Yeah, I usually blog about writing or travel. But since I’m looking to dive back into full-time journalism, my mind has been wandering into news land. Specifically, social media news land. I’ve been watching how journalists and news organizations use social media (and playing with some of those approaches myself). By now, most media outlets […]
I recently critiqued several chapters for a writer I met on Twitter. She knew it would be beneficial to join a critique group. But how, she asked, was she supposed to find one? Lots of writers have blogged about the value of critique groups. (If you’re still not convinced you should join one, read these […]
If you’re new here, Writers’ Roundup is a weekly Friday feature with links to blog posts, news stories, etc. about writing, travel, journalism and anything else I find useful and entertaining. It’s the best of my Google Reader and Twitter links! What have I found this week? On the evolving role of the travel writer: […]
I’m an accidental dog owner. Cooper found me six months ago in the woods of my writer’s residency in Georgia, when he was a starving, matted stray. I didn’t adopt him because I wanted a dog. I adopted him because he needed a home, and I knew what would happen to him if I didn’t. […]
The best part: it’s easy. Turn off your word verification. Yes, you. You probably didn’t even know it was on, right? But unless you turned it off, it’s likely keeping people from commenting on your blog. Think it’s not that big of a deal? It is. It’s one extra hoop we have to go through […]
Great convo in the comments of Monday’s post on building community around your blog. It’s worth checking out if you haven’t yet. Some great links out there this week: From GalleyCat, a podcast with literary critic Laura Miller on the evolution of the book review. Interesting conversation at literary agent Elana Roth’s blog about whether […]
I welcomed something new into my life during the last year: italics. As a journalist, I never used them. There are no italics in news stories. Journalists have to figure out how to emphasize words in other ways. Or not emphasize at all. So when I began writing my book, italics weren’t in my toolbox. […]
I probably should have titled this post, How to drive traffic to your blog. That would have gotten more clicks, right? But the truth is, while we sometimes use hits to measure the success of our Web sites and blogs, the reason for that success is community. One common mistake new bloggers make is thinking […]
Ever have that feeling that something big and awesome is going to happen? That inkling has been tickling me since Tuesday. It could mean a lot of things, since I’m about to go through a handful of life changes. When I find out what it is, I’ll let you know. For now, Friday links! The […]
Is it cool that I’m wearing the same clothes in all the travel photos on this site? Yeah, when you backpack solo through Africa you get pretty close with your two red t-shirts.