Joanna Young over at Confident Writing is sponsoring a “4 x 4″ writing project I’ve been meaning to participate in for some time now, and the deadline looms near: this Friday, March 28^th (eek!) So if you’re interested, there’s still a bit o’ time left; just pop on over to this post for all the details.

So without further ado (because as you know, further do would make no sense whatsoever!), I present:

4 x 4

It sits. Poised, waiting; the sounds of its ponderous approach still echoing against the walls of the cavernous space in which it finds itself confined. Straining to leap, its cacophonous engine of destruction rumbling ominously. Even so, the beast awaits its master’s bidding.

Ahead: obstacles; empty, trembling, no chance of survival. Perhaps they can somehow sense the monster’s intentions; perhaps not. Either way, the outcome is all but assured: in a few moments, all will be over, and they will end their days as, well, less than they are now.

The moment has come. The mob, breathlessly anticipating the coming debacle, stand as one, imbuing the unholy event with the honor of their attention. The beast roars triumphant as, released, it leaps forward in anticipation of assured victory! The moment is now!

Striking the initial obstacle, it propels its vast bulk skyward; climbing, climbing, until at last gravity’s law reclaims its hold upon its ungainly body. It continues to sound its victory as it plummets like a judgment upon the helpless and arrayed obstacles in its path.

The force of its descent crushes the opposition, sending the beast rebounding into the air once more. But wait – something is not quite right! It landed badly, and now it is off center as it pounces on the next hapless victim. A cry of dismay can be heard just beginning from the bloodthirsty crowd, as if they can sense the beast’s uncertainty.

Once again, the raucous beast thumps to the ground with bone-crushing force, but now it is clearly in difficulty. Its normally four-footed stance is askew, tilting its body sideways, off-course for its next leap. It cries its anger as it rears up, tipping back into an impossible posture – and over still further – until the inevitability of its fall is evident to even the least members of the screaming horde.

Momentum takes over as the beast lands jarringly, sideways and suddenly, horribly, ungraceful. Its body rolls helplessly, once, twice – until it comes to rest again, miraculously, upon its unsteady feet once again. Clearly shaken and hurt, nevertheless it still manages to hobble from the field, staggering unsteadily around the confines of the area before its master guides it back to its lair to lick its wounds and prepare for another day, another event, yet another confrontation.

All the while the multitude, cheering continuously, overwhelmingly express their joy and gratitude at the valiance of the beast, and congratulate each other that they were witnesses of this day – the day the beast was victorious over its enemies yet again.

- (sound of needle scratching across a vinyl record)

Oh, wait – this isn’t what you meant, Joanna? Well, you did say “4 x 4″, right? Hmmm… better read the instructions again (sound of pages flipping).

Oops! Well, maybe you’d better tune in tomorrow for the, you know, actual 4 x 4 post…

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OK; perhaps a word of explanation here might be in order (sound of audience saying, “Well, duh – ya think?”)

I started writing my 4 x 4 post, and had this cool photo of Grave Digger (the giant, black-and-green car-crushing 4 x 4 machine you see pictured here in mid leap) I was going to use (cheeky, I know – but there it is), but somehow my fingers just started writing on their own! (To be perfectly honest, I’ve never had the, er, joy of attending one of these auspicious events – and don’t plan to start now!)

However, for this project we’re supposed to write about four groups of four things (hence the “4 x 4″ moniker) that inspire us. Sorry; I guess my muse must have gotten a ‘wild hair’ today. (Sometimes I hafta seriously question the sanity of my muse. On the other hand – it would explain a lot, don’t you think?) Oh, well; I’ve been planning to practice my fiction writing anyway.

So like I said, stay tuned tomorrow for the real “4 x 4″ post. (But if I were you, I’d keep an eye on your rear-view mirror. I mean, you never know where the beast might turn up next!)

And by the way, no actual “obstacles” were harmed in the writing of this post, the little dears.

You know I really appreciate the work you do. I mean, what with all that flying around, keeping tabs on the emotional states of, oh, billions of people around the world, and those arrows – well, I just don’t know how you do it.

I remember a time, though, when I was beginning to wonder about you. I mean, I’d been hit by one or two of your arrows before, and each time it happened, I thought it was THE time. See, I believed in you, and what you could do. But it never seemed to take, if you know what I mean.

Each time, things just didn’t seem to pan out. Oh, there were lots of reasons, really. Sometimes it was me; sometimes it was her. Ah, well; as I like to say around here: c’est la vie – that’s life in the Middle Zone. In any case, I suppose the bottom line is, it just wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe it was like, you know, practice.

