AdviceToWriters: Stories, like whiskey, must be allowed to mature in the cask. SEAN O’FAOLAIN #fiction #writing
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Twitter / AdviceToWriters
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AdviceToWriters: Stories, like whiskey, must be allowed to mature in the cask. SEAN O’FAOLAIN #fiction #writing
3 Jul 2009 | 5:19 pm -
AdviceToWriters: I have found that a story leaves a deeper impression when it is impossible to tell which side the author is on. LEO TOLSTOY #fiction #writer
3 Jul 2009 | 3:43 pmAdviceToWriters: I have found that a story leaves a deeper impression when it is impossible to tell which side the author is on. LEO TOLSTOY #fiction #writer -
AdviceToWriters: It’s not wise to violate the rules until you know how to observe them. T.S. ELIOT #writing #writer #fiction
3 Jul 2009 | 2:00 pmAdviceToWriters: It’s not wise to violate the rules until you know how to observe them. T.S. ELIOT #writing #writer #fiction -
AdviceToWriters: The main rule of a writer is never to pity your manuscript. If you see something is no good, throw it away and begin again. I. B. SINGER
3 Jul 2009 | 12:05 pmAdviceToWriters: The main rule of a writer is never to pity your manuscript. If you see something is no good, throw it away and begin again. I. B. SINGER -
AdviceToWriters: Publication is not necessarily a sign of success. WILLIAM SLOANE #writing #writer #writers #author
2 Jul 2009 | 2:55 pmAdviceToWriters: Publication is not necessarily a sign of success. WILLIAM SLOANE #writing #writer #writers #author
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the protagonize blog
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Groups are officially live!
24 Jun 2009 | 2:40 amThe day you’ve all been anticipating has finally arrived — Protagonize groups (phase one) are live! Yes, it’s definitely been a long time coming, but I definitely think it was worth the wait. There are still some things to be done, so please bear with me and be patient. We’ve been in beta for a few weeks now, but there are still outstanding issues and probably a few bugs to work out. I figured getting them up and running for the entire site sooner rather than later was probably in the best interest of everyone here, as opposed to waiting until I worked out every little… -
Want a beta account on Protagonize? Now’s your chance.
18 Jun 2009 | 3:16 amIt’s late, and I’m about to hit the sack, but I thought I’d post this before bed and see what kind of interest it generates in the morning. If you haven’t been checking the homepage, I posted a note to Twitter earlier looking for 10 beta testers to try out our new groups implementation. It’s not quite ready to go yet (hence the “beta” moniker”), but a good chunk of it is usable and our testers have been been quite busy in the beta discussion areas. So, in addition to the ten (10) first responses I get on Twitter (which isn’t quite… -
Groups phase 1 launch update
8 Jun 2009 | 6:08 pmHowdy folks, You may be aware that the beta team and myself have been quietly testing discussions inside groups for the last couple of weeks and I think it’s making pretty awesome progress. It’s taken a little longer to get this going than I had hoped for, due to a variety of local events I’ve had to contend with and prepare for over the last two weeks. However, I’m excited to say that we’re getting close to having phase 1 ready to go (hopefully by the end of this week), so I thought I’d give you a little heads-up about what to expect. What… -
Sharing gets a little love
31 May 2009 | 3:05 pmJust a quick note to let you guys note that I’ve enhanced the “Share” tool you see on stories, pages and author profiles with some new functionality. I’ve added a new tab that’ll allow you to share the page you’re looking at directly on Facebook or as a new tweet on Twitter, if either of those sites tickles your fancy. Here’s a screenshot of the new look. All of the old functionality (sharing with fans and via email) is still there. Just a little upgrade for those of you who frequent other large social networks. Enjoy. :) -
Slides from last night’s VanUE presentation
27 May 2009 | 3:31 pmAs I mentioned yesterday, I gave a talk at the Vancouver User Experience Group about designing for the community experience last night. Although I didn’t meet any Protagonize authors at my presentation last night, there was a pretty awesome turnout of at least 70-80 people. Thanks to anyone reading this who did attend! Met some interesting folks and had some similarly interesting suggestions and questions tossed my way. Here’s the slide deck from my presentation. Video should be up within a week or so. Enjoy! Designing For The Community Experience [VanUE, May 26/09]
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Daily Writing Tips
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Emailing a Literary Agent
2 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pmIn the old days writers could send out their queries and fantasize for weeks about acceptance before getting that crumpled little self-addressed envelope with its bad news back in the mail. Nowadays, thanks to email, we can be zapped with rejection in a matter of minutes! Nevertheless, email queries are a boon to writer and agent. They save time, paper and postage. Not to mention unproductive fantasizing. Much email writing breeds carelessness in most of us so it’s a good idea to pay special attention to any email we direct to a literary agent. Here are some guidelines. Subject line:… -
Could it Be, Just Possibly, All a Ruse?
1 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pmA few months ago I came across a reference to something Bill Gates did at a technology conference. He released a swarm of mosquitoes and let the audience believe for a few moments that they were malaria carriers. A commentator at the Yahoo Buzz site mentioned the incident and ended the entry with these words: Fortunately for the terrified attendees, the mosquitoes were malaria-free. ‘Twas all a rouse. Bill Gates 1, Terrified Minions 0. As I’d had never seen the word “rouse” used in this way, the expression kept niggling at my mind. As I searched for an explanation I… -
Don’t Have A Blog Yet? Check Out This Course
1 Jul 2009 | 3:35 pmA blog is a wonderful tool for anyone looking to improve his or her writing skills. Why? Because it forces you to write, day after day. If you are an aspiring writer (freelance or otherwise), a blog is even more important, because it works as a marketing platform where you can expose your writing, build your audience and network with people inside your market segment. Whenever I recommend people to start blogging, however, some of them reply saying they would be interested in creating a blog, but that they wouldn’t have time to learn the ropes. If you are in this situation, there is a… -
Why Bother About Correctness?
30 Jun 2009 | 6:00 pmI often receive emails from readers who profess to see no reason to worry about standard forms of spelling or usage. I say “profess” because if they are reading DWT posts, they must care a little. Here’s a recent comment: does it really matter b/c everyone has their own way of speaking, writing, and thinking and the languages and “right” ways of spelling our only set up and there… truely their is no wrong or right way to spell because everyhitng was just though up by someone eles… such as books are thoughup by theirs writers… On the face of it,… -
Judgement or Judgment?
29 Jun 2009 | 6:00 pmReader John Moss wonders about the spellings judgement and judgment. His Word application flags judgement as an incorrect spelling, but when he searches the word online, both judgement and judgment occur with seeming equal frequency. Is one English and the other American? What a bother! If both are OK, I guess I could update my dictionary by adding the ‘judgement’ spelling – but doing so might lend assistance to spelling inconsistencies. You’re probably going to tell me this is a ‘judgment call’, but I’m still wondering why the two spellings. Yes, I’d have to say that…
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Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
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177 GG Noah Webster's Dream
2 Jul 2009 | 9:48 pmWhy British English and American English are different. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
176 GG I'd Like to Complement Your Subject
25 Jun 2009 | 9:48 pmSubject-Complement Agreement. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
175 GG The AP Says I Tweet
18 Jun 2009 | 9:48 pmUpdates from the 2009 AP Stylebook. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
174 GG I Wrote This Myself
11 Jun 2009 | 9:48 pmHow to use "myself" and other reflexive pronouns. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
173 GG On Principle
4 Jun 2009 | 9:48 pm"Principal" Versus "Principle." The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7
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www.writersnewsweekly.com
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Carlotta G. Holton Honored with National Award
17 Jun 2009 | 1:59 pmThis week, SterlingHouse Publisher author Carlotta G. Holton was awarded third place in the Best Book category by the National Federation of Press Women for her third book Vampire Resurrection. NFPW is a nationwide organization of professional women and men in careers across the communications spectrum. This is the second major award Carlotta has won this year. In January, Vampire Resurrection was awarded first place by the New Jersey Press Women’s Association. The NFPW is part of the coalition founding the National Women’s History Museum, is an active participant in the Council of… -
SHP Title Midnight Revelations Honored at BEA by ForeWord Magazine
4 Jun 2009 | 11:58 amKaren Bence, author of Midnight Revelations, was awarded the 2008 bronze award for Horror from ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. Winners were announced last Friday on the floor of BookExpo America. To order Midnight Revelations click here. To view the book trailer, click here. Congratulations, Karen! More information on ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards can be found by clicking here. -
Cliff Fazzolari Making Headlines Once Again!
4 Jun 2009 | 11:54 amCliff Fazzolari, author of several novels including his newest release Blind Spot, has been awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2009 Beach Book Festival for his nonfiction title Counting on a Miracle. Counting on a Miracle is the true story of Cliff’s son, Jake, and the medical emergency that threatened to tear Jake’s family apart. To purchase Counting on a Miracle and other books by Cliff Fazzolari, click here. Congratulations, Cliff! -
Ron Janson Creates BEA Buzz and Wins Award Same Week
4 Jun 2009 | 11:49 amRon Janson, author of the Red Money and the 2009 release What Is Hers, has been awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2009 Beach Book Festival for the thriller What Is Hers. If Miram’s ex-husband thought he could get away with dumping his wife for a younger, more beautiful version of herself, he was wrong…very wrong! To find out how Miriam gets her revenge, click here to purchase What Is Hers. To view the video book trailer for Ron’s first novel Red Money, click here. Congratulations, Ron! A full list of 2009 Beach Book Festival winners may be found by clicking here.
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National Novel Writing Month - Home
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Calling all library staff members
19 Jun 2009 | 5:50 pmWe are gathering testimonials from library staff members that have hosted NaNoWriMo or YWP events in their library. We're rolling out a library outreach program this fall, and your input will go a long way towards wooing the folks at these fine institutions. If you’re able to contribute a short overview of your experience, please let us know by June 26, and we will get in touch with more information. Thanks to everyone who sent in a photograph of your writing space! These snapshots of your writing lives are better than any of us here at headquarters could have ever imagined. Keep them… -
Drupal days of summer
5 Jun 2009 | 4:44 pmWe broke ground this week on all kinds of exciting improvements to the site and store. Many thanks to our 2008 donors for bringing us ever-closer to achieving Drupal-programming perfection. We are also working on perfecting our Blog! In the spirit of Kyle Cassidy's Where I Write project, we're asking you to send in photos of yourself in your creative space. Send them in by June 19 with a short description of what makes your space so inspiring, and we'll post the submissions on the NaNoWriMo Blog throughout the summer. Wondering if 'Drupaly' is an adjective, Lindsey -
Great excitements
3 Jun 2009 | 5:13 pmIt's been a time of great excitements over here in NaNoLand. The biggest news: Our Young Writers Program Director Tavia got married to her exceedingly handsome celebrity chef boyfriend John over the weekend. We all cried. And ate. Then cried some more because the food was so good and we'd eaten too much. To celebrate Tavia's wedding, we're holding a crazy sale for the next two days on Script Frenzy items. Travel mugs for $10! Long-sleeve tees for $17! We'll also be picking an order from the next 48 hours at random and including a package of marsupial-themed chocolates I brought back with me… -
The Best!
30 Apr 2009 | 10:49 amHi Wrimos! We at NaNoWriMo HQ received an email this morning informing us that NaNoWriMo.org has been named one of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers! How cool is that? I went to the site to see where exactly we were ranked; alas, the list is alphabetical, placing us at 45 of 101. (Too bad our name doesn't start with a double 'a,' eh?) Nevertheless, we are wicked excited and honored to be grouped with such greats as Merriam-Webster (our favorite online dictionary!), MediaBistro (a personal fave from my grad school days) and Drew's Script-O-Rama (highly recommended over on Script… -
Today's Guests: ABNA Semifinalist Wrimos!
23 Apr 2009 | 4:31 pmQ: What were you doing when you found out that your NaNo-novel made it to the Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Semifinals? C.P. Dotson: I was actually asleep. My husband checked the site around 2 AM and woke me up with the news. My response was, "That's freaking hilarious." I didn't expect Thirst to make the first cut, let alone make the semifinals. Lisa Koosis: I work from home, so I was at my desk getting ready to start the day. Since the Quarter-finalist notifications hadn’t arrived until late on the day they’d been promised, I wasn’t really expecting an early announcement for the semis.
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Protagonize: Hot Stories
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Team Protagonize: The Darkness
The sun fell into a toxic horizon, spraying it's vibrant fire across the sky. In contrast, the darkness grew and swallowed the world, penumbral hands latching at nooks and crannies, finding their malignant ways down the creases of the world. Autumn chased the sun, Darkness chased her. Autumn wasn't aware of how she came to be in this place, she was bewildered, she had fallen asleep and come to in this dead world. She had not seen a living creature for 3 days, not a bird, not a bug, nor the faint life of wind rustling the world. Day time just brought about a ghost world, a complete lethargy,… -
Free Your Mind
The dust particles drifted aimlessly, a small sliver of light snuck in through a gap in the window, illuminating the small room. The other windows had no such faults, each covered with a blanket, sheets of paper, anything that would throw up a guard against unwelcome eyes. A small woman bent over a desk, her long blond hair covered either side of her face, creating a tunnel through which she studied the papers that were scattered infront of her. Her clothes might have been beautiful at one time, colors and patterns combined to create a reflection of the artist's nature. Now,… -
Me As An Animal
Me As A Gerbil Dashing about, then stopping and starting and freezing to stare, winking and grooming and curling up suddenly quiet and asleep. Rolled in a ball, comfy and warm. Darting, alert and wakeful and eyes wide; thumping at danger with kangaroo feet and then running with fear. Nibbling a seed, and then another and hiding away, so no one can take it, it's mine; when it's gone there may be no more for me. My fur is soft and I am so small, but curious always and ever on guard. -
Challenge: Theme Song
Ok, so once again I am reusing one of the popular challenges the our beloved Ficlets had. Music-Hearted had originally made this challenge. Now, I don't know if anyone here has done this challenge. I looked around but didn't find anything. So, here are the rules as told my Music-Hearted (Not exactly rules though...): I think all of us have heard a song that seems to describe us. Whether it’s our current mood, situation, personality, whatever, we all have found some kind of theme song. For this challenge, I want you to write a ficlet based on the ‘theme song’… -
Calling all ''Protagonizers''. Why do you do it?
Why do I write? I think I do it mainly to channel the wildly whirling thoughts which are always in my head, the internal brainstorming that goes on and on and on all the time. I write to get rid of the random phrase and snatch of unheard conversation, the image originating from last night's vivid dream. I write to keep the nightmares away. If they're captured on paper, or on the computer monitor, they perhaps won't trouble my sleep too much. I write to answer the questions: What if? What happens next? How can they solve that problem? Would it be…
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About.com Fiction Writing
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Improve Your Descriptions Through Observation
2 Jul 2009 | 8:51 amSome of you may remember a blog post in April responding to a question from Jason, an Iraq War veteran who was working on his descriptions. The post inspired a... -
Happy Canada Day!
1 Jul 2009 | 8:25 amHappy birthday, Canada, and thanks for giving us Margaret Atwood, Anne Carson, Robertson Davies, Alix Ohlin, Michael Ondaatje, Heather O'Neill, David Wevill . . . who else am I... -
You Gotta Have Faith
1 Jul 2009 | 2:00 amA playwright friend of mine recently had a breakout play after years of living on nothing (at one point he even moved back home with his mom). He didn't come... -
My Sister's Keeper Movie
30 Jun 2009 | 3:25 amSo I have two questions in light of a recent Washington Post article. First, and most fun, what did fans think of the new Jodi Picoult movie, which took in... -
Wordle Word Clouds
29 Jun 2009 | 6:59 amI discovered Wordle on a recent blog carnival: it generates word clouds, or collages, using text you enter. (The program chooses words based on frequency; the most frequently used words...
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MPR: Grammar Grater
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Episode 105: On Principle
1 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, we look at a pair of commonly confused homophones: principal and principle. -
Episode 104: Even the Nouns are Better
24 Jun 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week marks our 100th original episode, as well as the 2nd anniversary of Grammar Grater. We're celebrating the occasion by presenting a "clip show" of some of our favorite moments from the past two years. -
Episode 103: A-Muse and B-Muse
17 Jun 2009 | 10:00 pmWe examine another pair of words that can cause confusion: amuse and bemuse. If you enjoy Grammar Grater, consider supporting it by becoming a member at http://www.mpr.org/grammargrater -
Episode 102: The English Language (R), Part 2
10 Jun 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, we continue our two-part look at the issue of trademarks in writing. -
Episode 101: The English Language (R), Part 1
3 Jun 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, we begin our two-part look at the issue of trademarks in writing.
