

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mnchysmanuscripts · 4 years

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Returning to Burning

You’ve probably noticed a change in me over the past year or two. I know I’ve noticed a change in myself. It's a difficult change to articulate, since it’s the result of so many different factors, all with varying origins and impacts. Simply put, despite holding the title, I haven’t been a rowdy fucker for a long time now. I’ve gone from screaming edgy jokes and racial slurs to carefully rehearsing thoughtfully worded speeches to awkwardly spit out in the middle of podcasts. Now, I’m less of a wannabe performance artist and more of an armchair pseudo-intellectual. I’ve mellowed out, in other words. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, by the way. I know a lot of you actually prefer me when I’m not screaming nigger, and I’m not really here to nostalgically reflect on some halcyon days that never really existed. I’m not here to renounce the results of mellowing out, I’m here to try and explain how it happened in the first place.

I have been an intellectual hikikomori. Since my popularity ascendancy after Radcon 2 and plunge into being a full-time professional amateur demagogue, I have cognitively circled the drain. I have let my mind deteriorate and my interests stagnate. To make great artwork, or even just to be really fucking funny, you have to be constantly seeking out new perspective to depict and/or parody. When you create something, you draw upon previously in-taken inspiration from things you’ve seen or shows you’ve watched. This is a resource that can dry up, and you have to constantly be filling it back up with new ideas or else you’ll quickly run out of original inspiration to draw upon and turn into a washed-up hack. When you’re young, definitionally you accrue more new experiences faster. As I grew up, I kept taking from my well of knowledge far more than I was returning back into it, and soon enough I was turning into a washed-up hack.

For the better part of two years, I talked to a revolving handful of the same fifty people and discussed an even sparser variety of topics. Since I went to online school, I had all of my most precious, formative years to waste on the modern internet, with all of it’s manipulative trappings. Every day, I would make the same rounds through the same four or five Discord servers, and then peer through Twitter, my only window into the outside social world. If that last part didn’t give you a carcinogenic lump on your testicles the size of a soccer ball then consult your doctor, you’re probably already dead. I would never leave my house, besides the occasional expeditions to fast food joints. I wasn’t even doing nothing right; I wasn’t consuming art, just mindless content on Youtube from the same thirty or so channels. Every new channel I would subscribe to would just offer a slightly different variation on the content from another channel I was already subscribed to. I wasn’t even really talking or playing video games with friends, I thought that was a waste of time I could be “working”. By working, I mean opening up Google Docs or Photoshop or Pycharm and throwing myself at creative projects, getting distracted every five minutes and switching back and forth between my work and previously detailed distractions. I didn’t work smart and I didn’t work hard, but I also didn’t totally relax or build my social life. Everyday was spent in a nervous state, the in-between of war and peace, work and play. All the while drifting off into the twilight realm of my own secret thoughts and occasionally gasping for air in insular sycophantic communities and drowning my sorrows by watching shitty vlogs.

That is, until a few months ago.

I started college in September, and it’s been pretty rude awakening, if nothing else. All of these previously articulated thoughts had been fading in and out of focus in my brain for the better part of two years now, but it was only now that I was able to actually gauge the effect it’s had on me. At this point, there’s a thousand different directions I could diverge into. What has it been like adjusting to a completely different lifestyle? How has my first semester of normal school in six years been? Was Digibro right about everything? The answers to all of these deserve their own points, and they shall receive them in due course. I want to close off this post by partially answering the first of them as it relates to what I was just talking about.

Before, I was like a wildfire that had run out of forest to burn down. I spread and spread, cranking out art and jokes. But eventually I had used up all of my inspiration and material, and I was left without any more fuel. Now, everything I used to do and be has been uncomfortably and quite abruptly destroyed, and I have been thrust into an alien world consisting only of pain. I’m in a new city, learning new ideas and techniques to use for my art and meeting new people and harvesting new experiences to draw upon for my comedy. My last few smoldering embers have been caught by the wind, and have wound up in a brand new unmolested forest, ready to be reduced to ash. In other words, I’ve been having a lot of brain blasts recently, and as a result I feel more alive than ever. That’s why I made this Tumblr and why I’m writing to you now and will do so again soon. I’m finally ready to !thrash again.

#munchuscript

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yurious-george · 7 years

Text

Brer

Fandom: No Evil (Web Animation) Summary: Wrip met the main cast later than in Judgement - and met Kitty first, through a vegetable-stealing escapade. Genre: Fluff, Crack Additional Comments: One day I will get an AO3. Today is not that day. Google Doc Version: [x]

“I don’t mind you stealin’ a few carrots and such from my garden - a few’ll get dug up by critters anyhow - but this is gettin’ absurd,” Kitty lectured. “Ten carrots in one evenin’? One or both of you is up to something, and I expect you to explain yerselves.”

