meta user
network profile
| bio | website | twitter.com/joelshea |
|---|---|---|
| location | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| age | 30 | |
| visits | member for | 2 years, 5 months |
| seen | May 2 at 12:03 | |
| stats | profile views | 20 |
Developer/writer/filmmaker/other from Chicago currently living in Stockholm.
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Jul 31 |
comment |
Link shorteners for research paper citations? It makes it not only easier to not only type the link, but it also makes it possible to do analytics on who is using your citations. While URL shortening has become very popular with the raise of social media, Microsoft and other trade magazines have been doing similar things in their print and online publications for years. |
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Jul 31 |
comment |
Length of non-fiction article and what to do about it I think that if you have yet to finish the article, it's probably premature to speculate on the finished length. When you are done with your first draft, you'll probably realize that either some things are extraneous or that you missed something. When you've done several rewrites and THEN you have a 14k word long piece, that's when you should decide what to do with it. Ultimately though, you'll probably end up cutting a third of it not just to get it published but to make it better. |
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Jul 30 |
answered | First publication rights still available on this? |
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Jul 22 |
awarded | Nice Answer |
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Jul 12 |
comment |
Why do ebooks often mimic the layout of the printed page? I'm sorry, I wasn't clear either. My "visceral" comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. It's the type of thing I hear from people in writer groups when you start talking about paper vs e-book. One of the best pieces of advice I got about writing for the web that I need to remember was "Sarcasm can't travel in cyberspace." |
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Jul 12 |
comment |
Why do ebooks often mimic the layout of the printed page? You say people "can only read as fast as they read", but books are not the format they are because of people's reading speed. It's because it's more efficient for the printing process. Many web pages are a long scroll of text because this limitation has been removed. Should the this page be broken up into multiple pages, the first being the question and then an answer on each subsequent page, as to not overexert the user? Many questions and answers here have as many words as a page in a novel. No, the content is broken up a way that is befitting the web. |
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Jul 12 |
comment |
Why do ebooks often mimic the layout of the printed page? While my horse and buggy analogue may be an exaggeration (I don't actually own one, sadly), my point is really about how people are wary of change. The car succeeded the horse, as I think the e-reader will eventually (and that's a long eventually) will succeed the printed book. They will live side by side for a while (just was early cars and buggies did). The users of buggies will be angry and shake their fists at the fast moving metal monsters because they spook the horses. All the while, more people will buy cars and less horses. |
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Jul 12 |
answered | Why do ebooks often mimic the layout of the printed page? |
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Jul 11 |
comment |
How can I create drama in a story that is mostly political and procedural? +1 for the ETA. Perfect summary. |
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Jul 5 |
answered | Shots in a spec script? |
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Jul 5 |
comment |
How can I improve this description which includes actions? +1 for use of other senses. Also, remember that even if you write them into your first draft and find they don't fit, you can take them out later. But you don't know if they fit until you try them. |
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Jul 4 |
comment |
Is there such a thing as talent in writing? Any can get better with practice. Hemingway was not Hemingway because he was born that way, he was a master because he worked at it, hated bad writing, and thought a lot about what that meant. |
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Jul 2 |
awarded | Commentator |
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Jul 2 |
comment |
How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? Also, let's not forget that writing isn't a singular process. It is a combination of plot and story and characters and setting and language. A person can be good at just one or some of these things while needing work on the rest. Think about Dan Brown. He was so good at deriving story that most of the 18 billion people that read his book looked past the hackneyed prose and stilted dialogue (and stupid plot and...nevermind, you get it). |
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Jul 2 |
comment |
How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? @Kate Sherwood - Anyone can be taught to write better. Not everyone can be a master, not everyone can be taught in high schools, but everyone can get better. Those people in the writing group that just don't seem to get it, it's not that they are beyond hope, it's just that they are probably focusing on the wrong things. Maybe "show, don't tell" just hasn't clicked for them. Maybe they are trying too hard. That's why in my answer to this question, I emphasize that it's not about how much you do it (though more will always be better), it's about thinking critically while you do. |
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Jul 1 |
revised |
How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? Just adding a quote. |
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Jul 1 |
revised |
How should I break up chapters in a novel? added 432 characters in body |
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Jul 1 |
comment |
How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? I think it's dangerous to compare success and talent. While I'm sure it helps to have it (no matter what the field), it's not always required. Especially in things like writing, success can be related as much to luck to as to raw talent. For every [fill in name of your favorite author], there is a [fill in name of author you think is overrated]. |
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Jun 30 |
comment |
What makes for interesting travel writing/blogging? I think it may be useful to know what kind of travel writing you are planning: is it more Michael Palin or Fodors? |
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Jun 30 |
answered | How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? |
