Tag: Ideas

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Strokes

It’s Friday and another week has passed by without any other posts being made here. I really do like to write. Often times I will have a stroke of genius only to realize it was just a stroke of madness when the idea hit me.

I was going to write a post about lists … seriously?! Lists?!! I must have been mad. No matter how many times I tried to start the grandiose Lists post I could get no further than the second sentence; then, it became unbearably boring, in a psychologically painful manner, to add even a few more characters let alone more words.

It seems a lot of the time I want to sit down and write I often find myself distracted or pulled in another direction … or just simply drawing a blank when the blank screen is staring back at me, as if taunting me to fill the space with anything … gibberish, Jabberwocky excerpts, badly written haikus?!

Are you a writer? blogger? digital philosopher? I still really like that term, digital philosopher, it brings to mind a vision of new-age poets and scribes. Individuals who can bring together words and phrases and bon mots that share an idea, simple message, an epiphany that others will read … and share.

Let your thoughts be genius and your madness creative for in these strokes of writing madness comes the ideas of creative genius.

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Where To Begin …

… that always seems to be the hardest point when I start writing. Especially when I have no real idea where I want to go to. Perhaps the question that should be asked when I am staring at a blank screen is where to end?

An alpha-omega moment when both the beginning and the end are equally and clearly in sight is a writer’s dream as I see it. If I know precisely the opening I want to have and know the exact ending I want to reach then all the rest in the middle should simply fall into place. It’s simply connecting the dots.

Today I knew I wanted to write a post, almost a need to write if you will … it something that just had to be done. Did I know this would be the topic, getting from the beginning of a post to the end of the post and filling in the middle with something other than mindless drivel? Not really, and hopefully it serves more than just filling this digital space with pixels in the shapes of letters and spaces strung together to form words.

This sort of writing, free streaming conscious thoughts, is always interesting in that it can go just about anywhere the fingers want to take it as the thought behind it is minimal for the most part. I simply just type as fast as I can think clearly, as I pointedly say the words clearly in my mind.

Which brings to mind it is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. Give it a try, you’ll never know if you don’t.

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Are You Ready?

Do you stockpile posts? Do you have an idea file that you pick and choose from to write just the right post at just the right time? I rarely do, but sometimes an idea just needs to be kept aside for just the right occasion. Hopefully soon a post I wrote will leave the draft status to live as published … and to add to this mystery: expect it to appear on another site.

Normally I post stream of conscious writings here and will likely keep that style. I find it very freeing to just simply write whatever comes to mind. I write. I edit. I write some more. I edit more … sometimes I stumble, sometimes my fingers dance across the keyboard. I still find it completely amazing how well my touch-typing skills have improved over the last few years of blogging, writing, and coding.

Of course, on other sites I often write with a planned idea in mind. Some of these posts are often written over a number of days. Typically I will think of an idea; consider how I want to convey the topic at hand; then, begin writing. I tend to save these posts as a drafts for a day or so but eventually after several re-reads and usually an edit or two more these posts are published as well. Feel free to stop by my other sites to read them.

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Featured Themes

Hard work and keeping focused on the potential benefits of the tasks at hand can bring unexpected rewards.

It’s been three months since I joined the WordPress Theme Review Team (WPTRT). Today, Simon Prosser and I were granted moderator privileges to the Extend/Themes forum at WordPress.org.

Our privileges at WordPress.org allow us to: take a theme submitted for review “live” if it passes all of the Theme Review criteria; “mark as old” if it does not; or, suspend the theme, if necessary or requested.

Our latest bump allows us to now be directly involved in selecting which themes are listed under the Featured Themes heading on the main page of the Extend Themes repository page.

The Theme Reviewers intent is to involve the community as much as possible in the selection process. There are currently no set guidelines we will be using, aside from the requirement that themes being considered will need to meet current Theme Review guidelines and standards … with the emphasis being on currently released themes.

Now, as community members ask how are Featured Themes chosen I would like to extend to the community the opportunity to recommend the general guidelines for choosing the themes to be shortlisted … perhaps additional related criteria the WPTRT should consider … or maybe even who should be choosing the actual themes to be featured?

As the WPTRT Lead I am not looking for which theme you want to recommend, yet, but I am looking for why any particular theme should be recommended. What criteria would you use?

Take advantage of this opportunity and leave a comment. Share your thoughts and ideas on choosing Featured Themes.

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Helping Hands

It always seems to get the busiest when you least expect to be busy. Where has all the time gone, I have not posted here in just over a week and before that it seems I was not to be found nearby either.