“I swear I didn’t do nothin’!” Huey retorted indignantly.

“That there’s a double negative, Huey,” Kitty said scornfully. “Means you did somethin’.”

“Nope, he didn’t do anything,” Calamity said, wrapping her arm around him. Even if she wanted to say the same thing Huey did, Icky had lectured her on grammar enough and Kitty was in a bad enough mood that she wouldn’t risk it. “Me neither.”

Kitty glowered. “Well, you’re not leaving here ‘til I get some answers.”

“Well then, Huey... looks like we’ll be here a while,” said Calamity, plopping down in the dirt. She teetered a little before she regained her balance.

Huey plopped down next to her, squeezing his eyes shut in exasperation. “I knew I shoulda brought my coloring book.”

It’d been about two years since Murder and the triplets had sacrificed their senses and Murder’s life, but the land was still heavily scarred. Last spring, Kitty had started a little garden to save costs - tomatoes, some herbs, other foodstuffs. In an instant, it had become her favorite project; all throughout the spring and summer you could see her working in the garden, with Quetzalcoatl watching in awe. Sometimes he even “helped” by clumsily watering the plants while Kitty pulled weeds, and for a while he’d ask every day if the corn was ready - earning him the nickname “Corn” from Huey. (Though he didn’t really ask - he started speaking later than other kids, but when he started, he’d never say words without meaning something. Icky said it was impressive.)

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuughh..,” Huey slumped forward, chest down and tail up. Soon he was lying flat on his stomach. “I didn’ steal it! There’s food in Hatfield now!” He whined.

“Yeah! And Icky won’t let me go out after eight. No way did I steal it!” Calamity added. “Can we go now? It’s been hours!”

“It’s been ten minutes, Calamity.” Kitty’s voice still had an edge to it, but not quite as scornful as before. They do have a point, she reflected.

“Whatever, same difference.”

“All right,” Kitty said. Not a heartbeat after she continued “You may go,” the two troublemakers sprang up, whooping loudly as they raced.

“Race you to the hideout!”

“No fair, you’re faster than me!”

Soon the pair were out of sight, their cheering fading into the distance. Kitty hadn’t moved, lost in thought. No animal would eat that much in one night, and not many of ‘em make it through the briars. A human might’ve done it, but us spirits are a long way aways from the towns - a long hike to do somethin’ needlessly dangerous. Folks know better than to anger a spirit. So who, or what, in the thirteen heavens, could be responsible? Kitty needed a plan. A trap. Something someone smart would fall for -

Her train of thought came to a halt as her eyes rested on the scarecrow.

Soon it was chugging again, however, as she got up and brushed herself off. She needed Paula to take her on a little shopping trip to Hollow.

***

Twitch. A young spirit’s long ears wiggled in the moonlight, alert to all noise and movement. Other than her, there was none.

Yup, all clear, she thought slyly. And even the scarecrow’s in the same place as always. With a tiny push of her legs, she sailed over the fence and briars, landing with less noise than the drop of a pin and more precision than the fall of a feather. Gleefully, she tiptoed (though she was always tiptoeing - it was her brand by that point) to the scarecrow, which stood between the corn, tomatoes, and carrots - the tomatoes looked splendid. Kneeling, she laid her hand on the scarecrow to steady herself, threadbare wicker basket ready to gather as much as could fi-

Yank. She couldn’t move forward! Her hand - her hand was stuck!

Whipping around, she kicked the scarecrow with as much force as she could pack in her powerful legs. Was this scarecrow bewitched? Why won’t it let me go? She panicked. Her feet made contact to the thing with a loud crack.

A few seconds of silence passed.

Oh, shoot, thought the thief, realization hitting her like a pound of bricks. My feet are stuck too.

Creak... Interrupted, the little spirit became sharply aware that the scarecrow was leaning, falling closer and closer to her squishy insides -

“AAAAAA!”

***

Kitty snapped upright in bed. She had woken a few seconds earlier, though not sure why, and been trying to drift back to sleep - but the scream startled her to full consciousness. Not hesitating a moment, she grabbed the gas lamp by her bedside and absconded through the dark, grasping her nightgown for easier running. Slamming the door open, she was ready to catch the thief red-handed!

...Or black-handed, I suppose, Kitty observed, extending her light. And even black-footed. The culprit had both hands and feet drenched in tar, some dripping on her as she supported it. What surprised Kitty most is that the culprit was a spirit - a young girl, not a week older than Calamity, and judging by the long ears and legs, a rabbit spirit.

Kitty’s eyes narrowed. “What are ye called?”

