When writing a Post that you want featured on the front page (in the Feature slider area), you must follow these steps.

The great thing about the internet is that it allows those with access connection to people and ideas in a lot of easy, organic ways.  However, while the tools to do this are always changing and evolving I’d argue that the techniques are timeless and work online [...]]]>

The great thing about the internet is that it allows those with access connection to people and ideas in a lot of easy, organic ways.  However, while the tools to do this are always changing and evolving I’d argue that the techniques are timeless and work online as well as offline.  Regardless of technology, you can’t start your garden if you don’t have seeds, but people tended to gardens long before there was ever a hose.  Hopefully the resources below plant some ideas for you.

106 Tips to Become a Master Connector
www.lifeoptimizer.org/2007/06/06/106-tips-to-become-a-master-connector/

I love this post.  I bookmarked it while ago  and there are just so many good tid bits in it.  My favorite tips are:

• Make other people more successful.
• Find your own mission in life.
• Build your network before you need it.

100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media
www.chrisbrogan.com/100-personal-branding-tactics-using-social-media/

Kinda hard not to talk about online social networking (or social media in general) without some mention of Chris Brogan.  This list collects all kinds of great ideas for maximizing your personal brand – how you represent yourself professionally.  My favorites include:

• Your community knows more than you. Ask them questions often.
• Ask questions of people you meet. Get to know them.
• Contribute to your community’s blogs and projects.

Community is important.

25 Absolute Essentials for Networking Success
www.dumblittleman.com/2008/06/25-absolute-essentials-for-networking.html

This one also has some neat take aways that I dug:

• Promote your purpose more than yourself
• The answer to every request that you DON’T make is no
• Know people in different worlds

Do you use LinkedIn and other online resources to build your reputation or brand yourself? How do you do that?
www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/advertising-promotion/internet-marketing/MAR_ADP_INM/349646-25622973

This one’s a goody.  This is a great crowdsourced resource of people on LinkedIn weighing in on how they use LinkedIn (and other resources online) for building their reputation and brand.  Having a strong reputation and brand online is helpful when when augmenting the quality and scope of your relationships offline.

You!

Oh yeah, don’t forget that YOU yourself are a resource.  Many of the tips above apply to yourself – make yourself more successful, build your internal reserves before someone else needs it, know yourself in different worlds, etc.  You can’t be a master connector unless you yourself are connected.

Any resources out there that you’ve found to be helpful?

Related articles:

• 5 Articles to Help You Write a Great Artist Bio (awordwithyoupress.com)
• WordPress for Artists & Writers: An Introduction (awordwithyoupress.com)
• 5 Awesome Resources For Becoming a Master Online Networker (awordwithyoupress.com)

My dear Readers,

Your comments are what make the A Word with You Press site come alive as a community.  So it is extremely dismaying when one of you has difficulty posting comments.  Happily, this happens only occasionally (as far as I know).  I have been digging deep to [...]]]>

My dear Readers,

Your comments are what make the A Word with You Press site come alive as a community.  So it is extremely dismaying when one of you has difficulty posting comments.  Happily, this happens only occasionally (as far as I know).  I have been digging deep to reproduce these issues and to resolve them whenever possible.

Recently, I have been investigating The Case of the Purloined Cursor.  The sordid details of this unfortunate situation follow:  after reading an especially inspiring blog post, an eager reader scrolls down to the comment section to leave precious words of wisdom, when, lo and behold, his or her cursor disappears–kidnapped, it would seem, by the gremlins of technology. (Yes, I have proof that gremlins have evolved to jump to a new host. Formerly the bane of World War I pilots, they have adapted to the new computer-driven society.  I suspect that some arcane combination of browser version and operating system is creating a bed in which they can proliferate unbeknownst to their victims.)  In my experiments, attempts to comment using Google Chrome as my browser with Windows Vista on my pumped-up gaming machine resulted in cursor loss; however, Google Chrome with Windows 7 Starter on my puny netbook allowed me to post comments with impunity.  Go figger!

To date, I have not found a solution on our end, but I am working on a revolutionary new preventative, A Word with You Press Bona Fide Gremlin Repellant Spray (patent pending).  There is good news, even though  the spray is not yet approved for human testing.  Should your cursor disappear when attempting to comment, please try reloading (refreshing) the Web page.  After reloading, my cursor reappeared, and I could once again comment.  So don’t abandon your wonderful comments or our site; please, remain at your post, refresh, reload, and regale us with your input.

