Writer Dad 3.0

January 5, 2010

Yippe Skippee – There’s a shiny new Writer Dad!

I spent December scribbling ideas, tossing them away, then scribbling some more; desperately seeking a means to pull the awesome from Writer Dad I knew was waiting inside. I ought to be able to publish nearly every day without being boring, but it was a feat I had not managed in a while.

The answer was obvious: I needed to light my own fire. If I wasn’t passionate about what I was publishing, how could I expect an audience to be fully engaged?

Deciding on the precise content and future direction for this site was critical. I’ve learned a significant amount about developing content over the last year and felt that applying that knowledge to my first online home was long overdue. This development process is something Dave and I have gone through for every site in our syndicate as we prepared to head into the new year. Yet comparatively, those other sites were cake. I understand their needs on a fundamental level. Those domains exist for a purpose, created to carry me and my partners down a very particular path.

Writer Dad was born because I had nothing else.

I should understand it the most. But honestly, there are times I understand it the least.

I’ve dragged this domain all over the map. Veered direction, run against the wind and attempted to take it places it never should have gone, even occasionally sparring with its most natural direction. Thank you so much for being this patient with me. It is difficult sometimes. With only one to two percent of the audience providing feedback at any given time, it can be hard to know what will satisfy both the audience and myself in reasonably equal measure.

The primary difficulty I’ve had with Writer Dad is that I’ve never wanted to fit into (or write toward) a niche. Yet I have always wanted to see this site grow. By trying to serve two masters, most times I’ve pleased neither.

To correct this, I’m introducing features. I’ll start with just four, but more will be added throughout the year. Think of Writer Dad as the channel and features as the shows. You can tune in to your favorites, and hopefully share them with your friends.

If you turn your attention to the beautiful new sidebar on the right, you can see the features section and the four we are starting with: UPDATE: Sidebar not finished yet (oops!)

  • Syllable Soup
  • DAD!
  • Life’s Better With the Right Words
  • Children Write the Future

I’ll be giving each feature a short introduction throughout the next couple of weeks, with an entry to follow the next day. I am in love with this direction, and though it has taken an eon and a half to get here, I’m glad we are on this road and am eager to get going.

I’d like to thank David Wright for the awesome facelift. In the last month he has refreshed five of our sites and built two from scratch, in addition to all the client work he’s managed. The dude is a juggernaut of effort. Without him, many of my budding dreams would merely be idle domains.

Thank you, David.

Don’t be shy! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

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  • Congrats on all the new changes! Looking forward to 3.0!
  • Hiya Leslie! It promises to be boss. I can't wait. : )

    Thanks for stopping by! I hope your family is well.
  • Neat - sounds fantastic...and fun and with great energy...I wish you well and always like to pause here and read...More of Blogger Dad's good work here too..

    will check out the other face lifts...

    I would like to make some more changes to my blog, but IT not ready yet...I am a bit envious...3.0 I am just hoping for 2.0 this year...:)
    .-= Patricia´s last blog ..Cleaning Up My ACT =-.
  • Aww, it's only because I've got Mr. David Wright on my team. Otherwise I'd still be stuck with a stock Thesis theme.

    You'll get to 2.0 this year, don't you worry!
  • Trina
    Features - way cool! Funny how you cant please everyone - makes it interesting and frustrating too - I always found the old colours comforting - and these ones make me think of multiple bodily functions... oh how I am laughing - and you are not to take this in any other way than just come crazy gals sick fascination/repulsion of said fluids...
    Anyhow, it's your words, and soul through those words, which makes me hit your site up - I think I'll just have a private chuckle each time I look at the current scheme
  • I'm on my fourth day with the design and I'm loving it more and more. The sidebar still needs some finishing off, but I love how the copy pops off the screen. Now, however, I might have to fight off visions of numbers one and two! : )
  • I really like the new colour scheme here at WD. I was not as big a fan of the green/grey combo previously.

    And over on Collective Inkwell, I love the new design. The header graphic is really cool.

    As for the the features sections, I'm sure I will enjoy reading your writing in all of them, but I'm definitely looking forward to the "Life’s Better With the Right Words" channel. Your turn of phrase is always evocative.

    Be well.
    .-= Ian W. Parker´s last blog ..What Matters Now? =-.
  • Hi, Ian! Great to see you.

    Yeah, I'm already liking this one more than the last one. Though I loved Dave's work on the design, the copy didn't really show itself off as well. The words now look beautiful on the page, and that's what matters most.

    Thanks for your compliments, and more than a year of support. I do appreciate it.

    Happy New Year!
  • "Writer Dad was born because I had nothing else."

    Writer Dad was born because you needed a voice. Not your business, not your talents or skills, but YOU. And besides, this site was first. It essentially started the awesome.

    Anyway, you know I'll be all about the "Dad!"
    .-= Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..Here There Be Awesome! =-.
  • "It essentially started the awesome."

    HA! You're too awesome, Hayden.

    Actually, I think your favorite might be Children Write the Future... *whisper* I'll be sharing that one with my daughter. : )
  • oooooo, goody! I like the features idea and the topics :) although you must still be working on the sidebar because I don't see them listed there...
  • Uh yeah, sorry about that. The sidebar will be finished shortly! Perhaps by next week. Cool thing about the features is that I can write them in batches, allowing the site to grow and evolve over the year. Should be tons of fun!
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