Welcome to the Inkwell
Is your blog a GREAT blog?
Does your blog burn brightly or is it just another fading star in cyberspace? Are your readers informed and entertained or are you delivering the same tired copy and uninspired, poorly functioning web design which assaults the senses and insults the intellect of your audience? Does your blog resonate or does it come off like the internet equivalent of cheesy late night television infomercials?
These are the kinds of honest questions GREAT bloggers must ask themselves.
These are the kinds of questions we had to answer as we were developing Collective Inkwell.
Hi, we’re David Wright and Sean Platt. We’ve created Collective Inkwell to help you create a GREAT blog.
Who we are
David Wright is a former newspaper reporter and editorial cartoonist whose blog, BloggerDad mixes humor and heart with his love for creating comic strips.
Sean Platt made a splash on the web last summer with his honest and inspirational WriterDad, which quickly developed a strong following and strong sense of community.
Our mission
As artists, we are obsessed with perfecting our crafts. We’ve spent countless hours in discussion about our inspirations and critiquing and editing each others writing. As a freelance writer or artist, an honest partner who calls things as they are, is an invaluable asset that can only help you tighten your focus and sharpen your voice.
In the relatively short time we’ve been blogging, we’ve developed a close knit circle of fellow bloggers who we’ve come to both learn from and consider friends. We talk a lot about blogging trends, what works and what doesn’t, and what kind of content we most enjoy.
Then we thought, why not widen the circle by creating a site that not only serves as a portfolio to showcase our freelance services, but also serves as an online writer’s room to talk shop? In that shop, we will discuss what inspires us and more importantly, what inspires YOU.
That’s just what we’ve done with Collective Inkwell.
How you fit in
Consider Collective Inkwell your friendly café, to use a term that Chris Brogan has popularized, to talk shop. We hope to enrich both your blog and your life. If we happen to entertain you along the way, all the better.
We encourage readers to post in our comments section and join in the friendly discussions on creativity, blogging trends and whatever topics we post about.
What you can expect
Collective Inkwell aims to offer quality content, lived-in advice, and topical discussions relative to a creative bloggers’ growth. We will also feature a long line-up of interviews with today’s most creative and interesting bloggers and creative masters. We aim to post at least three times per week, but may post more often as time and content allows.
Additionally, we are trying something new for this sort of blog – we are excited to offer up a weekly chapter of co-written fiction, with a fresh installment of Serial and Milk each Friday.
Subscribe to our feed via RSS or email, by clicking on the buttons along the sidebar.
You can follow us on Twitter by clicking on the appropriate button, also located in the sidebar. We will also set up a dedicated Twitter feed for The Inkwell this week. Speaking of Twitter, please Tweet us and let others know to check us out.
If you want to contact us, we’d love to hear from you. Our collective email is collectiveinkwell (at) gmail.com
Thanks for stopping by, please comment, we’d love to hear from you.
We’ll see you again on Wednesday when we announce a killer contest to kick things off! Trust us, you won’t want to miss it!
Collective Inkwell 
Can I say I’m absolutely thrilled about this? Can I say it again?
This project looks to be one of ages. I know you guys will do it to justice!
YAY! It’s finally LIVE! I’m really excited for you guys as well as the many bloggers you’re going to help out. I can already tell that this blog is going to stand out in a very good way. You guys make a great team.
@David: I better see some of your awesome drawings sprinkled in the posts to come. I love your work! 🙂
Later guys! Eric
How exciting – congratulations!
This is going to be a great place to spend some time. I’m looking forward to it!
Congrats on launching your new baby! I can’t wait to see how it plays out. 🙂
Good luck with it guys. I’ll be watching. 😉 ( and, of course, participating when I have something to contribute.)
Very, very nice. I like the look. Great job guys. I know how much work it takes. You should be proud.
I love the name Inkwell — it’s perfect. I’m a nut for quirky names and catchy phrases. Looking forward to watching this evolve. Cheers.
Looks like you are entering the Uber Zone. We be waiting and watching for cool and wonderful stuff from you two!
I’m looking forward to seeing where this all goes. All the best in your new venture.
Congrats, guys. I subscribed (of course) and am looking forward to reading more.
First, thanks to everyone who has stopped by so far! We appreciate the comments and look forward to the many spirited conversations which will occur here.
Dan Miranda – You CAN say it twice, but three times will likely call up the spirit of Candyman or something. Thanks for the enthusiasm – we hope to deliver big!
Eric Hamm – Thanks for the kind words. I probably should have included some original art in the first post. I originally had an abstract ink photo which looked really awesome. However, it was too much with the surrounding elements and took attention away from the words. So I went with a morning dew photo.
Laurie – Thanks, we look forward to seeing you.
Kim – Thanks. Hopefully THIS baby will be a bit less messy than mine.
Mike Goad- Hey, Mike! Glad to see you here! I look forward to hearing from you.
Jamie Simmerman – Thanks for coming to the housewarming party! I love the design, though part of me worries that it might be too dark.
Davina – Thank you. Someday, I’ll tell the origins of our moniker.
Lori – Thanks. As for the Uber Zone, I really hope we don’t have to wear capes or anything. The authorities have asked me to stop walking around town in a cape.
Dave: Really? The authorities in my neighborhood just asked me to start wearing mine more often. Maybe it’s an east coast/west coast thing.
Everyone: Thanks for being here. This is a really special place and we’re thrilled to welcome you all!
Bamboo: Hey, my man, sorry about that. You got stuck in comment moderation. It’s great to see you, as always. These digs here are special. Thanks for all your support for the last half year. It’s great to see you!
Vered: Ah, Vered… here from the beginning. No surprises there. Thank you, we promise not to disappoint! See you in a couple of days.
This promises to be one hot site! I adore the black background with with not-TOO-neon colors on the sidebar. Like Davina, I love the name Collective Inkwell. It has just the right amount of “L” and “K” sounds to make it tongue candy. Your reputations precede you, so I’m subscribing.
Looking forward to watching this new baby grow! Hope you’ve sent it to the DIY Themes Thesis gallery to get it showcased there.
This is going to be fun guys! I can’t wait to see how it develops. I know with your talent, you can’t help but make it a success! Best wishes and here’s to a lot of money!
I’d like to add I think your domain name is really good. Though it’s slightly long – it works.
Coming up with a good domain name is not only of paramount importance, it’s really hard to do too.
Everyone seems to have high expectations for what this blog is going to present. I’m excited to get my hands on the first handful of posts. Best of luck guys!
Randi: The name was 100% Dave. I just nodded my head and thought, “That’s AWESOME!” I think the name was there before any concrete idea. Thanks for the faith in our abilities. It is going to be a lot of fun.
Janice: I don’t think we have, but I’m sure we will. Dave’s work here is stunning. Thanks, Janice.
Laurie: Lots of fun and lots of money… Laurie, have you been reading our todo list again?
Bamboo: Again, that was all Dave, though I agree the name is totally rock star.
Tim: Thanks, Tim. We’re glad you’ve hopped onboard.
[…] more in Welcome to the Inkwell. I have subscribed to their feed and look forward to what’s […]
Each of you alone is talented…together, you ought to be stellar talent! The phrase I love most in this post: “lived-in advice.”
Kudos!
[…] is now live and I’ve been across there getting a heady dose of Writing – Illustration – Inspiration. The site looks fantastic and the early signs are that this project will be a big […]
Thanks, Karen! It will be exciting to see where we go!