The happy writer has it all.

Everyone’s purpose of writing on Triond maybe generally focused on earning money but our expectations would turn sour the moment we get our share of the slice of the pie of the writer’s life. I would consider being a writer awaiting a would be readership that is too eager to read all my articles because I have established a reputation as a straightforward,  creative and practical author with ideas my readers could easily relate with. That is a complete opposite of a stereotype writer who gets fuelled by a hot topic knowing he/she has the assured readership and easily dismayed when the reaction to the article turns otherwise. These are purely my opinions and I do not mean to offend or attack a fellow writer by any means.

1. Have an open mind about your article. As for me, I am a newcomer at Triond having started only in May. Publishing my first article was difficult at first but like a child learning to walk, it all gets very easy in the long run. My first joy was seeing my first article published and reading it online. Having an open mind about what you write maybe necessary to prepare you for what may come. Some may find your piece interesting and others may find it the opposite. Worse, you may find some offended party and the comment could be as provocative like you didn’t expect. As Forrest Gump said it,   ”Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Writing works the same way, so open your mind to the possibilities. 
2. Be patient. Comments differentiate a well received publication but don’t rush yourself at it. As a newcomer you can’t rush at your article receiving comments at once. You haven’t established friendship with other writers so your article maybe listed on recently published works only. If it did not made it there don’t get enraged. Also, if you are contributing a short story/ essay, your work may last 24 hours before publication if you are lucky, if not, you may get a revision or wait as long as 3 days ( it happened to me). Don’t be mad at Triond, they have utmost responsibility for keeping the site so it pays to wait before getting impatient asking why or when your piece gets to be published.
3. Do not compare your work with others. Remember Desiderata, a poem by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s, “ If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.“ It really has its say considering you will become vain and bitter if you compare your work with others on the site. Why does someone’s work has many comments where mine is obviously good and well written, why does someone’s work gets so many “I Like It” even though there are lots of typographical and grammatical errors? Questions may always drive you nuts to seek justice for yourself, that’s normal. But don’t listen to it always or you’ll regret it. You see it always pays to keep your cool, you can bet on it. The real thing is nobody sees our mistakes better than others see it, not us. Now considering you have a 30 % margin of error, would you play perfect to caution someone else? If you really want to help in a positive way, you could send message to the user through his/her user profile webpage not in the comments page of the article with error as you see it.
4. Acquaint  yourself  with  the  meaning  of  plagiarism. Perhaps   you   were   already  acquainted about  the  law against  copying  other’s  work  for  your  own  credit.  I  would  suggest “Plagiarism: what it is and how to recognize and avoid it” (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml) or a definition by wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism). You will be amazed at these times how the internet have made everything so possible that even a simple statement we could easily thought about had been copyrighted. I wonder if simple questions like, what is your name, where do you live and how old are you have an exclusive copyright.  If you need to elaborate a phrase be sure to give credit to your source, you could cite it the way I did above or if it was a research type, also state your references. Then the other thing, be cautious in using links to images through sites you were not familiar about, I have here a comment on my article given by Dr. B whose picture with a caught fish on the Amazon I used on my article      (http://quazen.com/recreation/outdoors/10-magnificent-monster-gamefish-in-the-amazon/) which I have later resolved with an apology. Images do make an article colourful but if you’re not sure of the possible disaster, don’t push your luck.
5. Establish rapport with fellow writers. “No man is an island”, this is an excerpt from a quotation by John Donne (1572-1631). Truly is, we couldn’t thrive as a writer if we are to write in an island. Would you prefer putting your article in a bottle like Kevin Costner’s movie “Message in a Bottle (1999)” ? Triond is a writing community, thanks to it. As with the convenience of the user profile set up, I haven’t seen anything on the net which could come as close (just don’t put the earnings as first priority). Unless you are that snub type writer (I believe there is quite a number of users who fall in the category) who prefers to be on your own and leave your work as it is, if you are a normal person, you can’t help to relate or return the favour of other users who comment on your work. If you soon follow up to mark users as friends, you will be amazed to realize your work does achieve a better readership and they will be there to comment even when you’re not around. Helpful users would be also there to lend a hand if you need guidance on the editing tools you need to publish your work (Chan Lee Peng has been my helpful friend when I was starting out until now).              
6. Choose topics you could relate well. It is always good to start at a subject because you were drawn to it not because you were compelled to write about it. But of course it depends on your presentation, if you are compelled to write about it, it may just turn out good. If you could venture on your English in such a way that you could bluff your way with all due respect to your readers, do it in some but just don’t do it all the way. Some 70 % of honest content would be fair for an article to be of good readership in my opinion. Also be fair enough to organize your idea to make it easily understood so that your readers need not read a page to have your point taken.
7. Take advantage of the therapeutic effect of writing. The therapeutic effect of writing couldn’t be fully appreciated if you are “stark, raving mad” for cash that you are in dire need for it. If you are in that category, quit writing in the first place and try something else. But if you are merely trying to write and discover your hidden traits as a writer, this one’s for you. Imagine surfing the net and seeing your work published and commented, isn’t it kind of uplifting to the spirit? Whereas if you don’t have purpose in searching the net, you may be wasting your time jumping from one site to another and it gives you no sense of direction. However if you have a profile page and articles written you could check your user profile from time to time and read other articles from other members and expand your horizon. Recall the moment of your school days writing term papers under pressure. Those embarrassing situations you have survived well (if you are a graduate) and if you’re still within school bounds, you are investing quality time on your literary skill to start early at blogging and by the time you graduate it would be an asset on your part. Sometimes it is amusing why the majority of human beings with complete sense organs in normal function find it difficult to focus on a particular field and excel in it.  Stephen Hawking is crippled and confined in a wheelchair but his thoughts still remain one of the most highly regarded ideas in Physics. Stevie Wonder was born blind but he has the creativity to compose and sing a song which has captivated us all. I don’t believe in any given circumstances that we have to lose a limb or our sense of sight in order to make the best of what God has given us as human beings. As a writer, you are not merely writing to amuse your readers but yourself as well. You will be amazed how your world seems to gain its colour as you begin to see it in a new light.
8. If you write it they will read. As in the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams”  which made this line “If you build it, he will come” famous, so is writing. Sometimes you only need to start it and when you do you’ll never know how you get there. In the very beginning you will find it embarrassing as you see your work barely noticed but after 10-50 articles you suddenly notice how your readership tends to peak up. We are at the age of technology where everything is in our fingertips. Would you choose following the path of some J.R.R. Tolkien who have written such a masterpiece but have waited decades for his work to gain recognition or would you prefer the present atmosphere where you will be alive and well to receive the writing credit if any? Are you not amused that we need not write on a boulder of rock, the bark of trees or a piece of paper as technology made everything so easy for us? There would be no books on the library to muster through dusty pages and cramped bookshelves (except for some rare titles). Thanks to wikipedia and other helpful sites on the net  (which we couldn’t copy word by word however). There are also dictionary on sites to help you verify meanings, thesaurus online and rhyme sites for composing poems.  With these technological ease, there’s the distraction however. The net has it all. Unless you knew what to click, you’ll probably end up elsewhere if you don’t know where to go. So mind you, start your Blog Profile Account with Triond right now and lead yourself to the joy of writing.