I don’t even need to finish that sentence. Many of you completed the phrase in your mind, maybe without even thinking about it. With language, we become hypnotized by phrases. We can finish the sentence just like we’re having a conversation with a lover in the park. “Good things come to those…” See what I mean? As bloggers, can’t we use this testament to the human mind to our advantage?We can try to create a viral message that catches on like the holy ghost at a rapture party, but that just won’t happen for 99% of us. I’ll give an example of what we can do.

A friend of mine in college used to wear this tshirt every once in a while. The tshirt had a common phrase on the front, from which a lot more was implied. It drew giggles, slaps on the back, faux praise, and most of all — laughs. The shirt read:

I am the man from Nantucket

Now this was genius marketing on his part. Every girl that read his shirt was being sold a fantasy, and every guy was given a wry smile. He was selling himself, and not short (sorry, had to go there). What we can do with a title, a blog post, and our whole blog’s meme can be seen through this type of message. Turn a commonality into a uniqueness. Turn a cliche on its head. Create a unique character in the reader’s mind.

Fiction writers learn early on that cliches only work for specific characters or to expose a point. What bloggers have to realize — no matter how true to life posts may be — you are still creating a character on the page. But I’m just blogging about my dinner, you say? That’s creating a character in our mind, especially if the dinner was expensive, the restaurant chic, and the photos nearly edible. What better way to create a character full of success than showing him indulging and imbibing? And if our blog carries the personal weight of our life’s journey, then the cliches probably belong alongside our workout routine.

Whether our blogs separate wholly from our natural life or recant daily activities like its their job, they do manifest in the minds of our readers a person with certain qualities. Some of my favorite blogs have all sorts of characters writing them. They range from meek and gentle to outspoken and overly confident. I read each one of them for different reasons. What type of character does your blog have? Have you created a Hemingwaybull fighter or a Carver introvert?

Our blog’s maturity - our character development - should be more than just throwing gunk at the wall then seeing what sticks. My friend knew his shirt’s slogan would raise eyebrows, bringing him attention of a far different kind than he usually received. Why not have a little fun, he would say. You only live once.