Penned: A New Place for Writers

Penned Is Write in Your Pocket

*On Twitter, Penned Representative Sonia Chopra reached out to tell me about a fun new app called Penned. For any Wattpadians/Booktrackers out there, it's very similar to other writing apps. What sets Penned apart from other apps are the specific genre categories, and the phone-friendly interface. Start posting your stories on Penned!*

Combining elements of Twitter and Instagram.. we give you Penned!.. The power to become a popular author or blogger is WRITE at your fingertips.. Literally! We aim to provide literary artists a platform to create, share, and interact with their readers in an engaging manner. We have been featured on several outlets and blogs as the next big-thing for the literary market... Not only does this motivate us to create the best platform possible, but it gives us the energy to expand to writers and readers of all caliber, genre, and celebrity. Whether you enjoy romance, comedy, fan-fiction, or topics as specific as 1D or True Blood... We have it all! And if we don't, we give you the power to create it! We encourage you to join the force of Penned and put the power of literature and writing, WRITE back in your pocket. 

Visit us at www.penned.me and the appstore for more information on joining! 

Sonia Chopra is a recent graduate of UCLA, with a degree in Communication Studies for PR and Journalism. She joined founder, Brian Sanders in 2013 to launch the app into the public. While Penned is her passion, she also works as a model, celebrity publicist, marketing associate, and freelance writer. 

Let's start with.....blog fundamentals.

What is the overall intent behind all blogs? To be read, of course! What makes a blog worth reading? Among other things, purpose, design, content, and audience.

First off, to create a successful blog, one must have a clear purpose in mind. While the idea of an online diary may be fun for the writer, a reader has different motivations that might not include reading about a stranger's personal up's and down's. Therefore, a writer must always consider the reader when deciding their purpose. A purpose will also set a path for the blogs to follow.

Design is another important aspect when creating a blog. Use of color is necessary, but when tastefully executed, it can be elemental. Pictures, background, and the appropriate text are all other building blocks that can make a blog attractive.

Content must also be taken into account in order for a blog to become more than ordinary. Compelling subjects draw in a reader, just as spot-on editing and articulate sentences keep readers coming back.

Finally, after the purpose, design, and content come into focus, it is time to find a voice that is compatible for the audience. There are formal and informal blogs, and each one is designed with particular audiences in mind. A formal blog would likely have an audience of academics, therefore the voice would be professional and use objective phrasing instead of "I" or "you". However, an informal blog might be more of a hybrid between a diary and random, researched thoughts from the writer's brain. The audience could come to expect casual wording and forgive the occasional run-on sentence that damages the flow of a paragraph.

Writing can be a joyful experience, but it can also be one that some dread. Writing a blog can be just as disheartening, but if the proper tools are used, writing in any situation can be a great deal less stressful.