The term “automatic writing” is usually associated with a particular psychic phenomenon. However, software now exists that can take data, such as sports results, and generate reports from it.
News & views
Books vs e-books
in News & views
I came across an interesting post by Jeff Thomas, in which he refers to an Infographic by Newsweek, which compares printed books with electronic or e-books. (An infographic, by the way, is a graphical or otherwise succinct way of presenting a lot of information quickly. Newsweek’s books vs e-books graphic is one of the few easily readable ones I’ve come across, but that’s neither here nor there.)
A week to remember
in News & views
People visit the Writers’ Know-how website because they have an interest in technology for writing rather than in my private life, which is why I never post anything deeply personal here. However, recent personal events have affected my working life, the most visible evidence of this being the lack of updates here for nearly two weeks. Less publicly, a number of emails have remained unanswered. Here is what has happened during this period.
Read MoreMind your language
in Language, News & views
Here are a couple of odd uses of language I came across recently. At least, they made me sit up and take notice, and perhaps that was the point.
Read MoreWhy I reject rejection slips
in News & views
Conventional wisdom has it that you should keep your rejection slips to remind you of how far you've come as a writer once you’ve established yourself. I’ve even read of people who proudly plaster their walls with the things.
Read MoreThe value of clippings
I feel a bit like the first person in Khalil Gibran’s story of The Gravedigger. It’s taken me years and years, but I am finally getting rid of boxes and boxes of my clippings, ie the articles I’ve had published.
This is not out of necessity, even though they do take up a fair bit of room in our loft. It’s just that I’ve decided I don’t need them any more, which made me think: why does anyone need to keep their clippings?
I think there are three main reasons.
The basic rule of blog headlines
Much has been written about what makes an effective headline for a blog article (and I should thoroughly recommend reading @copyblogger on the subject of How to Write Magnetic Headlines). For example, I’ve read on various writing-related blogs that headlines should be seeded with keywords for the purpose of SEO, or search engine optimisation. It all sounds pretty complicated, despite assurances to the contrary. Perhaps too complicated. Because the bottom line is that there is a very simple rule to observe.
Read MoreBrevity definitely IS the soul of wit
This afternoon I found myself in an emotionally challenging superfluous text situation. In other words, I became somewhat “wound up” by having to waste my time reading a long-winded sentence that was clearly designed to demonstrate the erudition of the writer rather than facilitate the understanding of the reader.
More on self-publishing
Clive Shepherd, an education consultant in the UK, has written a very useful post about the processes involved in self-publishing in paperback via Lulu, and electronically in the formats required by the iBook, Kindle and Sony Reader.
Read MoreIntegrity, journalism and PR
in News & views
I attended a very interesting Westminster Media Forum seminar recently on the subject of journalism and public relations (PR). I thought I’d write about these issues in relation to integrity in blogging. It's an article that has been developing in my mind for some weeks now, and the seminar has helped me to put a few of my thoughts in order.
Good news: you can succeed as a bad writer, apparently
in News & views
According to an article in The Economist, negative publicity is fine for an unknown author. In Better to be reviled than ignored, we are informed that:
Read MoreBad headlines
If there’s one thing that really annoys me it’s chapter headings and article headlines where you can’t tell what the subject matter is until you read it. Who needs a situation in which you don’t know if you want to read something until you have read it? The way I look at it is that if the author can’t even be bothered being clear when he’s trying to entice you to read his stuff, why should you be bothered to oblige him by reading it?
4 Reasons to get published
It's important to be published by a traditional publisher
Image by Terry Freedman via Flickr
In this day and age, in which anyone can publish and distribute their books electronically, or self-publish them by going down several routes (none of which need include the traditional vanity publisher), why should anyone bother approaching a traditional publisher? After all, very few of the thousands of manuscripts that publishers receive find their way into book form, and of those that do, very few hit the big time. There are, in fact, at least 4 reasons to try to get published by the age-old process of going to publishers.
10 attributes of professional writers -- #8: Pitch to the right outlet
You’d think this would be a no-brainer, wouldn’t you? Yet just about every week I read an article by some editor or other bemoaning the fact that would-be contributors don’t appear to have done any research into the publication, preferring instead to offer an article regardless of how well it fits.
Read MoreTools For the Writer
To write, you need a couple of tools. On the low end of the scale, paper and pencil will do. Typewriters are good. Word processors are better.
Read MoreUsing video for creative writing
I always carry a pocket camcorder with me. It enables me to take both photos and videos. I use the videos as a potential basis for creative writing.
I try to make the videos only about 30 seconds long, because I like the idea of being minimalist – as you may have gathered from my article about using Twitter.
We don’t need no rules of grammar
Back in April 2010 Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth) posted a useful article reminding students that when it comes to succeeding academically, accuracy in using the language still counts.He lists a set of rules which humorously make the point, such as "Avoid clichés like the plague." My question is: do the same rules apply to bloggers?
A new Facebook page and a new newsletter
I’ve just set up a Facebook page for Writers’ Know-How, and a new newsletter.
Setting up the Facebook page was surprisingly easy, thanks to the wonderful video by
Read More10 attributes of professional writers – #1: Get paid!
Image by Terry Freedman via Flickr
What makes a professional writer professional? I believe 10 characteristics to be essential. The most fundamental of these is pretty simple, and has nothing whatsoever to do with technology, writing style or how good a tan you have. It’s…
Publishing Posers: The Acquisitions Editor
in News & views
An interesting question these days is: “Do I need a publisher?” There are lots of options available for anyone wishing to go it alone, especially when it comes to ebooks.
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