The Write Dude

Twitter Revolution by D. Micek and W. Whitlock

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:21:17 +0000

The authors claim the book was written on twitter. It certainly doesn’t read like a book that had a lot of thought or editing put into it. It’s slightly useful.

Cover of Twitter Revolution

The twiterverse is an exciting and interesting place. In Twitter Revolution, @CoachDeb and @WarrenWhitlock (one gets the impression it’s mostly @CoachDeb) give a tour of Twitter, the most popular microblogging site on the web.

BTW, the @ sign prefixes a Twitter user name. So, if you want to send a tweet to xyz you begin your message with @xyz. That is one of the many tips on using Twitter that can be gleaned from this book. It’s not a very good book, but for the uninitiated, it does provide a window into all things Twitter. Hopefully it won’t actually have the reverse effect and actually prevent someone from trying Twitter.

How to Use Twitter

The authors argue that the coolness and amazing power of Twitter should not be ignored. True. Unfortunately, they don’t really make it seem that cool. Twitter can get you out of jail in Egypt and that would be cool. Twitter really is cool, but that can only be discovered by signing up with Twitter and seeing what happens.

Twitter is so easy to use, one hardly needs a book to explain it. But, that is not the point of the book. The authors aim to give the goods on how to be an effective tweeter and develop a Twitter following. With a following comes a network of people that can solve problems, provide advice, and offer tips on just about anything. Every once in awhile, slip in a plug for yourself, your new book (written on twitter!), or the latest update to your blog. Makes sense. Above all, don’t annoy people.

The Annoying Book About Twitter

Twitter Revolution is an excellent example of how to take twenty-five pages of useful information and “cram” it into a two hundred and fifty page book. Case in point—six full pages at the beginning consisting solely of “Rave Review” tweets about how great the book is. That is annoying. Uhg.

CoachDeb seems to have a rather high opinion of herself and that is also annoying. Another thing that is really annoying is the numerous timelines of tweets used as examples of what goes on among smart people who know how to use Twitter. Oh, and there’s one more annoying thing—the constant suggestions to visit the twitter handbook website for the most up to date information.

The book includes a helpful glossary of Twitter terms, and a good list of apps that extend the usefulness of Twitter. Overall it’s a barely tolerable introduction to Twitter and how it can be used in business, marketing, and branding. Skim it (don’t actually read it), find the information you need, and get out. Then start tweeting.

Twitter Revolution, How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business and Market Online, 2008, Deborah Micek and Warren Whitlock, Xeno Press, Las Vegas, NV

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:40:08 +0000

Cover of The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging

Blogs (short for “web logs”) seem to be popping up all over the place these days. The barriers to entry into the blogosphere are so low, that just about anyone can do it. Sometimes it does seem like “everyone” is doing it; which is not to say that everyone “should” do it.

Few bloggers make it big or make any money blogging. However, it’s a great way to get some writing experience and to write about things that personally matter. There is nothing wrong with that.

The editors of The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging cite a 2006 survey done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, on the most popular topic choices of bloggers:

“my life and experiences”
other
politics and government
entertainment
sports
general news and current event
business
technology
religion or spirituality
a specific hobby or illness

Obviously there are plenty of things to write about. Anyone can find a niche of interest in this list. A would-be blogger needs a place to start though, and The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging offers such a place.

How to Start a Blog

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging is fairly complete. With chapters like “Welcome to the World of Blogs,” “Getting Started,” “Getting Noticed,” “Finding Your Voice,” and “Community: Creating and Building it,” it covers the basics well.
The editors explain the fundamentals of hosting a blog, how often to write posts, and all the simple things required to enter the world of blogging with at least some knowledge of what is involved. “Good” versus “bad” names for blogs are discussed as well as the pros and cons of using a free blogging service. Overall, the advice is good.

Other sections of the book are self-serving promotions for the Huffington Post (e.g. “A Blog is Born: A Brief History of the Huffington Post and its Impact”). Fans of the site will enjoy those parts. People interested in learning how to blog can safely ignore them.

Advice From Successful Bloggers

The book features sidebars containing words of wisdom from bloggers who have made it. Or, in most cases, people who had already made it and then got into blogging. There is a big difference.

