Writing | Relationships | Connections

Murdering Crows, Triage And Using Unique Images— A Bulletin

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I’m writing a series of feature articles to discuss and illustrate the innovative ways we are collaborating on Medium.

To keep it interesting, I’ll shine a light on solutions to some of your difficulties and answer any questions that come to me each day.

I’ll also share some of the ways I‘ve discovered to connect with fellow writers and readers.

Well hello there.

In case we’ve never met, I’m Tree Langdon, an editor on Medium. I’m continuously inspired by the talented writers I’ve met here. I’d really like to get to know you too.

Recently I was having a conversation with another writer and they were feeling overwhelmed. Too many things to improve and too little time.

It’s great to have a plan.

I always have a list of articles to work on, social media to update and submissions to make. When that list gets long, I do something I learned as a single mom.

I triage my day.

As a single mom, I would sometimes wake up in a panic, knowing there were too many things to do that day.

There was only one of me to take care of two little boys but the list was so long I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do but I had to figure it out.

I realized I had to find the essential things that had to be done that day to avert disaster in our lives. I took the list and triaged it.

“Triage (/ˈtriːɑːʒ, triˈɑːʒ/) is the process of determining the priority of patients’ treatments by the severity of their condition or likelihood of recovery with and without treatment. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately; influencing the order and priority of emergency treatment, emergency transport, or transport destination for the patient.”

Once I managed to get those essential tasks taken care of, I could breathe easier, knowing anything else I managed to do was pure gravy.

Focus on one small improvement at a time. When you look back in a few months you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how much your work improved.

Nurturing our own growth and success is up to us.

Writers Can Create Impressive Curation Rates!

There are some trailblazing, collaborative projects being developed at Illumination.

Cross-Pollination of Publications

Our writers are talented and diverse, as witnessed by the variety of Publications they’ve created. From #TransHumanism to #Earth, #Writing, and #Dreaming, there’s something for every reader.

Introducing The Collective Nouns Project

This quirky project is the brainchild of Karen Madej. She proposes that we choose collective nouns that spark joy and write about them.

Most people have heard of a murder of crows, though we don’t use the phrase much in day-to-day life.

‘There’s a murder of crows going after the robins nest!’

A collective noun refers to a group of people or things. We use some of them every day. Some examples are a ‘gaggle of geese’ or a ‘herd of elk’.

They can sometimes be surprising. Here are some fun ones I discovered.

• a garrison of gophers (I can see them lined up in their foxholes)
• a number of mathematicians (no other word would do)

And what in the heck is a never-thriving of jugglers?

It’s a fun exercise if you love words. I invite you to join us by writing about your favorite one.

If you participate, you will meet a diverse group of like-minded individuals and you’ll have a chance to build your network.

Please tag me if you do.

Our hardworking editorial team has been fine-tuning our Submission Guidelines. I’m happy to present them to you here.

Have a look. There are changes that may affect the articles that you submit.

How does Curation Work?

In a nutshell, write quality articles and pay attention to tags, kickers, format, and Medium curation rules.

I recently wrote about focusing on an Irresistible Post.

Here’s my take on curation from when I was a new writer.

Our team of editors and writers is ready and willing to assist you with any questions or problems you may be experiencing.

The key to a meaningful conversation includes both speaking and listening.

A meaningful conversation between writers includes reading, responding, sharing and appreciation.

Keep reading to see how you can have that conversation, but first, let’s explore your questions.

Answers to your Burning Questions

Do you have a burning question?

This is your opportunity. Add your question as a comment here and I’ll be happy to answer it.

Do you have a terrific tip for our writers? Add it in the comments!

When I first started writing on Medium I struggled with the platform. It wasn’t as intuitive as a Word document. It took me a while to figure out how to make it work for me and I’m still learning.

Let’s share our experiences and learn from each other.

Small steps make a difference.

Have you ever tried to go to sleep in a room with a single mosquito in it?

You lie there, clutching a sheet around your head like a protective covering, listening to the shrill whine as it searches for a way in.

You almost fall asleep and feel a delicate tickle on your cheek so you whack yourself in the face trying to kill it.

Tiny things can make a huge difference.

Here’s a small idea that can make a difference in the quality of your images.

Stand out From the Crowd!

They say a picture is worth 1000 words. I believe that’s true.

Image recognition makes up a large part of our brain. Humans are very visual creatures and can recognize objects in an image in 100 milliseconds.

A well-chosen image attracts the eye and encourages someone to read your post. Once they’re a reader they might become a fan, so choose your images carefully.

