Historical Novel Society – We are a literary society devoted to promoting the enjoyment of historical fiction. We are based in the USA and the UK but we welcome members (who can be readers or writers) from all round the world.
Writing
There are 321 posts filed in Writing (this is page 7 of 33).
Try a New Writing Format
No matter who you are, there will come a time when you need to write someting and just don’t have the inspiration to make a start at it. One thing you can do is try a new format. An interview, when possible, is a good way to go. But, there are other options. I found this list when I was looking at writing jobs today. I’m posting it as a reminder to myself as much as a tip for anyone else. 🙂
Articles will be written in a few key formats. (These formats will expand as we grow).
– A History of…. (e.g. A History of Mars Exploration)
– Nerdy Lists … (e.g. 10 scariest video games of all time)
– Stuff For Nerds (e.g. Twenty awesome iPhone cases for nerds)
– Versus (e.g. Klingons vs. Tribbles).
via Bloggers / Freelance Writers needed for Geeky/Nerdy topics.
Easy ways to Stay Motivated…
Here are some easy ways to stay motivated….
- CLEAN
- Treat yourself to a new supply, book or tool
- Recognize your progress
- Pick ONE goal
- Give yourself a reward
Getting things cleaned up is a much bigger help to motivation than anyone who is already tidy and organized would think.
I work in chaos and clutter. I have piles of paper related items all around me it seems. I’ve got them on the surface of my desk – where I could have my little scanner set up and just keep the gear for my camera and nothing else but a hot mug of fresh coffee, if I cleaned it all up. I’ve got books in stacks on the floor because I was going to get to them much sooner than this. Something else comes along and they are moved, shuffled around and soon become part of the landscape rather than something I’m working on currently.
I’ve even got clothes to put away, sort out and disinter from my closet. It’s time for the clothes I haven’t worn in ages to make an appearance out in the world, where someone else can use them.
Clean is a big deal. Not being clean is nothing but a monumental distraction and a drain on your energy.
The Five Pillars of Effective Blogs
What Does a Managing Editor do Online?
Cut and pasted from the job boards on ProBlogger.
We’re looking for a content expert/managing editor to help with our content marketing strategy. You’ll work with a very talented team of people all around the country.
Key responsibilitiesCreating high-quality, compelling content:
* Edit and rewrite articles and other types of content for tone, accuracy, and brevity
* Being able to manage content creation across a range of media types, including written, visual, audio-visual content (blog posts, ebooks, infographics, white papers, interviews with experts, survey reports, videos, webinars, etc.)
* Identifying and managing a team of writers and other contributors to produce high-impact, high-quality content
* Supervise and coordinate work of writers and other contributors
* Hire other writers as necessary
* Ensuring content is produced to a high standard, on time and on budget
* Developing and managing a content calendar
* Repurposing existing content for multiple uses
* Assist with e-mail marketing duties
Curating high-quality, compelling content:* Working with the marketing team to understand the subjects of greatest interest to Treehouse’s members
* Identifying and curating content that matches those areas of interest
Engaging and researching community and social media:* Suggesting the places where high-quality, compelling content can be promoted
* Planning, writing and managing social media posts including link posting, participating in conversation, commenting on content produced by others
* Planning and managing activities aiming to generate traffic from social mediaDesired Skills & ExperienceAt least 3 to 5 years of proven experience in content editing and web-based content creation. Skills of copyediting, copywriting, and project management are a requirement.
Content editor experience:
* Knowledge of content production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes different ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media
* Proven ability to research and understand a wide variety of web design, web development, marketing, business and technological topics and bring them forward
* Have established relationships with journalists, writers and subject matter experts
* Great project management skills: ability to organize and prioritize work between different types of contributor
* Excellent copywriting and copyediting skills
* Ability to manage and process a variety of document and media files
* Very high level of accuracy and attention to detail
* Ability to take instruction and work independently
* Excellent oral communication
Content curator experience:* Ability to identify target audience in online communities
* Ability to research ideas and topics for creation
* Experience in collating the existing content and reusing it
Experience in engaging online communities:* Experience in managing an online community, moderating comments, overseeing social media communication.
A Great Olympic Quote
Florence Griffith Joyner (American athlete, 1988 Summer Olympics)
When anyone tells me I can’t do anything, I’m just not listening any more.
How do you deal with negative people? Can you just ignore them or does it get under your skin?
A Little Light Slacking
I feel like I’m endlessly head butting a wall, or trying to roll a huge rock up a hill. I’ve had this blog and this domain since 2006, or there abouts. Others seem to have made far more progress in far less time. I think it’s something about me. It must be, I’m the only one here.
Thank you to those who do come and read regularly, or now and then. Thank you to those who comment now and then.
This is not a swan song. I’m not closing down this blog, but I am not going to continue with daily posting. (As you may have noticed the last couple of weeks have not had daily updates). I need to pull back and decide where I’m going and what I want from all the time and energy I’ve been putting into this site all these years. Plus, I’m just feeling a bit tired of all that endless head butting and rock rolling. You can only keep going uphill so long before you need a break, some cold water and a chance to feel you’ve at least made some kind of progress on the hill in front of you.
PS – I’ve also begun to wonder if I was wrong about removing tags. So they are back, sort of. They are a mess, a bigger mess than they used to be even. I used a WordPress plugin to re-add tags mechanically/ automatically. So they aren’t all useful and won’t all make sense. A lot of them will be pretty useless I’m sure. Tags are still something I would gladly ignore. They create far too much work. But, over time I have seen my traffic peter down to about 2/3 of what it usually is. Of course, that could be my own growing lack of enthusiasm showing up in how and what I post. So there is no firm conclusion on the tag situation, but they are back. Sort of.
Real Innovations Needs a Practical Purpose
Far-Fetched Ideas Are Fun. But Innovation Usually Starts Small | Co.Design: business + innovation + design.
Real innovation needs to have a practical purpose. That’s what I got out of this post by Daniel Sobol. I already know the importance of keeping ideas practical, but it’s a good point to keep in your thoughts.
Shamed for Reading
Write a Novel in 30 Days
Writing Novels
Free eCourse from SuteU.
By Sara McGrath
Introduction
You can complete a novel of at least 50,000 words within thirty days while receiving the guidance through this course. You’ll learn to write for quantity and quality while you steadily increase your word count, advance your story, and give your characters, plot, and theme the added impact they need to catch the eye of an agent or editor.
Lesson 1: You Can Write A Novel in Thirty Days
You can write a novel of at least 50,000 words in thirty days even if you have a day job, a social life, and a toddler. I know this because I have all three. In this first lesson, I’ll discuss being a writer, scheduling your writing time, finding inspiration, and staying motivated. Then we’ll start writing. Continue reading