As I said, though, I have to admit that I was really beginning to wonder about you. Was there really such a thing as True Love? I mean, other than in the movies, or in books? If it really existed, then how in the world would I ever find it? Even more important, how would I recognize it?

And you know that thing we laughingly call Love At First Sight? Well, it seemed ludicrous that such a thing could be real, you know? I mean, c’mon – something as complicated as love, happening that quickly? Nope; no way!

But then one day… well, one day I met her.

It was a most amazing and profound moment; to me, it was only yesterday. We were in a room, perhaps twenty people or so. She stood up and said a few words. I turned to look at her – and for an eternal moment it was as if time stood still and the universe came to a complete stop.

Alas, I’m sorry to say I don’t remember what she was wearing (although she probably does!), or what I was wearing (ditto), or any of those little details she’s so good at.

No, what I remember is the absolute perfection of her face, her smile – and well, for want of a better term, her spirit. At that moment, nothing else mattered. It was as if the center of this suddenly motionless universe was right there in the room with me… and even more amazingly, it was close enough to touch!

Needless to say, never having experienced Love At First Sight, I didn’t recognize it for what it was. After all, at the time, I wasn’t even really looking, if you know what I mean. To this day I can’t even describe exactly how I knew; but somehow, I just knew. This was It. This – ah, this was the Real Thing.

Oh, I know she acted all aloof and everything. She even tried introducing me to every other girl she knew, just to get me off the track, but I wasn’t fooled. As if I could be deterred. I knew; and deep down inside where the heart really lives, I knew that she knew, too.

What’s really weird is it seemed like everybody else knew, too. Our friends, acquaintances – heck, the very first time I met him (and without anyone saying a word) even her father knew! But I guess you can’t hide something like that from a loving, caring father like hers; he could probably have seen it coming a mile off…

Eventually, though, she admitted the truth to herself and to me. And so we married.

Well, it’s been over twenty-five years since we stepped up in front of our friends and our families and said those words (“I do!”). A lot of time has passed; a lot of memories created. What an amazing experience it’s been, being married to the Love of My Life!

Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs – growing old together just wouldn’t be as interesting without the joys and the trials that go along with it, you know? It’s kinda like ol’ Dino used to sing, When love hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie – well Bubba, I’m here to tell ya: that’s amore! To be honest, I wouldn’t want to change a thing.

So anyway, Cupid, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your work, and everything you’re doing to help make the world a better place. I’ll tell ya; life just wouldn’t be the same without you!

Keep up the good work!

(photos: Love letters straight from your heart, by cattycamehome, and Heart shaped bokeh, by yumi)

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[Note from the proprietor: In addition to being a soliloquy to Mrs. MZM in honor of Valentine's Day this year, this also happens to be an entry in a group writing project called "Dear Cupid", being hosted over at Between The Lines. Go check it out!]

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this news flash…

Last year Drew McClellan and Gavin Heaton made publishing history, producing the first-ever e-book of its kind, The Age of Conversation. Having been accidentally mistaken for a marketer, I was privileged to be one of 103 authors who contributed a chapter. (Limited to 400 words! Can you imagine me limiting myself to 400 words on anything?)

Now a hard copy of AoC sits proudly on my bookshelf, gathering admiring glances from the Beautiful, the Powerful, and the Glitterati who come to visit.

I’m tellin’ ya, it required an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes work, herding over 100 writers into line (sorta like herding cats, no doubt), cutting, pasting, editing, pulling hair, sobbing uncontrollably at the drop of a hat… But I think all would agree Drew and Gavin did a great job (even though SOMEbody changed my chapter title! *sob*).

The end result was spectacular. Not only has the book gained international attention, sales of the book at lulu.com (and hopefully, soon to be available at Amazon.com) have to date earned over $10,000 for Variety, a children’s charity. Now there’s something to be proud of!

Well, the news just broke this week, and unbelievably, these two crazy people nut jobs fine upstanding fellows want to do it again! (Sound of crowd going wild with excitement!)

And YOU are invited to help. How, you ask? Simple!

Go to this website and read all about it. And in the spirit of an election year, you even get to vote!

Darren Rowse at ProBlogger has a great series of posts on running a competition on your blog (see here and here for the first two articles), and it prompted me to ponder a bit (that grinding noise you hear) about our monthly group writing projects – which are quite different from competitions – we have here at the Zone.