Knocked out of her daze of fear and confusion, the rabbit-spirit donned a polite smile. “I’m Wrip!” A drop of tar sploshed on her cheek. “And I understand if you want to punish me. I’ve done the wrong thing. You can hit me, hang me, or boil me in a stew; whatever you do, please don’t throw me in the briar patch!” Wrip begged, concealing the crafty smile she wanted to display. Wonder if she’ll fall for that one. Ha! It’s the oldest trick in the book!

Kitty made made no response. She fixed the little spirit with a cold, hard stare, taking in the tar, and dirt, and bits of tomato guts in the scraggly figure’s hair.

“The only place I’m throwing you,” Kitty said at last, gently wrenching Wrip free with the help of the rake on the wall, “is in the bath.”

Author’s notes:

The story gets its title from the story “Brer Rabbit And The Tar Baby”, an African-american piece of folklore - and its plot.

Said folklore, in turn, is a corruption on an Anansi tale - Anansi was trying to trap fairies with sticky sap. When the slaves were brought over, the sap became tar, the fairies became a rabbit and Anansi became the fox. And that’s just cool as fuck.

Coloring books existed in the late 1800s, but they were called painting books!

#i wrote this #no evil betsy lee #my post

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williamlwolf89 · 4 years

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How to Write an Ebook: 21 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid in 2020

Want to learn how to write an ebook like a pro? It’s not just what you do, but what you DON’T do that can make or break your work.

Admit it.

You’ve thought about writing an ebook.

In fact, you’ve already imagined the front cover.

You can see the main title and, underneath, your name.

And when you picture it, you feel a ripple of pride.

An ebook would be a big step up for you as a writer.

Because while blog posts and freelance writing gigs are great ways to express your ideas and earn a side income, you can’t help feeling they’re a little, well, fleeting. Lightweight even.

But your own ebook? That’s more substantial. It’s taken more seriously. It has more gravitas.

And having an ebook with your name on the front transforms you from a mere writer into that more impressive beast — an author.

But how do you become an ebook author without falling victim to the same mistakes that sabotage the attempts of so many other writers and bloggers?

Why Most Ebooks Are Embarrassingly Bad

On the surface, writing ebooks seem relatively easy.

Lots of writers seem to be doing it, so how hard can it be?

But in reality, most ebooks that see the light of day are horrible. Embarrassingly bad.

That’s because your average ebook author doesn’t have a clue how to write an ebook. They can’t afford to hire a ghostwriter, and they don’t have the support system a traditional author would be given by their publisher when writing a book.

They do their best, but they don’t know what they don’t know.

The good news? We can learn from their mistakes. In this post, we’re going to show you the common mishaps first-time authors make when writing an ebook.

In other words:

Want to write an ebook like a pro? Avoid these 21 common mistakes:

Table of Contents: How to Write an Ebook Like a Pro (Don’t Do These Amatuerish Things)

Choosing a Topic You Know Little About

Writing the Ebook Your Audience “Needs”

Thinking Like a Writer, Not a Publisher

Picking Up Your Pen (or Laptop) and Starting to Write

Trying to Make Your Ebook Too Valuable

Starting at the Beginning

Only Writing When You Feel Like It

Letting Your Inner Editor Take the Lead

Quitting Just Before it Gets Easy

Trying to Keep Up The Momentum

Throwing Your Best Work in the Fire

Reviewing With a Microscope, Not a Telescope

Telling Yourself You Don’t Need an Editor

Hiring the World’s Worst Proofreader

Indulging Your Inner Perfectionist and Procrastinator

Assuming You Know the Best Format for Your Ebook Already

Using the First (Yawn-Inducing) Title that Comes to Mind

Designing Your Own Front Cover

Forgetting to Link Back to Your Blog

Completely Ignoring the Power of Social Proof

Acting Like Your Ebook Isn’t a Big Deal

1. Choosing a Topic You Know Little About

If you want to create a premium ebook, you can be tempted to pick a “hot topic” thinking that’s where the money is.

Likewise, when creating a sign-up bribe, you might think you need to entice readers with the latest information about an emerging topic.

And if you’re self-publishing using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), it’s easy to think you need to target one of the most popular categories.

But picking a topic like this is a BIG mistake.

If you know little or nothing about your chosen topic, creating an ebook will be a huge amount of work. You’ll have to do a ton of research on Google, interview experts, and perhaps even pay a real guru to get you up to speed.

What to do Instead

Write about something you actually know about — which almost certainly means tying your ebook to your blog’s core topic. You’ll not only save a ton of time on research, but you’ll also have a ready-made audience for your writing.

2. Writing the Ebook Your Audience “Needs”

I’ve fallen into this trap myself (twice) and I’ve seen a heck of a lot of other bloggers do the same.

It happens when you realize there’s a topic you know your readers need, and you know you can write the perfect book that will genuinely help them.

