Screaming Memes

There's an interesting conversation going on in the comments section of Thursday's post. Feel free to contribute your two cents there. But I'd like input on something else, as well. As you may or may not have guessed, I'm toying with the idea of starting a writing meme. But I'm trying to figure out how to make it work. How to make it really great. So that it is a source of inspiration for both writers and for readers.

There are a lot of different kinds of memes out there. One type is Photo Friday, which has a new challenge each week and links to the contributors' web sites via frames. It's pretty elaborate. One Word is an example of a writing meme in which the contributions are published on the site itself. It's a pretty simple site. You can check out some of the responses to recent challenges here and here. Other memes are even more low-tech. Someone starts a thread and others reproduce it on their own site, linking back to the original. An example of that would be the "three pictures" meme that went around a few months back. Jen Garrett did it on her site. You can read the explanation here and see her results here.

Some memes work and some do not. That's where you come in. Tell me -- what makes a meme great? What captures your attention and makes you want to participate? What elements are most important? Is it the quality of the challenge? The extra traffic it brings to your site? What makes you want to look at others' contributions? And what turns you off?

Remember, anyone can comment on Gienna Writes. You don't need a Blogger account. Just click on "or post anonymously" on the login page. If you are having trouble commenting, try right-clicking the link and choosing "open link in new window." You can also email me at giennawrites (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks in advance for what I know will be your brilliant and helpful feedback!