Email is a marvellous facility. especially for pitching editors or publishers, and for sending a covering “letter” with an article or story. However, there is an inherent danger of its tempting us into being too casual.
Here are “Terry’s Top Seven Tips for professional-looking emails”.
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.
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?
We’ve all heard of “laws” such as Murphy’s Law (If anything can go wrong it will go wrong), but how about laws which are especially pertinent for writers? I’ve been doing a spot of research, and have come up with these timeless gems. I’ve included the references in case you wish to delve further into any of them.
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.
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.”)
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…
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.
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.
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?
