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Tuscaloosa Public Library, Rotary Room May 27th 2014 Presentation; Techie Writer: Basics and Beyond
Miller Center - June 4, 2014
Techie Writer – Basics and Beyond
PART I … Health
A research study done at Stanford found that walking, for
instance, boosts creativity and inspiration.
They examined levels of creativity while they walked versus while they
sat. They found a person’s creative
output increased by around 60% for those who walked.
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and the late Steve Jobs (Apple)
walked to meetings. Perhaps you can recall pacing back and forth looking for an
idea. How about the times you pace to
get your story ideas flowing?
Does anyone recall
how an idea for an article or a story came to you by pacing -- or after you’ve
had a physical workout? OK, so let’s get moving -- if are a little
tech savvy, you might get a Fitbit or some tracker to measure your daily
exercises.
(Q and A)
So, how can we get into the habit of exercising our mind and
body?
(1)
Your
brain is a muscle and you must give it work out too. Try at least one brain game a day. These can
easily be found on the internet and you can even download an app for it.
(2)
Take 30 minutes to work out. You’ve got plenty of games to pick from:
X-box and or a DVD. I use X box’s “Your Shape”
or other family type games. You can ask your kids to show you how to use
all of it. And, you’ll get to play games
as a family together. There’s so much to
enlighten your brain cells with a flow of Oxygen. We need thinking power and
must be in optimal health for a healthy power house of thought to write on.
Many of you know I am a certified Arthritis Instructor, so
I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to get you going. Sit down and relax.
Here we do deep
breathing, relaxing every muscle in our bodies and our mind. We move our joints while standing. Then we
sit and we do some basic stretching, while all the time we think only about
clearing our “minds” of any distractions.
Now that we’ve gotten past “to do” basics to get you running
on full power, we’ve got work to do to get you up to “techie” speed. Writers cannot afford to be lax with computer
skills.
So far, I’ve covered
essential prep a writer should DO
before you hit the basics and beyond as a techie writer.
Part II - Tech skills
How much time can you
save with a tech savvy? How much more
money can you make?
The “must know” to become a published writer:
(1)
Upgrade if you are using anything, like a laptop
or desk computer older than 4 years .
Trade in your heavy laptop or computer for a notebook. The latest ones have detachable keyboards
and are about the size of a tablet. Now,
you go everywhere without lugging all that baggage and you have fewer hackers.
(2)
Get a smart phone. You can check your messages
while on the run. You can record at any conference and never forget a thing
after you take a photo. (Like I did on health sessions with Deepak Chopra and
Dr. Oz at Int’l CES session 2013.)
(3)
Stay safe and get a security program such as
Norton and add a spyware too.
(4)
Organize, Organize, Organize -- On your hard
drive and with your emails. Set up labels immediately, especially if you are in
touch with an editor or a conference.
File it for safe keeping and easy access
.
(5)
Learn the
following and take a class at your local college if you cannot comfortably do the following
a.
Copy and paste
b.
Links
c.
Tracking your edits
d.
Apps for writers
e.
Connecting to social media
f.
Moving files on your hard drive, and, photo sharing
g.
Scanning a pdf file and sending files, photos,
to an editor
h.
Researching the internet for information
i.
Blogging and bloggers who will blog your story
j.
Watch your grammar. Check all beyond your spell check.
k.
Send your article to an acquaintance for
feedback and edits, or proofing.
l.
Listen up and learn. Make the proper edits with
the help of another.
Does anyone have
anything to add to the list of what a writer must or should learn to get
his/her work published? Get as smart as you can. You've got competition
DISCUSSION