If you experience any problems, please email contactus@awordwithyoupress.com.  When the Gremlin Repellant is ready for prime time, it will be available in the AWwYP store. Thank you for your patience.

With sparkle,
Diana Diehl, Technical Director

NOTE: This is actually a post copied over from the awesome Copyblogger.

The Top 10 Blogs for Writers contest is always fun to watch, and a great way to add some new favorites to your own list of must-read blogs.

This year the contest has shaken things up [...]]]>

NOTE: This is actually a post copied over from the awesome Copyblogger.

The Top 10 Blogs for Writers contest is always fun to watch, and a great way to add some new favorites to your own list of must-read blogs.

This year the contest has shaken things up a little, moving from Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers site to Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch’s Write to Done. Copyblogger was not eligible this year because our own Brian Clark was one of the judges along with Leo, Mary, Michael and Deb Ng.

The winners are a talented and creative bunch, with lots of strong fiction blogs appearing on the list. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

1. Storyfix by Larry Brooks, with invaluable tips on how to get your manuscript to “better than perfect” so you can snag that book contract.
2. Men with Pens by James Chartrand for comprehensive advice on writing, blogging, and business.
3. Make a Living Writing, a new blog by Carol Tice, gives frank advice to writers about what it really takes to make a living in this business.
4. Cats Eye Writer by Judy Dunn, about social media copywriting, branding, and how to get more visitors coming to your blog.
5. The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell gives the real scoop on why the usual advice for freelance writers is B.S. (and what you should do instead)
6. Writer Unboxed, a popular multi-author blog on the craft and business of genre fiction, with advice on agents, editors, and of course writing.
7. Wordplay by K.M. Weiland helps writers become authors by giving insightful advice in a down-to-earth, friendly style her readers love.
8. The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn offers solid writing advice from her personal experience. Readers call her podcast interviews with authors “as addictive as potato chips.”
9. Victoria Mixon is both a professional writer and editor, and she brings her breadth of experience to the art and craft of writing fiction.
10. Courage to Create by Ollin Morales is a passionate, personal blog about one writer’s journey as he writes his first novel.

And of course, we have to give a special proud nod to our own Copyblogger guest writers Larry Brooks, James Chartrand, and Carol Tice!

About the Author: Sonia Simone is CMO of Copyblogger Media and founder ofRemarkable Communication. Follow her on twitter and let her know about your favorite writing blogs.

Ahhh! Those were the days!

If you are a writer whose ideas are safely ensconced in their heads or scribbled on sticky notes and napkin fragments stashed away in the dark corners of your authorial den, if you keep neat rows of carefully sharpened pencils arranged on your desk and would never stoop to [...]]]>

If you are a writer whose ideas are safely ensconced in their heads or scribbled on sticky notes and napkin fragments stashed away in the dark corners of your authorial den, if you keep neat rows of carefully sharpened pencils arranged on your desk and would never stoop to using more than minimalist technology for your writing tasks, please move along to the next blog post–there is nothing to see here.

However, if you have stacks of sticky notes and pencils but also get all a-titter (or is it all a-Twitter now?) about the latest software applications, read on.

I was forever looking for ways to help organize my stream-of-consciousness thinking until I discovered Personal Brain, a mind-mapping tool. Mind-mapping software allows you to organize and cross-reference your files the way your mind works, with free connections between nodes or “thoughts.”  This is in contrast to the inherently hierarchical structure of typical PC/Macs, where there is only one path to each item on your computer–unless you make multiple copies.

This example illustrates the comparison: I have a title idea with some bits of a setting on a desert planet populated with giant astronaut-eating plants. In Windows, it might be tucked away under My Documents >> Writing >> Short Stories >> Gobblers >> setting_idea.doc (or an analogous path on a Mac).  Easy enough.  I also have a photo of a plant that I bought at a Carnivorous Plant Society sale that I want to use as the basis for my creepy creation.  Where do I put the photo?  Under my Purchases folder?  Under my Horticulture folder?  In the Gobblers folder?  Or does it belong under Pictures rather than My Documents? And in which folder in Pictures? 

