March 2006

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It’s no secret that I love being on WritingUp (despite the frustrating downtime) – and now I’ve got one more reason to love it. I’ve said elsewhere that blogging is good for writers. One of the reasons is because it gives them a chance to show off their writing skills. ...

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I’m just starting a new gig for a writing website. (Sneak preview is available here.) While I was checking over my articles, I noticed that some strange characters had appeared in the text. I knew immediately that the error came from Microsoft Word. Word is one of the best of ...

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Everyone’s afraid of something. I’ve always felt confident about writing articles and I know that one day I will finish my novel. Yet despite writing lots of poems, I’d never shared them with anyone. Part of the reason was that I could still remember the voice of my snooty English ...

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Even on holiday, I couldn’t stop thinking about my blog. I knew it was in good hands, but I kept having ideas for blog posts. One particular incident made me think of revisiting a post I did on interviewing. In that post I gave the following advice about interview preparation: ...

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You would have realized from my posts that I’m all about “the job�?. Preparing for it. Landing it. Keeping it. Getting paid for it. Today, I thought I’d write about “being good at it�?. So as I cast about in my mind for how to handle today’s topic, I was ...

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Freelancing is tough. What’s even tougher? Finding that perfect job on craigslist…and then realizing you have no samples to send. So do yourself a favor, build a portfolio. Here are my top 5 tips for showcasing your clips: 1. The First Shall Be First Lead with your strongest work. One ...

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Has this ever happened to you? You submit the best copy you’ve ever written. On time, too. You feel really good about your work. Got a good vibe from the client…and then they never call you back. What the heck happened? Read on and weep. The Proof Is In the ...

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O.k. Students, in yesterday’s lecture we covered the importance of research, the supremacy of the offer, and the necessity of clarifying the response mechanism. You are now one step closer to writing money-making copy! Once you’ve laid the groundwork, here are your next steps: 4. Decide concept and format. What’s ...

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As a freelancer, there’s nothing sweeter than hearing: Congratulations! You’ve got the job. Except maybe for being told: Your copy was so on target last time, we want to extend your contract. You smile, nod and shake hands with your new employer, all the while dreaming in delighted relief of ...

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Two weeks ago, my sister, Sharon, asked me to write some posts on her blog for her while she’s on holiday in Barbados. “Sure”, I said. “No problem”. (After all, how hard could it be? I write for a living). Only thing was…I couldn’t think of a thing to write ...

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When I decided to go away for a few days I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving my blog unattended, so I got permission from John (Admin) to have a guest blogger. Choosing a guest blogger is a serious undertaking, especially on WritingUp where I have to reveal my password ...

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In my other life I taught journalism and media at university. Gracepub’s post on people passing off classics as their own work and a conversation with her reminded me one of my pet peeves. Plagiarism is one of the banes of a teacher’s life. Stupid plagiarism especially. What do I ...

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You may not know they’re there, but they guide every piece of news you read, watch or listen to. The people who prepare the news probably don’t think about them either. What does it take for a story to make the news? Not every event that happens makes the news. ...

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