So Long, A Line from Linda

It was six years ago this past May that I sat down and wrote my very first blog post at  http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/05/famous-authors.html.  I hoped to make a post once a week but it quickly turned into a daily affair.  Whereas most blogs are abandonned in the first year, and 60 to 80 % in the first month, my blog has endured.  From the start, I had three goals for my blog:

• that it give me the self-discipline to write regularly
• that it serve as a forum to showcase my writing
• that it serve as a way to network with other writers

But A Line from Linda has served as so much more.  It has given me a voice.  It has given me the opportunity to research and write about topics that I knew nothing about like art (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2016/10/norman-rockwell-visits-country-editor.html); topics that are near and dear to my heart like adoption (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/12/it-all-started-in-restaurant-booth.html); topics that I have researched for my books like East Prussia circa WWII (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2016/03/east-prussia-early-example-of-ethnic.html); and Victorian Britain circa 1900 (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2016/04/what-is-true-cockney.html); trips that I have taken (http://a)linefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/07/a-silver-skyscraper-green-seagull-and.html); new picture books that I have discovered (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-cats-in-krasinski-square.html); how old books came to be published like And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/04/april-29.html); and people whom I love (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/07/happy-anniversary-rob.html), (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/10/mario-meets-luigi.html) and (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/05/piano-recital.html).

I am sad to say goodbye to A Line from Linda.  However, this summer I start a new chapter in my life.  Because I have been accepted in the French Masters Program at McMaster University, I have to turn my attention to my thesis, "L'Exode".  I will be spending the summer reading the letters written by French men and women fleeing Paris, the Nazis at their heels, in June of 1940.

To my blog followers, I say thank you.  Thank you for taking the time to read my posts.  Thank you for sharing a small part of my life.  So long!

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Researching Your Feature Article: Diligent Investigation and Inquiry

All I`m armed with is research. (Mike Wallace, former 60 Minutes correspondent)

As a columnist with the Toronto Star, Pierre Berton pounded out 1500 words a day, 5 days a week on his Smith Corona typewriter.  It would have been easy for one article to roll into the next, for his writing to become tedious.  But that didn`t happen.  In his lifetime, Mr. Berton received over 30 literary awards, a dozen honourary degrees and a companion of the Order of Canada.  Key to his success was his attention to detail, his commitment to the facts.  For more about Pierre Berton, visit http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/11/tapping-keys-on-smith-corona.html.

As a feature article writer, research is tantamount.  It involves "diligent investigation and inquiry into a subject", according to writer Bruce Garrison in Professional Feature Writing

(http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Feature-Writing-Routledge-Communication/dp/0805847650). Research doesn`t mean making one visit to the library and then calling it a day.  Or reading one article about a subject.  Garrison suggests that for every ten hours of research, put in one hour of writing.  Therefore, the bulk of your time should be spent gathering information. 

How do you know how much research is enough?  "When you feel that one more fact will be a fact too many, you`ll know it`s time to stop," according to Bobbi Linkemer (http://www.freelancewriting.com/articles/writing-feature-articles-that-sell.php).  

When you are writing your feature article, remember that readers need repetition.  Layer your writing with your reporting.  Fiona Veitch Smith recommends using a cue sheet on which you record relevant page numbers, paragraphs from books, highlighted sections of Internet articles and clippings from the newspaper (http://non-fiction-writing-course.thecraftywriter.com/how-to-write-a-feature-article/).

William Blundell, in The Art and Craft of Feature Writing, talks about the Rule of Threes (http://journalistsresource.org/syllabi/syllabus-feature-writing).  First of all, when checking facts, make sure you corroborate at least three different sources.  When stating a thesis, back it up with three different examples.  And when presenting your case, offer each point in three different ways;  a fact, an example and a quote.

Remember to give credit where credit`s due.  Cite your sources.  For information on how to cite print or online sources, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Newspaper_articles.

Keep these points in mind before you write your next article.  While you may not be Canada`s next Pierre Berton, at least you will be well informed.

Today, there are a plethora of resources right at your fingertips, including:

1.  Media libraries ex. large newspapers & magazines (http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/databases/)

2.  Public Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-212-e.html)

3.  University Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-210-e.html)

4.  Museum Libraries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Ontario)

5.  Historical Society Libraries

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_societies#Canada_societies)

6.  Government Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-211-e.html)

7.  Specialty Libraries (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gateway/s22-213-e.html)

8.  Reference Books ex. World Almanac and Book of Facts

9.  City Directories ex. names, addresses (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/directories-collection/Pages/directories-collection.aspx)

10.  Atlases or Gazetteers ex. National Geographic Atlas of the World

11.  Encyclopedias or Yearbooks ex. specialized encyclopedia with experts sources like the Encyclopedia of Associations

12.  Abstracts ex. summaries of books, articles, theses (http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/presentations_abstracts_examples.html)

13.  Chronologies ex. a list of events in chronological order

14.  Dictionaries ex. Black`s Law Dictionary

15.  Books of Quotations ex. Bartlett`s Familiar Quotes

16.  Handbooks ex. Guinness Book of World Records

http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/uphp/mclaren/mclaren_web/science_files/research.jpg

Types of Blog Posts

You've set up a blog, you've found your niche and now you want to start blogging.  What types of blogs will you post?  Run through the list below and see which one suits you best; or maybe you would like to choose three or four and rotate your posts.