Sounds great, but people don’t always know what they need. And your sense of what it is might not be spot-on either.

What to do Instead

Don’t give your readers what you think they need. Give them what they know they want.

How? Run a survey, and ask your readers to choose between three or four ebook topics.

(This is also a good opportunity to find out how much they’d pay, whether they’re beginners or more experienced, and what specific questions they need your help to answer.)

3. Thinking Like a Writer, Not a Publisher

Planning isn’t just about deciding what you’re going to write and what order you’re going to write it in.

Because when you decide to create an ebook, you’re not just a writer; you’re also a publisher (and marketer). You have to write and publish.

If you don’t start thinking now about how you’ll sell your book — whether that means selling it to make money or just selling the concept to your readers — you’ll run into problems later on.

What to do Instead

Draft your sales page while you’re planning your ebook. Make it sound as attractive and useful as possible (try Jon’s list of power words, and make the reader the hero of the story) … and use that pitch to drive the writing process. This will make your ebook much stronger and will make your life much easier when you launch it.

4. Picking Up Your Pen (or Laptop) and Starting to Write

Once your survey results are in, you might be tempted to start writing straight away.

Whoa there.

Jumping into the writing at this point will cause you serious problems. You’ll find yourself repeating things, or wasting time exploring ultimately unhelpful tangents.

What to do Instead

Plan your ebook before you start writing.

This means having a clear outline that has, at the very least, a title for each chapter. Yes, that might seem a bit boring, but it will make the writing stage far easier (and more fun).

This doesn’t have to mean opening a blank Google Doc or Microsoft Word document and writing a linear outline. Try freeform brainstorming, mind maps, or index cards as creative alternatives to help get your ebook ideas flowing.

5. Trying to Make Your Ebook Too Valuable

With your first ebook, it’s easy to think you need to deliver the definitive ebook — the only one your audience will ever need.

If that sounds like a good idea, ask yourself this: “What will I give them next?”

Chances are, you won’t write just one ebook. You might write several in the same series, or you might create a short starter ebook for free, and then write a more advanced one to sell.

Even if your ebook is destined to be your subscriber incentive, if you give your readers everything they’ll ever need, why would they come back to your blog?

What to do Instead

Go back to your survey and determine what aspects your audience cares about the most. Focus on those. If you have lots of extra ideas, great! Keep them in a separate place and use them for your next ebook. Or explore them in a detailed blog post.

If you inadvertently miss something crucial, you’ll find out when you get feedback, and you can add a new section or chapter to address that point.

6. Starting at the Beginning

Although it might be the first chapter in your book, your introduction almost certainly isn’t the place to start writing.

It’s hard to know what to include until you’ve drafted the majority of your book, and you don’t want to get bogged down at this early stage.

If you start with the introduction, you’ll often end up writing far more than you need to. And let’s be honest. No reader relishes the sight of a long introduction — they want to dive into the real content.

What to do Instead

Don’t begin with the introduction; start with your first “proper” chapter. Once you’ve drafted the rest of your book, you’ll know what needs to go in the introduction.

Also, a lot of “introductory” material can go at the back of the book – I strongly recommend having an About the Author page at the back, because it’s a great opportunity to point readers to your website, mailing list, and so on.

7. Only Writing When You Feel Like It

Although your ebook is probably a high-priority project for you, it can be genuinely tough to carve out the time for working on it regularly.

But if you don’t write consistently, you’ll never build up any momentum. You may write for a few hours to begin with, but then end up taking weeks off … and never getting back to your ebook.

What to do Instead

You don’t have to write thousands of words at a time. One of my clients wrote a short chapter every week, without fail, and finished her ebook within a few months.

Find a consistent time each day, or several times a week, to work on your ebook. You might like to try the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes writing, 5-minute break) to use your time effectively during short writing sessions. Anyone can write for just 25 minutes.

If you know you have a problem with time management, address that now; it’ll pay off for years to come.

8. Letting Your Inner Editor Take the Lead

If you’re writing regularly and staying focused but making slow progress, then you’re probably trying to edit while you write.

Perhaps you find yourself typing a couple of paragraphs, then changing your mind and deleting them. You might even be stopping every sentence or two to make minor tweaks.

This is a serious drain on your productivity as a writer.

What to do Instead

If you change your mind about a whole paragraph or section, leave it in as is, but jot a note to yourself about it. You may find, on re-reading, that it works perfectly well.

You might find it’s helpful to use a full-screen “no distractions” text editor. I like Dark Room for this — as it doesn’t have those distracting red and green wiggles that your typical word processor adds when it doesn’t like a word or phrase.

9. Quitting Just Before it Gets Easy

After you’ve been working on your ebook for weeks, perhaps months, you may find that you’ve not made the progress you’d hoped for.