In contrast, with Personal Brain, I create the story idea thought and import the plant photo in primary locations, but then I connect them together as linked thoughts–and to as many other relevant thoughts as I want.  So the photo may be connected to Purchases, the Plant Society, to my friend, Minerva, who told me about the sale (who is also connected to work and the Plant Society and Chess Club and People-I-Adore), and to my Story Ideas general thought, as well as to my Gobbler thought.  I can get to it from any path that seems right to me.

Recently, TheBrain.com held a live, on-line seminar for writers that explains the concept much better than I can. See the recorded version of “Mind Mapping Shakespeare: Unleashing your Creativity with PersonalBrain” at their Web site.  It just might give you some ideas about your story creation process. 

There are other mind mapping products out there; this is one I have used for years.  Take a look and maybe download the free version and explore how your brain works. (You can even download the Brains that were shown in the seminar to explore at leisure.)

Hi A Word With You Press Fans,
Thought I’d post this here from my work and see if any of you might be interested. It’s not exactly writing related, but it *is* creative. Lots of these workshops are affordable and connect you with other local [...]]]>

Hi A Word With You Press Fans,
Thought I’d post this here from my work and see if any of you might be interested. It’s not exactly writing related, but it *is* creative. Lots of these workshops are affordable and connect you with other local San Diegan creatives in North Park.  AWWYP Fans might be interested in the Creating a Video Promo For Your Business special workshop…:)

Feel free to share this or leave a comment if you dig it.

Cheers!
Morgan

Workshops at Media Arts Center San Diego

We’ve got some great workshops coming up this month at Media Arts Center San Diego in digital audio, video and DIY/design.  This month’s workshops and open houses include:

• Recording with Audacity (Weds. 10th)
• Preparing Your Music for the Web (Weds. 17th)
• Music Blogging with WordPress (Weds. 24th)
• Editing In Final Cut Pro (Thurs. 11th)
• Making a DVD Cover in Photoshop (Thurs. 18th)
• Introduction to Interactivity I & II (Tues. 9th & 16th)
• Introduction to Electronics (Tues. 23rd)
• Getting Started with Arduino (Tues. 30th)
• SPECIAL WORKSHOP: Creating a Video Promo For Your Business (Fri. 12th)

Learn Digital Music!

SHARE: open electronic music jam
(Wed. 3rd, 6pm)
Come meet other electronic musician amateurs, pros and newbies.  Bring your gear, show and tell + jam with others.

Cost: FREE!

Recording with Audacity
(Wed. 10th, 6pm)
In this class you will learn how to edit sound clips using Audacity. Upon finishing it you will have skills necessary to record sounds, trim, combine and export sound clips, and more.  Taught by Kasey Wallrath

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Preparing Your Music for the Web
(Wed. 20th, 6pm)
So you’ve just recorded your music and want to see it online, but how do you get it there? Where is the best place to upload and what format should it be in? Come to this workshop and learn how to make your audio ‘web ready’ and find the best places to put it online AND get it heard. Taught by Morgan Sully.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Music Blogging with WordPress
(Wed. 27th, 6pm)
Are you a music maker or music lover? Ever wanted to share the music you make or like with the world? Come to this workshop and learn how. Leave with your very own music blog to write about and share the music you love and make.  Taught by Morgan Sully.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Learn Digital Video!

Videographer’s Lounge: Open House
(Thurs.  4th, 6pm)
Come meet local videographers, film makers, video tinkerers and other interested in all things video to meet n’ geek. FREE with refreshments and wifi provided.

Cost: FREE

Editing in Final Cut Pro
(Thurs. 11th, 6pm)
This hands-on workshop will show how to use non-linear video editing software, Final Cut Pro. Topics include: visualizing your story, managing your media, the tools of editing, & importing/exporting your project from the computer. Participants attending the following week’s workshop will learn to create a DVD with their edits. Seating is limited to 10.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Making a DVD Cover with Photoshop
(Thurs. 21st, 6pm)
So you’ve figured out how to get the video from the camera to the computer. You even figured how to edit the video AND burn it to a DVD. But what about the cover? Come to this hands on workshop to learn the basics of working in Photoshop to create your own DVD (or CD or flyer to promote your DVD!). Seating is limited to 10. Laptops welcome! Taught by Leon Hubbard.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Special Workshop: Creating a Video Promo For Your Business
(Fri. 12th, 12pm)
Learn to promote your business online using new media in this hands on workshop. Bring in some photos (preferably digital) and – using free software on your PC or Mac – create a short video promo you can upload to Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Design Things!