Interested in running a group writing project of your own? Great! When done right, it can be lots of fun, introduce you to many new folks, and help increase your visibility in the Blogosphere.

Having successfully completed 8 group writing projects (one per month since May ’07 – except we skipped October), I think I can claim some measure of expertise on the subject. So before you make the big announcement, here’s a few questions you should ask yourself before you start.

• Is it Worthwhile? – By worthwhile, I mean will it create value for both the participants and the readers? (And lest you think this one is obvious, I assure you it is not!) One thing that keeps people coming back is when they feel like they’ve gained something from their participation. Back during my very first project, I talked about how much we as bloggers like to share what we know, how often we’re asked for help, and how freely help is available from our fellow bloggers. It was a great proof-of-concept, and has proven itself to be true over time. I’m convinced it’s what keeps folks coming back for more.
• One-time, or Recurring? – When I proposed that first project, I had no idea what would happen (sortof like giving a party, but not knowing if anybody will come.) But after that first time, it was obviously worth repeating. I was a little worried, though, about “participation fatigue” setting in, and in fact, it sorta did. But ironically enough, it wasn’t my readers; it was me (it’s one reason I skipped October). If you don’t know which way to go, well, try it once and then decide.
• How Often? – Having made the decision to repeat, I had to decide what the best interval was; once a month seemed a bit much at first. After all, since each project takes up an entire week, it leaves only about three weeks to get ready for the next one. Would that be too soon? Will my readers get tired of it? And what about Mary Lou? But making the interval too long meant people might forget. So far, I’d have to say that once a month has worked just fine. Plus, readers now know to expect a new one every first Monday of the month.
• What’s the Topic? – For my particular projects, I needed to identify topics that were broad enough such that as many people as possible could participate. It’s not as easy as it sounds! Give careful thought how you word your project definition. On the other hand, your project(s) might be much more specific than mine are. The key idea is to make sure you don’t inadvertently exclude potential participants. For instance, when the topic was The World of Sports, I did my best to make sure even “non-sports folks” could be included. I think it worked, too.
• Does it Fit Your “Brand”? – You should ask yourself, does this project fit my brand? And yes, you have a brand, whether you acknowledge it or not – especially if you’ve been blogging a while. Make sure your projects build on it; otherwise you’ll lose your already faithful readers. Alternatively, you can use writing project to help establish your brand. It’s essentially what I did here at the Middle Zone, where the MZM brand reflects the concept lessons learned from life. Thus, our writing projects not only established that brand, but continue to support it perfectly.
• Where are Entries Posted? - This can be a biggie, and should be considered carefully. From the beginning I asked people to post their entries on their own blogs, reasoning that if nothing else, I was giving folks an idea for a post. Most people, in spite of good planning (or at least good intentions) probably welcome a good post idea, so who would complain? All I did was ask them to link to the project kick-off post (so I would know). I then posted a wrap-up of all the links when it was over. (At first I asked participants to repeat the list of links on their own blogs, but I soon dropped that requirement because I no longer, well, beg for links.)

Oh, sure; there are plenty of other considerations when running a group writing project, and in fact yours may be nothing like mine. But at least these questions should get you thinking in the right direction.

So What About You?

OK, up to now I’ve done all the talking; now it’s your turn. What writing projects have you been thinking about lately? Do they fit the model I’ve outlined above, or are they a different animal altogether? (Although I’m getting pretty good at doing it my way – there are most definitely plenty of other ways to do it.)

Share your ideas here and maybe we can all learn a thing or two!

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By the way, for those of you who missed it, our most recent and just-completed group writing project, BLOGAPALOOZA! What I Learned From 2007, was conducted a bit differently. In addition to the usual way of doing things, this time I gave folks the option to guest post their entries right here at the Zone. The idea was to reward participants with external links to all the posts at their own blogs. (I’m afraid you’ll have to read the above link to see how it was structured.)

As it turned out, it was a great success. There were quite a few guest posts (28), and I handed out 327 links (if I counted right). Plus we hit a new record for project entries (30)! But (as expected), it was a lot of extra work cutting, pasting, checking links, etc.!

Here’s the wrap-up post if you’d like to see who participated, with links to their posts and their blogs.

And while you’re at it, entries from all previous What I Learned From… projects have their own permanent “Hall of Fame”, the WILF archive page.

Well! I think it’s fair to say this Special Edition of What I Learned From… was a smashing success! Congratulations, everyone; well done!

