I Love Writing. I Love DU.

[MineralMan]

Mostly, I love writing I don't get paid for. Even though I've made my living since the late 1970s as a writer, most of what I write is not on subjects that fascinate me. For example, I just finished writing all of the content for a new website for a client who owns a carpet cleaning company. Now, I suppose the carpet cleaning business is interesting enough to carpet cleaners, but writing thousands of words and twenty individual pages on that subject is, well, not all that exciting. It's interesting enough, I suppose, and complicated enough, what with trying to incorporate great SEO and successfully marketing a pretty mundane service, but it's not exciting.

I'm excited that I'm helping a guy build his business, of course, and excited that some bills will get paid, but really...

Still, I live to write. If I'm not writing for money, I'm writing about things that do excite me, like politics. If I'm awake, I'm either writing something or planning to write something. It's just what I do. DU lets me write as much as I want, when I want, and about a subject I'm passionate about. That makes me very happy.

Thanks, DU!

[elleng]

1. and DU loves YOU and your writing, MM!

[MineralMan]

2. That's incredibly kind of you to say.

I do have some evidence to the contrary, though, of course.

[shraby]

3. Elleng is right! I like to read what you write.

[MineralMan]

5. Thanks so much.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

4. You should write children's books. nt

[MineralMan]

6. I've done a few, but for my nieces and nephews

and their children, only. They were all nature-based, and illustrated with my photos of critters of one sort or another. My favorite one was "The Phabulous Polyphemus Moth," and was based on an actual moth I successfully raised from an egg to adulthood.

They all call me "Uncle Freak." That dates back to the 70s, when my nieces and nephews were kids. I was the hippy in the family, I guess. One of my nephews has a complete collection of "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers" from that era. He thinks I resemble Free Wheelin' Franklin, for some reason.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

12. Love it! nt

[mountain grammy]

30. Ha, I love that!

Thanks, MineralMan. I'm glad you love to write because I love your posts...

[ananda]

57. Or the Case of the One-Eyed Moth

..

[CreekDog]

7. I see what you did there

[MineralMan]

8. So did I.

[CreekDog]

14. and don't think we won't hear about it!

[MineralMan]

15. You already have.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. ...

[Rex]

13. "Mostly, I love writing I don't get paid for."

THAT is a great line!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear MineralMan...

I am so glad that you write for DU, for us.

Your work is a pleasure to read!

Keep it coming, OK?

Thanks!

[MineralMan]

11. Thanks, Peggy.

There's no chance that I'll stop until everything stops for me.

[Lochloosa]

16. I was thinking of Berber for my bedrooms...

How well does it clean up?

[MineralMan]

18. I like Berber carpets, pretty much.

They clean rather well, apparently. We had one in our living room, and the carpet cleaner made it look like new. They wear well, too, but that's not a big issue in bedrooms.

When we recarpeted my mother-in-law's townhome to prepare it for sale, we put a Berber carpet in the lower level and on the stairs. It looks great.

[kentuck]

17. A Mark Twain quote from FB...

https://www.facebook.com/MarkTwainAuthor/photos/a.333139190050415.85255.333108606720140/962655653765429/?type=1&theater

[MineralMan]

19. Yes. It's far easier to write something using many words than

to say the same thing with just a few. Would that I wrote as well as Samuel Clemens.

[ananda]

58. Twain's Defense of Harriet Shelley struck me just that way.

It was some of the most perfect prose I ever read, and laugh out loud funny... a twofer!

[yallerdawg]

20. You writes good!

Your calm rational voice is much appreciated in the midst of the maelstrom!

Please keep it coming!

[MineralMan]

21. Thanks. I'll do that.

I promise.

[Helen Borg]

22. Do you have a blog?

[MineralMan]

23. I have a blog on web content writing.

But nothing political. I do all of that writing right here on DU.

Personally, I think there are more than enough political blogs out there. Most of them have very few readers, though.

[Helen Borg]

32. Right, you probably have more exposure here....

[mcar]

24. This writer tips her hat to you MM

I freelance for the local rag and a few companies (one of which eliminated my editorial position 2 years ago, then immediately hired me freelance).

The day to day stuff is not always interesting or challenging but it helps pay the bills. I'm proud that I've passed my love of writing on to my two sons.