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Becoming A Writer - Seriously
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Important Update about Idea Mason
The following was submitted to the blog as a comment to an earlier post about Idea Mason, but it is so important that I'm adding it as a current post so that everyone can easily find it. For background, read my review of Ides Mason. Thanks, Sue, for bringing this ... -
New idea Collaboration Application and Free Trial for Scriptwriters
A couple of interesting items have just come to my attention that will interest some of you. WRIDEA Wridea is a new online application to facilitate your own brain-storming -- and it allows you to invite others to chip in their ideas too. One must sign up for an account, but it's ... -
Another Deal for Writers: Liquid Story Binder at 50-percent Discount — TUESDAY ONLY
Bits du Jour is working overtime in behalf of writers this week. On TUESDAY ONLY, writers can pick up Liquid Story Binder for half-price -- that's $22.98, discounted from $45.95. I reviewed this application a bit over a year ago, when it was last offered by Bits du Jour. It ... -
Great Value for Writers: History Explorer for $5.99 — TODAY ONLY
If you write a lot, you need History Explorer. There's nothing more troublesome than keeping a version history of your major writing projects. I've written about that challenge from time to time in this blog and some months back even recommended this program when it was offered for free on Giveaway ... -
AbiWord: Among Top 25 Free Apps in ZDnet Survey
Image via Wikipedia ZDnet is one of the most influential of sites about computers, software and freeware. Today it posted a list of the top 25 free aplications, as suggested by its readers. In my view, it's the best such list I've ever seen. I know almost all ...
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Writing and Speaking: Writing Articles from EzineArticles.com
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Getting Started As a Writer - Part Five - Inspiration From Everyday Life
3 Jul 2009 | 11:56 amActivities unrelated to writing can often unlock your inspiration, whether it's doing laundry, walking the dog, tidying the house, mowing the lawn or doing the dishes. It's surprising how even the most mundane situations can launch you on the road to your next story. -
Getting Started As a Writer - Part Four - No Happily Ever After
3 Jul 2009 | 11:56 amIf you don't feel as if you can create your own story from scratch, why not use someone else's? This is not an endorsement of plagiarism, but rather a suggestion to rewrite the ending to a story you are very familiar with. This could be a fairy tale, a real incident from history, myths or legends, a movie or TV series -
Getting Started As a Writer - Part Three - People Plotting
3 Jul 2009 | 11:55 amSome writers get at least part of their inspiration from pictures, paintings or photographs. Photographs of people are easy enough find online and another good writing exercise is to take two people and imagine a situation were they might meet. -
Getting Started As a Writer - Part Two - Kick-Start Your Creativity
3 Jul 2009 | 11:55 amEven if you are really determined to work on your writing and have set time aside for it, there will be days when nothing seems to work to get you started. An interesting exercise to get a story moving is to use a collection of random objects drawn from a bag... -
Getting Started As a Writer - Part One - Creating the Spark
3 Jul 2009 | 11:54 amThere appear to be an endless number of sites on the web offering advice on writing, concerning where to get ideas, character development, point of view, working in different genres, story structure, the editing process, how to get publishers and agents to pay attention to you and so on. And yet one of the most frequently asked questions, especially for beginners is how to actually get started with your writing?
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Writing Forums - Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
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Need onomatopoeia help
3 Jul 2009 | 3:58 pmI just really need help with this one sound, a dog barking. I can't get it right. You see, using something like "He barked at the intruder" doesn't work because it's in graphic novel form. The type of dog barking is a big/medium dog, a German Shepherd if you want to get specific. So any ideas? -
Punctuation debate
1 Jul 2009 | 5:32 amHello, We have recently started to get marked on the use of English in our e-mails where I work, I have failed on this for the following e-mail: "Hello, Thank you for your e-mail, I cannot see any issues with this circuit, the profile is a little low but should rise over the next couple of days. Regards" My supervisor states this is incorrect as it should be a full stop, not a comma, after the word e-mail, my argument is that this is more a point of preference than anything. I understand many people may choose to use a full stop in these circumstances but do you feel it is incorrect… -
sentences to a paragraph?
27 Jun 2009 | 9:58 pmIs there some sort of rule about how many sentences should be in a paragraph?? You would think I'd know being a uni student, but all my SERIOUS writing up until now has been academic, and I'm not sure if the same sort of rules apply? -
Halliday verb types
25 Jun 2009 | 9:44 amHi,everyone. Would you please tell me how many types of verbs there are in English according to Halliday? Is there one type of verb called restrictive or restricted verbs? And what is its definition by Halliday? Thanks. Richard -
pull in vs pull over
24 Jun 2009 | 4:48 amHello Could someone tell me the differences between "pull in" and "pull over" and "pull off the road"? Also which one of "pull in" and "pull over"can best fit in the following sentences? - I .....,unable to stop myself from going to sleep. - Hearing noises from the engine,he ..... to see what's wrong with it. - The car ..... when the ambulance approached at high speed. - A car came at high speed behind me and flashed me to ..... Thank you very much in advance.
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Academia-Research blog
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Freelance Writing Job That You can take Online
22 Jun 2009 | 11:12 pmThe internet is supposed to be use only for communications. However, because of the wide usage of the technology, you can now even find some online jobs that will forever change your life. What if you can find a freelance writing job online? Today, let me give you some details about the possibility of working at home and earn some money without having to compromise your time. A freelance writing job is usually found only among the companies that are engaged in publishing. You can easily find a writer job from a newspaper company. A book publishing house or even among broadcasting stations… -
Online Jobs Work From Home – Cyberspace Opportunities
16 Jun 2009 | 1:24 amNot so many people are aware that they can actually get online jobs work from home opportunities. Actually, it is about time for you to realize that the internet is like a money making machine. Of course, this kind of a perception will only materialize if you have the passion, the dedication and the resources to let you search for the best online jobs out there in cyberspace. I myself am an online worker from home so I would like to provide you some key ideas on how the employment at home can be identified. Online jobs work form home are very easy to find. You only need Google or Yahoo and… -
Simple Things About Job Online Writing
31 May 2009 | 3:55 amNot so many people know that fact that available online jobs can now be found. It is much easier to look for writing jobs on the internet than scouting those companies that are related to writing. Moreover, you cannot be assured whether there are writing positions that you can apply for. Such a waste of time and energy can truly be a depressing experience for first time job seekers. But what are the kinds of job online writing positions that you can get through the internet? Well, it is much easier to experience this kind of an offer than telling you these words. SEO. Some of the jobs… -
Online Work Offers - Freelance Writing Jobs
11 May 2009 | 10:11 pmIn times of recession, it is ideal that you take any job offers seriously. Being practical in these troubled days should be the ultimate attitude in looking for a job and that it is never too late to find the best online jobs that will give you satisfaction and happiness in life. Have you ever heard of freelance writing jobs? Well, you may be thinking about those companies involved in publishing and newspaper delivery but what we are talking about is the freelance writing opportunity that you can encounter right in front of your computer. Yes, you can actually find jobs without having to… -
Freelance Writing Jobs in time of Economic Recession
21 Apr 2009 | 3:35 amThe recession issues in our economy today have lead to tremendous job losses. However, there are still very good offers in freelance writing jobs especially for those who are always connected on the internet. Now, you can easily get online jobs without having to go to an office or even worry about losing your job again. Freelance writing jobs have evolved and all you need to have in order to survive is your computer. Many writers out there have recently lost their sources of income due to global recession. However, many of them also are earning great money and that they are enjoying their…
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Dissertation and thesis writing guide. Literature Review and Research Proposal Hints.
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Consider writing an Art Dissertation
2 Jul 2009 | 11:07 pmIn my experience, there are only very few times when I encountered art dissertation projects. Maybe this is due to the fact that art is very difficult to express and that it relative. However, there are still some important things that we can acquire when writing an art dissertation and most of them do not even relate to the subject itself. A dissertation aims to provide the readers and the writers new sets of knowledge. It is like the evidence of a research process in written form. The main goal of researching is to come up with a study result that will be extracted form other referenced… -
How important is a dissertation sample
2 Jul 2009 | 1:22 amYou cannot deny the fact that using a dissertation sample has its own benefits. Of course, each one of us must be able to learn how to write a dissertation either through the teachings of our teachers or by utilizing dissertation proposal sample files. So what are the good benefits of having a material for reference? First of all you need to understand that a thesis paper is a highly technical school project. There are certain ways to write it. If you have a dissertation sample, you will be able to identify what chapters are necessary in writing the paper. A dissertation sample can also give… -
Building Your Dissertation Titles
30 Jun 2009 | 8:30 pmIt is quite intriguing that some students tend to have some difficulties in writing thesis dissertation titles. Actually there is nothing so weird about it since this aspect of dissertation* writing actually exists. So how can we write an effective dissertation title? A title for any documents serves as the name of the entire project or file. It gives the readers the idea of what the research is all about and may sometimes provide them the bigger snapshot of what to expect in the contents. Therefore, the dissertation title is important. Every researcher wants to attract as many readers as… -
How to write dissertation for starters
29 Jun 2009 | 11:20 pmHow to write a dissertation paper is quite easy only if you know the parts involved in such a project. Usually, students are not fond of writing and researching that is why they only make the matter worse for them. A dissertation paper can be written with great simplicity. Let me give you the basic parts of a dissertation as my dissertation advice for you in writing. The selection of the topic is the primary step in how to write a dissertation. This can be done by identifying a topic that you think interests you, has a degree of significance, feasible and can be supported wit many reference… -
Learning to Write a University Dissertation
28 Jun 2009 | 5:49 pmAs long as you are enrolled in college, you will not be spared of the task to write a university dissertation. Actually, this is the most important project that students will have to compose that is why you need some basic information on how to write a dissertation paper with good quality contents. How to make a thesis should not be too difficult if you know the basics in writing. I will provide you the steps in this short list. First of all, you need to select a topic for writing. When doing the selection process, you need to consider subjects that really interest you. It should be…
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Word Strumpet
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The China Cabinet Syndrome
29 Jun 2009 | 10:11 amA couple weeks ago my dining room table was covered with china, cut glass, pitchers, and an odd assortment of knick-knacks. This was all stuff brought over from my Mom's house, which we were cleaning out before an estate sale.I was really happy with all the things I'd claimed but the problem was that I needed to find room for them in my china cabinets. A quick glance at the already bulging cabinets let me know that finding room was going to be quite the chore. So I procrastinated.I'd walk through the dining room, pause, look at the table, look at the china cabinets, and… -
Death, Rebirth, and Writing
24 Jun 2009 | 11:41 amIt has come to my attention that my absence from writing posts has been noticed. I was hoping I could slide under the missing blogger wire and nobody would care. And I am thrilled that such is not the case.So, an explanation is in order. Over the last couple of months, my 92-year-old mother's health took a nose dive. Up until January, she had been living alone in my childhood home. On the first day of this year, she fell and broke her hip and as is so often the case, everything went downhill from there. For the last couple of months my sister and I have not only been dealing… -
Writing Flow: Turning Off the Worry Faucet
24 Apr 2009 | 4:36 pmA few days ago I wrote a post titled, What About Not Writing? which pondered the question of whether it was ever a good idea to take a break from writing. As is often the case, the post garnered some interesting responses, because, well, I have fabulously interesting readers (Brief aside: as a general rule, writers are the most fabulously interesting people in the world, except for the occasional odd duck crank).Some commenters echoed my thought that writing is so much a part of me it is hard to imagine taking a break from it. And others mentioned the value of taking a break to refill the… -
What About Not Writing?
20 Apr 2009 | 8:31 pmA couple weeks ago, I wrote about creativity with a purpose. As usual, I banged the drum for writing on a regular basis. (This is a familiar subject matter for me, as attested to by these posts, too: Getting Up at 5 AM, Techniques for Writing Flow, and Ah, But Here's the Rub, to name only a few. I can't help it, its what I do!)For me, and many writers I know, it simply works better to find some time to write very day, or as close to it as possible. The reasons are many, but mostly boil down to one word: momentum. Like the proverbial rock rolling down a hill and going… -
The Rule of Threes
15 Apr 2009 | 6:38 pmI was reading a manuscript the other day and the writer had used a series of two phrases to describe something. My antenna went up and I made a comment that in the American culture, we like things in threes. I've conveniently named this The Rule of Threes, though to my knowledge there is really no such things.Consider with me: Tall, dark, and handsome.Red, white and blue.Stars and stripes forever.A dark and stormy night.The three little pigs.The three wishes fairy godmothers and genies grant us.And so on....I'm sure you can think of many more. My point is that we have a…
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What Kate Did Next
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Icons
27 Jun 2009 | 3:10 amIt's been a sad week for the Baby Boomers and Gen X losing two of the great popular icons of our time. Farah Fawcett was the all-American blonde we all had pinned to our bedroom walls, and Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack to our childhood. We take it so much for granted that we will live - if not forever - well into our eighties, even nineties, that to lose two people who embodied youth at such an early age is a wake up call for us all.It makes you wonder whether there will ever be icons like this again. At the age of 50, Jackson had a career spanning four decades. Can you imagine that… -
The Gift
21 Jun 2009 | 12:58 amWe talked last week about how creative people need to produce new work to feel good. If you're not working, you feel restless, lethargic - but what do you do when you feel really out of balance? A few years ago in London, I was trying to write my first novel, getting up early before work, writing late into the evening (it was 180,000 words). We'd just got married, renovated our first flat (while living in it ...), and at work we were embroiled in a long tricky project for the Kuwaiti Government (it became known as 'Project Escargot' there was so much slime involved). We didn't have children,… -
High Stakes
14 Jun 2009 | 2:22 amPeter LindberghI had to laugh when London's secret agent and girl-about-town Miss Daisy Frost tweeted her 2009 predictions yesterday and asked if they had been rather tame compared to the reality unfolding in publishing circles: 'Dec – Rumours that an agent has sold a debut novel prove unfounded'. Ack - has there ever been a worse time to try and breakout? The thing is, I'm not buying it. Creative industries thrive on creativity. Sooner or later someone is going to take a chance, and all we can do is make sure we're ready and writing at the top of our game. I spoke to the wife of a… -
One
9 Jun 2009 | 3:44 amBeryl Cook - Birthday Cake200+ posts, 2000 readers a month, 20000 in the first year from 100 countries - today, welcome Albania (this feels like the Eurovision Song Contest)! I grabbed my glamorous assistant on his way out to the airport this morning, and the pilot picked Magpie's name from the hat - so Magpie if you'd like to email me your snail mail address there's a proof copy of the WKDN workbook on its way to the US.Thanks to all of you for making WKDN more fun than I ever imagined possible. I was just reading this morning that what really builds a readership is not massive promotion but… -
Keeping It Real
7 Jun 2009 | 2:41 amDavid HockneyOf all contemporary artists David Hockney explores perspective in the most interesting of ways. I love his polaroid collages - so like the human eye, flitting around noticing details, breaking down the scene into snapshots. Perspective is a curious thing - maybe some of you have studied it in art classes. Somewhere along the line, art stopped looking like this: Mainly thanks to discoveries about perspective, paintings began to look a little more lifelike ... The Fra Angelico altarpiece is dazzling when you see it in the flesh - it's not 'lifelike' because there are still issues…
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Break Room
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TBR Special - Division G Last Episode - Voicemail (214) 3299-TBR
2 Jul 2009 | 10:34 pmTBR is out this week, so we present the last episode of Division G. Congratulations America. -
TBR 147 - Gipsy Vomit - Voicemail (214) 329-9827
25 Jun 2009 | 11:07 pmThis week we toss our plans out the window with a return to Thumbs of Fury, wherein we tear apart the likes of Drag Me to Hell, Firefly, The Hangover and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Guest-starring Daren Twilight. -
TBR 146 - Fellatio and Street BBQ - Voicemail (214) 329-9827
18 Jun 2009 | 8:27 pmMancation, all we ever wanted: this week we dissect and break down the Florida adventures of Dustin and Marc, including Universal Studios, fishing, fellatio and an interview with Posadan (aka 7-ate-9). -
TBR 145 - Music Explosion In On & Around Your Face - Voicemail (214) 329-9827
4 Jun 2009 | 8:40 pmWe bring back the music with two segments introducing you to some and some not so great music. Plus, Florida phallus talk. -
TBR 144 - Elephant - Voicemail (214) 329-9827
28 May 2009 | 8:41 pmWe initiate our first live show in a long time with the worst tribute songs of all-time, plus we raise the Double Dead and review Breaking Bad season one and The Tudors season three.
