Week in Review: Week 4

Reading Time: < 1 minutes

As promised, I took some time off this week to work on other projects. They weren’t all creative; I’m working on some reports and major projects for a nonprofit group, and of course it’s tax season so there’s year-in-review stuff to do.

The two posts this week were short and spontaneous, and well received.

I also installed an editorial calendar tool in WordPress. This will let me plan in advance more easily. I did a little bit of that at the beginning of the month, which is why you’ll see posts next week on Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day and on Groundhog Day.

Observations: I’m learning that shorter is better. I’ll start looking for a blog template that will display the estimated read time and a short excerpt instead of the whole post, as a previous format did.

Interaction: Both posts this week received comments, mostly on Facebook but some on the blog. I miss the chats with readers that I had from the newspaper column. Those had to be done by snail mail and email. Today’s blogs offer a commenting feature that makes it easier. Still, I don’t comment much on other people’s blogs, so I guess I can’t expect others to do so either.

Professional development: I did put in some time on the Margery book. The whole Houdini-vs-Margery story has been done several times over by better scholars than I. This project is unique in that it’s half-book, half-play. It’s a book about writing the play. The play is done, or as done as it’s going to get. The book part tells the back story of how it gets there.

Next week: Work on the editorial calendar to plan ahead some short posts, and continue work on the book.

In case you missed it

  • Tsk-tsk! (1979)

    Tsk-tsk! (1979)

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Not contacting the state offices was practically journalistic malpractice. You need to get the official word, even if it’s “no comment.”

  • A good time for groundwork, 1979

    A good time for groundwork, 1979

    Reading Time: 2 minutes I had visions of collecting my school essays into books of criticism about how not to write papers. Does that sound like what I’m doing here?

  • Puff and fluff, 1979

    Puff and fluff, 1979

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Any local news editor understands the delicate balance between what readers and advertisers expect and what you think is important.

  • In Other Words … Season 2, Episode 19

    In Other Words … Season 2, Episode 19

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Many people don’t even have the time or focus for an entire book. The culture of short videos and podcasts has taken over, to our detriment.

  • Top-of-the-head inventory, 1979

    Top-of-the-head inventory, 1979

    Reading Time: 2 minutes “Items in Stock” was, in truth, a misnomer. Some were complete, or ready for a final draft or a rewrite. Others were ideas or characters in search of a plot.

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