Once again, I am honored by your participation in our monthly group writing projects here at the Middle Zone; and particularly by the excellence of your entries. As always, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks for your quality contributions to the General Body of Knowledge!

It’s another great turnout for this month’s Special Edition Topic: CHANGE! Yep, this month we have a total of 19 entries in all – a new record! We also have an unprecedented two-parter this month! Wow! (Sound of crowd wildly cheering! Cue the fireworks!)

Anyway, below you’ll find the entire list of entries (in semi-sortof order of receipt). Do yourself a favor and check them all out. (Almost) every one finishes the phrase:

What I Learned from…

• … Writing Online: It Does Make a Difference, by Rosa Say at Joyful Jubilant Learning
• … My Chaotic Life, by Gavin Heaton at Servant of Chaos
• … Seth Godin, by Bill Austin at Arizona High Tech Talent Partnership
• … Phil Mickelson at the Deutsche Bank Championship, by Herman Najoli at Epic Flow
• … (blank), by Patrizia Broghammer at VOIP
• … My Client’s Expectations, by Karin H. at The Kiss Business Too
• … What Have You Done So Far This Year, by Samara Leigh at Mindful Banter
• … Changing My Children’s School, by Pete Aldin at Freaked Out Fathers
• … Changing My Blog Template Every 15 Minutes, by Troy Worman at Orbit Now!
• … networking out of my comfort zone, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing
• … Mother Theresa, by Anna Lenardson at Anna’s Attic
• … Change…ing Majors, by Sam Brougher at Forest Azuaron
• … Change, by Bob Glaza at One Reader at a Time
• … not (quite) changing, by Jon Swanson at Levite Chronicles
• … 3 Things I Learned From Change, by Phil Gerbyshak at Slacker Manager
• … Phil Mickelson: Applications for Change, by Herman Najoli in a follow-up to his first post listed above at Epic Flow
• … Changing My Shopping Habits, by Laura Spencer at Writing Thoughts
• … Getting Up Early, by the Homeschool Diva at Homeschool Diva

and of course last, but hopefully not least -

• … Network Marketing, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
  

Y’all give yourselves a big hand, my friends; and as always, a big tip O’ the hat to ya! What’s next month’s topic going to be, you ask? Well… that would be telling!

Don’t forget to tune in the first Monday of EVERY month for the next What I Learned From… group writing project. Come to think of it, while you’re at it, why not tune in pretty much every day? You might just be glad you did. (Then again, you might not – but what’s life without a little risk, eh?)

Mrs. MZM has a saying whenever she’s surprised: “My stars!”

I remember once when she was teaching Vacation Bible School one summer, she used it when one of the kids said something particularly surprising.

There was a moment of silence, then one kid leaned over to another one and asked under his breath, “What did she say?”

“She said, ‘My stars’,” he shrugged.

No doubt something might have been lost in the translation.

However, YOU should know what it means, right? It means, “My stars! There’s only 4 days left to write and post your entry for this month’s Special Edition What I Learned From… project!

Oh! My stars!!!!

A while back I started a meme called My Home Town, to help us and our readers celebrate their roots, and in the process, take us on a sortof “world tour”.

Well, although it’s not exactly burning up the blogosphere (I’m afraid it rivals the infamous “turtle meme” for speed!), there are now enough participants to start the Grand World Tour list!

So, for your reading enjoyment, I give you:

• Charing, Kent, United Kingdom – Karin H. at Stop/Start
• Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands – also Karin H. at Stop/Start
• East Koy Four Corners, New York, United States – Robyn McMasters at BrainBasedBiz
• Melbourne, Victoria, Australia – Markk at My Opinions Are Important
• Edinburgh, Scotland – Joanna Young at Confident Writing
• Belgrade, Serbia – Danica at Belgrade and Beyond
• Abilene, Kansas, United States – G.L. Hoffman at What Would Dad Say
• Geneva, Illinois, United States – Brad Shorr at Word Sell, Inc.
• Upper Marlboro, Maryland, United States – Edith Brown at Jeteak Press Writer Blog
• Brisbane, Queensland, Australia – Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business
• Montego Bay, Jamaica – Galba Bright at Tune up your EQ

If you’d like to contribute a post about your own home town to the tour, I’d love to hear from you! Drop by the original My Home Town post and leave a link in the comment box and I’ll post it right here for all to find!

p.s. Anybody know how to make a mashup? Wouldn’t you love to see these places on a world map?