1.  News

One blogger calls it a "newsjacking".  Find an online article and mix your own opinion with the existing story.

Visit http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/books/newsjacking/.

2.  Instructional

These are very popular among readers.  People are searching for solutions.  Write a step by step how to article about an area of expertise.  Include reference material and diagrams.

Visit my Childhood Literacy post at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/05/reading-magic.html.

3.  Interview

Put on a reporter's cap for the day.  Grab a pen and pad of paper and interview an employee of your company or someone you admire.  Use a question and answer format.  Include photos if possible.

Visit http://www.incomediary.com/10-tips-creating-awesome-interviews-blog.

4.  Cheat Sheet

Summarize a vast amount of information in a top ten list.

Visit http://time.com/collection/top-10-everything-of-2014/.

5.  Media

We are all visual learners to some extent.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Include a post with high quality images, infographics, short videos or slide share presentations.

Visit http://www.coolinfographics.com/.

6.  Entertainment

Post something for the pure amusement of your readers.  For example, if you post something humorous, it has more of a chance of being shared and being remembered.

Go to http://www.buzzfeed.com/jackdaniels/ugly-holiday-sweaters-that-are-almost-too-ugly-to-wear?sub=2780348_2072688#.sbyX8d6j4.

7.  Narrative

Post a personal story.  I think of the post I wrote about my Grandad and how he received an F on his math test as a child, but how, as an adult, he turned his weakness into a strength, by becoming a beloved math teacher of thousands of Toronto high school students.

Visit http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2011/06/worlds-greatest-grandad.html.

8.  Review

Review a book, restaurant or product.  Include an excerpt from the book or a link to the restaurant's home page.

Visit my post "Unbroken" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/07/july-26.html.

9.  Gratitude

An attitude of gratitude makes a happy heart.  Devote a post to thanking someone or a group of people.

Check out Ron Edmondson's blog at http://www.ronedmondson.com/?s=gratitude&submit=Search.

10.  Research

Research a topic and present your findings.  Share your opinion about the topic.  Include charts, infographics, diagrams, etc.

Visit http://researchblogging.org/.

11.  Roundup

Select your top ten posts of all time and write about them.

Visit http://www.cornerstonecontent.com/how-to-write-a-great-roundup-post/.

12.  Series

Pick a topic that you know a lot about or one that you would like to learn about and write a multi-day, week or month long series on it.

Here is the first of my month long series on setting and achieving goals at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/01/conceive-believe-achieve.html.

13.  Travel

If you go on a trip, bring along a laptop (or use the hotel computer if you have free access) and blog about it.

Here is one of a series of blog posts I wrote about my trip to Chicago last summer at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/07/pizzeria-uno_4.html.

Nanowrimo Rules!

"Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!" (Nanowrimo slogan)

This year, I'm participating again in Nanowrimo (http://nanowrimo.org/), a marathon of words for the month of November.  Now that I have some experience under my belt, it is getting easier.  I know what to expect; that's half the battle.  I have an outline to work from.  That organizes me.  And I'm writing about a topic that I've written about before.  They say write what you know.

Nanowrimo is all about quantity.  Write now, edit later.  I do have to admit that I'm cheating this year:  in the past I've written the standard 50,000 words. This year, I'm only writing 30,000.  That is because I am writing a middle grade chapter book, not an adult length novel.  Besides which, it seems so much more manageable to meet a 1000-word-a-day rather than a 1700-word-a-day quota.  Right now I am sitting at just over 22,000 words, over a third of the way to my goal.  I find that if I keep a day ahead of where I'm supposed to be, then if I miss a day, I'll still be on schedule.

Even though this is my fourth time participating in Nanowrimo, it is still exhilarating.  I love the research process.  I love sitting down at the computer and filling the blank page.  I love setting the context.  I love finding "le mot juste", even if it takes me several minutes.  I love weaving historical details into each scene.

A project that started in San Franciso Bay area in 1999 with 21 participants has now blossomed into 400,000 members as of 2013.  I first took part in 2009.  Would you like to join?  It's well worth the time and it's a great workout for your brain!

Note:  For more information, read my post "Nanowrimo:  A Marathon of Words" at:
http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2013/11/nanowrimo-marathon-of-words.html.

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