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.

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.1

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. Entering two times and two notes, and start and finish word count gives me the writing session duration, total words, and words-per-hour.

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:

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.

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. Plus, it keeps my browser closed, reducing distractions.

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.

Like any program or class, you only get out what you put in. I committed to following the steps, and seeing what happened. So, I wrote my daily posts.

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. Getting the page to display correctly was not. In the course of about a dozen edits I learned a few things.

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.

What I liked:

What bothered me:

Verdict:

The good outweighs the bad, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Notes:

The novel’s publishing history is also remarkable. Originally it was released as a series on the author’s website, then as a ebook. When it exploded on Amazon, it was picked up by a print publisher.