What do you require in order to blog? Obviously, the list will be depend on what device you use, and its operating system, but here is the set of tools which I find invaluable.
My blogging toolkit
in Handy hints, How to
10 attributes of professional writers – #2: Work to exact word count
In the first post in this series, I made it clear that by “professional” I was referring to the strict definition of the word, ie that payment is made for your services. But there is also, of course, another meaning of “professional”, which is to behave and conduct oneself in a particular way.
Read MoreHow to write an article in 30 minutes or less
in How to
I think a lot of people, myself included, work most efficiently when they’re up against a tight deadline. This phenomenon has been observed both by Aesop (the fable of the tortoise and the hare), and Parkinson (“Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”)
10 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…
Photography and creative writing
The terms “technology” and “creative writing” may not often appear in the same sentence. But when it comes to digital photography, the world is your oyster.
Research Sites for Writers: Refdesk
Is randomness useful?
Yesterday I thought I’d explore the web to see if I could find a random blog post generator. Why? Because I was interested to see (a) if such things existed and (b), if so, what they were like. Could you, for example look at a randomly generated post and not know that it was created in that way?
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Creative Commons
A good starting point for anyone wishing to find information, a picture, a recording or a video that they can reuse without falling foul of copyright law is the Creative Commons search site. As well as a good starting point, it’s a good one-stop shop, given that it covers such a range of media types.
Paperback Writer
The lyrics of this song by The Beatles will strike a chord with many publishers, I think. Sung in the first person, it’s about someone who fancies himself as a best-selling author – of the worst kind!
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Ask
Ask goes back a long time. Originally called Ask Jeeves (and still called Ask Jeeves in the UK), it features a picture of an English Butler. Butlers have a reputation for serious quiet and efficient service; does Ask make the grade?
How To Write An Online Review
This video has a few useful hints and tips about writing online reviews. It’s more about the writing than the technology, but even so it contains information about
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Collecta
Making Notes On Websites
in Reviews
Sometimes I come across a website and think it would be quite useful to bookmark for future reference. However, I sometimes find that on returning to it, I can’t remember exactly why! Or I am looking around a website with the intention of reviewing it, get interrupted, come back to it a week later
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Bing
in Reviews
Is Bing a sort of poor man’s Google? There is always a temptation to compare any search engine with Google, but each has its own strengths and shortcomings.
How To Eliminate Distractions
This gives you a quick look at J-Darkroom, which is a clutter-free text editor. I've used it myself,
Read MorePublishing 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.
Read MoreResearch Sites for Writers: Addictomatic
I’ve recently started using Addictomatic as my first or second port of call as far as search engines are concerned. What it does is pull together, on one page, results from blogs, Bing
Tech Support
Have writers always needed technical support?
Read More13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Repeating Yourself
This is a very quick tip, but one that is remarkably useful. As you may know, Word has a ton of keyboard shortcuts which can make life a bit easier. But sometimes, if they’re really convoluted, they can make life difficult.
Read More13 Things You Didn’t Know About Word: Sorting
One nice feature of Word is the Sort feature. If you have a list, and you’d like to sort it into alphabetical order, this is what you do: