Category: blog

My main writing tool is Ulysses III. Simply put, it’s where my text is. In a way, it’s like an office. When I open the app I write. What is Ulysses Most importantly, Ulysses is a writing environment. All writing is done on “sheets,” which are managed by the app. The sheets (documents) are kept in a library, organized with a database. This means all files are kept out of sight and don’t clutter up the documents folder.

I keep a fairly detailed spreadsheet in which I keep track of my writing. Each time I sit down to write I log the start time, starting word count, location, project, ending word count, and end time. I have it set up in a way that makes the data entry straightforward. One nice thing about Apple Numbers, I can just enter the 24-hour time. Then it converts it into a date value, using the current date.

WordPress has been around in form or another for most of this century. There is an overwhelming amount of documentation posted on the web. One example is information about post formats. Some of what’s available is about how the post format code works. The rest just mentions that they’re available. I didn’t find one single source that answered the very simple question: What do I type into the post editor, and how does it look on my blog?

What is one thing that you need to get done but can't? § This is one of those questions usually worth avoiding. I have several things in my life that have gathered significant entropy. The problem is none of them have a deadline attached. No deadline, no results. That’s just how I run things around here. My gun-to-head answer would be: downsizing my stuff. In starting the new year, I moved from my normal bedroom to the guest room.

My schedule is my enemy. Each morning I have an alarm set for 7:30. The plan is to wake up and get moving no matter how well I slept. It’s been my hope my body would respond to this, and go along for the ride. Then I would be tired and go to sleep at a time that would let me wake up feeling rested at 7:30 a.m. I’ve noticed a few things about my energy levels during the day.

One nice feature to have in a blog is post-by-email. It’s mostly overlooked, and even not activated by default. What I like most is that I can write in my usual app, then use email to ship it off. There are several dedicated blog postings apps available. Desk.pm and MarsEdit are the first that come to mind. I’ve not tried either, and that might change in the future. For now, I’m writing everything in Ulysses and it’s easier to keep it all together in one place.

On January 5th, John of Desk writing community started a 10 days to a better blog challenge. The steps were simple with a new writing exercise each day. Committing to the Writing Process Start with "Why" A Focus on Your Environment A Day of Rest & Reflection Discovering Your Natural Patterns Your About Page A Focus on Analytics So You Can Know and Understand Your Users Your Blogging Goals Just write.

Every blogging platform has “sharp corners.” The little edges that stick out and poke you every now and then. Sometimes the little things are the ones that catch you the most. Bump into the same sharp corner enough times, and it feels like it’s going to draw blood. Yesterday I wrote a post about how to use WordPress shortcodes. The writing part was easy enough. I documented how I built my review index page.

WordPress has a lot of “hidden gem” features. Shortcodes are one of them. Simply put, shortcodes are little snippets of text that the WordPress engine uses as instructions for embedding content. There are shortcodes to insert anything from Spotify playlists to YouTube videos. Shortcodes can also make indexing your WordPress blog easier. One feature I wanted was an index page for reviews I’ve written or will write. I started out by creating a new page, and deciding on which headings to use.

Synopsis: A massive Martian dust storm forces the evacuation of the third NASA mission to Mars. As the crew attempts to keep their space ship from toppling from the launch pad, one astronaut is injured and lost. The crew launches and Mark Watney becomes the first permanent resident of Mars. All of Earth rallies to rescue him, but will he survive the harsh alien environment? What I liked: The pacing.