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The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing
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Hang onto Inspiration
1 Jul 2009 | 9:15 amLast night during the preview session for the NAMW Make Your Stories Sparkle teleseminar previewing my upcoming teleclass by the same name, I mentioned the value of building a collection of inspiring passages from books you read. My focus last night was on collecting a wide selection of descriptions that grab my eye and attention, but I also collect other types of examples.I began this collection several months ago for the purpose of comparing and studying how various authors I admire use various descriptive techniques. It has since grown to include other types of amazing writing. I have… -
Dare to be YOU!
26 Jun 2009 | 7:24 amWhat the heck has happened?Why am I having so much trouble writing? I asked myself these questions as I wrote in my journal this morning. In recent weeks I have noticed my writing has begun to feel stale and forced, lacking the joy I usually feel. Sarabelle has been conspicuously absent and I’ve been feeling boxed in, pressured.As the answers flowed from my heart into my fingers, I discovered the reason. I’ve been trying to force my writing and even more so my workshop content into conformance with the examples of others. Not the expectations of others, but my own expectations of what… -
Coming to My Senses
18 Jun 2009 | 11:58 amI recently spent a few days on retreat at a friend's house in southern California. Something about the mellow gold and ocher hills and spare landscape of the Golden State strikes me as magical, profoundly relaxing and invigorating. In the stillness of the coastal hills, without the distractions of daily life, I’m able to get in touch with the essentials of life more deeply than usual.One morning I walked up the steep hillabove the house. I went alone, with no agenda and no planned destination, just wandering along a road lined with magnificent mansions scattered among simpler California… -
How to Read Like a Writer
17 Jun 2009 | 7:08 amOne of the best workshops a writer can take is found between the covers of books, and if you have a library card and return your books on time, it doesn’t need to cost a penny. Of course I’m talking about reading, often, widely, and deeply. Reading the work of others fires your imagination, and exposes you to myriad voices and ways of expressing thoughts and opinions.Before I give you tips on how to turn your reading time into your own personal writer’s workshop, please heed this caution: Reading the polished prose of successful writers can put your Inner Critic on steroids. “I can… -
Less Isn't Always Better
10 Jun 2009 | 7:34 pmSomething unique happened after I posted that last message, First, Do No Harm. I received two e-mail responses, both fascinating. Because they were so thought-provoking, I asked permission to share. They are quite different in focus, so I’ll start with the first and save the second for next time.Marlene Clark wrote:Interesting dilemma, that man with the lazy, no good son of a ....Aside from the obvious harm that statement does, this actually falls in the same category as writing "Mother was wonderful."I tell my students that generalities or grand pronouncements are vague, and we want to be…
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Writing Roads
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What’s your process?
1 Jul 2009 | 8:52 amI’ve had the opportunity over the last few days to discuss my writing process at length – specifically my process of writing for other people. I talked to interviewers, friends, clients and writers-to-be… One of those times, the conversation was with a brilliant photographer named Randi Baird. I was asking her about her process of documentation through pictures for a presentation she’s giving. I listened to her talk and wrote this from our exchange: I marinate in the ideas before I photograph for an article; then, I illustrate the author’s words. Working with chefs,… -
To throw or not to throw yourself under the bus, that is the question.
29 Jun 2009 | 9:40 amYesterday, I went for an epic rollerblade. Eight miles, bright blue skies, forest all around me. And, ‘they’ (don’t know who they are, just know that I love them) had just come through to clear the path of debris – something they do on a monthly basis. So, I was cruisin’…to the point that I kind of stopped paying attention. Around mile 4 I glided up a small hill and passed a guy walking – who just so happened to be beautiful – and I was busy being grateful for his smile and friendly ‘good morning’ when suddenly I realized that I had… -
Authentic trumps agreeable
25 Jun 2009 | 9:06 amI had the honor of facing Boston traffic in the rain yesterday with the one and only Leslie Fishlock, President/CEO of Genevate and Founder/Brilliantess of Geek Girls. Because we are both huge geeks, we talked a lot of shop – and Leslie said a fantastic thing about blogging: “I read so many blogs that I don’t agree with – but I’m always attracted to an authentic voice.” If we all want blogs to continue to inform and educate, like the good ones do, then embracing Leslie’s sentiment is critical. After all, how can you learn new things or grow as a… -
Twitter isn’t so crazy
23 Jun 2009 | 12:52 pmThis morning I was out rollerblading and I crossed paths with these two lovely ladies that I see out there from time to time. They’re probably about 65 and they’re on their bikes. We were traveling in different directions and passed each other three times. At each pass, we had these mini-flyby conversations, like this one: As we approached… Lady 1: I love your little car! Lady 2: What is it? As we passed each other: Me: Subaru. Lady 2: The Impreza? Me: Yep. Over our shoulders: Lady 1: Do you love it? Me: Totally. Awesome car. And affordable. Both Ladies: Thanks! The world,… -
Dealing with hate online
18 Jun 2009 | 12:35 pmWhat is going on? Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I’ve watched the Hate Meter rise. One of those times, it was disturbingly turned on me in reaction to a post I wrote, but the horror of it really supersedes the target. Hate is just nasty. There’s no way around it. And social media seems to breed its own brand, or maybe it’s the same old, same old – just wearing a new dress. A new dress getting soaked in a shit storm. Why people hate I’ve got to say it seems to boil down to these three things: Insecurity Fear Need for attention Social media, for worse…
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Published and Profitable
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Build your “Tribe” of loyal supporters by offering relevant bonuses that make an obvious difference
2 Jul 2009 | 10:59 amThere’s more to building a “Tribe”–Seth Godin’s term, from the book of the same name–of loyal supporters and pre-sold books and future events just including a list of sign-up bonuses with your promotional message. The bonuses have to be–again using Seth Godin’s terminology in Permission Marketing, one of his earlier books–helpful and relevant. But, wait, there’s more! To have genuine relationship-building value, the bonuses also have to be tangible and visible. They have to become tools that can have the recipient do something, to… -
More of Jack Hart’s practical writing tips for authors, from A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies That Work
29 Jun 2009 | 5:38 pmJack Hart’s A Writer’s Coach: The Complete Guide to Writing Strategies that Work continues to impress me with it’s sheer volume of pragmatic advice and writing tips. (My original post is here.) I’ve since ordered copies for each of my sons, plus several friends. I’ve also encouraged the local independent bookstore to stock it. Jack Hart’s A Writing Coach one of the few writing books that actually lives up to its promise…while keeping the reader happily engaged and entertained. The Writing Process A lot of the power of Jack Hart’s A… -
Share your June writing experiences during Published & Profitable’s end-of-month call
28 Jun 2009 | 6:56 pmShare your recent planning, writing, promoting, and profiting progress with other Published & Profitable friends and members during our June end-of-month call. This is an opportunity for you to share your victories, concerns, and qustions with others who are facing the same challenges. As always, I’ll begin the call with a brief presentation, then open the call to everyone. This month, I’ll begin by discussing some of the pros and cons of “short books” that can help you get your book to market faster. Then, we’ll all profit from the “wisdom of the… -
Susan Weinschenk’s Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click? offers website usability tips based on how visitors react and think
27 Jun 2009 | 12:03 pmSusan M. Weinschenk’s Neuro Web Design offers a new look at web design, based on years of psychological research into website usability–how website visitors actually react and behave. Neuro Web Design offers a thoughtful alternative to the usual aesthetic, or “Do I like the way it looks?” approach that has long ruled web design. Background For 30 years, Susan Weinschenk has been applying the principles of psychology to the design of technological interfaces. She relates user interface design for computers, software, websites, and medical equipment to the newest… -
Stephanie Diamond’s No Nonsense Web Workshops will help you make the small changes that create big results
26 Jun 2009 | 9:28 pmWhile some business owners wait for “big changes” to come along–often only once in a blue moon–others double or triple their profits by following the ideas that Stephanie Diamond will be sharing in her No Nonsense Web Workshops4-week e-course and personalized coaching program that begins July 5. Meet Stephanie Diamond When Stephanie Diamond joined AOL in 1994, they had less than a million members. When she left her position as Marketing Director to start her own online marketing firm in 2002, they had 36 million members! The years in between provided her with an…
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Writing Forward
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July News and Announcements
2 Jul 2009 | 1:00 amSummer was off to an overcast start here in California. Just when I started thinking we were never going to get any sunshine, the clouds parted and out came the sun in all its hot, bright glory. So I’m ready to pack up a tasty lunch, lots of cold drinks, an armful of books, and just go veg out on a beach somewhere. Preferably a beach that slopes into warm, salty waters. Last month, we unveiled the new design at Writing Forward and announced a new service for writers – the writing coach program. This has given way to plenty of questions about the program, so sometime this month… -
Poetry Terms: Alliteration
30 Jun 2009 | 1:00 amIf you write poetry, then you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the poetry terms that are used to identify, define, and discuss the technical aspects of a poem. In fact, learning poetry terms is essential if you want to be able to discuss poetry. It’s far better to say rhyme instead of having to explain – you know, those words that sound alike but not exactly alike? Developing a vocabulary of poetry terms will help you better understand the composition techniques and tools that are at your disposal. It may not occur to you that you can build rhythm by repeating consonant… -
How to Stay Inspired with a Creative Writing Talisman
25 Jun 2009 | 1:00 amSometimes when we sit down to write, the muse is in full effect and the words pour forth effortlessly. Other times, we sit there staring at a blank screen waiting for creativity to manifest. We wait, and we wait. And then we wait some more. Writer’s block is the state of being uninspired, but it’s just a state of mind, and that can be changed at will, which is a good thing, because when it comes to creative writing, state of mind is pretty important. Years ago, when I used to draw and paint, I often listened to a particular mix of music. It made for great artistic background… -
Better Writing Habits
23 Jun 2009 | 1:00 amEvery ambitious writer strives to consistently produce better writing. We work to master grammar, develop a strong voice, and build sentences and paragraphs that captivate readers. There’s a lot to learn, and in order to establish the skill set that every successful writer needs, we must foster beneficial writing habits. Better Writing Better writing simply doesn’t happen overnight. Sure, there are quick tricks and fast fixes that you can use, but developing smart, long-term writing habits is a much more effective way to generate better writing. So, what habits can you foster to… -
Writing Resources: The Writing Show
18 Jun 2009 | 1:00 amLooking for some great writing resources? Sit down and listen to interviews with writers – but read this first. The Writing Show The Writing Show is a weekly podcast that features interviews with writers, publishers, editors, agents, and other professionals who work in the literary and publishing industries. It’s one of the best writing resources out there, and all you have to do is listen. The show explores every aspect of writing, from generating ideas to collecting royalties. Host Paula B. delivers original, entertaining, and informative content that is designed to help writers…
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PoeWar
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Technical Writer (Framemaker) — Farmington Hills, MI
3 Jul 2009 | 1:37 amResponsibilities will include documentation of proprietary equipment and software documentation. Candidates must be proficient with Adobe Framemaker and should have at least 2 years experience documenting software. View at Manpower Check out the Writing Opportunities at Elance © J.C. Hewitt for PoeWar, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh -
RFP Writer — Chicago, IL
3 Jul 2009 | 1:29 amComplete/coordinate RFP/consultant questionnaires presenting the firm’s products/services. Build/maintain RFP library of documentation for future reference including ongoing quarterly/semi-annual/annual updates. Work closely with department head/product specialists/sales/performance analysts to develop language for use in RFP responses. Assemble response data for both clients/prospects. Develop/design ad hoc investment communications in cooperation with product specialists/sales/management. View at Broker Jobs Check out the Writing Opportunities at Elance © J.C. Hewitt for PoeWar,… -
Technical Writer — Buffalo Grove, IL
3 Jul 2009 | 1:27 amThe web writer/ Tech Writer would basically re-write all the content on our internet site, based on information given to them by our “experts”, making it more interesting, compelling even. For example, they would meet with one of our “experts”, say our energy expert. The expert would provide the web writer with information/facts/news/etc. and the writer would then piece it all together for the energy section of the website so it reads well, is interesting, compelling and such. View at Dice Check out the Writing Opportunities at Elance © J.C. Hewitt for PoeWar,… -
Engineering Technical Writer — Barrington, IL
3 Jul 2009 | 1:24 amPrior experience with Radiology and/or Cardiology/Angiography Imaging products and/or information technology; (Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), Radiology Information System (RIS), X-Ray, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), Nuclear Medicine (NM), Ultrasound (US), Interventional Cardiology such as fluoroscopy, Cardiology Information System, etc.) Engineering or equivalent experience: Bachelors Degree with 5+ years experience in Engineering such as Software Engineer, Systems Engineer, Integration Engineer, Test System Engineer, Product Engineer, Service… -
Technical Writer — Chicago, IL
3 Jul 2009 | 1:22 amThe Technical Writer will be responsible for the following tasks: -Working with developer?s to gather and create documentation on electronic trading systems. -Developing external support documentation (i.e. Developer’s Guides, User Guides, Online Help, Checklists, Message Specifications) -Disseminating updates and necessary information to all necessary departments -Working with clients, developers, quality assurance professionals, and marketing team to develop materials for user guides and training. View at Kijiji Check out the Writing Opportunities at Elance © J.C. Hewitt for…
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lisahartjes.com
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Tweets for 2009-06-10
10 Jun 2009 | 6:59 pmFinally back in the swing of things again - just in time for the kids to be out of school. # Lunch today: two vine ripe tomatoes, a small handful of bocconcini, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a bit of salt and pepper. YUM!!! # It’s 3:15. Where the heck did the day go? # @museitupeditor Glad to be of service! # Powered by Twitter Tools. -
When cooking with a crockpot…
1 Jun 2009 | 7:16 am…make sure you actually set it on “Low” when you get it going before you go to bed. Trying to cook something on the “Keep Warm” setting doesn’t work. Oy. -
Tweets for 2009-05-28
28 May 2009 | 6:59 pmI finally remembered to turn twhirl on again! # Powered by Twitter Tools. -
Tweets for 2009-05-19
19 May 2009 | 6:59 pmMmm…. Grilled boneless top sirloin steak and a huge salad for lunch. I love it when Matt works from home. # Powered by Twitter Tools. -
Tweets for 2009-05-18
18 May 2009 | 6:59 pmEgg salad sandwich for breakfast. Yum! Is this the start of a decent food day? # Finished spreading another bag of mulch in the garden. Two more to go. # Time for some lunch, and then some writing. I hope. # Powered by Twitter Tools.
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Scribble Pad
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Share the Love!