Whatever the exact cause (illness, workload, etc.), you’ve hit a wall. You aren’t even halfway through the draft, and there’s a long way to go.

When you go through a patch like this, it’s quite tempting to just give up — to cut your losses and leave that ebook draft abandoned on your computer.

But that would be a huge mistake. Because this is often a sign that things are about to get easier.

What to do Instead

Push yourself to reach the halfway point. Once you’re halfway, natural momentum kicks in, and you’ll speed up as you approach the end.

Be sure to remind yourself of your motivation for starting the ebook in the first place: what’s it going to do for you and your blog? How will it help your readers — the people who you’ve come to know and care about?

10. Trying to Keep Up The Momentum

While it’s important to not let your ebook stall after the first draft, you don’t need to rush into editing. Some writers dive straight into the editing phase — but then they struggle to get perspective, and may quickly feel burned out.

What to do Instead

Let your ebook “sit” for at least a couple of days (and preferably a full week) before you begin reviewing and editing. That way, you’ll come to it with fresh eyes and a new perspective — you’ll be able to see what’s already good, and what needs a bit more work.

With a little distance, you’ll be able to see your work from the perspective of a reader, not a writer.

11. Throwing Your Best Work in the Fire

Many ebook authors start their edit using the same file they used for the draft — for example, MyEbook.doc.

While that’s not always a problem, it’s seriously frustrating if you cut something you later want to put back in.

Worse, if you manage to delete, lose, or somehow corrupt that master file, all your hard work could be gone for good.

What to do Instead

For each new draft, create a new version of your file — MyEbookV2.doc, MyEbookV3.doc and so on. And create regular backups. A simple way is to email yourself a copy of the latest version from time to time.

12. Reviewing With a Microscope, Not a Telescope

If you start your editing by looking for minor typos, you’ll miss much more significant issues.

By focusing on the micro detail, you may fail to address major problems with your book — like “Chapter 15 is way too short” or “Chapter 7 should come after Chapter 10.” These often require a bit of perspective (see Mistake #10).

What to do Instead

Read through your whole ebook, preferably in .pdf form, on paper, or on your tablet, before you begin editing.

In other words, read it in a format where you can’t easily make small changes as you go along to force yourself to concentrate on the bigger picture.

Make a note of any issues you need to fix, like chapters in the wrong order, repetitive information, tangents that need deleting, and new sections you want to add.

13. Telling Yourself You Don’t Need an Editor

When you’ve been working away on your own for (probably) several months, seeing mistakes can be tough — from the big picture issues to the small details like missing words or misplaced apostrophes.

But many first-time ebook authors are either too inexperienced to know the value of an editor or figure it’s a luxury they can’t afford.

Even if you’re not in a position to pay for a full edit, that doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.

What to do Instead

Consider paying for an editor to review just the first few chapters of your ebook. Many problems the editor identifies will probably occur throughout the ebook and you can fix them yourself once you know what to look for.

Recruit volunteers to help edit: ask your readers, or members of any blogging community you belong to. Be prepared to repay the favor!

14. Hiring the World’s Worst Proofreader

Once you’ve made any major changes and addressed the suggestions of your editors, your book is almost complete.

But before it’s ready to publish, you’ll need to do at least one complete read-through to catch any remaining typos or errors. A writing tool like Grammarly or a different grammar checker can help.

However, you’re probably the worst person to catch those errors.

You’ve likely become so familiar with the content and its layout that you’ll miss typos that will be obvious to someone else.

What to do Instead

If you can afford a professional proofreader, or if you have a talented friend who can help out, brilliant.

If you have to do most or all of your proofreading alone, here’s the secret: don’t proofread your ebook in the same environment you wrote it. Try changing the font style and size and printing it out, or reading it on a tablet. You’ll be surprised at how errors stand out.

15. Indulging Your Inner Perfectionist and Procrastinator

Quality matters, but if you’re onto your fifth proofread and you’re spending ten minutes debating whether or not a particular sentence needs a comma, you’re wasting time.

Even books from major publishing houses have mistakes from time to time. You may never have noticed this, because (like every reader) you don’t pause and scrutinize every word.

What to do Instead

Give yourself a deadline for finishing the editing phase, and accept that catching 99 percent of your mistakes is good enough.

Don’t agonize over the possibility that a typo may still be present. Readers aren’t likely to notice, and if someone does point out a particularly glaring mistake after publication, it’s simple to update your ebook.

16. Assuming You Know the Best Format for Your Ebook Already

Even if you started out with a specific end goal in mind, be sure to review your options once you’ve finished your ebook.

An ebook that started life as a subscriber incentive might in fact make a great premium product, or serve as an authority-building book in the Kindle Store.

But if you don’t at least consider other options, you might miss out on a huge opportunity.

