Spotlight: Scrumptious Living
Beautiful writing and stunning photography are the hallmarks of the I Live On A Farm/Scrumptious Living blog of J.L. “firefly” Fleckenstein. A visit is like falling down a rabbit hole into a cozy fairyland you never want to leave. With her warm and welcoming prose, she invites her visitors into her upstate western New York world as if you are a friend, and with her vivid descriptions, creates the feeling that you are there. The site is like a crackling fire, a soft pillow, a book you can’t put down. You want to stay…and stay.
“This is one of those days when we really should sit and have a cup o’ tea or coffee together … or perhaps, a hot cocoa?” she suggests in a recent post. “Outside the sky is dark and stormy, wind is blowing and leaves are tossing about past my window as I write. I expect the rain will begin to fall at any moment and I welcome the excitement of receiving an autumn storm.”
And when you stay, as you are bound to want to do, there is a plethora of things to see. I Live On A Farm/Scrumptious Living is the epitome of the creative life online. The gorgeous writing and photography of her blog are mere launch pads to the rest of the site where you can explore her numerous creative pursuits. There are free knitting patterns, short stories, and recipes, as well as outlets for sales of her photographs, paintings, and crafts. Fleckenstein makes brilliant use of her site to not only demonstrate the artful life but to work from home pursuing her creative dreams.
The Take-Away: As writers, we often use our sites simply to pump our primary creative work, our novels. Writers’ blogs are sometimes lackluster, rushed, or overtly promotional, not expressing the beauty and creativity of our books. Writers can be so busy writing that they forget that blogging is also writing. Think outside the box when using your blog for promotion–compose beautifully, not hurriedly, expressing your multiple talents, skills, and inspirations. Draw readers into your world, a world that is certainly not one-dimensional. What other creative pursuits outside of writing can you share on your site? Do you make crafts, draw, woodwork, crochet? Capitalize on your other creative interests to expand your visitor base. Use photos–vivid imagery draws readers. (A picture is worth a thousand words.) Give visitors more to see and do than read the latest review of your book. Light the fire, put out a soft pillow. Make them feel as if you are a friend. The result can be, indeed, scrumptious.
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