30 Jun 2009 | 3:49 pmMy husband sent this to me, and I love it! It's beautiful. It's about an Indian holy woman. -
Wellness Do-Over
23 Jun 2009 | 2:53 pmAfter falling off the Ayurvedic wagon (for a couple of few years actually) and dropping yoga frequency down to about once a week, I've decided it's time to reset.So far, yesterday was my second Ayurvedic grocery run. I'm glad I started up again in hot whether. I really like the the summer selection: Fruits, vegetables, and shrimp...Woo-hoo!Admittedly, the lack of hot sauce and limes is not my favorite part, but having ice cream for desert totally makes up for it.As for yoga, my back went out of whack last week, so it's been a slow return. So far the sun only gets 4 salutations before my back… -
Being Last Can Be Better
13 Jun 2009 | 1:12 pmMy mind is floating to the skies as I plot and plan to get away in the coming months. Listening to the radio I heard part of a show kicking around different travel strategies to reduce common annoyances. I was happy to hear several comments in favor of last... When it comes to flying, I love last.Baggage Last - If you check your bag at the gate there's no charge, and of course, at the other end your checked bags come out first. Boarding Last- Waiting while reading comfortably and sipping on coffee is far better than dodging people's bags as they work them under seats or swing them over head. -
June is National Everything Month
12 Jun 2009 | 5:41 pmHey, guess what I discovered. Apparently, June is National Audiobook Month. There's a month for everything isn't there? There's more. June is also:Adopt A Shelter Cat Month-- Except for my Friend ET... No more. Stop yourself!Cancer From The Sun MonthCelibacy Awareness MonthChild Vision Awareness MonthChildren’s Awareness Month -- Wait, whose aware, us or the kids?Dairy Alternative MonthDairy MonthEffective Communications MonthEntrepreneurs Do It Yourself Marketing Month Fireworks Safety Month -- I would feel so much better if we focused on this in July.Gay and Lesbian Pride MonthGreat… -
My Brain is Hungry
9 Jun 2009 | 9:55 amThe more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -- Dr. SeussCurrently, I'm in China, Medieval Spain, and the US in the late nineties. Specifically, my nightstand has:Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa SeeLa catedral del mar by Idelfonso FalconesThinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin Language in Thought and Action by S.I. Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa.How is it possible that with all the reading I do in addition to my actual work, I still feel like it's not enough? Odd, but I do. My brain has the munchies, so I'm going to add a…
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RSSMix.com Mix ID 50439
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Freelance Writing Jobs for July 3, 2009
3 Jul 2009 | 8:44 amtweetmeme_url = 'http://yoururl.com'; tweetmeme_source = 'debng'; I make no promises with today’s leads. The husband and son are home and there’s the distraction of the three day weekend. Plus because of the holiday, there’s fewer jobs available online today. For my fellow American writers, Happy Independence [...] -
Do The Projects You Work On Let You Sleep At Night?
3 Jul 2009 | 5:24 amDo you sleep well at night? When you finally leave the keyboard, areyou doing so with a clear concience that youve done the best youcould, done right by yourself and done right by others?Its a question worth thinking about. In the web world, youll facemany tough decisions. Youll be propositioned to work onless-than-ethical projects, and [...] -
My Pitch
3 Jul 2009 | 4:14 amGood day to you all and welcome to my first real post.Thank you for the messages of welcome and good luck, it was very much appreciated and immediately made me feel part of this fine community. However, to all of you that didn’t wish me well, I ask you all in turn, why do you [...] -
Freelance Friday Quote
2 Jul 2009 | 11:29 pmThis is one of those “it’s funny ’cause it’s true” things:“The freelance writer is the person who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.” -Robert BenchleyNow that I think about it, maybe that’s not funny at all… -
How Important is a Resume for Freelance Writers?
2 Jul 2009 | 1:12 pmI guess the short answer to that question is that it depends who you ask. Some potential clients ask to see it, and if they do, I would recommend that you submit one. There are other people who are more interested in seeing your samples and getting an idea of your writing “voice” than reading [...]
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Get It In Writing
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Feel your market’s pain – The Copywriter’s mantra
23 Jun 2009 | 2:46 pmAs a copywriter, “Feel your market’s pain” could (and should) be a mantra. What are your market’s pain points? Whether you are writing for your own business or for a client, everything about copywriting is based on seeing things from the client’s perspective. It’s not about what you have to advertise. That’s secondary. The client is looking for a solution. If someone wants to have the latest sports car, and his motivation is power or reward for a job well done, then these are the pain points. It can’t be said enough. People are not reading your copy because they are… -
Do you even know how to write…
17 Jun 2009 | 11:23 am -
Some keyword know-how
14 Jun 2009 | 10:57 amWith do it yourself copywriting on the web, the basic thing to know about keywords is to write naturally. Just write as you normally would, keeping your keyword phrases in mind. Good coverage of keywords When you finish, go back and check that you have a good coverage of keywords. What exactly is “good coverage” is a subjective thing as different “experts” all have their own opinion. You’ll hear some very hard-and-fast rules from some people about how to write web copy using keyword phrases. Forced language structure When you do your own copywriting, you can use your discretion as… -
Repurposing blog posts to streamline content production
8 Jun 2009 | 7:55 pmTime management and a lack of fresh ideas can make it challenging to continuously churn out new content. But if you have a blog, you could simply repurpose one blog post to serve various business needs. Article marketing You can repurpose blog posts for article marketing purposes. Just freshen the content by adding more detailed information so that it is 400 to 500 words. Make sure the content is properly optimized and submit it to the directories. Use it for website copy Many websites are set up to be online brochures that sell a product or service. Experts suggest enticing prospects with… -
Are You Giving Your Copy Away? A Copywriter’s Secret That Will Make You Money.
30 May 2009 | 9:40 amMy copywriting mentor and business partner, Harlan Kilstein, shares some great insight into why so many copywriters struggle to get paid. Take a listen, it is amazing advice for copywriters at all skill levels.
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Work-in-Progress
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Guest in Progress: J.P. Dancing Bear
2 Jul 2009 | 6:36 amI “met” J.P. Dancing Bear on Facebook. Having come late to the Facebook game, I found myself friending and being friended by a number of writers, which, I must say, has been fun. Obviously a group of smart witers will excel at the writing cocktail party of chatter that Facebook is. Who could compose better, cleverer, funnier, more heart-wrenching status updates than a bunch of writers? (My problem was trying to get my material up to speed with the group, but that’s another story.)I had noticed that J.P. Dancing Bear wrote and posted “birthday poems” every week or so, along with… -
Motivational Quote of the Day
1 Jul 2009 | 2:59 amI read this last week on the blog About Last Night and am still thinking about it:"Why are you stingy with yourselves?" George Balanchine used to ask his dancers. "Why are you holding back? What are you saving for--for another time? There are no other times. There is only now. Right now." -
New Fellowships for Writers
1 Jul 2009 | 2:58 amTwo new opportunities for writers at the Writer’s Center, the first for DC-area writers, and the second open to all:UNDISCOVERED VOICES FELLOWSHIP: CALL FOR APPLICATIONSThe Writer's Center seeks promising writers earning less than $25,000 annually to apply for our undiscovered Voices Fellowship. This fellowship program will provide complimentary writing workshops to the selected applicant for a period of one year, but not to exceed 8 workshop in that year. We expect the selected fellow will use the year to make progress toward a completed manuscript of publishable work. Please see our Web… -
River Styx ISO Managing Editor
1 Jul 2009 | 2:56 amThis job isn’t full-time, but it looks like a good one. (Act fast—the deadline is July 6!):Position: Managing Editor—Part TimeRiver Styx, one of the nation's premier independent literary magazines, invites applications for the part-time position of Managing Editor. The areas of primary responsibility include general editorial, event coordination, volunteer management, grant writing, and data base management. Candidates must have a minimum of a BA, with experience in literary publishing and computer literacy in both MAC and PC environments. Attention to detail, creativity,… -
The New Yorker's Recent Fiction
30 Jun 2009 | 6:50 amI’ve been reading The New Yorker for ages, and have a love-hate relationship toward the fiction they publish. I’m excited when I love the story, and disappointed when it doesn’t do much for me or feels like nothing more than a novel excerpt by a famous writer.But here are three recent stories that I especially liked:--“The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht: about a story of a tiger in the narrator’s grandfather’s village (not online; this actually is an excerpt of a forthcoming novel, though it read almost like a story)--“Idols” by Tim Gautreaux: about a man who inherits a grand…
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Buzz, Balls & Hype
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THE DOCTOR IS IN
2 Jul 2009 | 10:01 pmUNPACKING PERFORMANCE ANXIETY About three-quarters of the way through my singing class, I found out that the final class was to be a recital, in which each student would perform all of the songs worked on that semester in front of an audience consisting of classmates’ family and friends. If I had known about this requirement, I’m not sure I would have signed up for the class. Auditions aside, I had never before performed a song alone for an audience. If you give me enough wine, I’ll sing at parties, but that’s just for fun. And auditions don’t count—they’re business, a… -
The Ad Man Answers #64
2 Jul 2009 | 1:00 amThursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers Continuing our Ex-Ad Guy/Gal interview series, this month we’re thrilled to bring you a chat with Louise Ure. Louise began her advertising career in Account Management at Ogilvy & Mather/New York, then moved west to open the fledging O&M office in San Francisco under Hal Riney. She then moved to Foote Cone & Belding/SF, leading the accounts for Alaska Tourism, Clorox, Pacific Bell and the unforgettable Dancing California Raisins. Her work at FCB continued in other cities, including stints as Vice… -
Why Not
29 Jun 2009 | 6:00 pmJudge Page usually scours the web for interesting marketing information with the idea being that those of us writing (and doing more of our own marketing) need to come up for air once a week and see what the rest of the business world is up to so we don’t get left too far behind. Today there are no Linktopia links, but an interesting idea for our interesting times. Read on and see whether you are asking yourself, well, why not? M.J. and I will more often than not lament the sometimes bizarre world of publishing and marketing. This started with an email that covered the states… -
THE DOCTOR IS IN
25 Jun 2009 | 10:15 pmHi, Dr. Sue,I'm a writer - unpublished, so I do it because I love it and because with practice, I hope to be able to write something worth publishing. My problem isn't being blocked - I know that I go through creative and non-creative times and take the ups along with the downs. My problem is my day job. I make decent money, but I'm not happy where I'm working. I understand that I'm obviously not at the point where I can write full time, and I don't know when or if I'll ever get to that point, but I don't know what to do with myself in the meantime. I really don't like where I'm working now,… -
Linktopia
22 Jun 2009 | 7:45 pmLinktopia (with the help of Judge Page) checks in with what youth publishing is doing right when it comes to marketing according to ypulse.com, and a favorite TV ad that leads to a look back at book ads. This week there has been a flurry of announcements out of the YA book publishing world concerning technology nicely summed up in this USA Today piece. In a nutshell, Harper Collins is using mobile to promote LC's new book (Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy), Simon & Schuster launched a YA social network called Pulse It and Penguin launched YA Central, aggregating interviews with popular…
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Suite 101: Writing & Publishing
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FamilyFun Magazine
4 Jul 2009 | 1:40 amFamilyFun is the number one magazine for families with children ages 3 to 12 aiming to create memorable moments. -
How to Write Realistic Characters in Your Novel
3 Jul 2009 | 7:27 pmCreating believable characters from the imagination is a skill that takes practice, but it can be simpified if some of the more common mistakes are avoided. -
Literary Terms in English -- Metonymy, Synecdoche
3 Jul 2009 | 1:23 pmMetonymy and synecdoche are often under-utilized tools in a writer or reader's arsenal - allowing for greater conveyance and understanding of symbolism, imagery, theme. -
Writing a First Novel
3 Jul 2009 | 12:44 pmWriting a novel is exhilarating, cathartic, and satisfying. Knowing the most common errors in starting a novel will help avoid disaster later. -
Visual Communications Literacy Development
3 Jul 2009 | 11:12 amPeople spend more time with digital visual media than ever before. Understanding visual communication and design is an indispensable facet of literacy.
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Wordful
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The Power of Publish
1 Jul 2009 | 8:06 pmAlas. After all this time, you’ve crafted something great. Starting from those ideas in your head, you’ve self-educated, planned, prepared, procrastinated, anticipated, taken notes and finally started writing, rewriting and editing. And now, there you sit, eager and excited, steward of your final product–your content. Will they love it or hate or think it’s just okay? Will they be back for more? Where will your content take you? The answers to these questions will never be known until you click that little button labeled “Publish.” For some, pushing it… -
Coming Soon: Blogging 3.0
26 Jun 2009 | 5:03 pmIt’s time for Wordful to move up the ranks of blogging. Instead of solely focusing on ways to be more expressive, free-thinking and creative with your blog, I’d like to put more energy into how you can build your blog into a viable media publication. This implications of this shift have huge upside potential, as it follows blogging’s natural evolution towards mainstream publishing. A Brief History of Blogging In the beginning, blogs provided soapbox-like platforms for personal expression (Blogging 1.0). Then, a few smart bloggers started posting useful content and hustling… -
The Easy Way to Simplify Blogging
24 Jun 2009 | 6:50 pmFor those of you who think blogging is too much work, you’re almost right. Growing a successful blog requires about 30 different disciplines, all of which can take a good 10,000 hours to master. So where to begin? The most simple trick to blogging efficiency is to prioritize your work. This means you need to identify and concentrate on what matters most with your blog. And for everyone, the answer should always be the same: Your Content Matters Most Ask any top blogger or social media guru what the most important aspect of content marketing is and they’ll unanimously tell you… -
How to Fight Blog Plagiarism Guerrilla Style
16 Jun 2009 | 2:35 pmTwo weeks ago I woke up to a suspicious pingback in my Wordpress dashboard linking to my one-page business plan post. Sure enough, when I checked it out, there was my post–plagiarized word for word on a scraper site. The first reaction of any hard-working blogger being plagiarized is to get angry, which I did. But then what? If you do a Google search on “blogging plagiarism,” you’ll more or less get these recommendations: Contact the plagiarist and ask them to remove your content. Contact their advertisers and file a “duplicate content” complaint. Report… -
Cut “That” Out
12 Jun 2009 | 6:17 pmTry snuffing the word “that” from your writing. Most of the time, you don’t need it. This sentence: She knew that she loved him and he knew that he loved her, too. can be reduced to: She knew she loved him and he knew he loved her, too. This tiny change will tighten your writing and make it sound smoother, too. From Strunk and White’s “Elements of Style,”page 78: The ear, for example, must decide when to omit “that” from a sentence, when to retain it. “She knew she could do it” is preferable to “She knew that she could do…
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Life on Avenue Z
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I’d love your feedback! Kind of…
3 Jul 2009 | 6:52 amA couple of weeks ago I wrote about an essay I was writing. After quite a bit of cussing and whining (and that was before the marathon), I finished a 2000-word piece I want to sell to a major women’s magazine. With the exception of the magazine editor who rejected it so far, no one has read it. I would dearly love objective feedback on the piece so I can firm it up and make it super-duper for publication. Would you take a look? Great! Please choose your feedback from the following list of approved responses: Beth, oh, honey, I was so touched by your experience. Beth, this is perfect. I… -
The perils of thinking too much
1 Jul 2009 | 4:34 pmI blew the marathon. I got too excited, started out too fast and lost all my steam. At mile 19, I was a sniveling, whining heap who called her boyfriend as she cried on the side of the road. I’m paraphrasing here, but I was essentially saying, “This is really hard. Come get me.” My super-secret goal was 4:38, 30 minutes off last year’s time. My coach said I could make sub 4:50. And we all KNEW I could finish in under 5. I finished at 5:02:08. [Expletive deleted.] The point of this blog post is not to share my marathon story… it’s to share what happens when… -
Follow My Marathon Story!
26 Jun 2009 | 9:17 amBeth’s 3rd Marathon -
Could I have a do-over, please?
25 Jun 2009 | 7:08 amIn two days I will run my third marathon. Here’s my inner voice: I’m not ready!! I didn’t run enough. I didn’t lose enough weight. I skipped track a couple of times. I didn’t push myself on long runs. I ate too many Cheese Nips at the aid stations. I should have eaten more protein and less fat. Have I been hydrating enough? Sleeping enough? Why didn’t I work harder?? Please, can I start again? I’ll do better next time! Yeah, it’s not pretty. When your success or failure is measured by a digital readout on a timer as you cross the finish line,… -
Why didn’t you tell me… Writing is hard!
