On Tuesday, I wrote with nostalgia about email forwards and National Friendship Week. This week’s challenges were all inspired by that post in one way or another. Feel free to respond on your own blog or site and link with a few words in the comments section below. And if you don’t, something horrible will happen…

Fiction Prompt: One glance at her inbox that morning showed that something was amiss. Forty messages, maybe more, at least half of them marked ‘urgent’ and all from friends. All with different but disturbing subject lines: ‘Trying to reach you,’ ‘Is your phone on?’ ‘Are you okay?’ She bit her bottom lip nervously and took a deep breath before opening the first one…

Non-fiction/essay: What are you most likely to share with others online? Do you ever forward emails to friends? When and why? What meets the threshold for sharing on Facebook, versus Twitter, or crafting a blog to pass on? How do you decide something is worth sharing — is it a level of personal experience or investment? Entertainment value? What would your friends say about you based on what you post/share online? Does it jive with who you are in ‘real’ life?

Writer’s Business Challenge: What is your online strategy for promoting your work? Find two or three authors whose approach/philosophy closely mirrors your own and study them. What do you notice about their online strategy – is it aggressive or gentle? Subtle or loud? Do you think it works? Does it make you want to read his/her work? How can this information help you focus your own promotional strategy?

mjpullen