I always enjoy reading your DU posts. They are well thought out, measured and well written.

[MineralMan]

27. Thanks.

There are many good writers on DU. I enjoy reading what they post here, even if I disagree with them.

[calimary]

25. You and me both, MineralMan! I LOVE writing. Always have! I write, therefore I am.

And DU gives me a wonderful practice field on which to work and refine and experiment and exercise, and sharpen whatever communications skills I have.

You're good at it, MineralMan! You love it so you're absolutely gonna be good at it. I always enjoy reading your stuff here!

[MineralMan]

26. DU is a tough audience, actually.

A lot of people here recognize good writing. That keeps me on my toes most of the time.

Keep pounding your keyboard. I enjoy reading your posts.

[madokie]

35. You are another of those here who I love

When I say love I mean love as one can a pen pal. Bigtree, H20 Man, MM, you and a few others here I read everything you all write whether I reply or not. I like to read good writting.

[calimary]

42. Thanks so much, madokie!

There are some really First-Class writers here. World-class, really. SO many people here have great ideas - and just as elegant a way to express them. I enjoy your posts as well, my friend!

And I like this thread a LOT. We have our writing here as our only weapon. Our figurative pens are our only swords. But it can be mighty stirring sometimes, and motivating, and illuminating, and encouraging. Sometimes I think we should do this, exactly. Celebrate the writers and the writing here - cuz it's so damn good. And so damn incisive, and a lot of it is so damn funny! Shit - even people's names are funny here - my favorites including SalmonChantedEvening and Snotcicles (and those are just the two that come to mind at this particular moment) - some of 'em are so damn clever they make me laugh out loud.

And I've learned BOATLOADS here. Mainly because the writing here is so engaging and compelling to read. The better it's written, or the wittier it's written - the easier it is to absorb!

As they always said on the picket lines during various Writers Guild strikes - "In the Beginning was The WORD."

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. 20 pages? Does he get paid by the click?

[MineralMan]

36. No. But he'll get excellent position in search results.

Our clients do very well.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

40. Ah. Guess it's like ad space in the paper.

[MineralMan]

41. Not exactly. Unlike advertising, a website is always there,

waiting for you to search for it. My job is to help it get to the top of search results, then convince the visitor to call for service. If I do my job well, my client does more business and the customer gets the service he or she needs. I check the reputation of every client. If I don't like what I find, I won't work for that business.

I'm as busy as I care to be. I and the web designer I work with get results for our clients. We're good at our jobs.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

46. I meant in the sense of catching the eye.....

In this case, it's the Eye of Google.

[MineralMan]

50. Yes, Google's all-seeing eye.

Google values information highly. That's why more informative content makes rankings higher.

It's not a trick. It works, too, to generate sales and leads.

[libodem]

29. I don't. care what they say about cha, MM

You are alright by me! Now, if i run outside and take a picture, of my latest new rock for the garden, if you could ID it for me?

[libodem]

31. I suppose it's quartz

Of some stripe. It looks like a rose per the shape not the color.

[img][/img]

[randome]

33. No, no, what ya got there, libodem, is one'a them brain creatures from Arous.

[libodem]

37. Well, it must be petrified

Hope it does not attract zombies.

[MineralMan]

38. Looks like chalcedony, a type of quartz,

Last edited Wed Jun 10, 2015, 09:20 AM - Edit history (2)

but I'd have to see it inn person to be sure.

ETA: It could also be drusy calcite on limestone. Put a drop of vinegar on it. If it fizzes, it's calcite.

[madokie]

34. I too love writing

I just wish I knew how LOL

I'm a tinkerer and as such I never paid any attention in class especially the one where one is to learn the proper way to write so here I am at 67 YO still struggling to get my point across by pen and paper. In items I make I have no problem with that but the written word gives me fits.
I know when to use a question mark, a period or a comma other than that I'm lost. LOL

lot of us love you too Mineral Man

[MineralMan]

39. Thanks!

[AwakeAtLast]

43. I'm very glad you love writing

Because I love reading!

Win-win in my book!

[malaise]

44. Well I love what you write here at DU

[MineralMan]

45. Thank you. Means a lot.

[Skittles]

47. you want I should kick your loving, writing ass, MineralMan?

