Writing (General)

The web site Dumb Little Man provides the ultimate link list that will help writers improve their grammar and punctuation. Who doesn’t need a little help in this area?

The paint mixer thunked away while Clint tapped his finger tips on the counter. Don Dunham sauntered out to visit. Boxes of bolts, screws, washers, and bits lined the walls, rattling with Dunham’s heavy foot steps.

Tom lined up a series of color chips at the color center and shuffled them about. He originally planned a purple and yellow theme, but soon found himself drawn to fire engine red and a light blue. An orange chip consistently ended up in his collection as well, but he could not figure out how to incorporate it with the red. It went well enough with the light blue, but he was not satisfied with the orange. Perhaps it was too juicy and punchy for a mountain café.

Violet, cranberry, gray, tan: Tom yanked colors out of their homes, kicking and screaming as they clashed with the hodgepodge of chips down below. He narrowed down his selection enough to know that he didn’t want white or yellow. He also knew that picking a coordinating trim paint was out. Not only was this an excessive expense, he didn’t have the stamina to pick out a slew of nit-picky trim colors, let alone neatly apply them to the wall along straight edges. Continue reading Chiselville: Picking Out Paint

The New York Times has an article titled “Selling Yourself, in a Good Way,” that is essential for every writer and other freelancer to read. Marci Alboher shares her revelation: “I realized that if I did not convey passion and pride about my ideas, how could anyone else?”

While some may worry about promoting themselves for fear of appearing prideful or full of themselves, Alboher shares a conversation in which a self-promotion expert shares, “But if someone says you are good at self-promotion, why is that any different than saying, ‘You’re a wonderful writer’ or, ‘You look terrific’? It probably means that they know what it is that you’re doing and that you’ve done it in an interesting and compelling way.”

Communicating a clear, thought-provoking message is the goal of every author and artist. When we are confident in our work and truly believe others would enjoy it, then we should feel free to send out e-mail updates, hand out business cards, and get our names on web sites and any other place where the public may look.

Below is a writing exercise in which I was instructed to write about nothing for 20 minutes.

The music is pretty, but the dog was zooming through space so fast you could have heard a pin drop on a field of blazing tumbleweed. The dog landed and the aliens were so glad to see him they shooed him away. With music coloring the black universe the aliens zoomed past the dog as he left them in the dust. They couldn’t keep up with his relentless stationary position.

On earth no one knew about this except for those in the know, and no one let his or her eyes breath a word about it. Birds chirped in the morning stillness where the sound of rustling leaves in the wind added flavor to the landscape. Chickens strutted up and across, across and up until they ran smack into the thick wire fence that didn’t surround their imaginary pen that really did exist in the backyard of farmer Jones. Only the pen was in the side yard, precisely in front of her house.

Pollution steamed from cars and factories in the big city, but that really isn’t happening. Businessmen, politicians, and lobbyist said so. The climate changes, but it’s changed before so who are we to say which is better? Perhaps it’s not changing at all, since it’s just staying the same by changing all of the time. And who said there’s a climate anyway? It’s all just weather, weathering away the earth and it doesn’t matter whether or not we like it. Weather changes just like our climate, which probably doesn’t exist.

A truck rumbles down main street, the marvel of man’s ingenious idiocy: a smoke-belching carrier of goods releasing what is bad and carrying goods only half the time, which means it really does little good, but in a world without morals or boundaries we really can’t say what is good or bad and so perhaps the truck doesn’t even exist anyway, just the thing to make the politicians and lobbyist happy.

Newspapers spin off the press, words lining every page, but never leaving an impression. Ink is spilled like the blood of thousands who die from war, crime, and famine, only to be tossed in the trash and forgotten. The papers say all and tell all, but nothing has been said or told. Secrets lie all over town behind drawn curtains and everyone knows. There’s no point in hiding what everyone can find out, but no one will remember so long as it can be forgotten. Words drip on the pages of magazines, shoppers, and books trying to wear out our stony eyes, but reading means nothing because the words taste bad. It all falls apart in the end even if we’ll be put back together some day.

