WriterByNature.com

January 30, 2007 8:58 pm

Giving and receiving effective feedback is an essential part of the writing process.

Here is a handy checklist to help you cover the important points of a nonfiction work: (more…)

January 27, 2007 7:12 pm

On a sunny winter day my fellow Americans spoke out against Bush’s immoral, illegal war and in support of our troops. People carried signs and banners with messages so powerful, I feel compelled to share them. (more…)

January 26, 2007 2:06 am

This will be my last post until after the March.

I am excited, not only because I get to relive memories of anti-war protests during my college years, but because I believe this kind of public gathering is powerful and will make a difference.

Call me naive, optimistic or crazy. But is it sane to live in fear of an omnipresent terrorist threat? I’m not sure how history will treat the past six years, but right now our elected officials have an opportunity to listen and represent voters, instead of lobbyists, for a change. (more…)

January 25, 2007 2:02 am

I just used my last snowflake stamp. I love using nature theme stamps on letters I send out. I came across a December 2006 article in The New York Metro Area Update (a montly newsletter sent to postal employees) where I learned these snowflake images were photographed.

A new dimension has been added to the way I ook at snowflakes. (more…)

January 23, 2007 8:56 pm

Correctly punctuated dialogue is one of those pesky, but critical details; it helps your reader follow who is speaking.

Here are a few examples that demonstrate correct punctuation when a person or character is speaking: (more…)

January 22, 2007 3:42 am

Most of the snow went south of my area, but there was enough to reveal tracks. I’ve always wanted to take a class with Paul Rezendes. His book is my Bible. His photographs are excellent and his tracking skill is the definition of mastery.

This dog family member walked through snow-covered, muddy leaf litter. Coyote tracks are oval, fox tracks are rounder, but trail conditions can create all kinds of distortions. (more…)

January 18, 2007 6:09 pm

I have to add this to the images I uploaded yesterday.

There was really not much more than a dusting. The air was cold, but the wind died down enough to make hiking possible.

I just had to add this to the gallery.

January 17, 2007 9:29 am

The pictures say it better than I can.

I photographed these rhododendrons (related to mountain laurels) hours apart.

This is how the plant looked just after the rain stopped.

(more…)

January 16, 2007 8:56 pm

Speeches are heard rather than read, so to keep your listening audience engaged your speech must be well organized and easy to understand. (more…)

January 15, 2007 8:59 am

I’ve been reading WickedWordCraft blog posts from attendee Angela Allen Parker. That’s where I learned about the net neutrality issue in the first place.

One of Angela’s articles answers a question I have about how to explain this issue in a way that makes sense to people. Angela posed the same question to Stanford law professor, Tim Wu, whom she describes as the “probable author of the term Net Neutrality. Professor Wu suggested she use electricity as a metaphor.

Here is an excerpt from Angela’s blog: (more…)