It’s important to have the reader in mind when writing. To take this into account, I’d like to ask my readers (and fellow Alexandria Authors) what they’d be interested in reading from me.
My areas of expertise include Latin American literature and history, the Spanish language, its phonetics, phonology, and etymology, a pocket of knowledge on Spanish history and feminism during the Civil War, modernism, avant-garde, and lo real maravilloso (magical realism, though that’s an imperfect translation) in literature, the Portuguese language, and, increasingly, Middle Eastern topics in general as I learn Arabic, my third foreign language.
I could write about any or all of the following:
comparative news analysis
history of the world
literary analysis
linguistics
culture
I may retain my politial and English-language analysis on my own blog; my fellow Authors comprise an excellent breadth of knowledge and views on that and I suspect my own contributions may be more useful on other topics.
Feel free to comment with requests, suggestions, ideas, or recipes for turnips.
-Wordadvocate
P.S.
“Turnips”, I think, is an inherently funny word. I suspect the same of “parsnips”. I am curious about the role of the plural. Is a single turnip or parsnip funny? Maybe, but turnips and parsnips are definitely funnier in groups. As are mongooses - a word whose correct plural form you now know.
We have to have expertise to write on something? I am so hosed. Seriously, this seems like a pretty bright group and I generally think that if you are interested in the topic the writing will be better and people more likely to respond. Sometimes it’s just good to write for yourself anyway. Wired kinda implied that in her No Manuscripts article I think. Speaking for myself, I am always interested in Mid Eastern topics and history, especially if it agrees with my concept of history. :-).
Latin American issues are extremely ignored by most Americans, except for when the great brown horde comes here illegally. I still think the best line of the primaries was “Tom Tancredo has announced he is dropping out of the race. He will be replaced by Juan from Acapulco who for 3 dollars an hour and a cot in the washroom, will denounce illegal immigration in Mr. Tancredo’s place.” I wish I better understood what is going on with Chavez. What is going on in Columbia and what is our role? How is Cuba sen by the rest of Latin America. Is China really making inroads in Brazil? Why is Argentina not a dominant world player? Just examples.
Overall, it is a free form blog, or in Scott’s case, way, way past free form. He makes Joyce look positively pedestrian. But then, my wife likes his posts better than mine lol. Just try things and see what works.
What is a group of mongooses called? My favorite group name is a murder of crows. Makes me think of Hitchcock.
Steve
Stuart sent me a let’s-get-after-it-here-boy email the other day. That’s easy for him to say.
I don’t see this as a place to strut our stuff. It’s more about having a place where we can express an aspect of ourselves that we don’t have an avenue for otherwise. I think of it as a coffee shop where the commonality is about the discussion than it is about the topics if that makes sense.
“Overall, it is a free form blog, or in Scott’s case, way, way past free form. He makes Joyce look positively pedestrian. But then, my wife likes his posts better than mine lol.” steve
[hides blush behind Japanese fan - of the paper, not human, kind]
Heavens to Murgatroyd, even – I don’t want to be found guilty of alienation of e-factions ‘twixt He, and She Who Must Be Obeyed.
Amazing what the occasional round of annotated copying and pasting of NYT articles will do for one’s reputation. That, and 46+ years of obsessions pursued unto voluntary poverty of finance, if the opposite in soul. Note to self: enlist Steve for a cover blurb, should my dogmatic slumbers ever give way to a book. “Take my wife’s RSS feed, please!”
It doesn’t look like it much matters here, as far as I’ve been able to tell; at least no one has slapped my hand for going in some direction I wasn’t supposed to. This place seems to be for use to do what we want to with, and when common interests occur, fine, when they don’t, fine as well.
Right. We’re an odd lot, but we seem able to carry on a civil and interesting conversation. Expertise is not really required, though those of us who have it should certainly be encouraged to contributed it when it appears to be needed. I suspect many of us are language geeks. I used to be a medical transcriber (now they are called “transcriptionists,” BTW. Sounds like something W would make up) and a proofreader, copyeditor, and English teacher, before becoming (”it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is”) a lawyer. But the English language is weird enough to encourage the not-exactly-idle curiosity of most of us.
I do think we should write about whatever interests us first… then, we slowly find our niche and… an audience!
I do not think a blog has to be that serious!!! We do not want to preach or sound boring… we still can write about our fields or expertise, but in a casual manner. A good post is something that appeals to me (not necessarily on an intellectual level) and it could be on any topic indeed! I am not interested in reading stuff from people who take themselves too seriously and use this platform to TEACH!
Humor is essential! Life is too short!…