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Category Archives: Writer tools

Apparently, Finishing Things a New Online “Trend” (or, Singletasking??)

Amusingly, it’s now apparently OK to turn off the swirling tornado of notifications, alerts, bings and (bleeping) beeps that seem to define the working day for so many of us.
We can now move on to actually doing things until complete – one thing at a time – clear in the knowledge that its OK because [...]

Posted 30 June 2009 † Tom Chandler § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Wordnik Provides Social Meaning of Words (or, Research for the Terminally Unhip Writer)

I admit it. I’m terminally unhip – at least when it comes to the latest, hottest, hippest, social media-esque uses of the language. In fact, I still think “sick” and “phat” are sorta bad things, which suggests somebody should take my blogging keys away from me.
Fortunately, Web 2.0 offers help even to the sad wordsmiths [...]

Posted 09 June 2009 † Tom Chandler § Underground Entertainment ‡ Comments (6) ° Tagged: ,

Distraction-Free Writing (or, How Even Old Writing Dogs Can Learn New Tricks)

My working day hasn’t grown less complicated over the decades. I used to openly mock techniques invoked in the service of productivity, but because of the temptations and interruptions of our connected lives, I now embrace them.
That includes my writing tools – a subject that remains at the core of writer geekhood.
One of the losses [...]

Posted 18 May 2009 † Tom Chandler § ‡ Comments (14) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

The Online Marketing Map (or, Why Teaching is Just Learning in Disguise)

Teaching – done right – is really just learning in disguise. And what you learn when you teach is often what you already knew, though perhaps not as deeply as you should have.
I recently finished teaching the last local session of my Online Marketing Boot Camp. Aimed directly at small businesses, it was a reminder [...]

Posted 16 March 2009 † Tom Chandler § Business of Freelancing § Marketing Consulting § Social Media Marketing ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Simple Job Tracking For Freelance Writers (or, Maybe Paper is Better)

Ad agencies want to bill every minute of employee time to their clients, so they demand daily timesheets – which require each project have a unique tracking ID.
While I don’t track my time with such precision (any more), I have adapted my last ad agency’s job tracking system to my freelance practice, and while I’ve [...]

Posted 12 February 2009 † Tom Chandler § Business of Freelancing ‡ Comments (9) ° Tagged: , , ,

Getting Words Down: Write or Die

Getting words on paper (excuse the archaic reference) is either our job, our passion, or our biggest roadblock.
Of course, writer’s block isn’t exactly new. What is new are some of the high-tech (and often high-comedy) techniques we use to deal with it.
One of the oddest is the “Write or Die” Web app (found via Lifehacker), [...]

Posted 10 November 2008 † Tom Chandler § Underground Entertainment ‡ Comments (5) ° Tagged: ,

The Modern Online Copywriter: Why a Programmer’s Editor Might Be In Your Future

Sometimes the world shifts imperceptibly underneath you, and though you notice something has changed, the difficult part is figuring out what to do about it.
For years, almost every commercial project I wrote was typed into in a heavy-duty word processor. But today finds me writing more blogs, landing pages, emails, and other “live” Web content.
And [...]

Posted 31 October 2008 † Tom Chandler § ‡ Comments (15) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Dimensional Mailers: Misunderstood, Underutilized, and Yet Another Way to Set Yourself Apart

Regular readers know I’m a fan of lumpy mailers. They’re powerful self-promotion tools – the kind of tactic that invariably finds your pitch on the desk of decision makers.
Of course, they’re not just a short-run tool used for self promotion. They’re also a damned effective direct mail tool.
And yes, as email and other ecommunications take [...]

Posted 13 October 2008 † Tom Chandler § Business of Freelancing ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: , , ,

The “Top 10″ Writing Blogs Contest Concludes

Michael Stelzner concluded his “Top 10 Writing Blogs” contest, and this year’s winners represent a nice mix of repeat appearances and new faces.
And yes, I did notice the Copywriter Underground fell off the list this year, and that was expected; I’ve de-emphasized the Copywriter Underground as a marketing vehicle (transforming it into a soapbox [...]

Posted 22 September 2008 † Tom Chandler § Blogging ‡ Comments (10) ° Tagged:

Email Interruptions Cost You 64 Seconds in Downtime

Need a reason to turn off that “you’ve got mail” tab, ghost box or other notification?
Every time it pops up, it takes an average of 64 seconds to regain your train of thought.
Via the Sydney Morning Herald:
It had been assumed that email doesn’t cause interruptions because the recipient chooses when to check for and respond [...]

Posted 13 September 2008 † Tom Chandler § Writing ‡ Comments (7) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,