There’s one thing that really bugs me:

It makes me cringe when I see another writer using an image that I’ve used before. I want my images to be unique. It happens all the time.

If you scroll through Medium posts, inevitably you will see some duplicates.

One big mistake I’ve noticed (and made) is to choose an image too quickly. Writers open a free image source — Unsplash is a great example — and select the first image that seems to suit their topic.

Unsplash is a great tool. It’s quick and easy and the images come with a caption and a source, and you know you have permission to use it.

There’s one problem. There are over 30,000 other writers on Medium who are using it too.

There’s a pretty good chance someone else will choose the same image.

Here are my tips for finding unique images to use on posts.

• Don’t always use Unsplash. It’s the easy way out so most writers use it.
• If you use it, don’t select the first photo that comes up. Look through several pages before you choose.
• Use a variety of search terms — instead of love, search for passion, heat, or romance. You may find something perfect for your unique story.
• I use Pixabay and there are other free image options, but be careful there too. Use several search terms and find an image that isn’t the first one to come up.
• Don’t choose from the selection of ‘most popular images’.
• Here are some examples of images that I’m embarrassed to say I’ve used in stories, only to recognize them later in another writer’s story.

Do any of these images look familiar to you?

Your writing is unique, so your image should be too

Writers Connect to Build Engagement!

As a lifelong learner, I gather new ideas by observing how other writers engage with their readers. In this section of my bulletin, I will share what I have learned.

Slack is a great tool to connect with other Illumination writers and editors.

Let’s Talk About Slack

We collaborate with published authors, bloggers, and other service providers to extend our network. Join us on our Slack channel to participate.

Slack is our main communication tool. You can send a request via this link to join. Mention “slack request” in the message.

Here are some tips to get up and running with Slack.

We’re here to support you and want you to be successful.

All we ask in return, is that you do the same.

Catch up on previous bulletins.

Discover The First Solution Publication and some helpful tips.

Introducing the counter-intuitive concept of cross-pollination between publications.

From the basics to the complicated, here is a summary of tips I’ve discovered to improve your images and use them to connect with a wider audience of readers.

An insider’s view as we create the Urban Food Project and how to increase profile views.

We create a Project together, and ask — is curation the holy grail of Medium?

The steps to create your own Project to make a meaningful difference.

Oracle cards can provide guidance to the mysteries of life and can strengthen your spiritual connections.

Introducing the Gaia Project, also creating real conversations with writers.

Greetings to a few of our newer writers and some who have been here for a bit longer. I hope you found something interesting in this article. Jump in and start a conversation.

It’s the best way to connect and the connection is how you increase engagement.

Dr. John Rose, Earnest Painter, B. A. Cumberlidge., Timothy Key, Claire Michaeljohn, QuadConjures, Infiniti, Eli Snow, Daniel G. Clark, Eashan Reddy Kotha, Paroma Sen, Keno Ogbo, James G Brennan Uchechi Obasi, Timothy Key, Joe Luca, Charlotte Zobeir Ali, Earnest Painter, Eeva Metssalu,

Emmanuel Addo Anderson, Jennifer Dale, Sadie Bennet, Christopher Treacy, Daude Teel, Lusi Mardiyanti, AM Costanzo, Real Coach Monk, Max Yampolsky, Aditi Shahani, Rajesh Vairapandian, Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, Patrick Olson, AnthonyleeGMC, Suhayla, Maryam Naz, Harold Ricowski, torathewriter, Linda Kowalchek, kotputihdrbasrah, Maclean Tamanda Mbepula, La Dolce Vita Diary 🎉, Marvin Wendt, Jesse J Rogers, Orit Rindner, Alihan Yılmaz, Rachel Carey, Matt Aboudi, Praj S, Aneesha Johnson, Liliana Nakamura, Arth Saini, (real) Jarett Dunn, The Social Dreamers, Letters from E.K., Abena D, Abena D, Vyshnav, Ankit Singh, Ankit Singh, Ashis Chakraborty, Pasupu, AlienQueen, JohnA Passaro, Nic, Saggio, Celeste Tsang, Diamond Parents, Jack Sutherland, Greg Longoria, Rosy Rane, John Kremer, Zachary Walston, Songlarb (Deejai) Riangkrul, Jerome Johnson, Mike Java, Sabrina Sourjah, Ryan Dimalanta,

Collaboration is a two way street. Join the conversation and be a part of this meaningful change.

I hope you found something useful in this article. If you’re not already a Medium member, Join us here.

If you are a member, please share this story so more people can benefit from these wise words.