writing and research

When Words Go

suejeff — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:09:25 +0000

When you write,
In the morning, in the afternoon
Or the night.
Do you choose the words you use with care.
Can you see
The words that grumble on the page?
Why pick me?
I’m not the word you really want here.
I’m too long,
I just don’t scan, I don’t belong here.
I’m just wrong.
Please take me off the page, delete me.
I’ll be gone.
But not forever.

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Just a Five Minute Writing Whinge

suejeff — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:17:04 +0000

Bearing in mind that I have found things tough of late, this week I have been trying very hard to implement the Pomodoro Technique. I’ve done this to try and refocus my writing energy and it has certainly increased my work flow, if not my temper. I do recommend this as an organizational tool, if, like me, you find most systems a bit too systematised. Having said that, this can also be a bit over systematised, but you can adapt it to suit your working style and your personality. One list is enough for me, dealing with several different ways of recording your efforts is a step too far, so I just ignore that part. Below, is my very brief (bearing in mind that my five minute whinge is already into ten) and extremely truncated version of this tool.

The basic idea behind the Pomodoro technique, is that you set a timer and work in a concentrated manner for 25 minutes, when the buzzer goes off you stop for a five minute break. Once you have undertaken four Pomodoros, you take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. Each Pomodoro is a single unit and if you get interrupted then that Pomodoro is void and you have to start a new one.

As Clear as Mud

Reading through my brief description of the Pomodoro technique, I recognize it is not very clear and you need to go to the source or click on my link for a better understanding of how it really works. What I have found is that it is a good way of working through your to do list, especially if you are a bit fed up with the subject you are writing on. Sometimes, writing web content and articles can be very repetitive, the difficult part is trying to make such articles unique, how much can you say about UPVC windows and doors? Do you have any writing whinges this week?

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When the Freelance Writing Gets Tough

suejeff — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:36:31 +0000

Recent weeks have been a bit tough in and in personal terms, but I still got a fair amount of work done. On the one hand life and family problems can fuel our writing, and on the other, when it comes to meeting a deadline, it is all too easy to write like an automaton, because to do otherwise, could mean ourselves and our writing become consumed by the problems. When you can’t bring on the autopilot, keeping up with your freelance writing can be tough.

Rheumatoid arthritis has been a real plague of late and it seems I need to use my stick more often if I am out walking, and too much time on the computer is really affecting my hands and arms, could be worse I suppose. I’ve been writing for Demand Studios for a few weeks now and my experience is not too bad overall, providing I can get two $15 articles completed in under an hour it is a good enough rate.

We recently had one of our eldest daughter’s boys living with us for a while, he has now gone back home and been replaced by my middle daughter’s eldest son, who is either out at his part time job or in sixth form classes most of the time. What is really getting to me tonight is our old dog who is sixteen, has to go to the vets tomorrow for his check up and I am hoping they will say he is still ok to carry on for a while. His legs give way quite often now and I have to help him up but he doesn’t seem to be in any real pain and still manages to enjoy his food and is happy when the children turn up, we shall see, just praying that things will be ok.

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Write it Right, Right?

suejeff — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:45:46 +0000

Although I haven’t any complaints about the editing process in my short time at Demand Studios, I had to smile at this. Writing for DS is fine providing you have digested the requirements in the style guides and made sure that your content is in line with the title. Although the video link is very funny, for me it had two messages.

A Freelancer’s Nightmare

The video is an exaggeration to say the least, but most freelancers will recognise the tedium of a demanding client somewhere in there. Dana dealt with this a few days ago over at Sharon’s blog, just what are you prepared to put up with from a client before they become a nightmare. Sometimes requests for rewrites and changes really do become unacceptable, this is not what I have experienced at DS, it just rang a few bells. With some clients, it doesn’t matter how much or how well you write, you’ll never get it right. Sometimes the only thing you can do is break up with your client.

Read, Note and Inwardly Digest

This is a reminder to myself rather than to anyone else. I have a habit of reading something too quickly and missing the obvious, which is something I’ve had to unlearn since writing for DS. Providing you have taken note of the way things should be written and entered your text into the system, you shouldn’t suffer the same problems as the Fuhrer. When you are given a brief, make sure that you understand it fully, if you don’t, then question it before you start writing, there is nothing worse than finding a rewrite or a complete rejection in your inbox. Write it right, right!

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Why Doesn’t Somebody Do Something?

suejeff — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:05:32 +0000

Having just read Seth’s blog I have to agree that a can do attitude along with a plan goes a long way to solving problems. In the UK there seems to be an attitude of helplessness and all too often people tend to take the view that someone should do something about whatever they feel is wrong, but they seem to be oblivious to the fact that doing something could start with them.

Taking Responsibility

We seem to be losing the art of taking responsibility for ourselves, those close to us, and the local community. It is always someone else’s responsibility to sort out the yobs on the corner or to write about a thorny issue like domestic violence and child criminals I think that if our children saw us taking more responsibility for what happens in our lives and in the lives of those around us, they would be more able to distinguish right from wrong. If you think that an issue needs sorting then why not try to think of some solutions yourself and then putting it to the community or to those in power, rather than placing the responsibility elsewhere.

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