Fab Lab @ MACSD: Open House
(Tues. 2th, 6pm)
Discover the way you can make your ideas come to life with digital fabrication. The purpose of this introductory program is to introduce you to FAB LAB and invite you to explore new possibilities in modeling, prototyping and digital fabrication techniques.

Cost: FREE

Fab Lab @ MACSD: Introduction to Interactivity I
(Tues. 9th, 6pm)
Learn the fundamentals of interactivity in a creative and fun environment, this class will showcase interactive work using infrared pens and IR-detecting cameras.  Taught by Sandro Alberti and Bea Alvarez

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Fab Lab @ MACSD: Introduction Interactivity II
(Tues. 16th, 6pm)
Learn the fundamentals of interactivity in a creative and fun environment, this class will showcase interactive work using infrared pens and IR-detecting cameras.  Taught by Sandro Alberti and Bea Alvarez

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Fab Lab @ MACSD: Introduction to Electronics
(Tues. 23th, 6pm)
This workshop is a beginner’s overview of the use of electronics. You will learn about the theories and concepts of electricity and electronics, as well as the fundamentals of microprocessors and their place in history and society.  Taught by Sandro Alberti.

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Cost: $20 non-members/$15 members SIGN UP!

Check out all of our classes or register for any workshop below.

Modern day artists who use the web to either make their art or promote it often have to use a variety of tools to sustain and grow their creativity.  With the advent of easier and faster ways to develop content for the web [...]]]>

Introduction

Modern day artists who use the web to either make their art or promote it often have to use a variety of tools to sustain and grow their creativity.  With the advent of easier and faster ways to develop content for the web (whether that’s a simple ‘portfolio’ web site or a site like ours!), the barrier to artists getting ‘out there’ is becoming easier and easier.

We’ve still got a long way to go, but for now here’s some basics to using one tool (WordPress) to get your art  (or writing!) ‘out there’.

WordPress Basics

WordPress is an open-source blogging platform which acts more and more like a content management system (CMS).  A CMS is an online system for managing and displaying different kinds of media and content through a website.

Some different kinds of content and media are:

• pictures (.jpg, .png, .gif etc.)
• videos (.mov, .swf etc.)
• text (the actual text you read on a web page/blog post, .pdf)
• audio (.mp3, .ogg, .wav)
• embeddable videos/audio from things like YouTube, Vimeo or SoundCloud

WordPress provides a graphical user interface for managing these content types.  All of these files are hosted on a server (either your own or one provided by WordPress, see below).  The locations of these as well as the actual HTML and text that appear in your site are stored in a database.  Your website sits ‘between’ this database and a user’s browser, within in your particular ‘install’ ( which is all the PHP files that comprise the WordPress CMS).

Hosted (WordPress.com) vs. self-hosted (download from WordPress.org)

WordPress can either be hosted on your own server space (A Word With You Press is hosted with bluehost.com) OR your WordPress site can be hosted with www.wordpress.com.

A self-hosted WordPress site requires downloading it from WordPress.org and following the instructions.  Doing this means you can have your own domain name as well as the ability to customize your website a lot more (but will need time or a web developer to do it).
A ‘regular’ WordPress site is free, much easier to set up, but you won’t get your own domain name (unless you pay).

Basic WordPress Terminology

Posts
Posts are ‘serial’ content that are posted regularly i.e. blog posts, like journal entries.  You might use these to embed photos of your latest paintings or art or even upload an mp3 of your latest music.  You can even embed HTML code from video/image/audio hosting sites like YouTube, flickr and SoundCloud respectively.

Pages
Pages are more ‘static’ content, like an ‘About’ page or a ‘Contact Us’ page.  Many artist websites may even have a short ‘Artist Bio’ page and if you need help generating an artist statement for yourself, you can read 5 Articles to Help You Write a Great Artist Bio.

Categories
Categories can be thought of like ‘containers’ for your Posts.  They can be used to easily find related posts while also creating new ‘areas’ for your WordPress site; when making your post just check the appropriate box for the Category you want to put your post in.  Some examples on A Word With You Press are Categories like ‘Contests‘, ‘One Nation Under Blog‘, or ‘The Artist Alcove‘.

