Is Fluff a Word?
This word takes on many different meanings… actually, is it even a word? I do tend to make some up as I go along, ya know.
I was talking to a friend about an article I was putting together for submission to the Rockin’ Agent Genius. (You’ll have to wait for the details). It was a challenging piece … one of those that made me really think.
While on the phone I read what I had written so far and the feedback was, “I like what you are saying, but it doesn’t really sound like you.” It’s amazing that after reading someone’s posts for a while, you can really ‘feel’ the person’s personality coming through their writing. That was a very fair statement, it did sound more like a required assignment that I had to turn in to Professor Lani and wait for a grade.
I said, “Well, let’s hang up so I can add some Kim Fluff and make it more ‘me’”.
Connect to all Sorts
There are many styles of writing. How do you approach your blogs? Professional, casual, general, broad, light, or serious ? Your readers will all want something different – so it is good to get a bit of a variation of these styles to accomodate many different listeners. One idea to help balance it out is having a guest author post from time to time. Don’t hold yourself back though, try to write something that you might find a little bit tricky, it’s actually fun. Push yourself to write where it is a bit of a stretch for you or out of the box. It can be rewarding to see where it ends up. If you need to finish it off with some Fluffing of your personality to make it your own – go for it.
Information is conveyed in many different ways – but it is the message that is the heart of the matter.
Note: Fluffing does not mean embellishing the truth.
Ines Hegedus-Garcia
February 25, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Kim – the trick is not to take yourself too seriously IMHO. I do write serious pieces (that I find boring) and once in a while I feel a little flutter and get excited because I can put my edge on a piece.
It’s OK not to be perfect and I stopped worrying about it a long time ago. Just put your thoughts out there and share with us that want to know how your brain ticks.
Jason Farris
February 26, 2009 at 5:22 am
I was pretty sure ‘fluff’ was a word but I checked to make sure…
*https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Fluff
I can’t wait to read the challenging piece you are working on.
@Fresyes
Lisa Sanderson
February 26, 2009 at 6:54 am
I was just discussing a similar idea with a colleague yesterday. It is important to let *your* voice shine through and to not write stuff just because you think you *should*. Let your expertise & your personality shine through in order to really connect with your reader, keeping in mind that you can not possibly impress everyone. But, yeah, a little experimentation is important for growth & expansion of your repertoire.
Matt Stigliano
February 26, 2009 at 9:52 am
Kim – A great example of style in blog writing is our very own Ken Brand. Its like reading William S. Burroughs newest book on real estate sometimes. But through all his writing, I wind up getting the point, even though his post may seem like its about something completely different. I tend to write a bit more casual than most. I write the way I think and talk – sometimes it can be a bit convoluted but I certainly get what I’m saying – I just hope everyone else does.
fred
February 26, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Fluff … Isn’t that something that goes with peanut butter?
teresa boardman
March 2, 2009 at 5:43 am
Yes fluff is a word. 🙂
Kim Wood
March 4, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@Ines – Yes…. this is an interesting thought though – I want to express what I’m thinking – just getting it down is hard sometimes 🙂
@Jas – 😉 Yes, I knew “fluff” was a word…. but it was sort of used as my own definition I think. Could you submit it to the dictionary for me?
@Lisa – Very true… but this is something I do want to say… just have to find the right way to say it 🙂
Fluff onward….