What to do Instead

Depending on the final destination of your ebook, a range of different ebook formats are available to consider:

If you’re giving your ebook away as an incentive for joining your email list, then .pdf-only is simple and straightforward.

If you’re positioning your ebook as a premium product (e.g., at least $10), you can just create a .pdf … but you might also want to offer .epub and .mobi formats. You could also include multimedia bonus material on a password-protected webpage (e.g. audio interviews, short video tutorials).

If you’re publishing your ebook on major retailers’ sites, you’ll need a lower price (usually $9.99 or less) and to publish your file in the appropriate format for the store.

And don’t assume that a particular option is right for your ebook just because it’s what you’ve seen other bloggers doing.

17. Using the First (Yawn-Inducing) Title that Comes to Mind

Just like a blog post title, an ebook title must grab attention. It’s going to be the first (and quite possibly the only) thing your potential ebook reader sees.

When I wrote my first full-length ebook, I planned to title it Writing Blog Content. That’s what it was about, after all! But it’s not exactly sexy.

A wise friend (Charlie Gilkey) jumped onto Skype with me and spent a while hashing out better titles. We eventually went with The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing … a much stronger, more compelling title.

What to do Instead

If you’ve had a working title in mind since the planning stage, now’s the time to figure out whether it’s truly good enough. You might want to ask your blog readers to vote on different titles.

The same goes for the headline on your sales page — you’ll probably want to put something a bit more intriguing than just the title of your ebook.

Jon’s Headline Hacks report is packed with lots of inspiration and advice.

18. Designing Your Own Front Cover

Like it or not, everyone judges books by their covers.

Unless you’re a professional designer, creating your own ebook cover design is a hugely damaging mistake.

Your ebook will look amateurish, and readers may well be put off from buying it.

This is especially true if you’ll be selling your ebook on Amazon (or other e-retail sites) where most potential readers won’t have any prior knowledge of you.

If you need some examples, plus some handy templates you can use, take a look at Venngage’s 17 eBook Templates and Design Tips (From an Expert Who Sold 10k+ Paid Copies).

What to do Instead

If you can afford it, hire a designer. This is a crucial investment, and you’ll likely sell enough extra copies to more than pay for the designer’s work.

But if you really have to create your cover yourself, keep it simple and straightforward, and look at lots of examples of good and bad designs.

19. Forgetting to Link Back to Your Blog

Your ebook might be a reader’s first contact with you. And even those who downloaded your ebook from your blog might forget where they got it.

So failing to link your ebook back to your blog is a big mistake. You’re missing an opportunity to drive new subscribers to your main email list or to a separate list that tells your current ebook readers about your next book.

What to do Instead

Include a page at the back of your ebook — after “About the Author” — that lets readers know where to find you online.

Be sure to link to your subscriber landing page, to your next book’s sales page, or anywhere else online you want to send them — e.g., your social media profiles.

Also important is giving your readers an easy way to send you feedback for your ebook, such as a dedicated email address or a link to a contact page.

And don’t be afraid to link to relevant blog content within the body of the ebook itself.

20. Completely Ignoring the Power of Social Proof

Even if a reader already knows you, they won’t necessarily trust that your ebook is any good until it has at least one review or testimonial.

Whether your ebook is available for purchase or simply a reward for new subscribers, people probably won’t trust its value unless they can see that other people have read it and found it useful.

And if you’re in a niche that’s known for having a few sleazy operators, or one where ebooks are rare, then failing to provide social proof is an even bigger mistake.

What to do Instead

Be proactive — send out review copies to bloggers in your niche, and to any of your blog’s readers who’ve commented regularly or emailed you recently. Add positive reviews to your sales page and, if possible, use photos of the reviewers to boost credibility.

And if you can, send out your review copies before you launch your ebook – preferably at least a couple weeks before. This gives people a chance to read your book and get a review ready on or soon after your launch day.

21. Acting Like Your Ebook Isn’t a Big Deal

Many bloggers are uncomfortable marketing their ebooks so their “launch” simply involves a new link on their blog and a couple of low-key posts on social media.

But even the best ebook will wither and die without some determined promotion.

And the truth is that if you’re not willing to market your ebook when the hard work of writing it is complete, you’ve basically wasted all that time and effort.

What to do Instead

You’re proud of your new ebook, right? So start acting like it. (If you don’t feel a swell of pride about your work then go back to the writing and editing phases until you do!)

Despite any preconceptions, you can effectively market your blog without coming across like a used car salesman.

Here’s how…

Mix up your promotional messages with lots of useful and interesting content.

If you’re giving people useful information at the same time as promoting your ebook, you’ll feel less like a pushy salesperson.

If your ebook is on Amazon Kindle, you can create some buzz by giving it away free for short periods.