Let’s call this another update post and I will relate what is new in the last little while …

I have acquired more domains, I think I am getting to be a little addicted to buying domain names … is there a 12-step program I should be looking for? The latest domains are:

Although I am the person of record for these domain names they really are for one of my wife’s, Terri, pet projects. The RatTrain.com site will be used primarily as a hub of information for the transportation of fancy pet rats from one place, typically a rescue operation, to their forever (sometimes foster) home. The volunteers that we hope to see get involved in this are in no way restricted to just moving rats but are also encouraged to move any breed they are comfortable transporting as well.

The idea of helping all animals, especially those found in animal rescue organizations prompted the idea to also register the RescueRelay.com name (which will be temporarily “parked” on the RatTrain.com servers).

My thoughts are as the RatTrain expands to other breeds of pets, we will easily be able to open up the RescueRelay site to help with consolidating that information into one central hub, too.

In the meantime, if you are able to help, by all means please do. There are many animal resuces that could always use more help; food, supplies, transportation … even your time … all donations would be welcome.

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Here or There

Although I have not been writing as much on this site of late I have been posting on my other sites. Here is a short recap from the last week:

  • WPFirstAid: An Implementation of wp_nav_menu – This article will show how to implement the wp_nav_menu() function using the wp_list_pages() function as a fallback.
  • BuyNowShop: Shades 1.6 – The free WordPress Theme Shades version 1.6 is now live as of September 14, 2010.
  • Rattitude: H2 – … aka Aramis, one of our three boys from the Toronto Humane Society is this week’s Rat of the Week.

A short interlude of space and time can always be filled with substance from another place.

Is it a benefit or detriment to write on more than one site?

Some might argue the case it is splitting your readership to post on several sites while others may put forward the thought that each site represents a distinct content set.

I agree with the latter idea, but I can understand the merits to the first camp’s premise of keeping your readers focused on one site to better maintain their interest. It is under that same premise that I generally separate my content so my readers are able to focus on like content aside from it all being from the same author.

If you write on multiple sites, how do you separate your post ideas?

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Patience

Biding ones time is likely the most common form of patience shown, or in other words patience is the art of waiting; but, what does waiting accomplish for the patient person?

You may often gain a clearer picture of a situation with unseen influences and unknown circumstances becoming apparent after a judicious application of patience.

The patient fisherman waits for just the right moment to set the hook before reeling in their catch. The seasoned farmer practices patience waiting to reap the greatest harvest. A wily adversary will wait patiently for their opponent to make an error and capitalize on it.

… and some would even say:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
an old French proverb*

*NB: In early literature this proverb is used, usually, to persuade another to forestall vengeance until wisdom can reassert itself although this ideal is lost in more recent occurrences found in literature and the cinema.

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10 Minutes

Start writing … and do not stop for ten minutes. This was a suggestion by a friend on how to generate content for a blog. It’s not a bad idea as it can be used as a stream of consciousness exercise. As long as you keep typing the content will keep growing. Although you may not have any serious masterworks of prose it does provide a good base to start from and with judicious edits it is a great post idea.

The whole concept in my opinion is to not really think about what you are writing in as much as make sure you are. A practice to create a habit, a habit to create a skill, a skill to replace a practice.

The opportunity to delve into your own creativeness simply occurs on its own as the thoughts start to flow freely and easily. A great idea or an insightful bon mots are just some of the potential you can, and will, discover.

There will always be more that can be written and there are never-ending streams of ideas to put to digital paper at least in the case of a blog. This method works just as well with the “old school” tools known as pen and paper, too. I believe with living in this digital age the environmental benefits of not using a resource that can better be used elsewhere is a good idea. I’m writing this on my iPhone, as is common for my Sunday posts, and it actually saves me edit time afterward with its auto-correct functionality … stop writing.

Thanks to Alex Frakking for suggesting this idea at the last WordPress Toronto Meetup gathering on August 21, 2010 … just another of the many benefits of the group.

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Communication

Communication is a key to finding what can be unlocked by an idea. Learning how to make the key is almost as important as knowing what lock it fits. Once you have opened a mind to the potential of an idea you are much more able to present it in an understandable fashion.

Consider your audience before you begin. They are the mold you use to make your key. It is much easier open the door to understanding when you hold the key to unlock it in your hand. Once they are open to accepting an idea, you can easily lead them down a path of knowledge and understanding as you are now able to present the information in a manner they are willing to understand.

Communication is not the conveying of an idea; it is the action of creating an atmosphere of interest in the idea.

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Stand Up

Sometimes you simply have to stand up and get noticed; take the lead by setting a positive example; and, always strive for improvement.

Recognition goes a long way in gaining support for a goal or idea. Gather together positively influenced support for your plan and others will see there are benefits to its completion.

Deliver on your schedule and meet the known, and sometimes unexpected, results with proof positive the methods you use are the most correct going forward.

Once you have proven your worth and shown you are capable, continue to make gains by improving on what got you to there in the first place. Resting on your laurels does not make for better, it just leaves everything the same as it was before.

Stand up, take the lead, and improve.