Widgets
Widgets are awesome.  They are like little ‘blocks’ that you can place around your site with anything you want in them – RSS feeds, code copied and pasted from other websites, multi-media content.  Lots of fun.  You might create a widget on your site comprised of all the different Categories on your site to help people easily navigate and find your stuff.  Examples on A Word With You Press are our “4 Ways to Subscribe to Our Blog” and “Top Commenters” Widgets.

Themes
Themes are pre-developed ‘skins’ that you can ‘layer over’ your site.  The structure and content of your site stay essentially the same, but the Theme will change things like colors and fonts to give different ‘feels’ for your site.  They allow to quickly and easily move between two different ‘looks’ for your site.  I used the excellent Thesis Theme to develop for A Word With You Press.

Plugins
Plugins add extra functionality to your site.  If you think of your site as a computer, Plugins are like little ‘programs’ that you can install on it to make it do certain things.  For instance, if you are a heavily visual artist, you might install something like the NextGEN Gallery plug in to manage your images into photo galleries and albums placed throughout your site.

Where To Learn More

If you need more help installing WordPress, WordPress.tv has excellent video tutorials to teach yourself. If you want to delve more into developing your own WordPress Themes and Plugins – or simply want to hack your current self-hosted WordPress installation – check out the WordPress Codex. My favorite part if the Template Tags page which give you the actual code you can mix, match and paste into your own WordPress PHP files.


Other posts you might be interested in

NOTE: This is not an original post from AWWYP, it’s actually copied from: Online Best Colleges – a website with no clear author:(

Cheers!
Morgan

************************************************

100 Inspirational Posts to Make You a Better Writer

Whether you are a professional writer or student, you need all [...]]]>

NOTE: This is not an original post from AWWYP, it’s actually copied from: Online Best Colleges – a website with no clear author:(

Cheers!
Morgan

************************************************

100 Inspirational Posts to Make You a Better Writer

Whether you are a professional writer or student, you need all the inspiration you can get. Much of this inspiration can be found from other writers online in a variety of blog posts. Check out this collection to find lots of great posts that can help you become a better writer.

Subject Inspiration

Learn how to write better headlines, create strong content and more from these posts.

1. 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work: Copyblogger’s post explains a simple way to create compelling titles.
2. How to Use Social News Aggregators as a Source for Content Ideas: If you’ve run out of ideas for writing, be sure to check out this post that offers a great strategy for finding inspiration.
3. 31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing: Check out this blog post to find smart ways to get inspired in your writing.
4. Who Needs Headlines?: Get insight into the art of writing effective headlines from this post.
5. Zen Power Writing: 15 Tips on How to Generate Ideas and Write with Ease: This post will help you learn how to easily generate writing ideas.
6. How to Write Great Headlines: Here you’ll learn about the art of creating a perfectly crafted headline.
7. 50 Ways for Writers to Find Article Ideas: Here you’ll find 50 great ways to find inspiration for articles.
8. Using Titles Effectively on Blogs: You can learn how to make a good first impression with the help of this post.
9. Do You Feed Your Muse Well?: Learn about creating inspiration from this post.
10. Are You Using the Right Content Development Strategy for Your Website: This post explains a smart way to develop writing content.
11. The Discipline of Content Strategy: Learn how to plan for the creation of usable content from this post.
12. Writing Inspiration: Check out this post to find writing inspiration from Raymond Chandler to Alex Barris.
13. How to Build a Successful News Blog: 10 Information Sources You Can Use: This post explains how you can use information sources for news blog inspiration.
14. Marinating Ideas into Blog Posts: Use the techniques found in this post to marinate great ideas for your writing.
15. Sources of Inspiration for Your Blog: Find your muse through the resources in this post.
16. The Lazy or Smart Blogger’s Way to Create Content for Niche Blogs: In this post, you’ll learn about easily creating content for your niche blog.
17. How Great Headlines Score Traffic: This post explains why great writing headlines are so important.
18. Blogging and My Inspiration: Find out how one blogger gets motivated by reading this post.
19. Do You Digg This Headline?: Learn how to write headlines that attract attention on social networks from this blog post.

Techniques

Check out these posts to learn techniques for better writing.

