Monthly Archive: November 2011

Nov 04

NaBloPoMo Day 4

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November 4, 2011

When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer?

Well, I stopped writing with primarily pen and paper as soon as I learned how to do word processing on a computer many years ago. At this point, just about everything I write–from notes to myself to research to personal and professional writing is on the computer. The major reason I keep everything on the computer and “in the cloud” is that I can always find what I’m looking for. All of those notebooks I previously used are just on my book shelves and I have no way to quickly “search” their contents.

I still write with pens and paper–especially fountain pens, which are my new favorite. But everything that I want to keep and use as reference for personal and business use, I write by computer.

Permanent link to this article: http://writingitrightforyou.com/home/2011/11/04/nablopomo-day-4/

Nov 03

NaBloPoMo 2011 Day 3

Categories:

Blogging, News and Views, Opinion

November 3, 2011

Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today?

For the 3rd day of National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), the prompt asks about a blogger’s music listening habits. Actually, I cannot write WITHOUT music. It may seem strange, but I cannot work in total silence. Unlike many other people, total silence causes my mind to wander, while having music in the background helps me to focus.

I cannot say exactly what one song I heard today. I listen to my iTunes playlist, or I put on one of my 100+ Pandora stations, or I listen to a SiriusXM genre station. I love almost every genre of music. (I even have three (3!) country songs in my playlist–but just three.) When I really need to concentrate, I listen to either classical or jazz–otherwise I start singing along with the track and that is when it is hard to write and listen.

What is your favorite type of music? Do you like to listen to one kind of music at a time, or do you like to mix things up?

Permanent link to this article: http://writingitrightforyou.com/home/2011/11/03/nablopomo-day-3/

Nov 02

NaBloPoMo 2011 Day 2

Categories:

News and Views, Opinion

November 2, 2011

If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?

OK. My answer to today’s blog post prompt might seem maudlin or simply cheesy, but if I were in a “last meal” situation, I wouldn’t care what the meal was. Why would I? The first answer that came to my mind when I read the prompt was: give the food to someone who could really use it. The idea came to me because yesterday, when I was looking for a canned ingredient for today’s dinner, I discovered that I had three and four of the same item–many more food staples than my husband and I could eat in several months. There’s just the two of us here (plus our two rescue dogs) and we always have more than enough food. But just down the figurative street from me, there are many, many people who have NOTHING to eat; and a large number of them are part of the “99%” who never thought they’d be in a “homeless and hungry” situation.

I was brought up to be one of those “bleeding-heart liberals” who believes that we should reach back to help and take care of those who are less fortunate and/or “just ain’t able” (as my grandmother would say), and my natural knee-jerk answer would be to give away what I don’t need.

So whatever would hypothetically happen to me to put me in a “last meal” situation, it would lead me to give my last meal to someone who really needs it to live another day. I would neither need nor want another meal.

Permanent link to this article: http://writingitrightforyou.com/home/2011/11/02/nablopomo-2011-day-2/

Nov 01

NaBloPoMo 2011 Day 1

Categories:

Blogging, Opinion, Projects, Writing Types

November 1, 2011

What is my favorite part about writing?

That is the writing prompt for the first day of National Blog Posting Month: NaBloPoMo, as it is affectionately called. The task is to publish a post every day of the month. This is one of my writing goals for this month.

So, what IS my favorite part about writing? It is hard to choose: the beginning, the middle, the ending? It is hard to decide, but when I think about it, my favorite part is right after I actually start the writing. Writers, like athletes, often get “into the zone” after the starting gun. Sometimes, it’s hard to get going; sometimes there is a lot of preparation research and planning to complete before the actual writing begins. But once the actual writing starts, the words begin to flow.

That is my favorite part of writing: when I’m “in the zone”. In my business, I do all kinds of academic and business writing and editing. I love all of the different writing and editing projects I do and my job is very interesting because I write and edit so many different topics and issues. But no matter what type of personal or professional writing I do, my favorite part is when I’m “in the zone”.

This Day #1 of NaBloPoMo is cross-posted on my page at BlogHer.com.