As I mentioned in my last message, I have several ideas for posts that I’ve been sitting on for a while so here’s the first of these long-gestating posts.
These days, it seems that all sorts of media outlets (including the one where I work) have introduced a social networking component to their websites, thereby encouraging people to engage in social networking while on the job.
However, considering that sites like Facebook and MySpace are already known to be timewasters for employees, do you think mixing the two as such is a smart move? Or is it merely a more constructive alternative for employees who have a tendency to drift their attention away from the task at hand?
I have mixed feelings about this, as I can see both the benefits and drawbacks a system like this has. On the one hand, it can detract from other, ultimately more important parts of employees’ workdays, but it can also be a useful networking tool, at least in theory.
What do you guys think? Is social networking at work a good idea, at least for journalists? Clearly, the idea is to make connections that help your professional life, but does it even accomplish that goal? I'm not entirely convinced...
But I’m anxious to hear what you all think… Sound off in the comments section.
Rob out.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I'm BACK...
...and honestly, I have no good reason for neglecting the Table. As you guys know, real life has a way of getting in the way of our creative aspirations. However, for the, like, 3 of you that care what I've been up to, let me offer this summary of what's gone down in my world since September (God, has it been that long since I posted here).
As most of you know, I've been working full-time at a local newspaper, and while it's been rewarding as all hell and given me an unbelievably large step forward in my career as a writer, it has also cut into my time to the point where I have taken something of a sabbatical from graduate school. While a 9 to 5 is definitely a setback as far as the creative process goes, I have managed to make some progress on my never-ending screenplay (halfway through the 2nd draft finally!), have brainstormed some song ideas and even reignited my passion for a novel that I started with a friend (in fact, it'll be my next project once my screenplay is done...whenever that is...lol). Aside from that, I've been dealing with a myriad of other ongoing irritants, including some just-resolved issues relating to my coursework.
Yesterday, I conducted an interview for an upcoming story with a local professional who also dabbles in creative stuff, and he offered me some wise words of encouragement about how I wouldn't want to let years go by and look back on writing that I never finished. I had already been looking to return to the Table and re-focus on my screenplay and such, but this apparently was that nudge I needed to actually make my triumphant re-emergence (haha...).
In any case, I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and any other holiday I missed in my absence. I have plenty of ideas for posts, and I promise I will attempt to post on here more regularly. Maybe I can even manage a weekly post. :0
Although we all know how writers do with schedules... ;)
Stay tuned......
Robert out
As most of you know, I've been working full-time at a local newspaper, and while it's been rewarding as all hell and given me an unbelievably large step forward in my career as a writer, it has also cut into my time to the point where I have taken something of a sabbatical from graduate school. While a 9 to 5 is definitely a setback as far as the creative process goes, I have managed to make some progress on my never-ending screenplay (halfway through the 2nd draft finally!), have brainstormed some song ideas and even reignited my passion for a novel that I started with a friend (in fact, it'll be my next project once my screenplay is done...whenever that is...lol). Aside from that, I've been dealing with a myriad of other ongoing irritants, including some just-resolved issues relating to my coursework.
Yesterday, I conducted an interview for an upcoming story with a local professional who also dabbles in creative stuff, and he offered me some wise words of encouragement about how I wouldn't want to let years go by and look back on writing that I never finished. I had already been looking to return to the Table and re-focus on my screenplay and such, but this apparently was that nudge I needed to actually make my triumphant re-emergence (haha...).
In any case, I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and any other holiday I missed in my absence. I have plenty of ideas for posts, and I promise I will attempt to post on here more regularly. Maybe I can even manage a weekly post. :0
Although we all know how writers do with schedules... ;)
Stay tuned......
Robert out
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Michael Crichton. R.I.P.
Michael Crichton has always been one of my favorites. I'll miss him and so will millions of others!!
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/05/arts/NA-US-Obit-Crichton.php
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/05/arts/NA-US-Obit-Crichton.php
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
NaNoWriMo!!
So, November 1st is right around the corner and, for those of you who don't know what that means, I'll tell you!! November is National Novel Writing Month and in honor of this highly publicized holiday, there is a contest in which people are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. If you win you get is a nifty certificate you can print off your computer.But that's not the best prize. The best prize is having 50,000 words of a rough draft ready to be added to or edited (December is National Novel Editing Month :)). Anyway, here is en e-mail I got about the upcoming "festivities". Hope you guys participate!!