17 Jun 2009 | 9:16 amThere’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. -Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith After my visit with a literary agent, I developed a clear idea of the book I want to write. I need to write a killer book proposal first, which means I need to build up my writing credentials to make it look like I’m the best person to write this book. So I started a personal essay that I’m pitching to national women’s magazines. I’m thinking 1000-2000 words. Given that I write at least 500-2000 each day for clients, I figured I could…
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Essential Prose
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Why I’m Not Realistic
28 Jun 2009 | 10:06 amphoto by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center As I began writing this post, I realized it was going to be a lot longer than I had planned. I also realized that the one-year anniversary of my blog falls on Sunday, June 28th. So I’m publishing this long, personal post today because I am in reflective mode, musing on the changes and evolutions of the past year. I hope it feels right for those of you who take the time to read through it. When people learn that I came to Thailand on my own, started doing independent work, and figured out how to support myself and do stuff I love, they often think… -
Unitasking the Good Old Fashioned Way
24 Jun 2009 | 4:00 amphoto by Pink Sherbet Photography I’ve been quite busy lately — full days, full brain. Although I’m getting a lot of things done, I’m also getting the nagging feeling that I’m doing them in a distracted way that keeps stunting my momentum. That nagging feeling has been building up for a few weeks, and when I finally stopped to think about where it came from, I knew the culprit immediately: multitasking. Most of the time, multitasking feels pretty unproductive and unsatisfying. It sometimes makes me feel like I’m on a roll, sparking new connections and ideas,… -
Iran Protests: On the Ground and On Your Screen
17 Jun 2009 | 8:56 amphoto by sharif This blog is generally politics-free, even though I’m an active news reader and I heartily enjoy a provocative political debate. But recent events surrounding the election in Iran have brought up a swirl of questions that have been lurking in my mind for quite some time, as I’m researching and developing strategies for using social media for social change. So here goes, a post on current events tied into many of the themes you’re used to seeing around here — innovation, tools, questioning, and all that good stuff. Anyway, this post is only ostensibly… -
[Drumroll]… And the winner is…
15 Jun 2009 | 4:00 amphoto by bixentro The first-ever Essential Prose contest has come to a close, and I’m extremely excited to introduce you to the winner. Amber Shah will use nakedcreativity.com to launch a unique platform for people to connect through their raw, creative ideas and schemes. There’s a catch — here it is in Amber’s own words: Unedited writing. It would be a blog-ish platform where users could post their thoughts and network with others. The kicker would be that when they logged in and started typing, it was all automatically saved and posted. No editing like in blogs. No… -
Community Contemplation: “It’s Not the Tool, It’s How You Use It”
11 Jun 2009 | 8:45 amphoto by chelmsford blue I’m sure you’ve heard that refrain, or some version of it, many times before. I think it’s truly important to remind ourselves of this often, as it’s often easy (though tedious) to spend time fiddling with new social networking services or dithering about the purchase of this gadget or that gadget. Actually doing something cool with these things takes a lot more brain power — and risk. But I think it’s also important to recognize that new tools do spark new ideas. A new tool will never be a game-changer unless you actively make it that…
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Freelance Writing Gigs
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Freelance Writing Jobs for July 3, 2009
3 Jul 2009 | 8:44 amtweetmeme_url = 'http://yoururl.com'; tweetmeme_source = 'debng'; I make no promises with today’s leads. The husband and son are home and there’s the distraction of the three day weekend. Plus because of the holiday, there’s fewer jobs available online today. For my fellow American writers, Happy Independence [...] -
Do The Projects You Work On Let You Sleep At Night?
3 Jul 2009 | 5:24 amDo you sleep well at night? When you finally leave the keyboard, areyou doing so with a clear concience that youve done the best youcould, done right by yourself and done right by others?Its a question worth thinking about. In the web world, youll facemany tough decisions. Youll be propositioned to work onless-than-ethical projects, and [...] -
My Pitch
3 Jul 2009 | 4:14 amGood day to you all and welcome to my first real post.Thank you for the messages of welcome and good luck, it was very much appreciated and immediately made me feel part of this fine community. However, to all of you that didn’t wish me well, I ask you all in turn, why do you [...] -
Freelance Friday Quote
2 Jul 2009 | 11:29 pmThis is one of those “it’s funny ’cause it’s true” things:“The freelance writer is the person who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.” -Robert BenchleyNow that I think about it, maybe that’s not funny at all… -
How Important is a Resume for Freelance Writers?
2 Jul 2009 | 1:12 pmI guess the short answer to that question is that it depends who you ask. Some potential clients ask to see it, and if they do, I would recommend that you submit one. There are other people who are more interested in seeing your samples and getting an idea of your writing “voice” than reading [...]
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Web Content Strategy
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Content Strategy Jobs Are Still Out There
29 Jun 2009 | 2:25 pmI was just doing a quick check on the Content Strategist Job Board and saw that there are a lot of content strategy jobs listed! I saw 265 content strategist jobs listed. More than I would have expected in this economy.One of the Content Strategist jobs was even for Facebook:"As a Content Strategist inside the Design and User Experience team at Facebook, you will be responsible for the overall content strategy at Facebook. This includes the development of style guides, feature naming, language creation for new and existing user experiences, and executing all day-to-day content needs."… -
Price Cut for the e-Book Version of The Web Content Strategist's Bible to $16.99
16 Jun 2009 | 7:02 pmNow that I have a print version of the e-book, it just makes no sense to have the two versions priced so closely together. So I'm giving the e-book price a 15% haircut and dropping it to $16.99.I've also added a way for those who buy the e-book version to get a print copy later at a big discount - for just $9.00.If you are interested, but on the fence, take a look at the e-book - if you like what you see you can always get a printed copy later and it all adds up to the same price. And it's always guaranteed, either way.Hey, I like options :) -
Own the e-Book version of The Web Content Strategist's Bible? Get a printed copy for $8.00.
16 Jun 2009 | 5:05 pmNow that there is a printed version of The Web Content Strategist's Bible, I want to give those who didn't have that option a chance to get one.If you bought a copy of the e-book version, just send me an email with your name (and receipt number if you have it, but no worries if you don't) and I'll set you up with a printed version for $8.00.If you check the site, you will notice that this offer is open to all future purchasers of the e-book version as well but it will cost them $9.00. -
Actual Content Strategy Has Slowed the Content Strategy Blog
6 Jun 2009 | 2:24 pmI apologize for the lack of recent content strategy posts here. Doing actual content strategy at work has kept me from having any time to focus on the blog. This is one of those crazy times for me where multiple projects overlap and there is just too much to do in too little time.As some of you know, at UPS.com we do our big projects on a 6-month cycle, relaunching the site in July and January. Because of this cycle, June and early December are always crazy times. Right now I'm finishing up projects that will launch in July, we are already starting work on projects that will launch in January… -
A Creative Content Strategy Just Requires Finding the Art in the Process
6 Jun 2009 | 2:16 pmI had a recent conversation with a very good writer who was arguing that having a strictly designed content strategy would have a negative impact on the creativity of the writing. I couldn't disagree more and we nice polite argument about it.I think having a defined process, whatever it is, frees other parts of the mind to ficus on generating creative ideas rather than dealing constantly with trying to figure out what comes next. Visual artists and writers usually have a process that they repeat every time so they can shut down that critical, logical part of their mind and create. Stephen…
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Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers
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5 Tips for Building a Strong Writers Network
2 Jul 2009 | 8:36 amConnecting with other writers can help you sell your writing, increase your blog readership, and make you a successful writer! These tips for building a strong writers network are from George Angus of Tumblemoose - he’s one of the most community-minded scribes I know. Before his tips, a quip: “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” - Herman Melville. Says George: “We are the most fortunate generation of writers there has ever been. Instantly, we can put our writing out into the world, receive feedback and connect with… -
8 Tips for Breaking Bad Writing Habits
30 Jun 2009 | 2:08 pmTo be a successful writer, you need to identify and break your bad writing habits. These tips will help you achieve your writing goals - whether you want to sign on with a literary agent or write more regular blog posts! Before the tips, a quip: “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” - Richard Bach. If you have the bad habit of giving up on article pitches, book proposals, or novels - then you’ll never be the successful writer you dream of! These eight tips for breaking bad writing habits should help. And, if your bad habit involves writing skills,… -
10 Tips for Marketing Your Book
27 Jun 2009 | 8:47 amWhether you’re a self-published author, traditionally published author, or a writer who wants to be published - you’ll find something useful in these tips for marketing, promoting, and selling your book! These ten tips will smooth your journey to the bestseller list. Here’s a tip for writers trying to get published: “We’re looking for authors who will work hand-in-hand with us and find promotional opportunities for their books,” says Pamela Krauss, editor at Clarkson Potter. Fellow scribes, you need a writer’s platform to get published. For… -
9 Tips for Creating a Blog Button or Widget for Your Blog
25 Jun 2009 | 10:48 amMy three Quips and Tips blogs are linked by blog buttons or widgets; here are nine tips for creating your own blog button or widget — plus three reasons why a widget could be important for your blog! Before the tips, a quip about writing that totally applies to blogging: “Write while the heat is in you,” said Henry David Thoreau. “The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” When you have an idea for your blog, book, or writing career - act on it now,… -
7 Tips for Television Interviews for Writers
23 Jun 2009 | 7:11 amWhether you’re a writer preparing to do a television interview or still visualizing the day it happens, you can’t miss these seven tips for TV from freelance writer and blogger Susan Johnston! She recently appeared on ABC, discussing an article she wrote about job interviews. Before her tips, a quip: “To me, every interview, even if you love the artist, needs to be somewhat adversarial,” says journalist Chuck Klosterman. “Which doesn’t mean you need to attack the person, but you do need to look at it like you’re trying to get information that has…
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About Freelance Writing
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Freelance Writing Jobs Friday July 3, 2009
3 Jul 2009 | 8:21 amHappy July 3! Got that Friday feeling? I know I do. We’ve got 45 writing jobs, blogging jobs, editing jobs, translation positons, etc. to end the week with this time. The category How to get freelance writing jobsand the article, How to land a writing job may help you land the writing gigs you want. And when you land one, or two, or more, let us know! Blogging job for techie mommies Online Music Publication Seeking Freelance Writers Freelance Writers Needed Copywriter – Marketing Creator Social Media Expert/Copywriter Need an Ad Copywriter Freelance copywriter University Link… -
Just About 12 Hours Left To Register For Become A Blogger
2 Jul 2009 | 11:44 amOkay, if you’ve registered at Become a Blogger or if you’ve definitely decided not to, just ignore this. However, if you’ve wanted to make money blogging or even wondered if it were possible for you to do so, I can’t recommend this course highly enough. Someone asked me if I believe the amounts Yaro and Gidion claim their earning and the answer is yes I do. I’ve followed Yaro for several years now and I’ve come to trust him. This past year I’ve also come to trust Gidion. I’ve made money with Become a Blogger, you can too, if you work at it. No,… -
Cautions & Concerns About Freelance Home Writers
2 Jul 2009 | 8:53 amI recieved the following email from Scott Rose who gave me permission to reprint it here: Dear Anne: Over the past few months, I have been repeatedly duped by misleading ads placed by www.FreelanceHomeWriters.Com” Many of the ads that duped me, I found in your newsletter. One person connected with the company is cc-d in this message. The company is some sort of paid subscription service. It attracts people to its sign-up-and-pay page by posting varying help-wanted ads for writers. The texts of the help-wanted ads keep changing… sometimes it might be “Article writers needed,… -
Writers and Mini and Major Burnouts + Goals
2 Jul 2009 | 8:18 amI think I need a vacation! Or maybe I just want one. I finished a major piece of work for a client two days ago. I took most of yesterday off, even planning for it and expecting to be if not highly creative today, at least reasonably competent. Not so. This isn’t exactly one of those places when I simply need to write. I’ve been doing some real thinking again about my goals and how I want to spend my days and the truth is I really do want to work less. I don’t want to stop working; that’s not what I mean. I want to be under less self-imposed pressure. That means more… -
Finding Freelance Writing Jobs When You’re Not US Based
1 Jul 2009 | 7:56 amYesterday I made some suggestions about how people not in the United States might be able to make use of the job postings here. The problem, of course, is most of the jobs are US based and most US employers haven’t a clue how to hire someone who lives in another country. (We Americans do tend to be pretty provincial.) Spike Wyatt who lives in the UK and has lived in Paris and, I suspect, done a whole lot more traveling than I have (but has he sailed in the South Pacific?) suggested in a comment that the bidding sites might be perfect for folks from countries with lower cost of living…
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A Passion for Letter Writing
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Letter Writers for 65 Years
30 Jun 2009 | 6:30 pmI’ve shared stories with you before about people who had been penpals for many, many decades. Here is another one I ran across about two women who have been writing to each other since they were pre-teens and are now in their 70’s. How remarkable! Enjoy! Read: Across the Pond… -
Snail Mail Angels
27 Jun 2009 | 1:25 pmLiss over at A Memory Forever is making a new meme or game or pay-it-forward or whatever cool name you want to call it. She’s asking people to become Snail Mail Angels and for them to inspire others to do the same. Who knows what it will turn into, but let’s give her a hand [...] -
Legacy Letters
23 Jun 2009 | 5:42 pmAn Ethical Will is a document plainly understood as a legacy letter. Traditional ethical wills, originating in the Biblical period, were the responsibility of fathers to transmit ethical values to their sons. Contemporary ethical wills are written at every age, often in times of transition and personal challenge by men and women alike. – Excerpt [...] -
Crazy Letters From Mom
6 Jun 2009 | 6:17 amI ran across a blog called “Please Don’t Eat Sushi! Love, Mom” Once I got there I couldn’t stop reading. It’s a collection of letters curated from this fella. All the letters are from his mom and they are strange… short, intense, surreal, possibly crazy. I can’t decide if I’m looking at “real” [...] -
Lunch Letters
4 Jun 2009 | 9:36 pmI recently read an interesting article about the poet Frank O’Hara who wrote a poetry book called “Lunch Poems”. The article discussed these wonderful little poems about New York that O’Hara would whip out during his lunch break, usually 30 minutes or less. In plain language they captured the essence of the city around him. [...]
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How Not to Write
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Damn This Writer's Heart
12 Jun 2009 | 6:02 amFor many, the making of the writer is a bloody affair. It consists of trying and failing, trying and succeeding only to find one's self blocked by the promise of a breakthrough, trying once more... Where does this drive come from? What makes the writer who has failed sit down and try once more? I don't claim to know the answer. I'm just a fellow sufferer of the disease. Damn this writer's heart. Damn it for making me feel... Yet, if we knew the answer, would it matter? Would it some how solve the problem? Would it help us to make sense of what it means to posses all these words which are so… -
Your Favorite Word Games
1 Jun 2009 | 11:10 amDo you ever dream of that perfect game night? When you and four of your closest writer friends sit down to play a game of Scrabble or Boggle or maybe Huggermugger? Huggermugger? Alright, I might be showing my age (and eccentricity) with Huggermugger, but I love word games! If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've launched a new iPhone app. It's called WordFlipper and it's sort of "Boggle meets Dance Dance Revolution with a Carnival Twist" though some people just skip the tongue-twister and call it fun. During the launch, I'm offering WordFlipper for free so if you have an iPhone or… -
Morning Walks
31 May 2009 | 5:59 amBrother needs a shave... I love morning walks, especially Sunday morning walks. The Avenue had a big block party last night. There were hundreds of people crammed onto the sidewalks. I'm surprised to find the streets clean. The only sign of the reveling: a few abandoned chairs and several trash cans overflowing (but somehow tidy in spite of steady breeze out of the north). A pair of road closed signs lurk in the dewy grass. There's no one about, just like any other Sunday, but the memory of the big block party gives the whole place the feel of a town hung over. I suppose it's the chill in the… -
Writing Is...
16 May 2009 | 6:29 amHow would you complete this sentence: Writing is... When I asked this question on Twitter, I received many wonderful responses. I've shared those below and I would encourage you to add your own thoughts in the comments. As for my own reply, I went off rummaging in my journals for something suitable and found that I'd struggled with this for a long time. There are times when I take a very dim view on the subject... I write very angry words, I despair. Then, the pendulum swings the other direction and I soar to great heights... I write glowing, teary-eyed monologues. I write dreamy, looping… -
Writing for Writing - A Warm Up Exercise
11 May 2009 | 6:01 amThis post is an example of a warm-up. Just a few hundred words to get my mind off of one project and onto another. This is probably a familiar exercise to most writers, a kind of clearing of the queue. Most people know I've been writing a lot of code lately, which means I haven't been writing as much... well, writing. It happens. Sometimes, when I'm thrown off track from my work, I get really upset. I'm angry at myself for doing something other than writing. I swear to the heavens that tomorrow will be different. And then it's not. If anything, there's even less writing than before. This is…
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Editor Unleashed
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Show or Tell?
