WritingThoughts

I was surprised and pleased to find that Shannan Powell at Lost in the Words announced WritingThoughts WAHM Week on her blog.

Thank-you Shannan!! (I love it when other writers notice something that’s happening here.)

Here is the final entry in my online tools series. This entry covers online encyclopedias. (If you’ve missed the other entries, the topics were: online dictionaries and online thesaurus.)

1. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. This encyclopedia offering from a respected and seasoned encyclopedia company (they’ve been sharing knowledge since 1768) has an attractive cover page. The cover page contains a “What’s New” section, “Daily Features,” “News,” and even a link to the “Britannica Blog.” You can also access a dictionary and thesaurus from this page. A search here requires that you choose a content source, with some sources only open to paying members. I chose to search the term “jellyfish.” As a non-paying member my search defaulted to the “Concise Encyclopedia” option. My search returned nine results which turned out to be brief summary articles, although some photos were included. (Note: You can get a free seven-day trail membership by entering a credit card number. The membership price is $69.95 per year.)

2. High Beam Encyclopedia. This is a free encyclopedia. The home page allows for alphabetical browsing and contains links to other research sources. It also lists the most popular searches. This tool searches across multiple sources. According to the About page, when you search here you are searching across 35 million documents. It does not appear to have any unique material. When I searched the term “jellyfish,” the search returned 46 results. The original sources for the results varied from The Columbia Encyclopedia, to A Dictionary of Zoology, to related articles from newspapers and magazines. This can be a great research tool to find multiple sources of information quickly.

3. msn Encarta. This is Microsoft’s encyclopedia contribution. It’s geared to eduction with cover page links on everything from elementary eduction to continuing education. The home page also has links to other tools such as a dictionary, a thesaurus, a world atlas, quizzes, and more. A search on the term “jellyfish” brought up ten related articles with photographs. The search also listed links to the term “jellyfish” in the related online dictionary. (Note: some articles are only available for MSN Encarta Premium subscribers. The cost for the premium service is $29.95 yearly.)

4. Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a favorite among the internet savvy. It’s free for usage and available in ten languages. A major drawback, however, is that the source is open. This means that anyone who can access the site can change the information. This can result (and has resulted) in misinformation. A search on the term “jellyfish” resulted in an article with 12 subheads (including subheads for related links) and photographs. Wikipedia can be a good place to start for the casual researcher, but it should not be used as an only source or for formal research purposes.

What about you? What is your favorite encyclopedia? Do you like one I haven’t listed? Write and let me know.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Is that perfect word right on the tip of your tongue – but you can’t quite figure it out? You may need a thesaurus. A thesaurus can help you find words of the same, or similar, meaning.

Fortunately, there are some good thesaurus links online. Here is my unofficial review of some online thesaurus sites.

1. Thesaurus.com. This is the sister site to Dictionary.com. When I typed in the word “happy,” the site was able to identify the part of speech for the word. It also returned an amazing 46 synonyms (similar words) and two antonyms (opposites). This sources bases its information on Roget’s New Millenniumâ„¢ Thesaurus, First Edition. (Roget’s Thesaurus is the one that I became familiar with in my college days.)

2. Merriam-Webster Online. The online Merriam Webster dictionary also offers a thesaurus. The synonyms here appear to be based on the word’s definition. When I typed the word “happy” into this thesaurus, I was given five different definitions for the word. Each definition has its own unique synonym. If this is all there is to this thesaurus, it seemed a little bit limited to me.

3. Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. This tool requires a Java Runtime Environment. Since I’m not working on my regular equipment and since the computer that I’m working on does not have Java Runtime Environment installed, I was unable to test this thesaurus. This disappointed me since I was really interested in the concept of this thesaurus. It appears to have an interactive graphic interface that resembles a mind-map. If you’ve used this tool, let me know if you like it.

If you missed the first installment of this series, on online dictionaries, here is the link.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Mihaela Lica, over at eWritings – Online Public Relations, has included WritingThoughts in this weekend’s blog recommendations.

Mihaela is a freelance writer with SEO expertise and an online public relations and media consultant. She is also one of the founders of Blogger Power: Safeguard the Web for Children.

I have to say that I’m honored to be included on Mihaela’s list.

To Mihaela: thank-you for the recommendation. I will try to live up to your kind words.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Can you remember when reference materials were heavy books that you found in a special section of the library? I certainly can.

A lot has changed in the reference world. If you are doing reference work today your physical load has certainly been lightened. Many reference tools that were once found mainly in libraries and classrooms can now be found online.

This article begins a series that I’ll finish up next week The series looks at popular online reference materials. (As writers, we all need to use reference materials from time to time, right?)

The first installment of this series gives you my informal and unofficial review for three popular online dictionary sites: yourDictionary.com, Dictionary.com, and Merriam-Webster Online. Future posts in this series will examine how to access an online thesaurus and will compare popular online encyclopedias.

First, let’s look at what these online dictionaries had in common.