Allie
Dear National Novel Writing Month Author,
Hi there! NaNoWriMo Program Director Chris Baty here. Before we get rolling, I wanted to give you a quick guide to our upcoming five weeks of literary domination.
Here's the plan:
Today: Make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month. So far, we've received donations from 3.4% of our participants, putting us 6.6% away from our goal. Chip in! Even $10 makes a big difference, and pays huge dividends in halos and noveling karma. We're a nonprofit, and we've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars readying this swashbuckling adventure for 110,000 adults and 15,000 kids and teens around the world. We need your support!
Tomorrow: Make sure you've set your time zone correctly (it's under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called "write-ins") for your city or town will be held. Tune in to WrimoRadio, NaNoWriMo's podcast, and learn how you can be on the November 3 episode.
October 31: Get the first pep talk email. You'll receive about three of these a week—one from me and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers—throughout November. Note: If you donate $50 or more today, you will receive six years of pep talks from me in a beautiful 80-page PDF, constituting about as much week-by-week NaNoWriMo advice and encouragement as any human being can handle without falling over.
November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1667 words per day to stay on par. The site will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in the box at the top of our site or on the "Edit Novel Info" page of your profile. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It's November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!
November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.
November 3: The first November episode of WrimoRadio goes up on the site, beaming out overcaffeinated messages of hope from Wrimos worldwide. We'll be podcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from here until December.
November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo's volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.
November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.
November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as Animal Farm, Death in Venice, and Gossip Girl: I Like it Like That. You're halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town, or come to San Francisco, where the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon will set records for group noveling and candy consumption.
November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.
November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much, Much Easier.
November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. For the first time ever, a very limited number of 2008 Winner t-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile.
November 27: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.
November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we could barely imagine on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.
You did it. We all did it.
December 1: Sleep will fall heavily across NaNoLand, as 125,000 writers close the book on one crazy, oversized dream, and go off in search of the next.
We begin very soon, brave writer! I can't wait to get started!
Chris
NaNoWriMo
P.S. (From Allie) If you want to sign up for NaNoWriMo, here is the link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/register
Allie
Dear National Novel Writing Month Author,
Hi there! NaNoWriMo Program Director Chris Baty here. Before we get rolling, I wanted to give you a quick guide to our upcoming five weeks of literary domination.
Here's the plan:
Today: Make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month. So far, we've received donations from 3.4% of our participants, putting us 6.6% away from our goal. Chip in! Even $10 makes a big difference, and pays huge dividends in halos and noveling karma. We're a nonprofit, and we've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars readying this swashbuckling adventure for 110,000 adults and 15,000 kids and teens around the world. We need your support!
Tomorrow: Make sure you've set your time zone correctly (it's under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called "write-ins") for your city or town will be held. Tune in to WrimoRadio, NaNoWriMo's podcast, and learn how you can be on the November 3 episode.
October 31: Get the first pep talk email. You'll receive about three of these a week—one from me and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers—throughout November. Note: If you donate $50 or more today, you will receive six years of pep talks from me in a beautiful 80-page PDF, constituting about as much week-by-week NaNoWriMo advice and encouragement as any human being can handle without falling over.
November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1667 words per day to stay on par. The site will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in the box at the top of our site or on the "Edit Novel Info" page of your profile. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It's November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!
November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.
November 3: The first November episode of WrimoRadio goes up on the site, beaming out overcaffeinated messages of hope from Wrimos worldwide. We'll be podcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from here until December.
November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo's volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.
November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.
November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as Animal Farm, Death in Venice, and Gossip Girl: I Like it Like That. You're halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town, or come to San Francisco, where the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon will set records for group noveling and candy consumption.
November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.
November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much, Much Easier.
November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. For the first time ever, a very limited number of 2008 Winner t-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile.
November 27: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.
November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we could barely imagine on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.
You did it. We all did it.
December 1: Sleep will fall heavily across NaNoLand, as 125,000 writers close the book on one crazy, oversized dream, and go off in search of the next.
We begin very soon, brave writer! I can't wait to get started!
Chris
NaNoWriMo
P.S. (From Allie) If you want to sign up for NaNoWriMo, here is the link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/register
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