It seems a bit disingenuous for these people to offer advice, encouragement, and insights into the world of blogging to the seething masses of unknowns who will start a blog that will probably only be read by friends and relatives (if that!). But, for some people that audience will be good enough.

Most of these celebrity bloggers blog on the Huffington Post, so it would have been more balanced if other bloggers without such affiliation were included in the mix. If your name is Bill Maher, Erica Jong, or Senator Gary Hart (who all have written for the Huffington Post), sure you can start a successful blog. Otherwise, it’s a long road to the top. Don’t quit your day job.

The Editors of the Huffington Post; The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging; New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2008.

An Interview With Bestselling Author T. A. Barron

admin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:54:18 +0000

Author T. A. Barron (courtesy of T. A. Barron)

T. A. Barron, Colorado-based writer of young adult fantasy fiction, shares his thoughts on the process of writing, getting published, and overcoming writer’s block.

T. A. Barron enjoys hiking on mountain trails in Colorado with his family. Fortunately for the rest of us, he also keeps writing well-loved and best-selling fantasy novels. Since his first novel appeared in 1990, Barron has published more than twenty books. The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy and the Lost Years of Merlin epic are among his widely-known works.

In addition to traveling, writing, and spending time with family, Barron takes an active role in administering the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Each year, the prize honors twenty-five outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet.

“Every year, I am one of the final judges,” explains Barron. “I have been fortunate enough to meet many of these dynamic, public-spirited young people. They have so much courage and compassion and high ideals. They give me hope for a better world!”

Becoming a Writer

The probability of becoming a successful author is very small. After working hard for many years, Barron broke into publishing with a novel, foregoing the usual short story path into fantasy or science fiction publishing. How exactly does one achieve that?

“My first manuscript, which I wrote when I was in my twenties, had a great reception: It was rejected by thirty-two different publishers! (Often very rudely.)”

“I had written it while traveling solo around the world with my backpack, exploring marvelous places like the Himalayas, Siberia, rural Japan, Scandinavia, and East Africa. Yet despite all that good inspiration, and all my high hopes, my book was rejected by everyone. As much as that hurt, I knew I needed to find some way to laugh. So I took all those rejection letters and put them on the wall of my bathroom, right next to the toilet. Just to give them all the dignity they deserved.”

Seven years later, Barron gathered the courage to write again. He still had creative musings, and still dreamed of becoming a writer. “I realized that writing must be very important to me—to my soul. That part of me that would wither up and die if I didn’t try again. So I quit my job and wrote a new novel, inspired by the birth of our first child.”

Barron showed the manuscript to Madeleine L’Engle. She liked it, and sent it to an editor. “That started my career,” says Barron. “The editor, Patricia Lee Gauch, liked the book, called Heartlight, and published it. She has been my editor for over twenty years. And we’ve done more than twenty books together.”

Barron’s Creative Writing Process

T. A. Barron is one of the remaining rare breed of writers that begins longhand. “Writing is a strange, mysterious process,” he muses. “But I do know it requires a special, personal chemistry. I always write the first draft with a blue felt pen and a pad of paper, because that’s a good chemistry for me.”

He explains the rest of his writing process this way. “After more than twenty years, I still don’t know how it really works. Once the manuscript is ready—a good first draft but still far from finished—I transfer it to a Microsoft Word document. Then I do six or seven complete rewrites. Last of all, I do some careful, delicate editing—marking up the printed copy with my friendly blue pen.”

Overcoming Writer’s Block

According to Barron, “Writer’s block certainly exists. Everyone I know faces this problem. The question is how to deal with it. Creativity requires nurturing. For me, a block means I am too close to the writing. I need some distance, some perspective. So I put down my pen and go out to nature. I go for a walk with my dogs or a run on a mountain trail, and almost always, a new idea comes.”

T. A. Barron’s felt-tipped pen is currently at work on the Merlin’s Dragon trilogy (or the family is out hiking). The third book in the series was published in the Fall of 2010. T. A. Barron travels a lot, and his appearance schedule can be found at the T. A. Barron website.

My NaNoWriMo Plan for 2011

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:31:28 +0000

NoNoWriMo approaches!

I first participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a couple of years ago. I did pretty well for about 15 days then stalled out. It’s hard. I admire anyone who can actually crank out 50,000 words in a month. I made it to about 24,000. Here’s the thing. Twenty-four thousand words toward a novel is a pretty good start!

