What's Trending on My Blog
I calculate What's Trending on my blog by which posts are popular a particular month. Here's this month's run-down:
Describe this dog
How to Describe Dogs
Ten Favorite Geek Words–Part I
178 Ways to Describe Women's Clothing
How to Describe a Person's Clothing
How To Describe Your Character's Appearance
Did you notice that four out of the top five are descriptors for writing. 'Descriptors' on my blog are snippets I take from novels that share how other authors describe a topic. For example, here are a few from How to describe Dogs:
The dog snorted happily and bounded forward
Tail-wagging Labrador bravado
Feet like saucepans, took a cheerful rush at the American, leapt up and planted his muddy paws
When I look further down the list of Most Visited Posts, 13 of the top 16 are descriptors. 'Descriptors' on my blog (I have about twenty of them) are intended to spark creativity on a variety of topics–nature, houses, neighborhoods, horses, actions, emotions, etc.). They can't be copied because I've taken them whole cloth from someone else's work as a way of sharing how other authors string words together to communicate an idea.
But why are these 'Descriptors' so popular? Does it have something to do with summer and writers devoting more time to their mss? Just guessing.
The first Descriptor post–How to Describe Dogs–beat #2 by double. In fact, it's the most popular post of the quarter, narrowly defeating Ten Favorite Geek Words. I have often wondered why my posts on Geek Words are so popular. I don't think it has to do with an uptick in the popularity of tech thrillers (which there isn't). Quirky characters maybe. Do you think people are more into geeks and nerds in their novels?
So let me ask you: Would you like more lists of descriptors? I have two in inventory I haven't gotten to posting yet, one on how to describe vehicles and one on describing landscapes. I have about a dozen more I could post, but lists can get monotonous at times. Take this poll. Let me know your preference:
View This Poll
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Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter's journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com , and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education . Currently, she's working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: blogs, characters, descriptors, writing Tagged: descriptors, dogs, trending