All three dictionaries were easy to use and allowed you to look up definitions. Dictionary.com automatically provided synonyms or antonyms. YourDictionary.com and the Merriam-Webster Online Search provided the etymology (word origin) of the word. All three dictionaries identified parts of speech for the words retrieved.

Next, let’s look at each dictionary site individually.

1. yourDictionary.com. If you like words, you can simply browse through this site alphabetically. If you click the audio icon it plays a recording of the word’s correct pronunciation. Never mispronounce a word again! It was not intelligent enough to find the word telescope when I left off the last “e,” even though the Google ads on the search page figured it out. The site has links to a large number of specialty dictionaries ranging from Accounting dictionaries to Wine dictionaries. I didn’t see any premium dictionary services for sale at this site.
2. Dictionary.com. I didn’t see a way to browse alphabetically. You have to be a registered premium content user to use the audio icon on this dictionary (at a cost of $19.95). It was intelligent enough to find the word telescope when I left off the last “e.” There are some nice extra features on the home page such as Word of the Day, a link to thesaurus.com, a translator, and more.
3. Merriam-Webster Online. I did not see a way to browse alphabetically. If you click the audio icon it plays a recording of the word’s correct pronunciation. When I left the final “e” off of the word telescope the search function gave me 20 suggestions for the word that I might be looking for, including the word telecommute. Premium services at this site cost $29.95 per year or $4.95 per month.

So, the next time you need to look up a word, don’t worry about pulling that old dictionary off of the shelf. Your definitions are only a click away.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Lori Widmer calls her blog “advice and ramblings on the writing life.” That’s exactly what Words On the Page is, but, oh what great ramblings she has!

Lori’s open and frank about her experiences. She doesn’t pull any punches. Somehow, in the middle of it all, Lori manages to work in the advice that a writer needs to know.

(If you’ve read Lori’s blog and you STILL think that all writers lead glamorous, easy lives–then you’re probably a hopeless romantic.)

What really caught my eye this week was Lori’s March 8th post (I can’t figure out how to link directly to it) in which she describes two contractors that she recently encountered at a client’s site. She calls them Baby Einstein and Whiney Bob.

When I read her descriptions I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Somehow, I think that I’ve worked with these exact same fellows. Her descriptions rang so true! At the end of the laughter, though, I had to stop and reflect on the proper behavior for working at a client’s site.

Good job Lori! Keep holding up that mirror so that we can get a good look at the writing industry.

If you missed last week’s link, here it is.

Note: If you’re consistently posting great information and haven’t seen your blog featured in “Of Note” yet, I apologize. I’ll probably find you soon. I know there are a lot of great blogs out there; I discover more new ones each day. (So many blogs, so little time…)

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

As the writer in the family, I’m automatically assigned to helping the kids with any type of homework assignment that includes writing. Have an essay due? Go get mom to read it. Have a research paper to work on? Mom can help with that.

Mostly, I don’t mind my role as writing helper. It’s an honor to be part of my kids’ education.

One thing that I have been trying to get across to them, however, is the important role that planning and organization plays in good writing. To this end, I am trying to encourage them to create outlines before they start writing their actual assignments. (While stream-of-consciousness writing may be effective and appropriate in some situations, I think that it fails to communicate more often than it succeeds.)

While there are all kinds of new organizational techniques (mind mapping, brainstorming, and word association come to mind), I usually find myself falling back on the old basic method of outlining that I first learned: introduction, body, conclusion. This is the basic writing technique that I am trying to teach to my kids.

For some reason, I can still hear that writing teacher of many years ago explaining those components in this way:

• Introduction. Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
• Body. Tell them (usually with at least three points).
• Conclusion. Tell them what you told them.

A second organizational skill that I hope to impart to my kids is that it is important to keep like thoughts together. If you’re in a paragraph talking about the role of Simon from the “American Idol” television show, don’t suddenly switch subjects in the middle of the paragraph and start talking about how to become an “American Idol” contestant. So, even if your writing topic is the “American Idol” television show, your writing will be much more effective if it is organized.

I have to confess. Outlines have saved me on more than one occasion. I’m the kind of person who usually has tons of ideas floating around in my head. Sometimes I worry that I’ll forget the details about really good idea before I can have time to get it actually written down. (Don’t those good ideas seem to come at the most inconvenient times?) I’ve found that, even when I don’t have time to write the whole piece, if I take a few moments and jot down a quick outline, then the idea is saved. It’s a breeze to go back later and fill out the outline!

It’s easy in our rushed world to be like my kids and try to jump right into our writing without planning and organization. I’m guilty of it too. In the long run, however, planning and organization are critical parts of the writing process. Even professional writers can benefit from the basics!

Do people still read books for fun? Do people still read literature?

As a person who thinks that curling up with a good book is the best way to relax, my answer to the question of whether or not people read books is: I certainly hope so. My fear, however, is that people do not still read. At least, they don’t read for fun.

