by Dwayne Phillips Some of the best-written pieces were done “on the spur of the moment” at a writing event. That includes week-long events and one-hour events. The summary above is true in my experience. I have read pieces written in five-minute exercises, “Okay, everyone write. I will ring the bell in five minutes or […]
The Best Writing Often Comes at a Simple Writing Event
June 29th, 2017 · No Comments
We are Requesting…
May 29th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Yet another group of needless words and the search for the actual verb. I recently read something and felt my skin crawl at the same time. Something was amiss. Sigh, go back, read it again. We are requesting that you give blah blah blah. Okay, what’s wrong? This is another version of […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Writing
Writing and Googling
March 30th, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Writers (and everyone else): use the research resources that are available. And extend them. Mark this one under the non-existent tag of #a-writing-basic-that-I-feel-compelled-to-write-about-just-for-the-record or something like that. Writers: Google stuff before you write. Google stuff while you are writing. Google stuff after you have finished writing. This is not a paid commercial […]
Tags: Research · Work · Writing
Analog Had Its Advantages
March 23rd, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Somteimes I miss the analog days. They covered a lot of my mistakes. Handwritten notes let me fudge and smudge and avoid mistakes—like spelling. I could smudge the “i” and the “e” together and put the dot of the “i” somewhere in the middle, and no one could tell that I didn’t […]
Tags: Knowledge · Learning · Technology · Work · Writing
Fear of Writing?
January 3rd, 2017 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I write all the time. I am not afraid to write. One reason is that no one ever told me that I should be afraid to write. Please don’t ever tell anyone they should be afraid. I write. I write everyday. This is the third or fourth piece of writing I am […]
Tags: Writing
The $80 Writing Computer
December 26th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A new edition of the cheapest computer in the store finds a small tablet and keyboard for $80. Slow, but sufficient. Want to write a book? Can’t afford a MacBook Pro or Surface Pro or someone-else’s-pro? Here is a writing system for $80. It comprises an Amazon Fire 7″ $50 tablet and […]
Tags: Technology · Writing
Copyright 0.2—Protecting Your Writing Samples
December 8th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Companies will often request a writing sample from potential writer hires. Without adequate notice, the companies have a license to steal. I am writing a few posts about copyright. I am compelled to do so by recent interviews with employers who seem ignorant of copyright basics. There is much good information on […]
Tags: Copyright · Work · Writing
Copyright 0.1—We Don’t Own the Words, but Others Act Like We Do
December 5th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Words written in the employ of a company belong to the company. Still, others will ask for them. Beware as you could be an accomplice to theft. I am writing a few posts about copyright. I am compelled to do so by recent interviews with employers who seem ignorant of copyright basics. […]
Tags: Copyright · Work · Writing
The Proposal-Writing Toolkit
October 31st, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips These are my most recent and most favored proposal-writing tools. In the past few years I have spent some of my time writing proposals for companies seeking government contracts. There are a lot tools available to proposal writers and all other types of writers. Here are my most favored and most productive […]
Lenovo Reinvents the Portable Computer – part 0.2
October 25th, 2016 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A look at the Lenovo Yoga Book. This look concentrates on writing with a pen. Lenovo may have reinvented the portable computer with their new Yoga Book. A previous post tested the Halo Keyboard for typing. This post examines how the Yoga Book captures handwriting. The flat plastic panel on the Yoga […]