I would love to be able to write blog posts or conduct my social media affairs in such a way that I became an overnight sensation, as verified by an astronomical rise in my bank balance. But…
Read MoreThe get-rich-quick itch (Updated)
Photo from lucasbieri. Licence: CCO
Foreword, Preface or Introduction? (Updated)
I was faced with a conundrum: should I write a Preface to the 3rd Edition, a Foreword to the 3rd Edition, or just stuff it all into the Introduction and be done with it?
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If you think it, write it. Photo = Reflections, by Elaine Freedman
Writing for the sake of writing
Dr Johnson said that nobody but a blockhead ever wrote for anything except money. I have a great deal of sympathy with this view, but I don’t altogether agree with it.
Read MoreReview: Audio for Authors
These days it’s as difficult as it is daft for writers to ignore the benefits of using audio applications.
Read More7 characteristics of good writers (Updated)
What do good writers have that bad writers don't?
Read MoreThe perils of writing software manuals (Updated)
Writing software manuals or books, or even mini tutorials on how to do something in a particular program comes with a huge occupational hazard.
Read MorePhotoPrompt: Cats Eyes Removed
in PhotoPrompt
Proof indeed that punctuation really does make an awful lot of difference.
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A bang on the head, yeah?
This article is part of series I am writing called Experiments in Style. It is my version of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style.
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Books (cartooned) by Terry Freedman
Coming soon in Terry Freedman's Books Bulletin
Terry Freedman’s Books Bulletin is short and sweet, and free. The new issue is going to come out tomorrow, 24 December 2021.
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On this day: Getting paid is nice too
in On this day
One of the occupational hazards of trying to earn money from writing (or any other "creative" pursuit) is that many people display a marked disinclination to pay for the service they require.
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Christmas at Selfridges, by Terry Freedman
Christmas message from Writers' Know-how
in Oulipo
Unfortunately, my end-of-year message got a bit mangled, but I’m posting it here anyway. See if you can figure out what it is supposed to say.
Read MoreUsing Twitter for creative writing (updated)
Twitter allows only 280 characters per “tweet”. That’s around 20 to 25 words on average. How can that be any use for creative writing?
Read MoreUsing art for inspiration
in News & views, Archives
I’ve come across lots of books, apps and websites with writing prompts. I don’t think any of them have mentioned looking at paintings. I find that to be quite inspirational, in the sense of inspiring me to write reviews (which I don’t always publish).
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Write! Official Issue #1 out soon!
The next issue of the free newsletter Write! will be sent out today, Thursday 16th December 2021. This is officially the first issue — the previously distributed one was a sample product. This is what the issue contains….
Read MoreReview: American Short Stories course
in Reviews
For many years I’ve liked American nonfiction writing in periodicals such as Harpers, The Atlantic and The New Yorker, and it’s been interesting (for me at any rate) to learn that I also enjoy American fiction.
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Film, by Dean Shareski Some rights reserved
Review: A Taste of Film
in Reviews
Yesterday I spent a very interesting three hours on a course called A Taste of Film.
Read MoreFake news and media literacy
in News & views
Much of the narrative about fake news seems to take the view that fake news is peddled by outlets other than mainstream media, that if mainstream media do produce fake news it’s either accidental or because the “journalism” is rubbish, and that basically it’s up to the rest of us to make sure we’re not fooled.
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Filler text, by Terry Freedman
Creating filler text
in Technology
You can, of course, create text for use as filler text, or recycle an existing document. A better approach, because it’s faster, is to use a random text generator. The remainder of this document looks at a few options available to you.
Read MoreA randomly created short story
She walked over to the window and reflected on her deprived surroundings. She had always loved urban Truro with its plain, pong parks. It was a place that encouraged her tendency to feel worried.
Read MoreWhy are positive reviews so boring?
It’s a sad fact of life that the most entertaining reviews are the ones that are highly critical of the thing being reviewed.
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