LEMME AT YOU!!!

[MineralMan]

52. Bring it! LOL!

[Blue Owl]

48. Write on, Man!

Keep up the great writing

[MineralMan]

53. Thanks. I'll do my best.

[Hekate]

49. Even on an off day your contributions are better than much else here

Always enjoyable seeing you.

[MineralMan]

51. And it's good to see you, too.

You help keep DU balanced, along with many other DUers.

[RKP5637]

54. And, you always have something interesting to say. I always read what you write when I come across

it, so count me in as a fan.

[MineralMan]

55. Not always. Some of my posts do sink like a rock.

But thank you very much.

[whatchamacallit]

56. Well you are DU's Jack Handey

http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com

[MineralMan]

60. Am I? Well Jack Handey is a famous guy, isn't he?

I'm not. Not much similarity, really.

[whatchamacallit]

61. Jack Handey incarnate.

[Romulox]

59. DU is not set up to be your personal blog. It's meant for *political* discussion. nt

[MineralMan]

63. Thanks for letting me know your opinion on this.

The vast majority of my posts are political in nature. Occasionally, I do post something more personal. So do a large number of people on DU. Others almost never post a thread-starter, but prefer to comment within threads. Sometimes, those thread reply posts are relevant. Other times they are not. Most of my posts have been replies to threads others have started. I try very hard to stick to the topic of the thread.

DU has space for just about everything. It also has forum hosts who can lock topics that are not appropriate for forums and groups. You can alert on any post you do not believe meets the criteria for a particular forum or group. DU hosts will decide, by consensus, whether the post should remain active or be locked. All in all, it's a very interesting website to visit, due to the wide range of topics discussed. That is it's nature.

[Romulox]

64. In the days of moderation, you couldn't get away with half the off topic posts you get away with. nt

[MineralMan]

66. That's interesting. I've been here since 2008, so I remember

DU with moderators, too. I have not changed the type of thread-starting posts I write. I can't remember posts of mine being removed by moderators on DU in the moderation days. In my seven years here, I've posted on many, many subjects. I'll be continuing to do that. If my posts don't fit in a forum, I'm sure the hosts will lock them. I learn from experience.

Again, thank you for participating in this thread. It keeps it kicked to the top of the thread list and additional people see it and can comment in it. Since I typically post one new thread a day, I'm happy when a thread stays around for a day or so. That means that people have found it interesting enough to join the discussion, as you apparently have.

[Romulox]

67. Where did you "write", before that? And how did *that* audience respond, hmmm? nt

[MineralMan]

68. Thanks for asking. I've written on many discussion forums,

starting with Compuserve's Political and Religion forums in the 1980s. I also contribute to and have contributed to many non-political forums, and have done so for almost 30 years. Topics of interest to me have been politics, religion, computer programming, software development, woodworking, mineralogy, fishing, boats and outboard motors, science, professional journalism and others.

[Romulox]

69. You left out the Free Republic. That's less than forthright.

[MineralMan]

70. That is a political forum.

I was banned from that site for "anti-freeping" in 2006. That was 9 years ago, Romulox. I haven't been there since. It was one of the many political forums where I have posted since the 1980s.

With that, I'm out of this subthread. It has nothing to do with my appreciation of DU as a place to post. That is the subject of this thread, as you can see in its title.

[Romulox]

71. That's how a "reputation" works though.

You appeal to your "years" spent at this. Well, several of those years were spent in the service of a very different ideology than the one you espouse here. You make it relevant by making yourself the subject of the majority of your posts here.

[hunter]

62. It's an addiction.

If I like what I've written the next day, I add it to my journal.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/~hunter

Clearly I don't like most of my own writing or my journal would be huge,

I don't even approach Sturgeon's Law levels of productivity.

Much more than 90% of my writing is "trash, crud, or crap."

[MineralMan]

65. It certainly is habit-forming.

I rarely add a post to my journal, though. A day or two is plenty long enough for a post to stick around. There's always something new to discuss.

[bigwillq]

72. Don't ever stop writing.

Never stop being creative.

[MineralMan]

73. Thanks. I'll follow that advice.

[LexVegas]

74. I like turtles. nt.

[MineralMan]

75. Turtles are cool. I like them, too.