2 Jul 2009 | 1:38 pmBy Jeff Gerke If you’re around fiction instructors very long, you’ll encounter the phrase “Show, don’t tell.” Telling is when a novelist simply spoon-feeds the reader information: “Jim was a lying twerp who cheated on his taxes.” Showing, by contrast, is when the novelist reveals clues that bring the reader to the same conclusion. So, for example, a scene might show Jim at the front door of his house talking to some Girl Scouts. We see a wad of $100 bills behind his back, but when the girls ask if he’d like to buy some Thin Mints, he says… -
5 Qualities of Good Flash
1 Jul 2009 | 1:10 pmAs the stories in the Editor Unleashed/ Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest continue to be analyzed under an atomic microscope, I wanted to offer up a few of the qualities I’ve observed that help a flash piece stand out. It’s a tough form to pull off, and I’ve yet to find a satisfying explanation of what makes a flash story work. Many assume that short pieces are easier to write, but that’s far from true. A quality flash story needs to read like a complete story in 1,000 or less, without feeling like you’re reading a SparkNotes version of a longer story. Here are… -
Flash Fiction 40 Contest Winners!
29 Jun 2009 | 2:02 pmI’ve spent the last two days reading and re-reading the 280 stories entered in the Editor Unleashed/ Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest. I’d like to commend every writer involved for taking up the challenge and getting involved in this decidedly unconventional writing contest. It’s been a wild ride for all concerned, and I hope the process of getting behind the scenes in a writing competition has been enlightening. I’ve watched this contest unfold with enjoyment, and I’m amazed and inspired by so many of the great stories that were entered. It was tough… -
Why it’s a Good Time to Dive into Writing
22 Jun 2009 | 8:38 amBy Lisa Abeyta I was in the middle of squeezing a mango in the produce section when a woman asked me, “So, Lisa, are you still a writer?” It took a few minutes to place her, seeing as I was still focused on my mango and all, but eventually I recalled she was a member of a local writer’s group. “Busier than ever,” I said. She almost seemed disappointed. “Oh. I didn’t think anyone could make it as a writer in these times.” Say what you like about the state of the publishing world. I’m not convinced. Then again, I’ve never been one to look at the odds and believe they… -
Q&A: Author Seth Harwood
18 Jun 2009 | 6:31 amSeth Harwood is part of a new wave of savvy fiction writers who are propelling themselves into careers through their own online efforts. In Seth’s case, he developed and promoted a podcast that eventually led to a book deal for his crime novel Jack Wakes Up. In this interview, Seth gives Editor Unleashed readers the inside track on how an author can take the reins of his writing career and drive his own success. So how did you land your book deal? I’ve been writing fiction for almost 15 years now. For most of that time, I did all the “right” things for an aspiring author, all the…
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Amy Sue Nathan: Writer/Editor/Single Mom
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It’s all about me. Who knew?
1 Jul 2009 | 3:55 pmI was watching the Today Show while I ate breakfast, drank coffee and read blogs. My ears perked up when an author was being interviewed about her new book. I listened as Jane Stanton Hitchcock, who I’ve never heard of, talked about her new book, Mortal Friends. Then toward the end of the interview, Ann Curry asked if the Washington characters portrayed in the book were real. And this is what Jane Stanton Hitchcock said: “I’m a fiction writer, so all of the characters are me…” Now that might be the party line, so to speak, but I loved it. It made perfect,… -
Giving away books? You bet.
30 Jun 2009 | 6:04 amI’m taking my daughter and a friend to The Taste of Chicago today…which requires a train ride, tickets, lots of treats, crowds and porta-potties. But with this view and some amazing Chicago fare, who can resist a day away from a computer? Not me! While I’m gone for the day…try to win some books here. -
Points of view and a book review
27 Jun 2009 | 6:22 amI wrote a short piece of fiction last weekend based on a thought I’d have months before and a note I’d written to myself. Note to self: Don’t forget to write this story one day. So inspired by writers’ posts that encouraged me to stretch my writing legs in many directions - I wrote it in third person, something I never did before. All my blog posts, personal essays and my WIP are all written in first-person. It’s natural to me, even when it’s fiction. But I wanted a challenge. And in 1500 words I found I had no idea what I was doing. I rewrote… -
In real life, part 3
25 Jun 2009 | 6:56 amIf my life was a novel, its readers would be confused. I sometimes mix people into different places and times. I sometimes forget I didn’t know my friend Fern growing up, because I went to junior high and high school with her sister-in-law, meaning, I grew up just blocks away from her husband — and all that happened in Philadelphia — but now we all live near Chicago. In 2006 I took an online essay-writing class that cost me like, gazillion dollars. The structure included an online-chat-classroom-thing that happened once per week. In this virtual classroom, at my real… -
A summer schedule
22 Jun 2009 | 6:18 amII stepped away from my WIP a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t stop writing. I just wrote other things…and I settled into the non-schedule of summer. (And thanks to everyone who was so generous with their kind words and comments on my New York Times online piece.) I’m enjoying the break from homework stress around here, but I don’t like not knowing when someone might be coming or going. My kids are doing what kids do in the summer - laying low, laying back, laying on the sofa. And it’s contagious. So I need a summer schedule - something I can stick to that…
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Bad Language
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Useful links about writing plain English
11 Jun 2009 | 11:11 amCheck out the Campaign for Plain English’s site and especially: How to write in plain English (PDF) Tips for clear websites (PDF) Also, check out Jakob Neilsen’s articles about writing for the web. In particular: How users read on the web Writing style for print vs. web How to write for the web If you work with websites or user interfaces, pretty much anything Nielsen has to say is worth reading. There are some useful articles on this site too: How to write great case studies Being human is overrated (but not when you are writing) Bad reader, naughty reader Economist style and business… -
Free tools for inspiration, concentration and readability metrics
4 Jun 2009 | 2:11 amI have updated the writing tools on Articulate’s website and added a new one. They are free to use and I hope people find them helpful. Feedback and suggestions are welcome. Readability calculator This is a fantastic tool to calculate readability scores for blocks of text (just cut and paste) or websites (just enter a website address or URI). Besides the usual Flesch Kincaid and Gunning Fog scores we also calculate the SMOG index. This is harder to do because you have to break words down into syllables rather than characters but it yields more useful results. Inspiration from oblique… -
Seven website mockup tools
23 May 2009 | 1:49 amI am working on a number of website projects right now. My mission is to banish ‘lorem ipsum’ by working text into page designs before development starts. (To find out why, read my article: Want a good website, on time? Prioritise content) I wanted to find a tool that would let me create page mockups quickly and try out different combinations of copy and layout. Eventually, I settled on Balsamiq Mockups, which is an awesome tool. The rest of this article describes the different alternatives I considered and concludes with a detailed review of Balsamiq. Denim Denim takes sketch-based… -
Writing tools: DropBox
13 May 2009 | 2:06 pmDropbox is a better way to share files between different users and different computers. It beats FTP for large files and email for pretty much any attachments. I use to exchange videos, graphics and presentations with clients and my subcontractors. Once everyone is set up on DropBox, it’s like having a file server folder that works but one that works over the internet. Dropbox supports Linux, Mac and PC. The easiest way to use it is to install a client on your PC. This puts a Dropbox folder on your computer and you can synchronise files simply by dragging files into it. It also has a web… -
My lovely Twitter followers
12 May 2009 | 2:08 amYou can follow me on Twitter and get links to all my posts on this blog and my flying blog plus some Twitter-specific stuff. These lovely people already do. Get your Twitter mosaic here.
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Word Grrls
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Altered Pages
3 Jul 2009 | 2:39 amSomething else to do when you finish reading a book, Altered Pages. Look for more about altered art and making collages. I think it’s something fun you can do with a book too old or tattered to be accepted at the second hand bookstore. Or you could just recycle them with the other paper, that just never seems right to me. A book should have a burial at sea or under a rosebush, something with a little more respect than being turned into a pile of mush for recycling. Altered Book FAQ. The Altered Book Group on Yahoo gives a definition of what an altered book is: An altered book is an… -
Challenging the Limits
2 Jul 2009 | 12:28 amChallenge yourself with limits. Start with Six Sentences. What can you write in six sentences, a complete story with a beginning, middle and ending? It’s a challenge. Read what others have done if you need inspiration. Post your work to the site, even if it isn’t really great to you. Next try 200 Words and then, a real challenge… 200 Characters. Do you know of any other writing challenges with set limits for words, sentences or characters? More »Powered by Bookmarkify™ -
Cell Phone Etiquette
1 Jul 2009 | 11:20 amJuly is Cell Phone Courtesy Month, as I read it on Twitter this morning. Read about cell phone etiquette on wikiHow, pass the link along to those who are so addicted to their phones they ignore the people sitting right in front of (and around) them. Digital Media Wire has 12 Unwritten Rules of Cell Phone Etiquette. Road and Travel Magazine has The Basic Rules of Cell Phone Etiquette. Geared to travelers but relevant for anyone around other people. To quote Denise McMcluggage (who wrote the article): Keep in mind, the more available you make yourself the more available everyone will expect you… -
Happy Canada Day
1 Jul 2009 | 8:02 amHappy Canada Day! More »Powered by Bookmarkify™ -
Sports Writing Becomes You
30 Jun 2009 | 2:09 amI’m not a sports minded person but I have a friend who will always tell me the game scores, who is playing and I usually don’t remember enough to know which city each team is from. She still tells me about them anyway. I don’t mind, even if I’m not intensely interested, it matters to her after all. Traditionally, women are not sports writers and way back they weren’t traditionally sports players either. Things are changing and for women who are interested in sports, writing about them could be a career choice. Anyone can print the final score of a hockey game…
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The Business Insider
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The Age of Outrageous Ideas
22 Jun 2009 | 8:28 amBy Jack B. Rochester, Managing Editor A remark attributed to the great French philosopher Voltaire goes something like this: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." It seems a fitting phrase for the plethora of views of our modern world, economic systems, ways of life, etcetera: think of a problem or issue and somebody's written an article, blog, or book on how to correct it.The latest entry is Joshua Cooper Ramo, weighing in with his first book, The Age of the Unthinkable. Ramo, a former editor at Time [a magazine - remember?] and… -
What Do Ruth Madoff and Sasha Grey's Chelsea Have In Common?
17 Jun 2009 | 6:40 amBy Jack B. Rochester, Managing Editor The New York Times ran a cover story in its Sunday Styles section last week about what's happened to Ruth Madoff, 68-year-old wife of Bernie, and how she can't get a hairdo or a latte in her old haunts anymore. Nobody wants to be seen letting her in their establishment because she's viewed as complicit in her husband's Ponzi schemes. I found this comment interesting: "Alexandra Lebenthal, who is a friend of one of the Madoff sons, Andrew, as well as a fixture in Manhattan financial and social circles, said that Mrs. Madoff has not… -
Big Brother Redux in China
12 Jun 2009 | 6:40 amBy Jack B. Rochester, Managing EditorIs it a coincidence that, within a day of the 60th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's prescient novel, 1984, the repressive, dictatorial, Communist Chinese government issues an edict that all imported computers must have its homegrown filtering software installed? As if Vista wasn't slow enough to begin with!Chinese officials say that "unhealthy information" must not be exposed to its people. Under the guise of blocking pornography, this "Green Dam" will block other topics the Communist leaders don't… -
"Getting" Market Segmentation
10 Jun 2009 | 6:55 amBy Jack B. Rochester, Managing Editor Tuesday night, June 9, Boston: cold, spitting rain, the Red Sox playing the Yankees at Fenway. Instead, I went to see a band called The Decemberists at the Bank of American Pavilion. A tent, really, dry but not warm. Robyn Hitchcock and his mates tried to warm up the audience, but it took the poofs of smoky mist and the appearance of 34-year-old Colin Meloy and his band to do the trick.It did. The crowd of about 5,000 was on their feet about fifteen minutes into the performance and remained standing throughout. I looked around: lots of young people, of… -
Kindle: The Final Chapter
4 Jun 2009 | 6:00 amBy The Business Insider EditorsTwo previous posts here have discussed the business potential for the Kindle. For the last post on this phenomenal new device, we discuss what's happened to its core technology.But before we do so, we thought it worth a yuk-yuk to mention that the future of electronic publishing was discussed last week in New York at a bookseller's fair, where The New York Times reported that author Sherman Alexie saw a woman on an airplane reading on a Kindle and said, "I wanted to hit her." ( Alexie subsequently said he'd meet with Amazon folks to learn…
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Sanjaynair.com
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Preparing for the worst in Freelance Writing
18 Jun 2009 | 3:55 amThis article continues from where we left off in our earlier post ‘Stepping into the world of freelance writing’. Every year, millions of people decide to hang out their shingle and off those millions, thousands decide to try out their luck on the World Wide Web. And out of those thousands, at least a few hundred [...] -
Stepping into the world of Freelance
10 May 2009 | 3:11 amI receive a lot of emails everyday from people who want to make a career in freelance writing but do not know how and where to begin. Most of these people have a high paying job that gives them the creeps and they’d rather try and establish a name for themselves on the World Wide [...] -
A Bucket List for your blog
3 Mar 2009 | 11:50 pmA couple of days ago on a lazy afternoon, I was busy woolgathering and an intriguing thought happened to cross my mind. What are the things that I wish to do before I die? The things that I would like to accomplish in my lifetime? In other words, what is my Bucket List? Now, it’s [...] -
Are you offering value with each post?
2 Mar 2009 | 2:43 amHave you ever wondered why some blogs have a readership that only increases with time whilst others struggle to get even 100 visitors in a day? Problogger.net has 76894 readers subscribed via RSS. I don’t even have 9. :) Of course, let’s not forget the fact that he had a head start way back before I [...] -
5 easy steps to crispier content
27 Feb 2009 | 3:56 amI have been spending a lot more time off late trying to promote my blog. Have started Tweeting and Face booking purely to get the word out and the traffic in. Got some great help from Chris Brogan and his post ‘Using outposts in your media strategy‘. Have to say that I never realized the [...]
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Get Paid to Write Online
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Freelancing Through The Summer Vacation
26 Jun 2009 | 9:54 amIt’s summer! For most people, the summer holidays are a time to rejoice and to plan vacations, but for work at home moms with school age children, there’s often a sense of thinly veiled panic. The question we don’t dare voice is: how the heck will I meet all my deadlines with all my kids at home? Of course, being able to spend time with our kids is part of the reason we have this job anyway (that, and an inability to leave the computer for more than five seconds), so we should welcome the opportunity. However, there’s no denying that it can present challenges if you… -
Ten Reasons To Live The Nomadic Lifestyle
20 Jun 2009 | 5:20 pmThe results of the survey on lifestyle design by Free Pursuits and Location Independent are in – and I’ve found them fascinating. Here are ten reasons that writers and others were inspired to make the move. 1. Spending time with family and travelling 2. Boredom and the need for diversity 3. Unhappinhess with employment 4. Reading about someone who live the lifestyle 5. Annoyance with commuting 6. Dissatisfaction with the lifestyle in their home country 7. A desire to live like a movie star 8. The Location Independent blog 9. Lack of vacation time 10. A desire to be free If… -
How To Put Your Best Foot Forward As A Writer
12 Jun 2009 | 3:44 amThe way you present yourself to clients can have as much to do with winning writing commissions as your skill level. Clients will never find out how good you are at writing if your initial presentation is offputting. So how can you put your best foot forward as a writer? Here are some tips. Organize Your Website Make it easy for clients to find the information they want on your site. Most clients want to see examples of work, rates, testimonials and contact details. Make sure these feature prominently on your site. Be Responsive When clients contact you, respond as soon as you can. Even if… -
14 Great Posts On Writing And Blogging
9 Jun 2009 | 3:13 amIt’s a long time since I’ve done a post roundup. Although I’ve streamlined my RSS reader, there are still quite a few posts that hold my attention. Here are 14 of the best I’ve read recently: 15 Applications No Online Business Can Live Without Why Personal and Business Branding Work Best Together 7 Tips To Get The Best Out Of Gmail For Freelancing Digital Nomads How Not to Promote Your Blog: Top 10 Broken Blog Promotion Strategies What Freelancers Must Know About Ergonomics Freelancing vs. Full Time Telecommute Why You Should Go Back to the Day Job 35 Online Tools That… -
Where I Get Paid To Write Update
5 Jun 2009 | 3:18 amAlmost three years ago, I published a list of some of the most lucrative writing markets I had found. At the time I listed the following places which had proven useful for me as a writer: Exquisite Writing – an international copywriting agency Blogitive – a blog advertising company Lifetips – a site with mini sites about thousands of topics Freelance Writing Gigs – a site which provided great job leads My Client List Three years on, the picture looks very different. My client list looks like this: two online monthly trade magazines for which I source news and write…
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Founders' Blog
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Typewriter Key Coasters
2 Jul 2009 | 5:22 pmI came across these typewriter key coasters while placing an order with one of my favorite online catalogs - Sundance. Each coaster is stamped with a courier font letter of your choice and encased in glass at $8 a pop (two or more $7 each). Order your favorite letter, piece together initials, or get creative and spell out something like LOVE or DREAM or QWERTY. These coasters would make the perfect gift and fit the decor of any writer. -
Mobile Smartphone Applications for Writers and Screenwriters
24 Jun 2009 | 9:37 amFollowing up on our article - The Benefits of a Smartphone in a Writer’s World - we have gathered together a list of smartphone applications to help you stay productive. The links below are for BlackBerry applications, but most have an alternative for Palm and Windows smartphones. And, let’s not forget the iPhone. Do you realize there are over 50,000 iPhone and iPod applications available through the App store to date (June 2009)? It’s hard to even wrap your brain around the depth of innovation Apple has spurred by opening the pipeline to developers with… -
The Benefits of a Smartphone in a Writer’s World
14 Jun 2009 | 1:43 pmSmartphones are quickly propagating the cellphone landscape, making anyone who whips out a mundane flip phone appear slightly "out of touch". The point of this article is to discuss whether or not the benefits of owning a smartphone are to the writer’s advantage. But first, let’s answer a few general questions about the gadget. What is a smartphone? In a nuthshell it’s a cellphone that allows you to do a host of other things via mobile applications. What’s the difference between the iPhone, the Blackberry, and all the others? In… -
Scrabble Anyone?
