Anthology of Ideas » bloggers http://anthologyoi.com Anthology of Ideas is an archive of thoughts and form. Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:16:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 My feeds. You’ve kept me entertained, now I’m returning the favor. http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/my-feed-list.html http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/my-feed-list.html#comments Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:30:33 +0000 aaron http://anthologyoi.com/?p=518 Ever wondered or cared what I read in the mornings?

That covers most everybody. Got a favorite blog that you think I might like too? Feel free to post a comment. I think I’ll make this a monthly feature. ;)

]]> http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/my-feed-list.html/feed 2 The most important writing tool I own: a notebook. http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/asides/best-blogging-tool.html http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/asides/best-blogging-tool.html#comments Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:08:48 +0000 aaron http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/asides/best-blogging-tool.html Continue reading →]]> Bloggers by definition are writers. They may not write stories, but they write enough to fill many books. It doesn’t matter whether you blog about yourself or random and esoteric topics that only matter to you (cough: guilty). You are still a writer. If you write about yourself, you are writing an autobiography. If you write about current events, you are a journalist. If you write anything at all, you are a columnist, a historian, a science writer, or whatever title you want. You may not get paid a lot, but you are still a writer — most writers out there just gasped and said, “Yah right, like I do?” If you still don’t believe me, I am the self-appointed authority and I hereby declare you a writer, so don’t argue the point.

As a writer, the thoughts and ideas that flit around your head are the most important things you own. Random thoughts become great works of art … or posts, and with your skill the most esoteric and specialist topic can bring knowledge to the masses. For every thought you have, there is a blog post or story to go with it. Sure you may not write a post about how it would be cool to play shuffle puck with superconductors, but it could be — and it would be such a good idea, and whoever invents it needs to invite me over to play. The worst enemy to a writer is not not having ideas, but losing them — you can always get more ideas, but there is no recycle bin in the sky where lost ideas go.

As a self-proclaimed writer and programmer, I always need new ideas, and as someone who has an insatiable need to know, my curiosity piques itself on the most esoteric of topics, but for years these ideas and desires would come, but they would be pushed aside if I had something more important to do; thus, countless golden ideas vaporized into the abyss as my mind moved from each “ooh shiny” thought to another. But I’m a writer, and my ideas are the most important part of me.

It was a losing battle for me. The evil empire of forgetfulness and sloth frequently defeated the kingdom of the idea in battle, but I decided to fight unfairly: I started carrying a notebook — specifically a moleskin one (caution: amazon referral link) — with me everywhere I go. Suddenly, I didn’t have to worry about forgetting my most ingenious ideas because I could just write them down. I no longer lay awake for hours at night just thinking about a thousand things because I can now just write them down and go to sleep secure in the knowledge that I can continue composing them in the morning.

Today these notebooks have been filled several times over, and their pages are filled with everything from website designs and programs to code, topics to research, movies to watch, recipes to cook, ideas for posts on my website, and to-do lists. My notebook has never let me down — although my pen often does. Now that you are officially a writer, do what a writer does and keep your thoughts alive. It doesn’t have to be a shiny new Moleskin notebook, even a $0.30 one from a corner store will work perfectly — although it will disintegrate from use, so go buy one, and you will see what a notebook means to you, and you will find that it truly is the most important writing tool you will ever own.

]]> http://anthologyoi.com/blogish/asides/best-blogging-tool.html/feed 3 8 Tips for Improving the Content of Your Writing http://anthologyoi.com/english/8-tips-for-improving-the-content-of-your-writing.html http://anthologyoi.com/english/8-tips-for-improving-the-content-of-your-writing.html#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:07:17 +0000 aaron http://anthologyoi.com/english/8-tips-for-improving-the-content-of-your-writing.html Continue reading →]]> The content of writing is separate from style and structure because content is what you write not how you write. The following tips apply just as well to academic essays as to blog posts, so feel free to cherry pick the suggestions that apply best to your writing.

  1. Pick an an interesting, significant topic.

    Too many times posts are done on something insignificant or unoriginal. It doesn’t really matter if you write a gorgeous tutorial or a powerful, inspiring and riveting essay if it just explains something most people already know about. Similarly, it doesn’t help to write about issues that very few people have an interest in unless you are writing it solely for your pleasure.

    The biggest problem though is when people write about general topics that they have no real knowledge of and don’t say anything new about. Most people don’t care what your position is on abortion, religion or politics if all you are going to do is repeat mainstream thoughts and party lines, so if you must rehash well-covered ground, make sure you do it better or more in-depth than what others have already done.

  2. Pick a topic that isn’t too general.

    Unless you are writing a top 10 list, you need to make sure you don’t pick a topic that is so broad that you end up just making comments about a dozen different topics rather than a detailed discussion of one or two. The internet is full of broad and general information, so by focusing on specific topics you will be able to carve out your own niche.

    This is not to say you can only write about one topic, but you should only write about one topic in any given essay or post.

  3. Once you pick a topic, stick to it.

    I beat this one like a dead horse. Don’t ramble. The law of averages suggests that you are probably are not good enough at manipulating prose to do it in such a way that people will enjoy reading it.

  4. Introductions should suggest a purpose.

    If you aren’t writing for a diary, then you are trying to say something. Make sure you at least allude to this in your first paragraph. Don’t forget that the introduction is a sales pitch: it is where you show what you are going to talk about and demonstrate most of the points and conclusions that you will make. If the reader is interested after reading the introduction, they will read the rest where you explain everything in greater detail. Remember you are not writing a mystery novel, so don’t make your reader guess, and don’t go too far and explain everything in the introduction. Try to find a nice balance between giving it all way and keeping some mystery.

  5. Each paragraph should be well developed with vivid and concrete details.

    On the internet, generalities are worthless because there are lots of other places where people can get specific facts about whatever they want. See what I mean? That last sentence was worthless because it was too general and stated the obvious.

    For other hints for working with individual paragraphs you can read about paragraph structure and paragraph style elsewhere on this website.

  6. Use supporting evidence (facts, figures, examples, illustrations, and other details) to prove both the main point and all subpoints.

    Most likely you are writing for the internet, so while some people will take everything at face value, most will have learned that the internet is full of worthless and incorrect information.

  7. Is the supporting material appropriate and have I named all of my sources?

    Never, never, never use photos, videos or quotes without attribution. It is just rude. Even if you just get pointed to something through another website is is nice to give them a little hat tip (literally just say “hat tip” and then link to the website) to show that you appreciate what they did.

    Also, make sure that the websites, photos and videos you link to are actually relevant to the topic and don’t “betray” any true feelings: if you are making a political post where you are taking a centrist point of view, make sure you link to both conservative and liberal sources.

  8. Write for a realistic goal.

    This only applies to writings that deal with larger widespread issues. Unless your post is meant to be satirical, hyperbole will just make you sound unintelligent.

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