tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67364422007-06-01T20:53:15.106-04:00scottBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-36829241668131361522007-05-30T21:23:00.000-04:002007-05-30T21:23:35.199-04:00

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted very much lately. Personal and professional matters have been keeping me very, very busy over the last few weeks.But some things are changing. First, I'm moving my Web site to a new hosting provider. And I'm going to try to moving this blog over to WordPress. With any luck, the move will be seamless -- or as seamless as things in the wacky world of the

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-2045657827212777382007-05-15T19:25:00.000-04:002007-05-15T19:27:33.244-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was at one of my favourite used bookstores and I stumbled upon a copy of the 30 th anniversary edition of On Writing Well by William Zinsser. While I was struck by the realization that it's been about 20 years since I first read the book, I decided to pick it up. On Writing Well is one of the few writing books that I return to every couple of years. Whether I read it

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-47944796954717115762007-05-07T06:18:00.000-04:002007-05-07T08:54:23.766-04:00

In the past, I've blogged about writing and publishing with LyX (here and here, to be exact). While it's definitely not for everyone, LyX can be a powerful tool for writing and publishing theses, reports, and books. I've used it to write a number of professional reports which have pleased my clients. The one thing that I have yet to do is author and publish a book using LyX. I've had a couple in

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-6709504566185094552007-04-27T19:26:00.000-04:002007-04-28T10:24:56.724-04:00

No matter what you write -- articles, marketing copy, or white papers -- a good headline grabs and intrigues the reader. Sometime, though, it can be tough to write a good headline.Michael Stelzner (yes, him again) offers five tips for giving your headlines more punch. I really like tips three and five: Direct with Action and Be Specific.

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-85942097412828287822007-04-26T06:35:00.000-04:002007-04-26T08:36:35.896-04:00

Over the last few days, I've been test driving a couple of new (at least to me) blogging tools. The first is a Firefox extension called ScribeFire. This extension adds a word processor-like interface to Firefox for publishing post to blogging software and services like Blogger, WordPress, and Moveable Type. It's really easy to use, and can be popped up as you need it. The only thing I don't

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-4723007223804507982007-04-16T18:28:00.000-04:002007-04-16T18:39:13.105-04:00

I tend to drone on and on and on about the need for, and usefulness of, an outline when you're writing. This is especially true when you're writing a long document or a very structured one like a report or a white paper. It seems that I'm not the only person who thinks this way. White paper guru Michael Stelzner writes: The outline is your architectural blueprint. It shows where you need to

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-43087844415681532312007-04-09T20:39:00.000-04:002007-04-09T20:43:49.658-04:00

I make no bones about the fact that I love using the Emacs text editor for a number of tasks -- marking up files in HTML and XML, fiddling with system files on my Linux notebook, and (of course) writing. Among my favourite Emacs writing tools is Muse. Muse enables me to write and then publish articles, reports, and more in a variety of formats: HTML, PDF, DocBook, and a handful of others. It's a

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-63863506717996774692007-04-01T08:46:00.000-04:002007-04-01T08:52:57.465-04:00

What happens if you're not anywhere near your computer and need to write something -- an article, a note, some copy, or anything else? You can turn to one of the number online word processors, of course. There are some really powerful ones, including Google Docs & Spreadsheet and Zoho Writer. Those are great applications, but if you just need to quickly get your words down, then urn to

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-76872646618567329982007-03-23T06:35:00.000-04:002007-03-25T17:22:02.465-04:00

A while back, I posted about breaking through a psychological barrier of mine: having 200 published articles to my name. Well, it's finally happened. My 200th article was published today, in a California-based publication called ComputorEdge. So, what does this mean? I'm still not sure. It could lead to a flood of articles. I could keep writing and submitting at my current pace (the horror!).

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-74445436079849728262007-03-25T15:28:00.000-04:002007-03-25T15:31:12.864-04:00

Something I've been trying to come to grips with is how to best present a list of my published articles at my Web site. Right now, I just have a page broken up by publication and date. Is there a better way to do this? And is a list like this even necessary, or is it just ego feed on my part? How do you handle your list of published work, both online and offline

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-28160339945795161072007-03-11T21:48:00.000-04:002007-03-11T21:55:02.842-04:00

... and you have to listen. Take this weekend, for example. On Friday, I was experiencing chills, fatigue, and muscular and joint aches. Not a good sign, especially when I had a lot of work to plow through over the weekend. I went to bed at around 9:00 p.m. When I awoke the next morning, the chills and aches were there, along with the kind of headache you get with a bad cold. The symptoms (for

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-39398997881769559672007-03-04T21:24:00.000-05:002007-03-05T17:51:28.041-05:00

Generally, the articles I write range in length from 1,200 to 2,500 words. Some go as long as 3,000 words. My normal process for writing these articles is to prepare a detailed outline, use that outline as a skeleton for the article and fill in any blanks. I've used a variation of this process since I was in journalism school and it's worked well. But sometimes I tackle shorter pieces -- from

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-87010279800473676662007-03-05T20:07:00.000-05:002007-03-05T17:50:33.262-05:00

