http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress Tools and Trade Secrets for Aspiring Writers Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:32:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] Many writers turn to index cards to make notes about work in progress.  These cards are traditionally filed away in card boxes, perhaps carefully organized by topic.  Writers in particular like to tack cards onto cork boards, creating a visual outline of their work.  ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/19/supernotecard-carrying-index-cards-to-the-max/ What?  A comic book about time management?  You gotta be kidding. Well, actually, there is such a thing:  Time Management for Anarchists, just released about 3 weeks ago by very free-spirited writer Jim Munroe, who left the safety of a contract with Harper-Collins to pursue a freer life.  Munroe is making ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/15/time-management-comic-book-a-fun-weekend-read/ When I first started my disjointed series on Getting Things Done for WRITERS a few weeks ago, I struggled with the sequence in which I would present several resources I've found and liked.  I decided finally to just present them in the order in which I found them. First is NOZBE, ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/14/getting-things-done-online-with-nozbe/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Image by luc legay via Flickr"][/caption] As you've noticed, mentions of the microblogging facility Twitter are beginning to creep into my posts.  As the weeks pass, I'm finding it more and more useful, especially in getting leads to useful articles, information, new products, software and such, some ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/12/some-twitter-tips/ Call it fortuitous, following my previous post about Twitter, but I just learned via a Twitter tip about 15 minutes ago about a most interesting new facility on the internet:  Cover It Live.  While it has been conceived as a facility to allow people to join into a chat about ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/06/cover-it-live-useful-tool-for-blog-interaction/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] PDF documents - those that one views with Acrobat Reader - are truly valuable to many writers. In fact, if you ever consider self-publishing or creating an e-book, you'll find yourself working the PDF files. Gizmo's Tech Support Alert website recently carried a post ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/05/free-pdf-tools/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="104" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption] When the Wall Street Journal decides to write a glowing piece about an emerging technology, it's time to take notice. The Journal has recently run an article about Twitter, a facility initially discounted as frivolous but which is now being ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/04/wall-street-journal-trumpets-twitter/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] The new blog Lateral Action focuses on the intersection between creativity and productivity.  It's the brainchild of three creative folks with lots of experience on the internet.  Take a look at the most entertaining, engaging and provocative ABOUT PAGE I've ever encountered. Even more useful ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/04/an-impressive-productivity-toolbox-for-creative-people/ Ryan Deiss is one of those "internet marketing gurus" who seem to be sprouting like mushrooms. To promote his latest venture Continuity Blueprint, he's posted several videos which you can, at least for now, view for free. I've looked at all of them and find them extremely interesting. ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/03/awesome-video-how-to-build-a-blog-in-12-minutes/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption] When I first started this blog almost 2 years ago, it appeared to be the only one around that focussed exclusively on productivity for writers, surveying software and tools for writers and exploring a broad compass of topics relating to the business of writing. ... http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/wordpress/2008/11/02/the-three-of-us/