Content Proofreading, Editing, Writing, Language

The musings and mutterings of a digital writer, copyeditor and proofreader

Mīn wandrian-scyf ful ǣlen is Olde English roughly translated as my hovercraft is full of eels

Children’s books

I woke up this morning with the image in my head of the cover of a book I read when I was a teenager: *The Chocolate War* by Robert Cormier.

“Read any good books lately?”

(title courtesy of my Grandad Mawdsley, used whenever he didn’t like the direction of conversation, or simply couldn’t hear it!)

This program was brought to you by the letter S and the number 40. Happy Birthday!

Would you believe it? Forty years’ worth of fledglings have delighted in the highs and delights of Jim Henson’s colourful, exciting characters teaching something that had previously been mind-numbingly boring and remarkably repetitive.

Get it ‘write’

Wasn’t it easy at school? You wrote a first draft, your teacher corrected it and told you how to make it better and that was that — you got a good grade, (or you didn’t!) but ultimately it didn’t really matter … not in the great scheme of things.

A write treat

This last month I’ve treated myself to some dedicated *me* time – some time to write for the pure pleasure of writing.

Glorious

What an astonishingly beautiful day.

Bring it on!

Would you believe it!? The amount of work right now is astonishing. I’m thoroughly enjoying writing for www.cleanerlondon.com today, and I’m learning all sorts of tips and tricks about cleaning to pass onto their readers.

Information architect?!

There’s a new kid on the block and I’d quite like to get to know him.

Information Architecture begins

Squidoo tells me that “Information architecture brings together how people think with how systems work. It’s a strategy and a discipline.” This sounds great … if somewhat vague.

Man Booker Dozen

Preparing for my MA and for teaching advanced writing and creative writing (prose) from October I have been bathing in a pool of books this summer, which is something of a dream come true.

Fringe funnies

This summer’s Fringe Festival spawned a plethora of funnies: here are the best of them according to the judges. Which do you like most? Did you hear a better one? While Tim Vine’s *is* funny, my personal fav on this list is Gary Delaney’s at number 5.

International Press Institute’s World Congress and ‘My’ Book

At the beginning of summer the now director of the IPI, Alison Bethel McKenzie contacted me through LinkedIn to ask me if I would be interested in co-authoring the institute’s 60th anniversary commemorative coffee-table book.

Come on in — the kettle’s on

Finally I have a new home. The sofa isn’t in yet, but feel free to pull up a box and join in.

What a week

And that wraps up my first week lecturing at the University of Salzburg. It’s been thrilling putting my brain back in the driver’s seat and back in front of a class of students.

Lakeside-Hire Contract Hire

For the last few months, I’ve been writing for Lakeside-Hire in Thurrock, which has been a pure delight.

Cleaner London

Being a bit of a clean-freak, writing for CleanerLondon is wonderful. Not only am I learning stacks of cleaning tips, I’m also getting paid to write. Genius!

Recommendation from the International Press Institute

From the Acting Director of the International Press Institute:

MANipulating language

I came across this interesting little ditty today; a couple of women had written to a local newspaper requesting that the council stop using ‘alderman’ and replace the word with ‘councillor’. What on earth do we do with this?

Cleaning, scaffold towers and website design: what do they have in common?

Me! While my kids were skiing yesterday, I supped a hot chocolate and thought about next year’s cleaning articles for CleanerLondon. It going to be a good year, I reckon.

ESL for English native-speakers

As part of my teaching at the University of Salzburg, I am faced with something that comes naturally, but something about which I, and pretty much every other native speaker, know very little about. Grammar. Dun dun daahhh…

Top Rated on People Per Hour!

Would you look at that! Time for a bit of shameless trumpeting, I reckon.

Creative non-fiction

This week, my days are filled with stories of Palestine and Sesame Street’s arrival there. I’ve read a fair amount about creative non-fiction, but here I am really coming to terms with the challenges and pleasures of it.

Accepted :)

Over the years I’ve had commissions to write some pretty interesting stuff, and each week I write for a number of clients...

First story published

Piles of marking = woeful lack of time to blog.

Kindle killing the paperback star?

Hmm … it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it!?

The research begins

I have very clear memories of being a secondary and university student and being told that I needed to work on my sentences; as a new teacher,I fell into the category of teachers who wrote vagueries on my own students’ essays:

Taking Sesame Street to Palestine

Getting round to researching and working on Daoud Kuttab’s book has been a long time coming while teaching my first year at University of Salzburg took first fiddle, and getting through my first MA semester filled in my spare (!) time.

Gathering the stories

Last evening I had a fabulous Skype-chat with Daoud, which focused me and was remarkably revealing at the same time.

Plotting a book

A combined mission this week: to gather ideas for Daoud’s book and to work out how to plot both books. In my hunt for ways to structure a book (part of MA homework!), I found this cracking video explaining how to use storyboards to organise plot.

Deadlines and proposals

With Palestine’s application for statehood to be heard by the UN on 24th September, we are working great guns to get a proposal in order, so our ‘taking Sesame Street to Palestine’ pitch hits agents’ and publishers’ desks as the world’s eyes turn towards Palestine and Israel.

Riot Rebuild volunteer

Watching the riots spread across Britain this month was truly vile.

Writing update

And pause for a moment…

The World of Ghostwriting

Ghostwriters are the illicit side of writing. Prostitutes of the written word, if you will. Authors don’t like to admit they’ve used a ghost — it’s a bit like admitting they can’t do it themselves.

Paper to digital: a year on (2013)

I’ve just got back from shopping for my son’s mountain of school things for the beginning of term. And one of those things was a school planner.

Trumpet blowing: classroom creative

Back in 2001, a wonderful website called TeachIt appeared.

A poem about my day, life and business. Enjoy

Just sometimes, I like to write poems. One a decade should do it.

How to shape your argument

It would be fair to say there is more political awareness these days. On both sides of all fences, people seem more ready to shout their opinions and deride any beliefs that don’t align with their own.