11 Jun 2009 | 12:27 pmIt’s pretty typical that people who love to write often love to read; and people who love to read can serve up some scrabble "woopass". The Scrabble Premier Collector’s Edition from Restoration Hardware is so gorgeous your writer friend will likely dig out her old Scrabble set for routine play and reserve this collector’s edition for the well-heeled crowd. This is one of those thoughtful gifts that will never be forgotten. Price: $169 -
Concealed Floating Bookshelves
26 May 2009 | 2:27 pmSmart Furniture takes an innovative approach to a staple in office furniture - the bookshelf. There’s a lot of creative artistry that goes into book cover design, so why not display your books as…wall art??? The base of the Concealed Floating Bookshelves tuck indiscreetly between the pages, offering the appearance of a floating stack of books. I can imagine an entire wall covered with floating books. Each shelf is made of powder-coated steel. The large wall-mount is $11.50 and the small wall-mount is $8.99 and holds the same weight. …
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Fiction Matters
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Vonnegut’s Eighth Rule of Writing
30 Jun 2009 | 11:32 amGive your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages. - Vonnegut Vonnegut’s eight rule is a rule that I have to look at in pieces, not because it was large and nuanced. No, I had to break this rule down because part of the way into it, I find myself in stark disagreement. With four short words, Mr. Vonnegut ruins this Photo by David Schauer I have no quarrel with the first… -
Free Book: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
29 Jun 2009 | 7:20 amDescription: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget. These are the first of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, originally published as single stories in the Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The book was published in England on October 14, 1892 by George Newnes Ltd and in a US Edition on October 15 by Harper. The initial combined print run was 14,500 copies. [source: Feedbooks.com] Language: English Published: 1892 Formats: pdf, ePub, Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony… -
Writing Community For Sale
26 Jun 2009 | 8:18 amLegendFire, the third incarnation of a rather robust writing community dealing largely with the fantasy genre, is being put up for sale by founder Dustin Tigner. Included in the purchase are the domain name (all three common TLDs), the social networking properties, the original artwork files and custom writing guides, as well as licenses for all of LegendFire’s software. Those not familiar with the LegendFire, the website is a mixture of a message board, blogging software, and chatting application powered by Invision Power Board and Real Chat Classic. The combination of these… -
From Around the Net
24 Jun 2009 | 8:08 amThe Infamous Synopsis – Moving from being a writer to becoming an author still typically involves writing query letters. Thankfully, there is a plethora of information on how to query scattered across the Internet. The synopsis, however, doesn’t benefit from the basic standardization that the query letter does. For writers, that makes it scary. Luckily for us, the Rejector has some solid advice – “Summarize the books. It’s not a big deal.” Click here for the rest. Photo by Sanja Gjenero What is Tor Books Thinking? – As I covered here last week, Tor… -
Free Book: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
22 Jun 2009 | 6:41 amDescription: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is a novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit-hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures. The tale is filled with allusions to Dodgson’s friends (and enemies), and to the lessons that British schoolchildren were expected to memorize. The tale plays with logic in ways that have made the story of lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to…
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nick usborne's excess voice
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How do I find the best keywords when I write new pages for my money-making websites?
2 Jul 2009 | 12:56 pmI get a lot of questions from people who want to know how to find the keywords that have the best demand/supply ratio. The idea being, of course, to choose words and phrases which are in high demand, but for which there is relatively little quality supply.Getting this right is a key component in the revenue model underlying my money-making websites program.I use a few different tools.The first tool, which is free, is the Google AdWords Tool. Designed for use by marketers writing PPC ads, it is freely accessible to everyone and enables you to “eyeball” the demand/supply ratio on keywords. -
Funny how we grasp for quick answers and the latest “secrets”, instead of asking ourselves the tough questions.
24 Jun 2009 | 6:39 amYesterday I announced the publication of a workbook I wrote for freelancers. I sent emails to my two largest lists. I worried about my sales page. I wondered how many people would buy. Well, the conversion rate was truly horrible. Sales were way below my estimate.How come? What was my mistake?Here is one way of looking at it. One of my newsletter subscribers wrote to me and described the sales page for this workbook as being “just an ad for a PDF with 25 questions and lots of blank lines”.Ouch.I would describe my “mistake” more like this: I offered people something they probably… -
25 Tough Questions to Ask About Your Freelance Writing or Copywriting Business.
22 Jun 2009 | 5:53 amI’m a big fan of questions.Statements close doors. (“THIS is the truth.”)Questions open doors (“WHAT is the truth?”)In the world of freelance writing and copywriting, questions are particularly useful. Why? Because we often get stuck in a rut. We just keep stumbling forward in a straight line, even if we don’t know where that line is taking us.Asking questions changes everything. It opens our minds to new possibilities and opportunities.- What are your goals?- How quickly to you deal with problems?- What is the central “flywheel” in your freelance business?In my coaching work… -
What do you do if your website topic is all about images, and not words?
11 Jun 2009 | 6:20 amI received a question recently from someone who wants to write a money-making website, but is passionate about a topic that lends itself more to pictures than to words.In a nutshell, the guy is a photographer. I don’t think that need be a problem. But to get a ton of search engine traffic, he will have to add more to each page then just an image.The same goes for writing a site about your paintings, your jewelry or even your favourite recipes.When the focus of each page on your website is primarily visual, it will help your search engine results if you also add a decent amount of text to… -
My “very slow path to riches” blog is still growing.
1 Jun 2009 | 7:35 amBack in late April I wrote about a "very slow” website of mine. I started writing it in late September 2008, but had almost no time to spend on it.Actually, to clarify, it's not a website, it's a blog.In my April post I wrote:Last month the site made me only $67. This month it will make a touch over $100.Hardly seems worth it, right? Well, take another look at that curve. Imagine where that will take me by the end of the year. I'm guessing it will bring me between $1,500 and $2,000 a month by Christmas.I was wrong about the $100 figure. The income for the month…
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BenCrowder.net
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Reading on the iPhone
29 Jun 2009 | 8:36 pmI read a lot. I also love my iPhone. So, naturally, I spend a lot of time reading on my iPhone. (In fact, as I look back over the 90+ apps I’ve downloaded, my favorites are the reading/writing ones.) I’ve tried most of the iPhone ebook readers (Eucalyptus, Stanza, Classics, BookZ, eReader, Kindle, Bookshelf, and Shortcovers, with Instapaper covering a slightly different niche). The ones I come back to? Eucalyptus and Instapaper. We’ll throw Stanza in for good measure, since it’s my fallback ePub reader and was my favorite until Eucalyptus showed up. Eucalyptus I love… -
Me, the writer
17 Jun 2009 | 6:57 pmI went to the BYU Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop last week — five full days of writing awesomeness. Each morning we gathered in writing groups (I had around thirteen great people in mine, with Lael Littke as our fearless leader), then had a plenary session for everyone together (with editors and agents as the speakers). The rest of the afternoon split us up into breakout sessions on topics like dialogue and making time for writing. Almost every single class I went to was über-useful. Basically writers’ heaven for a week. I’m definitely returning next… -
On the writing habit
8 Jun 2009 | 7:59 pmI write sporadically, in occasional bursts and drips. And I hope that that sentence will quickly become false. :) See, to really be a writer, you have to write regularly. You have to. That’s how you get good, by putting in the hours and making writing as much a part of your life as brushing your teeth. (Assuming you do, in fact, brush your teeth.) (No, I don’t want to know.) Gladwell gives the 10,000-hour number in Outliers, and I’m pretty sure he’s right. There’s magic in habits. (Must. Resist. Nun. Joke.) Setting a goal merely to write every single day is great… -
Mormon Digitization Project
6 Jun 2009 | 10:44 amNot too long ago I downloaded Eucalyptus, a slick new ebook reader for the iPhone. I love it. I didn’t think anything could knock Stanza down from being king of the hill in my ebook-reading world, but Eucalyptus did it and with style. Caveat: Eucalyptus can only read books from Project Gutenberg. But that’s not really a problem for me, since most of what I wanted to read was on there anyway. (Well, most of what I wanted to read that already happened to be free.) Fast forward to this morning. I’m Mormon, and I want to read more Mormon-related texts. I searched around on… -
Tutorial: Depth of field in Blender
2 Jun 2009 | 9:25 amHere’s how to do depth of field in Blender. What’s depth of field, you ask? Go read the Wikipedia article for the details, but the layman’s summary is that it’s how you blur the out-of-focus parts of an image. (The blur is called bokeh, by the way.) The shallower the depth of field (or the lower the f-stop), the blurrier the out-of-focus parts get. I like it because it looks better and feels more professional, and it also focuses the viewer’s attention right where you want it. (But it’s not something you should use in every shot by default. Don’t…
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Come.Read.Comment.Go.
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You & Me... Extinct!!!
2 Jul 2009 | 8:46 pmScary thought, ain't it?? But its true.. The humans are bound to get extinct, one day or another.. We have already lost quite a few living species to this phenomenon... Cute little Dodo, being one of them... But besides something living, what do you think could being extinct..Ross Dawson Blog says:2009: Mending things2014: Getting lost2016: Retirement2019: Libraries2020: Copyright2022: Blogging, Speleeng, The Maldives2030: Keys2033: Coins2036: Petrol engined vehicles2037: Glaciers2038: Peace & Quiet2049: Physical newspapers, GoogleBeyond 2050: Uglyness, Nation States, DeathHe also has a… -
target="_blank"
1 Jul 2009 | 9:07 pmDay 2 of NaBloPoMo...Now you wonder why the post was named such gibberish? Well, that piece of code, helps your link open in a new tab.. So how about a new perspective on life with this 100th post? Yes!! Its my 100th post and like the blog, which started as an escape capsule, now is an identity.. of me, my thoughts, views, perceptions, ethics, morals, desires, wants, hates, despises.. Everything...Now this is a scary problem!! What would you do??If you eat both of them, there will be nothing left for future?? You don't want that to happen?? You want more.. we all want some more!! This is what… -
I, NaBloPoMo too...
30 Jun 2009 | 11:23 pmHello all, My first post for the July NaBloPoMo and I am scared... Not because it quite an hectic task but also to maintain the quality of the thoughts of every single day...What is NaBloPoMo??National Blog Posting Month is the epicenter of daily blogging! People who want to set the habit of blogging by doing it every day for a month, including weekends, can come here for moral support, inspiration, and the camaraderie that only marathon blogging can provide. The name NaBloPoMo is derived from NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, where participants try to write an entire novel in one… -
Love syndrome, hate manseutude?
16 Jun 2009 | 4:07 amWe people, the English-speaking lot, are just impossible, you know? Why we love certain words like "Syndrome" and just obsolete "Manseutude"?? Words like workaholics, pulling triple shifts and all-nighters, describing stuff that is deadly serious, kind of serious, totally ridiculous, and everything in between. Syndrome is one of these overachievers. From physical conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome and psychological conditions like Stockholm syndrome, all the way down to slang like 1661 syndrome (someone, usually a woman, who looks 16 from the back, 61 from the front), the word syndrome is… -
Build the next story @ June 19th
10 Jun 2009 | 10:28 pmSo you never thought ice-cream and architecture could have anything in common? What if the 2 architects, Natasha Case and Freya Estreller who are ice-cream addicts go on a punning spree.. You get CoolHaus!! See!! Cool+Haus!! Ring any bells?? Any one with a design background would definitely remember "History of Design" and their famous names!Well, They i.e. CoolHaus, are the new architect-owned ice cream truck that's been driving around LA from sweet tooth to sweet tooth delivering ice cream sandwiches named after modern architects and architecture..They offer flavors like Frank Behry, Mies…
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Confident Writing
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Declaration of Independence
3 Jul 2009 | 12:10 amWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Talk about the language of possibility! Then, now, still. Happy 4th July to all my readers in the U.S. Post from: Confident Writing No related posts. -
Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Introducing the Theme of Possibility
1 Jul 2009 | 12:51 am“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” ~ Lewis Carroll It’s a great quote, isn’t it? One of my favourites from Alice, and there are so many to choose from. It leads us into the theme I’m going to be running at Confident Writing for July and August: possibility. Some of… -
Rounding Up Breathing Space
30 Jun 2009 | 1:19 amThe end of June, half way through the year, and it’s time to move on from this theme time of breathing space. I don’t know about you, but I’ve needed the breather, so thanks for the indulgence while I took some time out. I wanted to highlight some of the ‘best of’ the last couple of months, including showcasing once again the guest posts which friends and fellow bloggers wrote for me for you. Thanks to all of them for helping to keep this show on the road I’ll be back tomorrow with news of the theme for July and August. Blogging Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre:… -
The Freedom of Good Enough Writing
29 Jun 2009 | 12:27 amSometimes the pressure to ‘write well’ can get in the way. Get in the way of writing when we mean to (plan to, ‘have to’.) Get in the way of enjoying it. Get in the way of writing what we really want to say. Your comments and feedback on Alex Fayle’s guest post on ‘when should you not write?’ got me thinking. Then Christine Kane’s ‘Get Creative’ newsletter arrived in my in-box and reminded me of the pleasure of doing things the imperfect way. The freedom and liberation that comes from good enough. [The article is reprinted in full… -
When Should You Not Write? Guest Post by Alex Fayle
24 Jun 2009 | 1:55 amAnywhere you go, you’ll find lots of advice on how to get yourself writing more, how to create daily pages and how to pump out more words… but sometimes pushing yourself to write just doesn’t make any sense. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably experienced these moments often. Like when every word that comes out of your brain feels like a burning hot coal searing its way from neurons to fingertips. Or how about when the idea you had gets dragged sideways, moving your story (or blog post or client work) in a direction that not only isn’t intended but…
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Remarkable Communication
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Oprah, The Biggest Loser, and Your Success
1 Jul 2009 | 10:31 amI don’t watch a lot of TV, but I do get to the gym a few times a week, generally right when Oprah is on. (Could be a lot worse. Jerry Springer, for example.) A few weeks ago, she had some of the old contestants from the reality show The Biggest Loser. This is, to me, vastly more interesting than watching the actual show could be. It’s one thing to lose tons of weight while at a ranch where there’s nothing to do all day long but work out and get yelled at by trainers. (Still an incredible and impressive amount of work. But not reality.) It’s another to make the choices every day to… -
Pink Hair Blogging
17 Jun 2009 | 2:19 pmThose of you who saw me at South by Southwest this year know that I’ve dyed my hair pink. * Along with What do you do?, I find Why did you dye your hair pink? an unanswerable question. But if I can’t answer it. I might be able to address it. (By the way, if you’re newish here, the babe in the photo is not me. She sure is cute, though, isn’t she?) Making the break The simplest answer is that a head of pink hair signals to any and all that I don’t work for a Real Company. No cubicle. No 401K. No HR department. No chain of command. No receptionist. No big-name agency to work with. No… -
What I Love About My Job
7 May 2009 | 9:22 amSo yesterday I gave a talk at Naomi Dunford’s membership site, SpeakEasy. (SpeakEasy is closed to new members now, but I’ll let you know if/when it opens up again. I’m a member myself and I think it’s an amazing value.) I got to talk for an hour about all the things I’m a total dork about. Then I got to answer questions for another hour and a half. This is pretty much like saying “I got to have an ice cream sundae and then homemade raspberry croissants and then chocolate cream pie.” It’s a good thing. It really made me think about what a wonderful job this is. So I thought… -
Objection Blaster #4: Why You?