For some reason, having over 200 published articles has become something of a psychological barrier that I've been determined to break through. I can't quite put my finger on why that number has taken on its significance. Perhaps it's because I feel I should be further along in my writing career. Perhaps it's because I feel that my work as a technical and business writer has overshadowed my more

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-82442360028206289852007-02-26T06:02:00.000-05:002007-02-26T08:11:53.333-05:00

A while back, I blogged about nifty piece of software called JDarkRoom. To refresh your memory, it's a full screen text editor that allows you to write without distractions. And lately, it's been a boon to me. Over the last month or two, there have been a lot of distractions in my life. Distractions that have piled on the stress and which have made writing very difficult at times. So, I've let a

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-63451537151150524932007-01-31T20:12:00.000-05:002007-02-01T08:20:47.052-05:00

This excellent posting at Bad Language offers some of the most realistic, sober, and solid advice on becoming a freelance writer that I've seen in a long time. Aside from the usual advice about generating ideas, being organized, and how to hone your skills the posting also discusses how much to charge and the all important ethics, diligence and fact-checking. If you're seriously considering

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-89282519763963885662007-01-26T06:11:00.000-05:002007-01-26T08:15:09.085-05:00

Marketing guru Seth Godin put together a short list of tips on how to write a blog post. The list contains eight deceptively simple bits of advice, but when you put them all together you should be able to (in Godin's words) cause "the reader to look at the world differently all day long." The great thing about this advice is that you can apply it to most other non-fiction writing, too. Godin's

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-67756874123669756862007-01-24T19:29:00.000-05:002007-01-25T13:03:20.737-05:00

If you write a lot (and I hope you do), chances are you've run into the problem that Anne Wayman describes in a recent post on her blog: keeping track of all of your files. For a writer who has a lot on the go, this can be tough. There are a number of ways to keep your files organized. Here's how I do it. On my computer, I have two folders devoted to my work: one's called Writing (for my

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-4590688781544029652007-01-18T20:59:00.000-05:002007-01-18T21:04:54.502-05:00

The other day, someone asked me an interesting question about the minimalist writing tools I advocate: "Do these things make you a better writer? If not, why use them?" The first part of the question ... well, that's a mistake many people who don't write, or who've just started out in the wacky world of smithing words, make. No software will make someone a better writer. That's up to the

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-58431476589295749232007-01-16T20:42:00.000-05:002007-01-17T08:53:10.536-05:00

While I was (and still am) excited about participating in the 2007 Inkthinker Query Challenge, I have to hang my head and admit that I've fallen behind. I probably won't make my goal of three queries this week. It's frustrating, but I'm determined not to let that get to me. I plan to try to make up it this weekend, and over the next week. The ideas and target markets are definitely there. All

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-44319646702269425242007-01-14T18:38:00.000-05:002007-01-14T18:47:58.031-05:00

A while back, I wrote about a piece of software called WriteRoom. It's a full-screen editor that enables you to write without distractions from other applications, the Web, or whatever. The only problem for me is that WriteRoom is a MacOS-only application. But last autumn, I discovered a Java application called JDarkRoom. It works a lot like WriteRoom, but on any operating system that uses Java.

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-45649495936444141532007-01-10T20:28:00.000-05:002007-01-10T20:35:39.413-05:00

Kristen King, who writes the inkthinker blog, recently posted the 2007 Inkthinker Query Challenge. The mission: starting January 10, every participant will try to put out at least 120 query letters in 2007. That's 10 a month. Minimum. Well, the reckless side of me decided to join in the challenge. As I clicked the Send button, I thought "Has my death wish come back?" This, in addition to my

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-31988451878986359182007-01-05T06:13:00.000-05:002007-01-05T08:04:06.682-05:00

Word processing is used to, well, process words. Processing words involves writing, and effective writing requires the proper use of grammar and spelling. -- From a description of the book 10 Minute Guide to Effective Business Writing by Paula Garrett and Steve Dennis

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-66195180504735394172007-01-03T20:51:00.000-05:002007-01-03T20:56:12.473-05:00

The other day, I blogged about the demise of Tux Magazine. This got me thinking, somewhat in jest, that I haven't shaken my reputation as the kiss of death for a publication. When I started my writing career in earnest oh so many years ago, a magazine would either publish one of my articles or be about to publish one of my articles when it went under. This happened about five or six times,

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-18729609344397902332007-01-02T12:22:00.000-05:002007-01-02T12:24:02.629-05:00

Recently, I renewed my relationship with a publication called Tux Magazine. But the folks behind the magazine have announced that Tux is ceasing publication. In fact, the last issue was truly the last issue. I'm still in a bit shock over this. I had hight hopes for the magazine and my latest round of involvement with it. I had three articles slated to appear in future issues, but I guess I'll

scotttag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6736442.post-57989221185946129082006-12-31T10:26:00.000-05:002006-12-31T10:29:18.117-05:00

Like his work or hate it, you can't deny that Ernest Hemingway could write. His fiction and non-fiction are excellent examples of how to write concisely and clearly. This blog post list five pieces of advice that any writer can take from Hemingway's work.

scott