Notes

Notes on Writing

78 notes

Oct 2026

Thread · 2 posts

"Here I would often lie, as the sun went down, and watch the silent growth of another sea, which the stormy ocean of the wind could not disturb⁠—the sea of the darkness. First it would begin to gather in the bottom of hollow places. Deep valleys, and all little pits on the hillsides, were wellsprings where it gathered, and whence it seemed to overflow, till it had buried the earth beneath its mass, and, rising high into the heavens, swept over the faces of the stars, washed the blinding day from them, and let them shine, down through the waters of the dark, to the eyes of men below."An all-time favorite quote from George MacDonald's, The Portent.

Jun 2026

@ButlerRaines Strong agree. Em dashes represent how people talk and think—incomplete sentences, thoughts and exclamations. It's a wonderful way to communicate through writing. It's a shame agents caught on so fast.

Nov 2019

Oct 2019

I recently decided to see if I could turn Visual Studio @code into a decent Markdown Editor. Oh, man it's an exceptional option. Wrote a bit about my settings and extensions yesterday. solomon.io

Feb 2018

That thing where you sit down to write about one topic and realize most of the post is about something else.

Jan 2018

Thread · 2 posts

Almost finished with my 2017 yearly review (I know I'm two weeks late). It's just shy of 3,000 words now. It will be interesting to see how much I can edit out.

Mar 2017

On Writing Well is missing from this list. It's a must-read for anyone writing non-fiction. buff.ly

Jan 2017

@PatOnPurpose It's not easy. I think the more difficult part is accomplishing things on a plane than writing on a phone.

Nov 2016

I wish Google Docs had a night mode. I much prefer to write on a dark background.

This post was going to be 300 words. I just passed the 1,300-word mark.

There are a lot of ideas rolling around in my head. It is an incredibly difficult task to get them on paper. Well, and sound reasonable.

Sep 2016

Aug 2016

My one gripe with @iAWriter is that the em dash isn't quite long enough to clearly distinguish it from a hyphen.

May 2016

Apr 2016

Mar 2016

Feb 2016

Nov 2015

It's been a while since I published anything. My writing is lacking sharpness.

Oct 2015

Sep 2015

“... trying to write more recently, it's like meditation but with spectators.” buff.ly

Aug 2015

Jun 2015

Even in the clarity of the morning hours, good copy remains elusive.

May 2015

Mar 2015

People are starting to follow me on Medium. Perhaps, I should write something.

Feb 2015

Jan 2015

Nov 2014

Oct 2014

Sep 2014

Aug 2014

Remove fluff from your writing. Cut your copy in half, then revise and cut in half again.

Jul 2014

And disappointed that I've broken a key rule—"the fact that" should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.

Few things make more of a difference than impactful copy.

May 2014

It's a good day when you get to use "lambasted" in a blog post.

Apr 2014

Mar 2014

Every paragraph I've written this morning ends with an orphan—and I thought I was on a roll.

Be on the lookout for the next issue at the beginning of the month—four prepositional phrases.

Fellow writers, bloggers and authors—do you start with a headline, or end with one?

Feb 2014

Jan 2014

Dec 2013

Sep 2013

If a story breaks in a paywalled garden, does it make a sound?

Although, I have a better understanding of legalese—that horrible chain of prepositions leaves no detail to chance.

Aug 2013

Interesting case study on the analytics of long stories—This Is What Happens When Publishers Invest In Long Stories buff.ly

Jun 2013

May 2013

Apr 2013

The only reason people read is to learn, and to be entertained.

Mar 2013

Feb 2013

Any chance of adding an in-app thesaurus to @iAWriter ? That feature, would make it a perfect piece of software.

Dec 2012

I love the feeling after writing a killer first sentence.

Nov 2012

Whenever I'm stuck writing something I always read a few pages out of On Writing Well. Always does the trick.

Every successful piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn't have before.

Aug 2012

New rule: cannot start a new post, until I finish the one I am working on.

Jul 2012

That point where I am ready to write, but have too many ideas. Must choose one.

Sep 2011

Nov 2010

The one drawback of digital writing? Electricity required.

May 2010

E words i need to know for rhetoric: enthymeme exigence endoxa episteme eudamonia epideictic and ethos

Apr 2010

Mar 2010

Jan 2010