27 Apr 2009 | 1:48 pmYou know what makes selling really annoying? When people don’t buy. Man, is that irritating. Those pesky customers have reasons they’re not buying from you today, and salespeople call these reasons “objections.” This is post four in a series talking about what, as copywriters, we’re going to do to blast those objections into zillions of harmless smithereens. The Hard Question Once we’ve captured a potential customer’s attention and brought up a problem that they’d like to have solved, we have to answer an important question. Why should they work with us, instead of all the… -
Sing with Your Own Voice
15 Apr 2009 | 6:15 pmBe yourself. Everyone else is already taken. ~Dean Hunt &, apparently, Oscar Wilde I was chatting with the smartest marketing princess on earth the other day, and we were talking about how few products and services are actually unique. All marketing advice is basically rehashed John Caples and Claude Hopkins, sometimes with a few Gene Schwartz refinements tossed in. House painters are house painters. Web designers are web designers. PR people are PR people. Absolutely, there’s a spectrum of “seriously good” to “seriously incompetent,” and we all have our specialties. And…
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Write to Done
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Campfire Writing: Why Stories are the Writer’s Elemental Tool
1 Jul 2009 | 5:44 amA guest post by David Masters “I don’t think you can write - at least not well - if you don’t love stories.” ~ Nora Roberts “To hell with facts! We need stories!” ~ Ken Kesey An Ancient Greek Parable on How to Captivate Your Audience Demades, the Ancient Greek orator, is about to address an assembly in Athens on a matter of vital importance. Though widely recognised as one of the greatest speakers of his time, he can’t get his audience to listen. They’re joking and laughing among themselves, ignoring Demades as he stands alone on the podium,… -
First Draft Secrets: Five Simple Steps
23 Jun 2009 | 2:10 amA guest post by Marla Beck If you’re anything like me, sometimes writing a first draft can be a huge struggle. On some level we may be busy “just writing,” but on another level, we’re often working hard to ignore, silence or simply drown out our mind’s chatter. No wonder we sometimes resist writing and finishing our first drafts! It’s not always easy to split our attention between writing and “mind-management.” To write a useful, “flavorful” first draft, it helps to have a helpful mindset and a few tools to help us focus. Mind… -
How to Stop Digital Fiddling and Start Writing
17 Jun 2009 | 2:59 amBy Mary Jaksch Are you prone to digital fiddling? I am. In fact, I’ve increased my skills of digital fiddling so much that I hardly notice that I’m putting off writing. What is digital fiddling? Reading emails How often do you check emails? When I’m stuck in procrastination, I happily check my emails every twenty minutes or so. After all, there could be an email that’s really important. I usually manage to find a few that I absolutely have to reply to at once. (After all, anything is better than having to tackle writing the piece I’m trying to avoid). Checking stats Once I’ve… -
A Forgotten Key to Blogging Success
5 Jun 2009 | 4:10 amBy Glen Allsopp I am under no illusions regarding my writing ability; I’m aware that I still have a long way to go in terms of honing my skills in this area. And, despite the fact that I took my English A-Levels one year early, writing is something that definitely doesn’t come naturally for me. Yet, while I’m aware of my flaws (which are slowly decreasing) it has never put me off attempting to be a writer and wanting to motivate, inspire and awaken people with my words. I have managed to build quite a decent following on my site, but I recently decided I wanted to take… -
The Cycle of Creativity and How to Ride It
2 Jun 2009 | 7:37 pmBy Mary Jaksch It sounded an excellent plan, no doubt, and very neatly and simply arranged. The only difficulty was, she had not the smallest idea how to set about it.~ Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland Who is in charge of your creativity? Are you? Or is your inspiration like a wellspring that flows one moment and stops the next – without you being able to control it? The good news is that we can learn to be consistently creative. The trick is… Yes, there is a trick. But before I say more about the cycle of creativity and how to ride it, let me tell you what prompted this post. I’ve…
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TopicTurtle
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The Coming E-book Wars
15 Jun 2009 | 11:26 amAs the e-book market becomes increasingly hot, publishers, distributors, and e-book developers are beginning a tug of war to secure their stake. Recently Scribd.com began allowing writers and publishers the ability to sell their product. On June 12th, Simon & Schuster entered a deal with Scribd.com to begin offering approximately 5,000 titles for sale the site. Simon & Schuster is directing its attention to alternatives to Amazon and its e-book Kindle business model by entering an agreement with Scribd.com to sell digital copies of its books. Simon & Schuster says it wants to get… -
Looking for an Ebook Reader?
8 Jun 2009 | 12:00 amIf you are as fascinated by the advancement of electronic ebook readers as I am, then you are probably eying the new technology hitting the market and how the electronic book market is going to shake out. A few ebook readers are on the market, and for right now, the Kindle 2 ebook generally rates higher than any other comparably priced reader on the market. Even up and coming challengers, from early reviews, are not much of a threat. Just the same, take a look at ebook readers coming to market or already here. Kindle 2 or Kindle DX The Kindle appears to have the most support in terms of… -
Topic Turtle Writing News
30 May 2009 | 10:11 pmI have added an aggregation page of blogs on writing and publishing news. You can click on the link up in the right hand corner of the Topic Turtle page. New posts should be nearly as fresh as when they were posted on the original site. I decided to put up this page because there are some great topics and ideas being written about and I wanted to make sure you knew about them too. If you have some favorite blogs, let me know and I’ll see about adding them. Visit: top writing blogs and news -
An Introduction to Your Own Ebook Publishing
24 May 2009 | 12:00 amElectronic books are an exciting evolution to me, both as a reader and as a writer. But then, I have always been one who embraces new technology. For those of you who are writers, electronic publishing may be something you are interested in exploring. If you are interested putting some of your work out there, here are two venues you can use. Both of these sites will allow you to publish and let readers read or download it for free, or you may charge a fee for your work. www.smashwords.com www.scribd.com To give an idea how publishing on these two sites works, I posted an anthology of short… -
Five Ways to Keep the Faith in Writing
15 May 2009 | 1:00 amSitting alone in a room putting words on a page in the hope that someone, someday will read them and be moved by them can easily be seen as an act of folly or desperation. We live at a time, after all, when many people struggle to pay for health care and put food on the table. In this economic climate, it’s easy to think that storytelling is superfluous, unnecessary, narcissistic — or worse. In order to continue doing it, day after day, with little or no encouragement or support, is an act of faith — even if you’re “just” doing it for half an hour in the morning before work, or on…
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meryl's notes
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Links: Independence Day 2009 Edition
3 Jul 2009 | 6:18 amHappy 4th to Americans and Happy belated Canada Day. Email going around with this. “At 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4 a.m.,on the 8th of July, this year, the time and date will be: 04:05:06am on 07-08-09 “This will not happen again until the year 3009.” You can say the same for the ones coming in the next three years: 05:06:07am on 08-09-10 (2010) 06:07:08am on 09-10-11 (2011) 07:08:09am on 10-11-12 (2012) It’d be cool to have one of these birthdays. 7 Ways to Build Your Author Brand Online My Favorite Book Covers of 2008: Fabulous list. Can’t begin to pick one. -
15 Ways to Blog for Your Blog When You Blog for Clients
1 Jul 2009 | 11:49 amPhoto credit Naama y.m. I started writing a post about Twitter this morning. Then I realized, the post would work for one of my clients and moved it there. My clients come first, which makes it harder to produce high quality blog entries for my own blog. And I am not about to abandon this place after nine years. So how do I balance blogging here and blogging for clients / publications when our audience is the same? Not all of my clients have the same target audience, but a couple do. That’s one reason why I don’t blog as often. I share good and fun finds on link Fridays. It looks… -
How to Run a Successful Twitter Chat
26 Jun 2009 | 10:17 amImage credit Flávio Takemoto I love participating in Twitter chats. These bring together intelligent individuals with a common interest yet each one adds something unique to the conversation. I’ve already covered how to join Twitter chats. This post looks at the process of participating in the chat. #journchat set many of the standards that other chats have adopted. While official standards don’t exist, it becomes clear what works and what doesn’t work after you participate in enough chats. These guidelines capture the practices that lead to productive and fun chats. Let… -
Links: 26 June 2009
26 Jun 2009 | 6:49 amEasy on the Hooptedoodle: How to be invisible when writing a book. You know… show instead of tell. [Link: The Blood-Red Pencil] Exposing Some Myths About Blogging Pay Rates 7 Ways to Rediscover Your Dreams Book Marketing 2.0: 5 ways you can use Web 2.0 tools to promote your book Namechk: See if a user name is available across many social networks. Twitter Logo Generator [Link: Crenk] Best Sites for Used Cars: Daughter has driver’s permit. Not gonna get her a new car. If anything, she’ll inherit hubby’s car once he gets a replacement. Star Trek does opera: Khannnnn! in… -
Links: Juneteenth 2009 Edition
19 Jun 2009 | 1:14 pmSocial Media and “The Flight Attendant Effect”: Excellent analogy that makes great sense. [Link: Scott Blitstein Five Levels Of Social Media Responses [Link: Dawn Foster] Children’s book writing month at Tumblemoose: Lots of advice, articles, videos and guests. Tweeting for profits: How retailers and other businesses are taking advantage of Twitter. And for fun because we’re allowed… Darth McVader: This link is in memory of my dear friend Glenn. The Stapler Caper: Adorable wordless children’s book that encourages children to write the story. YouTube video…
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There Are No Rules
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There Are 2 Types of Writers: Which Are You? (The Other Side of the Slush Pile)
3 Jul 2009 | 7:44 amToday's guest post is from the insightful Jim Adams (Migdalin.com). I met Jim at the June WD Editors' Intensive. He also contributed this piece about the benefit of hiring a professional editor. The Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass, informs us that there are two types of writers: One type writes in order to write. The other writes in order to be published, obtain fame, and receive impressively large royalty checks. As with any dichotomy, this one has its problems, but recently I gained a better understanding of why Mr. Maass would come up with such a dichotomy in the first place. Recently, I… -
Who Exactly Are the Middlemen in Publishing? Can They All Disappear?
2 Jul 2009 | 10:42 amThere have been a number of thought-provoking articles lately on: whether publishers can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors and booksellers/readers (read this Fast Company article postulating a future where authors make deals directly with Amazon; and read this TOC post on the future role of publishers) whether agents can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors and publishers (read this Seth Godin post about agents) whether booksellers can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors/publishers and readers (read this about the future of bookselling from an indie… -
The Hardest Part About Developing Platform (Who Are You Anyway?)
1 Jul 2009 | 3:05 pmThe hardest part about developing a platform is deciding what you're all about. In business terms, it would be considered your unique selling proposition (USP). Identifying this USP—or your reason for being!—involves deep self-knowledge, an understanding of what you want out of life, and how that interrelates with what other people need and enjoy. It boils down to 3 questions: What are you passionate about? Who's your audience? What are your strengths? Think of it as a Venn diagram. What are you passionate about? What's the unique content, authentic experience, or remarkable work you… -
Are You Needlessly Worrying About Your Work Getting TOO MUCH Exposure?
30 Jun 2009 | 3:03 pmAs writers become more and more comfortable with online media, I receive more and more questions like this: If I post my work on my own site, will anyone be willing to consider it for print publication? How much of my novel can I post online before a publisher won't take it any more? Do I lose rights to my work if it's posted on XYZ site? Here are key points to remember. 1. First things first: You own the copyright and all rights to your work when you post it online, unless you specifically agree otherwise. It may be easier to steal when it's online, but you still own it. 2. Always check the… -
Risking Failure (from the Glimmer Train Bulletin)
30 Jun 2009 | 2:07 pmEvery month, Glimmer Train sends out a monthly bulletin with information about their contests, as well as helpful advice from established writers. In the most recent bulletin (Bulletin 30), you'll find: Making Stories Out of Stories by Randolph Thomas The Music of Words by Lynn Ahrens Risking Failure by Josh Henkin (pictured above) Incidentally, the next issue of Writer's Digest magazine (September 2009) will feature an essay from Henkin as well, in the MFA Confidential column. Here's a little of what Henkin has to say in his Glimmer Train piece: I believe this is one of the most important…
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Lisa Romeo Writes
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Read any good books lately? No, it's not an entirely rhetorical question.
1 Jul 2009 | 1:56 pmRead any good books lately?My answer, always, is yes, of course. I sometimes want to add (usually silently) – and, some not-so-good books, some damned-if-I-know-what-that-was-about books, and the occasional wish-I-hadn't-read-that book. Also, the stopped-reading-it-halfway-through book, the don't-know-why-I-ever-wanted-to-read-that-in-the-first-place book, and the can't-believe-I read-the-whole-thing book.I don't always mind the clunkers. As a writer I understand the energy the author expended on the effort and I tend to be forgiving. I learn what not to do. And, unless I'm stranded… -
Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Tech Tasks for Writers, Literary Roads not Taken, Poetry in NJ, Memoirs & More
26 Jun 2009 | 6:41 am• This list, found at the 10,000 Words site (“where journalism and technology meet) is designed to keep recent journalism school graduates busy sharpening skills while job hunting. But I think it’s even better advice for anyone who graduated from J-school more than ten years ago (uh, that would be me). I groaned at some of the suggestions, but by tackling at least half, I’ll be more valuable to future editors and clients in any area of media or literary life. And I might add, it wouldn’t hurt any newly (or soon-to-be) published authors to try their hands at these skills for the sake… -
Good News for Good Neighbors: Really Good Writing by a Good Writing Friend
25 Jun 2009 | 3:00 amI’m always pleased to get a note from one of my favorite creative nonfiction writers, Mimi Schwartz, letting me know what she’s up to writing- and teaching-wise. Mimi’s excellent memoir-in-essays, Thoughts From a Queen-Sized Bed, played a part in the critical research thesis I prepared as an MFA student, and when I contacted her with questions, instead of a return email, I received an invitation to visit and talk writing. I’ve been meaning to post something about her newest book, and am a little embarrassed not to have done so already.So I’m going to pass Mimi’s most recent note… -
When all Writers are Welcome. Then what?
24 Jun 2009 | 7:28 amI do the occasional gratis talk or presentation about creative writing at libraries, community centers, and other places. There is no money in it, the audience will be small (usually about a dozen folks), and it takes as much of my time and mental energy to prepare and present these talks as it does to do so for a (paid) class or seminar. But I have my reasons.Recently, I gave a talk at my local library titled, Creative Writing: Making it Stick, and promised to talk about developing a writing habit, motivation, process, writers block, the art of rewriting and other topics which frequently… -
Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Memoir Pitfalls, Literati Write the News, Your Summer Submission Schedule, and a bit 'o fun
19 Jun 2009 | 9:15 pmWelcome to all my new readers!It's the end of the week (okay, technically it's already Saturday, but humor me) and that means Friday Fridge Clean-Out. Unfamiliar with the term? It's what I call "dinner" when I manage to pull together a meal of sorts from a refrigerator overloaded with leftovers (home cooked or take out), scraps, tidbits, and, if I’m lucky, a few delicious but overlooked fresh items hiding behind the ketchup. On the blog, Fridge Clean-Out means it's time to pass along a selection of what I found of interest around the web recently, and hope you find a few gems along the…