1. Learn to Be a Better Writer by Becoming a Better Critic: This post explains how becoming more critical will improve your writing skills.
2. Putting the Fun Back Into Writing: Read this post to consider why it’s important to have fun when you write.
3. The Benefits of Keeping a Private Journal: Read how keeping a private journal can help you think better as a writer.
4. Pare a Phrase to Paraphrase: Correctly Use Paraphrases in Your Writing: This post will help you understand the art of proper paraphrasing.
5. Writing Content That Works for a Living: This post aims to help you better write persuasive content and beyond.
6. 3 Easy Ways to Write with Style: In this post, you’ll find out how to write with more style.
7. How to Be Interesting: This blog post shares ideas for being a more interesting writer.
8. How to Say Nothing in 500 Words (A Lesson on Writing: In this post, you’ll find a summary of 9 important points from the essay on writing, “How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words.”
9. Improve Your Writing with These Editing Tips: This post will help you understand how editing can make you a better writer.
10. The Secret of Writing Funny: In this post, you’ll learn all about writing humorously.
11. Writing for Busy People: This post explains how best to write for people who just don’t have time.
12. Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques: This post will explain the essentials of persuasive writing.
13. Better Writing Through Design: Learn how to improve your visual language from this post.
14. How to Use Reading to Become a Better Writer: Read this post to find out how reading can improve your skills as a writer.
15. Five Easy Steps to Editing Your Own Work: Follow these tips to learn how to edit your own work.

Productivity

Get inspired to be a more productive student or writer by these posts.

1. Unlock Your Creativity: Read this in-depth article to find lots of great ideas for getting your creative juices flowing.
2. Battling Bloggers Block: This post has great advice for getting around the wall and getting started writing.
3. 10 Productivity Hacks for Freelancers: Check out this post to find 10 ways to get moving with your writing.
4. Edit this Post on Editing: Find out how to edit effectively with the help of this post.
5. Breaking Writer’s Block: Learn how to take down writer’s block with the help of this post.
6. How to Slog Your Way Through a Boring Assignment: Get through your most boring assignments with the help of this post.
7. Declaring War on Blogger Apathy: This post will teach you how to fight back against apathy.
8. How to Write an Article in 20 Minutes: Try these techniques to speed up the process of your writing.
9. Effective Writing, Effective Work Habits: Learn how working effectively can help improve your writing.
10. 52 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now to Jumpstart Your Writing Efforts: Use these 52 techniques to give your inspiration and creativity a shot in the arm.
11. My Trick for Writing Difficult Articles: Find out how to make difficult articles work with the help of this post.
12. Managing Information Flow: How Prioritization Will Improve Your Work and Learning Efficiency: Make your stream of information flow just a little bit easier by applying the techniques in this post.
13. When You Can’t Get Started Writing: Check out this post that discusses getting started with writing.
14. Beating Burnout Creatively: This post will teach you how to get over burnout in some really smart ways.
15. Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking?: Avoid these mental blocks to open up inspiration in your writing.
16. 3 Can’t-Fail Steps for Writing Without Intimidation: Find out how to keep yourself from holding back on your writing from this post.

Mistakes

Check out these posts to learn what you need to avoid.

1. Just Say No to These Three Enemies of Clear and Direct Writing: Make sure that you’ve avoiding these mistakes and writing as clearly as possible.
2. That’s Not What I Thought I Wrote!: Read this post to find out how to write to be understood.
3. Do You Make These 7 Mistakes When You Write?: In this post, you’ll see seven common mistakes that must be avoided.
4. Want Your Ideas to Spread Easily? Try Narrowing Your Message Focus: Remember that keeping focus is essential to good writing-learn more about the concept in this post.
5. The Inigo Montoya Guide to 27 Commonly Misused Words: This post will help you better understand how to use words correctly.
6. Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb: Learn about grammatical errors that can destroy your credibility from this post.

Blogging

These posts offer a wealth of information and advice for writing online.