I remember the days, not so long ago, when people actually talked about new books. There were certain titles that, when they came out, everybody bought (whether they read them or not).

Be honest, when was the last time that you read a good book just for fun? I’m not talking about self-help books or how-to books here. I’m talking about books that you read just for the pure enjoyment of reading. When was the last time that you and your friends talked about a book?

I don’t think that we pay much attention to what is being published anymore. There are too many things competing for our time (things like: video games, computers, blogs, movies, DVDs, cable television, and the list goes on).

If we don’t read (as I suspect that we don’t), then it concerns me greatly. There are ideas that can be garnered from the gradual unfolding of a good plot that really can’t be gotten any other way.

I started out on this tangent when my husband pointed me to this 2004 study. I’ll let you read it for yourself, but basically it says that fewer and fewer us are reading literature — a trend that the study predicts will continue. (I realize that this is a somewhat old study. I searched and searched for a newer one, but did not find one. If you know of one, let me know.)

So, why is it important to care if our culture has stopped reading? Not only do I think that the best writers are readers, but I also think that reading good literature causes us to share ideas, thoughts, and feelings. It is a sharing that can cross boundaries of time, space, and culture.

For my little part in bucking the non-reading trend, I’m going to point you to a great list of literary works that I found on The Writing Mother blog a few days ago. It’s called “Books I’ve Read.” (You’ll have to go back to March 3, 2007.)

Study the list and select a few titles that seem interesting. Make a point to stop in at your local library or bookstore this week and take home a few of your selections.

Enjoy!!!

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Author Yvonne Russell, has started an interesting series on her site. She’s calling the series, “The Idea Catcher.” Yvonne’s first installment in the series is already in, and it looks like she has some good ideas on how to generate topic ideas.

Yvonne’s post got me thinking. Who determines what I write about? I thought about it and was able to identify the following sources of topics:

• The client. I would say that 75% of the time writing assignments come to me with the topic already determined. For example, right now I am writing a study guide and test on audit planning. This wasn’t a topic that I dreamed up on my own, but rather a need of my client that I am happy to fill. (This type of writing job can be found at the bidding sites as well as in job advertisements.)
• Both Myself and the Client. Sometimes the client has a list of topics and/or projects that they need to have written. I am able to look through the list of topics and select those projects that I find interesting. I would say that this scenario occurs about 10% of the time. (Submission sites often have this option.)
• Writing-related jobs. Some writing jobs that I get don’t actually require me to write at all. Rather, these clients are looking for someone to proofread or edit their work. The writing is already done and original writer selected the topic. I recently had the privilege of doing a developmental edit for a client. I would say that this scenario occurs about 10% of the time. (This type of writing job can be found at the bidding sites as well as in job advertisements.)
• Myself. In my self-examination I was surprised to learn that I write on topics of my own choosing only about 5% of the time. A good part of the reason that this is true is that I need to maintain a certain cash flow for my family each month. (This type of writing can be submitted websites set up for that purpose. Queries can also be sent to publications or publishers.)

I found this little bit of introspection useful. I am sure that one of the reasons that I am so full of half-baked topic ideas is that I rarely choose my own subjects to write about.

Despite the fact that I have dozens of ideas that I would like to write about floating around in my head, I found reading about Yvonne’s process helpful. I always find it fascinating to get a peek into how others think.

What about you? Where do your ideas come from?

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.

Today is March 2nd. If he were still alive this date would mark the 103rd birthday of Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Theo Le Sieg, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.

Theodore Geisel taught me to read, for which I will forever be grateful.

For those of you who may not recognize any of the above names, Theodore Geisel (most commonly referred to as Dr. Seuss), is the author of over 40 different wonderfully wacky rhyming children’s stories.

The stories Dr. Seuss created were unique because they were designed especially for the very youngest readers, because he illustrated each one, and (last, but not least) because they rhymed. His most famous story is probably The Cat In The Hat.

When I was a very young child (only four years old) my parents enrolled me in “The Cat In The Hat book club.” Each month a package would arrive at our house with two new Dr. Seuss books.

Oh how I waited for those books to arrive! I can still remember the excitement of opening those boxes and sounding out the short words to make those funny sentences.

That early experience has fueled a love of letters, words, reading, and writing that serves me well to this very day.

So, while I never met Mr. Geisel, and while Mr. Geisel never personally helped me with my reading, his work remains instrumental in my life (and in the lives of thousands of others just like me). Just in case you were wondering if one writer could make a difference.

I wish I could impress you by creating some Dr. Seuss-like rhymelets right here in this blog, but I’m afraid I don’t quite have it in me today.

Instead, I’ll share my two favorite Dr. Seuss titles with you: Green Eggs and Ham (which I can practically quote from memory), and the more adult My Many Colored Days.

How about you? Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss title? Why don’t you leave a comment and let me know the title of your favorite Dr. Seuss story? Or, if you’re feeling a little braver, go ahead and leave me a Dr. Seuss-style rhyme.

Happy Friday!!

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.