Sometimes even the most ardent writers among us just don’t feel like writing. What to do? An article on the Problogger website has made what I think is a great suggestion.
Read MoreUsing a points system to incentivise you
A phone call to technical support reported as a one-sided conversation
Under normal circumstances you can only hear one side of a conversation over the telephone. With that in mind, I’ve reported this (true) conversation from my side only. You should be able to infer what the person on the other end was saying.
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A bang on the head -- N + 12
The results are different depending on which dictionary you use; there is nothing to stop you cheating…
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A bang on the head -- in code
Although the result is nonsensical, I think it has a musical quality of its own.
Read MoreSome changes to the Writers' Know-how website
in News & views
I’ve introduced a couple of changes to the Writers’ Know-How website in order to make it even more user-friendly.
Read MoreThe importance of a nice writing set
in News & views
I wrote the detailed outlines of three articles in the space of six minutes. I’m sure the quality of the materials had something to do with it.
Read MoreFreelancing vs authoring Part 2: Authoring (updated)
If, like me, you enjoy writing and you would like to earn money from it, should you go down the freelance writing route or write books, or both? In the first part of this two-part series I looked at the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing, ie writing articles for newspapers and magazines. In this part, I consider the advantages and disadvantages of authoring, ie writing books.
Read MoreFreelancing vs authoring Part 1 (updated)
If, like me, you enjoy writing and you would like to earn money from it, should you go down the freelance writing route or write books, or both?
From my experience, here are the pros and cons of freelancing.
Review of a graphics novel introductory course
in Reviews
Why graphic novels?
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Pencil, by Terry Freedman
How to write quickly
Just as with painting and decorating, it’s all in the preparation. This is my method of writing articles fairly quickly.
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exasperated, by Terry Freedman
Note to would-be contributors: the grapeshot strategy is a waste of time
Have you ever seen an article on here about pre-menstrual tension?
Read MoreAdvice for would-be book reviewers
Terry’s top tips for writing professional book reviews.
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Books, by Terry Freedman
An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Two unexpected consequences of installing a calendar archive
When I set up a calendar version of the archive on this site, it didn’t occur to me that this would give rise to two incentives.
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Frustration, by Terry Freedman
Where are my articles?!
in News & views
The article archive keeps disappearing, and while the problem is easily fixable (temporarily), it’s extremely frustrating. Here’s my workaround.
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Reviewer's desk, by Terry Freedman
How I review books on writing
in Reviews
My views on what constitutes a book on writing are fairly catholic. Indeed, it would me more accurate to denote the books I review as books for writers, rather than books on writing. The latter tend to have titles like “How to write fiction”, or “How to write magazine articles”.
Read MoreEnjoying the hard stuff: review of a course in hardboiled fiction
in Reviews
The least sensible thing one can do in circumstance like this is to read stuff which has absolutely no bearing on any it.
Read MoreThe Big Sweep
I think it’s important for writers to not only read widely, but also write widely. By trying out different styles and genres, you can start to see how they work.
Read MoreHow to read faster
in Fast writing
There is so much to read these days, that a leisurely stroll through thousands of words is no longer feasible. At least, not if you’re going to keep on top of all the new books and articles that appear every day.
Read MoreHow to help an editor
Reading this book made me reflect on the “tiny noticeable things” that a writer might do to make a magazine editor’s life easier.
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