1. Put on Your Game Face: This post discusses building your identity as a blogger.
2. The 5 Immutable Laws of Persuasive Blogging: Follow these rules to become a better blogger.
3. How to Write a Better Weblog: Here you’ll find useful advice for making your blog writing better.
4. You’re Not Just a Writer, You’re the Editor-in-Chief: Bloggers should read this post to get inspiration for self-editing.
5. 5 Ways Blogging Can Make You a Better Writer: Read this post to find out how blogging can help improve your writing in other areas.
6. How to develop stickyness to your blog: Check out this blog post to learn how you can write in order to keep your readers coming back.
7. 21 Ways to Write Posts That Are Guaranteed to Grow Your Blog: Here you’ll find 21 excellent strategies for effective blog writing.
8. Writing Good Content: Learn some back to basics advice for creating good blog content from this post.
9. 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web: Get advice for writing on an ever-changing platform from this post.
10. 10 Tips for Writing a Blog Post: Get really simple tips for blog writing from this post.
11. Bring Your A-game to Write for Blogs: This blogger explains how you can draw upon experience as a writer when working on a blog.
12. Writing Blog Content-Make it Scannable: Learn about one of the most crucial techniques for bloggers-writing scannable copy.
13. How to Craft a Blog Post-10 Crucial Points to Pause: Here you’ll find 10 important points for writing a blog post.
14. A Dozen Online Writing Tips: CyberJournalist shares some insight for writing well online.
15. How to Write Excellent Blog Content-What We Wish We Knew: Find out how and why it’s so important to create good blog content.

Tips & Advice

Find specific advice and tips for improving your writing in these posts.

1. Ernest Hemingway’s Top 5 Tips for Writing Well: Find out what Ernest Hemingway has to say about being a good writer.
2. The Easiest Way to Become a Better Writer: This post offers advice for significantly improving your writing skills.
3. Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips: Take some writing advice from Joss Whedon.
4. How to Become a Better Writer: Read this post to take your writing to the next level.
5. 15 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer: Follow this post to find 15 simple tips for improving your writing.
6. Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers: Students of creative writing can develop their skills by following this resource.
7. Writing, Briefly: Author Paul Graham shares his outlook on writing.
8. How Can I Become a Better Writer?: wiseGEEK shares advice for the process of becoming a better writer.
9. 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer: Check out this simple post to get inspiration for growing as a writer.
10. Learning to Write Invisibly: Get some great advice on writing from novelist Elmore Leonard here.
11. Do You Practice the Top 2 Traits of Good Writers?: Find out what the most important traits are for writers, and why they’re so important, from this post.
12. A Guide to Becoming a Better Writer: 15 Practical Tips: This blog post offers 15 great ideas for becoming a better writer.
13. 10 Ways to Become a Better Writer: Follow these 10 tips to improve your skills as a writer.
14. How to Write (in a thousand words or less): Learn the basics of writing from this post.
15. Writing for Readers-What’s My Promise as the Writer?: This post will help you learn how to fulfill promises to your readers.
16. How to Become a Better Writer: Johnny Kramer shares some valuable advice for improving your writing.
17. Advice for Students: 10 Steps Toward Better Writing: Students can get the basics of writing improvement from this post.
18. How Can I Write a Strong Essay?: Check out this post to learn more about writing thoughtful essays.
19. Ten Ways to Become a Better Writer: These tips will help you develop yourself to become a better writer.
20. 2 Ways to Become a Better Writer: Here you’ll find 2 simple ways to make your writing better.
21. 9 + 1 Things Every Reader Wants from a Writer: Check out this post to find out what your readers are looking for.

Tools

Check out these posts to find tools that can help make you a better writer.

1. 30+ Tools for the Amateur Writer: Make use of these tools to make writing easier and more fun.
2. Darkroom: A Text Editor That Helped Me to Writer Better Content: This post explains how to use Darkroom for better writing.
3. Blogging Toolbox: 120+ Resources for Bloggers: Learn about some of the best resources online for bloggers from this post.
4. Fifty (50!) Tools Which Can Help You in Writing: Make use of these tools to see a great improvement in your writing skills.
5. Twenty Writing Tools: Find out which writing tools are Roy Peter Clark’s favorites.
6. Discover Hundreds of Post Ideas for Your Blog with Mind Mapping: Learn how you can put mind mapping to work to gain inspiration through the knowledge in this post.
7. Writer’s Toolbox: 35 Best Tools for Writing Online: Get loads of use out of these tools when doing your writing online.
8. Back to School: Writing Tools, Part 1: Check out this list to find tools you can use for writing.

Hi Dear Readers,

My dad is doing something crazy.   Something absolutely wrong.  But while we’re waiting for the miracle…well, we don’t like to wait.  Here’s five easy ways to get the latest rumblings and rambling from A Word with You Press: