Seasonal Writing

There are both pluses and minuses when writing seasonal articles. On the plus side, you get a lot of traffic prior to the season and to most of the season. On the minus side, you don't get much traffic the rest of the year.

So what kinds of things should you write about in a seasonal article? Travel, for one. People travel all the time and they're always looking for new and interesting places to go. If you choose to write about a travel destination, try to add some of your own personal experiences and show lots of pictures. Here's an example:

Arizona in Pictures

Fashion is also quite popular to write about seasonally. People are always looking for the latest trends of the season. For parents, many look to find out about seasonal toys for their kids. Just think about how many people order items off the Internet.

Sports can also fall under this category. If you have a particular favorite, that might be good to write about.

People love pictures and will often search for pictures of a season. Here's something I recently did for spring:

Beautiful Spring Flowers Pictures

Seasonal also includes holidays and holiday articles are very popular. People look for ways to celebrate the holiday, food to make for it, the history of the holiday, gifts, etc. If you're writing for a site like Squidoo or Zujava, you're allowed to add your own Amazon links which means for anything you sell, you get a commission. That's extra money in your pocket!

The image you see is by Travel Manitoba at Flickr through Creative Commons licensing.

Writing for Squidoo

I know it's been awhile since I've written. The truth is I've been busy writing for other sites. Squidoo has turned out to be a good thing for me. I've been building up my lenses and have met some wonderful people.

Some of my lenses have even recieved a Purple Star, which is a writing award from the site. Here's one of my lenses that won an award:

Airplane Coloring Pages and Information to Learn About Airplanes


Squidoo is currently my favorite site to write for as I make the most money there. They're also cracking down on poor quality content. This will help the site maintain a good rating with Google.

I'm writing lenses on Squidoo and would love you to join me

I'm writing lenses on Squidoo and would love you to join me

Beginning to Write at Squidoo

A friend of mine recently told me about a writing site called Squidoo. I checked it out and immediately became hooked. This site is so much fun. Anyone can write here. You don't need to be a professional. What you do is create what is known as a lens. It's somewhat like a blog, but different. A lens can be about anything.

You can choose to do it for fun or to attempt to make money. One nice option is the Amazon feature. You can add products from Amazon on your lens that either Amazon picks out or that you personally choose.

It's very easy to get started and within just a few minutes of signing up with the site, you can be working on your first lens. The following is my first attempt.

Catching and Taming Feral Cats and Kittens

As you get familiar with the site, you'll find there's a variety of things you can add to your lens including pictures, polls and YouTube videos. As you level up, more options will be made available to you including what are known as quests. This is when you can choose to take a challenge or not. To give you a better feel of Squidoo, here are some additional lenses to check out.

Do polar bears like blue?  

Sleep Panic Attacks Information

"The DeHaan Lens for Weight Control Through Diet".

Project Based Activities - Math and Science

Does turkey make you sleepy?  

http://www.squidoo.com/quiz-when-to-pronounce-the-letter-r-in-british-english

If this sounds like fun, give Squidoo a try!

Articles on Thanksgiving Including its History, Menu Ideas and Recipes

Thanksgiving is a time when there are many opportunities to write a holiday article whether it be the history of the holiday, menu ideas, recipes, crafts or more.

Let’s start with its history. Here’s an article about the historic journey of the Mayflower including information about the Pilgrims onboard:

The Mayflower Pilgrims Leave Europe for a New Home

Hoping to entertain a flock of people, but funds are low? Have a look at this article about how to feed your guests without going broke.

 Cheap Thanksgiving on a Budget 

Planning a great menu is all a part of Thanksgiving when entertaining guests. Here’s a typical menu at our house. 

• Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes
• Corn
• Green Bean Caserrole
• Gravy
• Caesar Salad
• Cucumber Salad
• Rolls
• Apple pie
• Chocolate Cream Pie
• Ice Cream

Besides the turkey, dessert is also a huge part of a great Thanksgiving meal. Here are some recipes to check out:

Easy Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

Having something good to drink only adds to the celebration. Here are some good cocktail recipes.

Thanksgiving Cocktail Recipes  

If kids are involved, a good idea is to have plenty of activities for them to do. When people write craft articles, sometimes they hone in one specific craft and write a how to article about it. Other times, they’ll write several craft ideas and feature links to other online sites which provide more craft ideas and instructions. The following example is from a writer at Squidoo.

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

As you can see, there are lots of writing opportunities for Thanksgiving. Additional ideas include articles about reasons to be thankful, great family Thanksgiving movies, what to do with the left-overs, centerpiece ideas and local restaurants and their Thanksgiving menus, to name but a few.

What Should my Blog be About?

You’ve decided to create your own and now the challenge is to figure out what you want to write about. Do you have a particular passion in life? How about a favorite hobby? A blog can be on anything. Perhaps you’re a mother with kids and have some great parenting tips to share. Or, maybe you're a movie junkie and writing movie reviews would be right up your alley. Do you travel much? Or, how about your favorite sport or best cooking recipes.

Let’s look at some blogs to help you get some ideas. This first blog is written by a solo writer who offers travel tips and advice to different countries including the Philippines. 

 Solitary Wanderer

This next blog is a personalized blog which includes gluten free cooking.

Contemporary Cooking

While some blogs focus on one topic, others cover a variety of different ideas. The following is all about useful information on different things and includes holiday ideas, recipes and more.

www.baywire.blogspot.com

As mentioned about, a blog can be about a hobby. The writer of the following blog is really into fly fishing and offers a lot of helpful advice.

 fly-fishing-tips-and-tricks.com

A blog can also be of a personal nature. It can make for a great way to express one’s feelings as evidenced by this blog:

http://wherewouldyoufindme.blogspot.com

 

As for me, I’m a huge Disney fan. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t get at least one trip a year to either Disneyland or Disney World. Over the years of visiting Disneyland I’ve learned a lot and just recently launched a new blog with tips for people who are visiting there.

 http://bestdisneylandtips.blogspot.com/

As you can see, a blog can be about anything. Just find something you know and care about and write about it. If you are new to writing, I would suggest picking a free blog writing site so you can test the waters. This blog is on blooger.com which is a very easy site to set up a new blog on. Happy blogging!

Paranormal Writing Tips and Writers

As someone who's always been interested in the paranormal, when I look for articles online, I try to find credible sources. All too often paranormal articles are based on religious beliefs or opinions versus scientific fact. As someone who has a background in parapsychology, which is a branch of psychology and recognized by The American Association for the Advancement of Science, (otherwise known as AAAS,) I believe that to write good paranormal article, one should stick to solid facts.

If wanting to write a paranormal article, try to pick a very unique title as too many generic titles exist on the Internet. The following is an article I have written in which as you can see has quite a unique title. Now, it may seem like I have one Crayola short of crayon box, but if you read the article, you will see that it is based on science.

 How to Meditate to Make Space Alien Contact

Jill Stefko PhD is the Topic Editor on the online writing site of Suite101 for the category of Paranormal. She is well-versed on the topic and has written numerous articles on the subject matter. Take note her use of credible sources. Here's an example of her writing:

"The Amityville Horror:" 1979 Film: Fact or Fiction?   

Here’s another interesting article. Check out all of the sources sited at the end of the article. This helps lend credibility to the text of the article.

Mysterious Mexico: The Strange Phenomena of La Zona del Silencio

Hopefully the above articles have provided some examples of how to write a good paranormal article. Remember to keep it as factual as possible, versus opinionated, and choose a good title that accurately describes the content of your article.