Getting ideas from local news

Local newspapers and websites can be a great source of material.
I read a few local newspaper's websites also use the BBC for wider news reading.
Headlines such as 'Owner of mystery fingertip sought' can't help but catch ones attention.



What I do is scan the headline links and make notes of any interesting ones that I might use,
and jot a few notes down before I read the article. This ensures I write about my thoughts
on the matter rather than those of the people involved.



The BBC's Most Emailed and Most Read feeds are useful for this too I find. The content on these two links changes throughout the day as people wake up and read, or, email their friends about, articles they have found on the BBC news service.



Woman jailed for testicle attack spent weeks on the Most Emailed page earlier this year. This, despite the fact the original article dates from February 2005.



I'd suggest that those of a nervous disposition don't read the testicle article....oh boy!



Use a notepad, a Word document, Google notebook, whatever, it doesn't matter, just get the ideas down and then flesh them out.
Novelists are not geniuses. They just do these simple things.

plus or minus

Whether you write an email, a manuscript, a query letter or a book proposal, never forget the positive or negative impact of your words.


This, I kind of agree with, but, surely before you write, you should have in mind what effect your words are going to have, shouldn't you?
Otherwise you're just writing with no plan.
Again.

By all means write just for the sake of it, for the fun of it, to try things out, to experiment, to test yourself, stretch yourself, just to see what it look like on the damn page. But. Keep that for yourself. Don't release that unpolished stuff into the world. Especially if it is a letter or an email.

Get a roadmap. Use it.

Mark is on an email diet

Hello, Mark here.



I've recently realised that I am spending more time shuffling through my inbox and less time focused on the task at hand. It has become an unnecessary distraction.



As of August 2007 I will be checking & responding to my email once a day, usually in the afternoon or early evening, and only on weekdays. I will try to respond to email in a timely manner without neglecting you.



If you need to get in touch straight away, please don't hesitate to give me a call. Phones are much more fun anyway. If you don’t have my number – just ask.



Here's to life outside my inbox!



Mark