If this is your first premium product, make sure you tell your existing list about it and consider offering a discount for existing subscribers.

Write guest posts for popular blogs in your niche and direct readers to a dedicated landing page for sign-ups or for the sales page for your ebook.

You might even look into ways to do something more interesting and innovative, maybe creating videos, offering special extras, or getting readers involved.

Download our Ebook Cheatsheet(a free, 1-page PDF packed with info)

Writing an Ebook Doesn’t Have to Be a Dream

Lots of mistakes are lurking out there to trip you up on the path to publishing your first ebook, but the potential rewards are great.

You can get more subscribers for your blog, more authority in your niche, and even earn more money from your writing.

And now that you know the most common mistakes, you can avoid them with ease.

But of all the mistakes you can make, one trumps them all:

Not even trying.

Or telling yourself that you’ll write your ebook someday.

But you’re not going to make that mistake, right?

You now know how to write an ebook. Grab your calendar, take a look at the next week, and choose a day to begin.

Because in just a month or two, you could easily have a finished ebook … one that could supercharge your email list, position you as an expert, or start bringing in a steady income.

When will your ebook journey begin?

The post How to Write an Ebook: 21 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid in 2020 appeared first on Smart Blogger.

from SEO and SM Tips https://smartblogger.com/ebook-mistakes/

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theestaticmarketing · 6 years

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5 Productivity Hacks to Bring Content Creation From Failing to Flying High

