January 2011
32 posts
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“Working elsewhere creates a desire and drive to write as I have to fit it into...”
– Writing And The Mixed Blessing Of A Day Job | The Creative Penn
This is a great post by Joanna Penn about combining a day job with other projects in the evening. It’s a balancing act I know only too well - keeping motivated and on track is such a difficult thing to do.
I picked this quote...
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Watchsilentshe:
Young people of Maltby, we salute you. Part 1 vid of intergenerational IT project we’re currently running at Maltby.
Part one of a fantastic video that outlines a brilliant project by my good pal, Justine Gaubert at Silent Cities. The idea was to get young people to put together a training programme for older people who don’t know hwo to use a computer.
The boy talking in the...
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“I’d swap all the Kindle sales in the world for a book that I know is the best it...”
– Something I just said, and strongly believe, in response to a post on self-publishing
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Read & Trust →
I’m terribly pleased to announce my inclusion in a super group of writers, brought together by Aaron Mahnke, under the moniker Read & Trust.
It’s kind of like, ‘If you enjoy reading this person, you may well enjoy reading this person too.’ You can even download the OPML file, pop it into your favourite RSS feed reader and automatically subscribe to each member’s...
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Introducing TED Books →
Today, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of TED Books, an imprint of short nonfiction works designed for digital distribution. Shorter than traditional books, TED Books run less than 20,000 words each — long enough to explain a powerful idea, but short enough to be read in a single sitting. Books are available on the Kindle and Kindle Reader apps, and cost $2.99 each.
And if...
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Project standards: consistent, on-brand writing →
This link is to a guest post I put together for Fuel Your Writing.
At The Workshop, we work with many clients, most of them high profile and all with their own brand guidelines.
To keep track of all the different style quirks and formalities, me and the other writers in my team use what we call Project standards documents. We create a new document for every client and project that we work on.
A...
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Book WP - a WordPress theme for authors →
I’m not sure why someone hasn’t done this before. It’s a free WordPress theme that allows you to upload chapters (as individual posts), and then it more or less does the rest.
Here’s a picture:
It’s really nicely done. Simple, effective and perfect for anyone who wants to publish their work in a format that anyone with an internet connection can access.
(Found...
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Little Big Details →
When it comes to writing, I believe that straightforward language can convey complex ideas and get people thinking. When it comes to design, I believe it’s the simplest, lightest of touches that transform the good and the great into gracious that’s gorgeous. Introducing Little Big Details, my new favourite microblog, where function and beauty collide and high-five.
(via mbatey)
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Fighting to save a library and a town |... →
The library closures are still big news in the UK. This post by Emma Newman talks about the fight to save her town’s library. It’s stirring stuff.
I wanted to rail at the sheer disgust burning in my gut at how “they” proposed to deny free access to books and knowledge. I wanted to shake my fist and launch a searing attack against an administration who wanted to deny my child and all...
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“Given that the iPad and iPhone offer a number of competing ebook options, it’s...”
– iBooks – Apple could, and should, do so much better — eBook Magazine
They can offer all the features in the world, it’s the gaps in the content that poses the biggest problem.
And iTunes itself, possibly. Maybe.
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WatchWriting a Novel (when you’re too busy to write a novel)
This is a nice video put together by Yuvi Zalkow, who was kind enough to email with some kind words and this clip. In it he covers the software he uses to get his writing done, and it turns out to be a system rather similar to my own…
PlainText + DropBox = mobile novel writing.
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Life with my Sony Touch e-reader →
This is a great overview of the Sony Touch e-reader from Emma Newman at Post-Apocalyptic Publishing (also a previous guest blogger at my own Write for Your Life).
I particularly like the following paragraph. It highlights the need for us to stop comparing e-readers to books. They are not books. Yes, they provide the same content, but they are not the same thing and to constantly compare and...
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“Maybe your novel is the bee’s knees, the cat’s pajamas, the canine’s testicles...”
– Why Your Novel Won’t Get Published
Never a truer word said. And as is often the case, it applies to many other situations. In fact, it applies to any situation you could possibly think of.
Unless you’re in banking, of course. Then it’s perfectly fine.
Quick update: Of course, this...
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Are These Filter Words Weakening Your Fiction? →
Here’s a nice example of how to show not tell in your writing:
You might, for example, write:
Sarah felt a sinking feeling as she realized she’d forgotten her purse back at the cafe across the street. She saw cars filing past, their bumpers end-to-end. She heard the impatient honk of horns and wondered how she could quickly cross the busy road before someone took off with her bag. But the...
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“…most of the traditional process of book publishing is insulated from the...”
– Portraits of an Industry in Flux: Digital publishing and UX | UX Magazine
Easily the best and most interesting article I’ve read on the emergence of ebooks and the changes taking place in the publishing industry. I could have chosen any number of meaningful, engaging quotes.
But the thing I...
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My first hate mail
After just over two years of proper blogging, today I received my first unpleasant email from, quite unbelievably, someone who is subscribed to Write for Your Life.
Perhaps more believably, it was following my post about Apple. Some people really don’t like Apple, what with their shiny products and their sexy straplines. I don’t really get it myself. In fact, I don’t really...
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“The more that objects become replaced by digital virtual counterparts – from...”
– Selling a Book by Its Cover - NYTimes.com
True that. Interesting read too. One for reading later and in full with a cup of cocoa or a glass of sherry.
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A Simpler Page | A List Apart →
Tablets are in many ways just like physical books—the screen has well defined boundaries and the optimal number of words per line doesn’t suddenly change on the screen. But in other ways, tablets are nothing like physical books—the text can extend in every direction, the type can change size. So how do we reconcile these similarities and differences? Where is the baseline for designers looking...
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“Sometimes readers just want to read. One click. Books. Not one click. Wait for...”
– The Mac App Store, iBookstore and the one-click wonder | Write for Your Life
Apologies for the cross-linking to Write for Your Life, but this article covers some of the issues I’ve been talking about here over the last few months. I decided to post it there instead of here simply because of...
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World's largest floating book exhibit opens in... →
According to an officer on board Ship Logos Hope, which started its first journey in 1970, the unique mission of the ship is to enhance cultural exchange and understanding between world peoples through its floating book fair.
The opening ceremony included a visual presentation on the vessels including its history, journeys and the ports it has visited.
It also included the peoples columns...
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“Patience is a great friend to writers. You need to remind yourself that although...”
– Charles Baxter (via oliveryeh)
Patience is indeed a great friend to all creative types, especially in these fast-paced, modern times we live in. We want our ideas to come to fruition before they’ve barely been formed. And we want to tell people about them - in person or online - before...
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The 6 minute Moleskine | The Electronical Rattle... →
electronicalrattlebag:
An assembly manual by Burningfp.
You will need:
2 sheets good quality A4 paper (150 gsm is good)
1 piece of recycled cardboard (Stella beer box card is thin and strong)
2 standard staples
Scissors, ruler, pencil and stapler.
All too often we go out and by the things we crave without thinking, ‘Could I make something of equal usefulness myself?’ This...
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Two writing opportunities from literary agency,... →
I linked to one of these opportunities in my previous post, but now I’ve assembled all the information in one handy place, I thought I ought to tell you about these great opportunities - Pageturner prize and Writers’ Studio - again.
Most literary agencies will represent their authors and do a fine job. Tibor Jones’ do the same (I can vouch for that), but they have a culture and...