blog – Page 2 – Andrew Careaga

That exclamation point!

Some see the ! as the comic sans of the punctuation world, a clownish affront to all who take their writing and reading seriously.

When I decided to rename this blog Andy writes! to signify its new direction, I’m sure a few readers cringed at the sight of an exclamation point in the title.

I understand. For writers, the exclamation point (hereinafter referred to as “!”) is perhaps the most maligned and most offensive of all punctuation marks. In his book Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, Benjamin Dreyer calls the ! “bossy, hectoring, and, ultimately, wearying.” In her Grammar Girl Style Guide, Mignon Fogarty, without passing judgment, advises, “Don’t overuse them.” The late Elmore Leonard, a prolific and best-selling crime novelist, laid down the law on the ! in his 10 rules for writing: “You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.”

My writing routine

My journaling routine begins early in the morning. Writing longhand in a notebook is one of the first tasks of my day.

As a follow up to my recent post about confronting the blank page (or blank screen), I wanted to describe my writing routine and, I hope, prompt some of you to share yours in the comments.

But first, a short back story:

Once upon a time I journaled consistently. Then I fell out of the habit. I don’t know why. Got busy, I guess.

Maybe Fitzgerald was wrong?

I’m excited about getting back into writing for the sheer fun of it. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Black notebook with caption, "A new chapter begins"

“There are no second acts in American life,” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Maybe he was wrong. More likely, I’ve misinterpreted the meaning of that assertion, as have many others, apparently.

Anyway, in hopes of a fresh start in 2024 as I conclude a nearly 33-year career in higher education, I plan to commit more time to my first love: writing. And here’s where I’ll do it, right here on this blog I abandoned nearly six years ago.

This post marks the beginning of this second act, one devoted to writing for the fun of it.

Widgets gone wild

I spent some time goofing with widgets, badges, and all that other goofy web 2.0 clutter. Check out the sidebar to the left. See my RSS shared items! Marvel at all my Twitter connections! Look at all the little social networking cliques I’m a part of!

Whaddya think? Overkill? I was just worried my austere minimalism was just not fitting in to this new world of interconnectedness.

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Now playing: Madness – One Step Beyond
via FoxyTunes

Saturday morning coffee, music, multitasking, social media brain dump

It’s late on a sleep-in Saturday morning. I’m sipping the last of the morning pot of coffee, listening to the mellow, dreamy songs of an indie/electronica band from Osaka called <a

href=”http://www.myspace.com/waterfai”>Water Fai* (which suits my mood perfectly), and casually multitasking — catching up on personal and work email, Twitter, RSS, and various blogs and websites. I’m in no rush. This is one of those rare lazy days when I have nowhere to be.

So, I think I’ll blog about some of the social media stuff on my mind and in my inbox/feeds/etc. For instance:

How Twitter can add value. Yesterday, I and some co-workers from Missouri S&T attended the Missouri Association of Publications conference (where our alumni magazine won an award — huzzah!). One of the sessions I attended was about convergence journalism, led by a faculty member of the Missouri School of Journalism’s convergence program. Co-worker (and co-tweeter) Mindy also attended. She’s our department’s go-to social media person. Anyway, one of the storytelling tools students in that program use is Soundslides, which can be used to create audio slideshows. I made a note to check it out when I got back, but Mindy beat me to it and tweeted about it yesterday. I responded, and Brad Ward joined in on the conversation with a link to a nice presentation he made using Soundslides. Then he referred me to a blog post of his from last October about using the tool, with links to three or four other examples. All of this knowledge-sharing via Twitter, in a matter of minutes. Nice.
ideasonideas relaunches with a redesign. “The new ‘look,'” explains the site’s Eric Karjaluoto in a post about the relaunch, “represents both a change in direction and a bit of a revised mandate.” Eric says he wants the blog “to be a great resource for those who create communications and continually work to do so more effectively. With the volumes of content out there, I hope that you’ll find your time at ideasonideas helpful and worthwhile.” If the first post since the redesign is any indication, this one might be reading from time to time.
There’s a New Conversation is a month-old blog exploring the impact of the book The Cluetrain Manifesto 10 years after its release. (Has it really been 10 years?)
Nominations are now open for the EduStyle Awards. Go there and nominate your favorite educational websites. Winners will be honored at the eduWeb Conference in Atlantic City, N.J., in July.
mixx has a group for social media mavens. So, all you social media mavens out there, check it out. (I did not join, because a.) I’ve got too many social networks as it is and b.) I fear I’m not enough of a maven.) Tweet via @fsmedia.

* Water Fai’s style is along the lines of Blonde Redhead and Asobi Seksu, but mellowed like a good shiraz.

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Now playing: Water Fai – Round Pool
via FoxyTunes