Numbers spin in cash registers, an alphabet of their own that cannot be counted. Cash jumps from hand to hand, meaning everything, holding all value, but never truly worth more than a scrap of newspaper. Money is the one god we part with readily even if we’ve given our lives for it. People rush by grabbing for green, picking up air, and sliding away into everything.

Here’s a writing exercise to try for 20 minutes:

Pink socks.
Blue convertible.

Go for it!

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Mail Chimp has a great list with six mistakes designers often make when putting together an E-mail newsletter. I’m not saying I haven’t made any of these mistakes, but the possibility of making such errors is reduced by simply using one of Mail Chimp’s newsletter templates.

I’ve used both of their templates for numerous newsletters and so far so good.
Technorati Tags: newsletter, email

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Aside from the possibility that Google is gradually taking over the world, I am greatly indebted to this rapidly expanding company due to the various benefits of a Google account. In fact, my productivity at home, work, and personal business pursuits has been revolutionized by simply signing up for Gmail when it first came out. What started as a tentative jump on a fad has quickly spread to my entire life.

For starters, the best thing Google offers is e-mail through Gmail. Gmail has a smart and simple interface, grouping e-mails into conversations, so a series of e-mails appear together. The editor has all of the features basic e-mail requires, the spam filter is 99.99% effective, and it offers a search feature that is still the only way I can find most of my passwords. Storage is lavish, sent messages are saved, and older messages can be archived: what more can one desire?

Closely integrated with Gmail is Google’s calendar feature. Events can be listed as one-time or recurring, and have a reminder option that shoots an e-mail off at the time specified by the user. Just about any religion or nation’s holidays can be displayed as well. The share feature is a nice way to keep in touch with family, friends, and co-workers, especially when the calendar is embedded into a web site or blog.

Word processing and spreadsheets are also included in a Google account, and can be accessed online simply by logging in to one’s account. Most of the features from Microsoft Office and Open Office are present, and just like the calendars these documents are open for collaboration and viewing by other users.

The list of benefits continues with Blogger for a free blog, a free web site under the Google domain, and a customizable home page that can display Gmail the inbox, RSS feeds, weather, and the day’s news. 

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I overheard a conversation today at a cafe. The server asked a lady which size she wanted for her drink, and she replied, “Decaf.” That’s a precious conversation in my humble estimation.

Such out-of-the-blue conversations are the perfect subjects for practicing the craft of dialog. Dialog is a challenge and starting with something a little zany and unusual may help take some of the pressure off.

What will the server say in response? Will the customer correct her statement or insist that decaf. is a legitimate size? The only way to find out is to start writing.

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Clean, clear, crisp, conducive, contemplative: these are words every writer should associate with a blank page.

Despair, dubious, daunting, doubt, drivel: are another collection of words that typically stick to the blank page like a stubborn sticky note and give these white building blocks a bad rap.

Part of the challenge in writing is moving from crisis to opportunity, and this is never more evident in the writer’s routine encounter with the blank page or screen. Though the white wasteland is a perilous place, the writer must embrace the chance to create, to give life to unknown thoughts and personalities.

The blank page is simultaneously the writer’s friend and foe. Without it the writer is nothing; it is the only tool that enables fresh creations. Nevertheless the threat of swallowing up the creative mind is always present.

In order to win over the blank page as a partner in creativity, try the following:

– Always have cards, a journal, or a scrap of paper handy for scribbling down ideas throughout the day. These precious raw materials can be laid out on the blank page in order to lay the foundation for more writing—that’s how this article came about.

– Begin your day by typing out something you’re already written out on paper. This is a great way to warm up before starting from scratch.

– Another great warm up is using a writing exercise. Many of these are available online, but one need only take a fragment from an overheard conversation and dive into it.

– Plan out a story or a series on a particular topic and stick to it. You will be surprised how focused time on a particular topic yields a wealth of writing.