So I have a plan for this year. It’s not exactly in the spirit of NaNoWriMo, but I am going to use the event to spur me closer to completion of that project. I am not going to start from scratch and try to pump out 50 kilowords in a month. My plan is to pick up where I left off and get closer to completion of the one I started. If I do at least as well as I did last time, I’ll make to 50,o00. And, if I by some miracle actually do get the full output, I’ll have about 75,000. That will be tantalizingly close to my target word count for the book, which is 80,000 words.

Sure it mostly sucks (I’ve read it), but in the tangle of verbiage there is the kernel of a decent idea for a story, some tolerable plot twists, and an occasional really good sentence. Maybe this is a stupid way to write a novel (in fact it almost certainly is), but what the heck. I’ve got 24,000 words of something and that is the most I have ever produced on a single story line. I’m going to take the shotgun, pedal to the metal approach to it’s logical conclusion. When I hit my target, I’ll do my best to edit the bugeezus out of it and actually make it work.

I read the other day that Earnest Hemingway one said (or wrote) “Write drunk. Edit sober”. That seems like rather excellent advice. I consider this sort of like that except I plan to “Write stupid. Edit smart.”

Using Wikipedia as a Reliable Reference

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:59:05 +0000

There’s no sense resisting Wikipedia. It’s a good resource if used wisely. It’s becoming the planetary encyclopedia. Follow a few simple rules, and citing Wikipedia as a reference is fine.

Wikipedia logo

Wikipedia is fast becoming a legitimate information resource. Since meeting its funding goals for 2009 and beyond , Wikipedia has invested in people and technology to make great strides in its information monitoring and quality control. There is no need to download Wikipedia or install it on a computer. It is available all the time, form any computer connected to the internet.

Reliability of Wikipedia

Wikipedia isn’t 100% accurate and unbiased – almost no source of information is. However, if a Wikipedia entry meets some basic quality requirements it is likely to be as reliable as just about any other source of on-line or printed information. Unlike printed encyclopedias, Wikipedia is updated many times each day. Professionals, educators, students and researchers are using Wikipedia more than ever.

When to Cite Wikipedia

To have a reasonable degree of comfort using information from a Wikipedia page, bear three things in mind.

1) Don’t use the page if it’s a stub. A stub is an article that is essentially a place holder. Stubs are underdeveloped, and need more content to meet Wikipedia’s standard for thoroughness. The content of a stub varies from a sentence or two to a few paragraphs. It usually isn’t hard to find a more comprehensive treatment of the topic somewhere else.

2) Don’t use flagged Wikipedia pages. How strictly you follow this rule, depends on how certain you want to be of the information’s legitimacy. Pages with flags for insufficient references, questionable or possibly biased content, or other quality standards should be avoided.

Sometimes a flag will indicate that the text lacks desirable stylistic attributes (it might be wordy, inconcise, or have too many examples). One might go with that. On the other hand, such problems are an indication of a lack of a professional touch, and such a source is probably best avoided.

2) Check the edit history for the page. It takes a bit of practice to decipher a page history and gain some insight into the evolution of the page itself. The history tab leads deeper into the inner workings of Wikipedia.

Watch out for pages that have a lot of reversions. An editor reverts a page to get rid of someone else’s edits to return the page to a previous state. If this happens a lot it can mean there is truly a disagreement about something (but not necessarily something substantial), or that less-than-knowledgeable editors have been at work.

Use the Revision history statistics link on the history page to find out who is doing the most recent and frequent editing. You may or may not be impressed.

Cross Check Wikipedia Internal Links and References

A common use for Wikipedia is to get a quick refresher on a topic that you already know something about, or to learn about something related to a familiar topic. In this case you are probably a pretty good judge of the information quality. Does the information confirm what you already knew (but perhaps just couldn’t remember)? If you are in doubt about anything, Google it and see if a university or government-based website can confirm some of the facts or assertions appearing on the Wikipedia page. Check the references at the bottom of the Wikipedia page to see if they are legitimate, accessible and relevant.

Judging the worth of Wikipedia information is admittedly somewhat of a subjective art. If you follow through on some basic quality control measures, you shouldn’t have qualms about using and citing Wikipedia as an information source.

Note: This is a re-post of an article originally appearing at Suite101.com.