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OnlineMarketingSEOBlog/~3/_-M0ewKtg8Q/ <img width=”600″ height=”360″ src=”http://ift.tt/2EHBeBb; class=”attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image” alt=”Hot Air Balloons” srcset=”http://ift.tt/2GfDhJP 600w, http://ift.tt/2o7ODbp 300w” sizes=”(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px” /> <img class=”aligncenter wp-image-23815 size-full” src=”http://ift.tt/2EHBeBb; alt=”Hot Air Balloons” width=”600″ height=”360″ /> Let’s just get this out of the way: I don’t know anything about hacking. I’ve never hacked anything in my life, unless you’re describing my golf swing, or you count using a <a href=”http://ift.tt/2o2msv9; target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Game Genie</a> to cheat at Sega Genesis back in the early ‘90s. In general, I find terms like “life hacks” and “growth hacking” to be… well, hackneyed. But you know what? Blog titles that include “hacks” — or other strong and compelling descriptors such as “surprising” or “critical” — have a <a href=”http://ift.tt/2o7Kc06; target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>greater tendency to gain viral traction</a>. Sometimes a simple data point like that can be the springboard you need to uncover inspiration. Which brings us to the purpose of today’s post. Here at TopRank Marketing, <a href=”http://ift.tt/2o0UArx style=”font-weight: 400;”>we have an insanely talented Content Team</a>. Legitimately some of the best writers and strategic thinkers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working alongside. But even these awesome pros are not immune to the occasional creative rut or swoon in productivity. It comes with the territory. Recently the team came together to discuss some of our personal methods for overcoming content creation slumps and getting back on track when we’re dragging. I figured I would share some of the most salient pointers to come out of that meeting here, so other marketers can benefit and maybe adopt a few of them during their own periods of stagnation. Hacks, insider tips, pearls of eternal wisdom — whatever attention-grabbing name you’d like to apply, I just hope you find these practical tips helpful in enhancing your productivity and elevating your content marketing success. (And feel free to comment with your own if you have tricks that work for you.) <h2>#1 – Embrace the 5-Second Rule</h2> <img class=”size-medium wp-image-23816 alignleft” src=”http://www.toprankblog.com/wp-content/uploads/5-Second-Rule-213×300.png” alt=”The 5-Second Rule Book Cover” width=”213″ height=”300″ />Last year, Mel Robbins published a book called “<a href=”http://ift.tt/2o8qzoW; target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage</a>.” The premise behind this guide to conquering self-doubt and procrastination is rooted in psychology. Basically, the crux is that because our brains are wired to avoid risk, we are innately predisposed to abandon many ideas and plans almost as quickly as they arrive. Robbins challenges us to overcome this inclination by forcing ourselves to take some sort of action to move an idea forward within five seconds of the thought crossing our consciousness. It can be small and it doesn’t always have to lead anywhere. But it’s all about getting past your initial misgivings and, in some way, turning an idea from concept into reality. So, next time the notion of a blog angle passes through your head, take the step to jot down a note, or even a loose outline. When you’re struck with the spark for a content campaign, but not quite sure about it, discuss it with a colleague or at least record a quick voice memo on your phone. Basically, stop saying “later” and start saying “now.” By following this approach, you’ll find yourself with a whole lot more to work with, and it might just be that a passing fancy you’d have otherwise pushed out of mind turns into something great. [bctt tweet=”Stop saying “later” and start saying “now” when an idea crosses your mind. – @NickNelsonMN #ContentCreation #ContentMarketing” username=”toprank”] <h2>#2 – Start with Your Conclusion</h2> A classic writing tip from fledgling novelists is to draft the ending of a story first, and then work your way up to it. This same advice can be aptly applied to any content writer who is struggling to get a piece off the ground. When I’m sitting down to write something new, I frequently find that getting started is the toughest part. You need a strong, compelling introduction, and in many cases can’t proceed until you’ve got one worked out. Another issue can be that once you’ve surpassed that initial hurdle, you start wandering and get sidetracked from the main points you’re trying to make. Writing your conclusion before anything else can remedy both of these issues. Since it’s always smart to have the beginning and ending of a post tie together, you might find the pathway to your intro by taking this approach. And as you progress through the drafting process, you’ll always know exactly what the end destination is. <h2>#3 – Keep a List of Recent, Authoritative Statistics</h2> Sometimes, statistics can provide the backing we need to substantiate a point. But finding the right one isn’t always a quick or easy task. Getting bogged down in research is often one of the primary culprits in waning productivity. If you have a team of writers on hand — particularly ones who cover similar topics or niches — it can be helpful to create a central doc with up-to-date stats from trusted sources, such as respected media publications or verified research organizations. Trim off older items as they lose relevance, and continually add in new ones. You’ll want to be careful to avoid the trap where everyone on your staff starts using the same numbers and sources over and over again, but in general I find this practice to be a strong productivity-booster and time-saver. <h2>#4 – Dig Into Data</h2> Stats are not only able to contextualize and reinforce a case we’re trying to make, but they can also illuminate a case worth making in the first place, or provide direction on how to proceed. For example, the insight I mentioned earlier about “hacks” being a clickable blog post title made me wonder: “What ‘hacks’ do I actually know? What kinds of hidden pointers could I surface that might actually be useful to our audience of smart marketers?” Revelations can be found in insights about particular types of content that resonate within your industry (articles and studies about trends are good sources), or a conclusion drawn from your own Google Analytics (“Wow, look at how well posts about Topic X have performed!”). Data points are stories waiting to be told, and they are almost infinitely abundant in every industry and vertical. [bctt tweet=”Data points are stories waiting to be told. Dig into them to find inspiration & overcome #ContentCreation slumps. – @NickNelsonMN” username=”toprank”] <h2>#5 – Reckon with Writer’s Block</h2> It can be tough to get unstuck when you hit a wall in content creation. There’ve been countless instances where I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit wordsmithing one particular sentence, or figuring the best way to transition from one idea to the next. In these cases, it never hurts to move on to something else for a while and then circle back later. You can leave yourself a placeholder, as simple as [XXXXX] or more referential like [something about hacking and Game Genie]. This enables you to accomplish other stuff and return with a fresh mind. Painful as it may be, you should even consider simply getting something down on the page in these moments, even if you don’t think it’s good. A 2012 article in Psychology Today on the subject of <a href=”http://ift.tt/2o5GS6P; target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>overcoming writer’s block</a> argued that this can be necessary to achieve that frequently elusive “flow.” “Here’s the truth about writing (or any other form of self-expression): If you can’t accept the bad, you can’t get to the good,” wrote Barry Michels. “It’s as if the flow is pure, clean water trapped behind dirty, disgusting sewage. If you can’t welcome the sewage and let it flow through you, you’ll never be able to get to the pure stuff.” Such a lovely metaphor, isn’t it? <h3>Put Your Content in Flight</h3> Ready to see how high your content can fly? Try incorporating these tips into your routine and see if they can help give your productivity a lift: <ul> <li style=”font-weight: 400;”>Challenge yourself to take action on every content creation idea as soon as it strikes you.</li> <li style=”font-weight: 400;”>Try breaking your routine by writing the conclusion to your next post before anything else, and see if it helps make your process more efficient.</li> <li style=”font-weight: 400;”>Create a centralized doc with your most-used sources of stats and insights, then share it with your team and encourage them to add.</li> <li style=”font-weight: 400;”>Analyze data trends from your own past content as well as the industry at large to identify hot topics for your audience.</li> <li style=”font-weight: 400;”>Alter your writing approach to overcome writer’s block.</li> </ul> Otherwise, if you’re interested in learning more about how we do <a href=”http://ift.tt/2o7OFQz; target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>content marketing at TopRank Marketing</a>, check out our services page or reach out and give us a shout. We’re all about driving growth, without any hacking required. The post <a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://ift.tt/2EEzJUr Productivity Hacks to Bring Content Creation From Failing to Flying High</a> appeared first on <a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://ift.tt/2wbPbmy Marketing Blog – TopRank®</a>.

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