Jean's Writing

Do you think technology is good for writers?

Published on July 19, 2017July 18, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell35 Comments

Where would you be as a writer without your computer?

Just think about it for a minute. We have come to rely on little electronic robots in every stage of our lives from the grocery store to the gas pumps. So of course, we come to rely on technology to enable us to write faster and better stories.

One of my favorite bloggers Ryan Lanz posted an article about robots taking over the world of writers.

The thought made my imagination whirl like a carnival ride.

Not too long ago, we were told computers would make us a paperless society and save the trees. Uh, no hasn’t happened. In fact, I believe it’s had the reverse effect. Yesterday I was at the vets picking up medicine for the dog. The receptionist took forever, or so it seemed, to look up and enter in the computer my information before printing it out in duplicate. No short cut there.

But back to writing. I love many of the automated writing programs. I’ve become dependant on spell-check and use at least three grammar check programs. Some of the books I’ve read or tried to read lately could benefit from a few of these robot programs too. I think this advancement is a good thing.

I agree with Ms. Sotnikova, technology will need for writers to become more creative. We will need to add more of ourselves to our writing, make our stories unique. Separate the man from machine.

Whether you are analyzing data, running spell-check, or using a program to mimic Hemingway, use the technology to advance your writing skills. To learn, to promote, to help you succeed in every possible way.

I don’t see the robotic age as a negative. No, I see it as a wonderful tool for writers.

Pop over to A Writers Path and read Ms. Sotnikova’s post.

Robots Will Change The Way We Write By Nadia Sotnikova

What do you think?

Are robots changing the way you write?

Is the coming changes a good or bad thing?

Talk to me, I love reading your comments.

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Learn how to make your Amazon description stand out

Published on July 17, 2017July 14, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell4 Comments

It’s important for a book description to grab the reader.

So make your text stand out using bold or italics wording.

Even if you’re not familiar with HTML, I’ve found a blog post that makes the process easy to understand. All you need to do is open and close the text with codes for Bold <b> or italics <i>.

Check out this quick tutorial and see if it helps you.

Quick How-To: add bold and italic text to your Amazon book description

Now go and update that book blurb.

Did it work?

Do you think we need to use special formatting for our descriptions?

Talk to me, I love your comments.

Please stop by and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

Are you still learning how to write what you mean?

Published on July 14, 2017July 13, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

Talking and writing are so different. Saying what you mean and writing what you want to say is not always easy.

So what about an online writing course?

Seems as if there are as many online courses as there are blogs. So how do you pick a good one? They all sound wonderful.

When testimonials and sales pitches hit my inbox, I ooh and ah over them like I’m paging through Neiman’s Christmas catalog.

Here are a few that make me drool:

WOW, Women on Writing, Writers Digest, Udemy, Youtube, and of course there’s Ted Talks. Don’t you just love Ted Talks? Then there are the Universities, online or local.

And I didn’t even try to list all the bloggers who offer classes. I don’t know about you but, I can’t just throw away hundreds of dollars every year. If I bite the bullet and purchase one of the many classes available it sure as hell better be worth the money. Not sure my husband would understand. And pointing out they are tax-deductible only works so many times.

Thanks to Y’all, I do learn something new about writing every day. And, I want to continue to learn and hone my craft. Now retaining all this information is another challenge. But, we’ll talk memory issues another time.

My big fear is that after buying an online course, discover it has little substance and is part of a larger sales pitch. Or the content is too elementary. I mean, Grammarly can pick out spelling errors. Sheesh.

So, back to my questions.

How do you know which one is best? Not just best in content but also best for you?

How do you feel about online courses?

Have you taken any online courses you loved? Or hated?

Is there one you’d recommend?

What do you look for in a good writing course?

Talk to me, I love your comments.

Please stop by and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

How to add wonder to your writing

Published on July 12, 2017July 11, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

I wonder what will happen next.

The dream of every writer is to make the reader question and wonder about everything happening to your characters.

But how to give readers that sense of awe, curiosity, or admiration?

And more than that why do we want to achieve this lofty goal?

Because…

A sense of wonder will keep readers turning pages.

I loved this post by Janice Hardy.

Janice put a different twist on the usual questions writers ask. And a different twist for me means a new twist for my readers.

Remember:

don’t be predictable
- delicious or poison
- dead-end or right destination
make the reader worry
- success and failure,
- secrets and truths
- a clean the kitchen or a bloody mess
a hook in the beginning and triggers throughout
- good fisherman plays with the fish, so does a good writer