How to Scan B&W Negatives: An Introduction

Scanning B&W negatives is a lot easier than you might have thought. You’ll need a decent scanner that has the ability to scan film. Some flatbed scanners are equipped for negative scanning, but a dedicated film scanner is best. I use a Minolta Scan Dual III. It looks like a shoebox with a slot in [...]

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Natural Writing: Leave The Garden Gate Open

Puppies, children and dragons don’t need permission to romp and play, only the freedom to be themselves. Natural writing is like the sound of little girls giggling in their pillow and blanket house.
Natural writing is a warm bakery filled with tantalizing aromas, baking bread, chocolate cakes and plates piled high with cookies. Natural writing is [...]

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How to Harvest Ideas From a Rough Draft

So, you’ve decided to try freewriting (or rapidwriting) to jump start an article or to simply discover what you’re thinking. You let it all out and ended up with a free flowing file that’s likely to be one huge paragraph — now what?
Well come on in and let’s get to it. Trying to make sense [...]

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Writing: How to Make Difficult Easy

When you’re sitting there wondering what to do next…

The hardest part of writing is creating your opener. Instead of starting a new piece at the beginning, why not let your opener evolve naturally? After you’ve completed your first draft, go back and read from the top. Most writers find their real opener 100 to 150 [...]

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MaxThink Wins the First Round

How moving my desk helped boost my creativity and changed the way I write.
The empty nest has given me the use of a couple of rooms. My “office” is in the back of the house. I keep my main computer with my window on the world via my Internet  connection in this space. I have [...]

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Getting from YES to PO to NO

A finished article is linear (unless you’re James Joyce writing “Ulysses”). In the beginning, when you write your first draft, non-linear thinking is best.
The first stage of writing is YES, a mind dump, a free flow of thoughts, nothing held back. Don’t worry about where the thought(s) come from — suspend judgment and see [...]

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Don’t Write: Free Your Imagination Instead

Let’s play a game and change the name. Instead of saying I’m going to sit down to write, say I’m going to sit here for awhile and let my imagination run. I’m going to daydream or muse or whatever you want to call it. While I’m sitting here, I might pick up a pen or [...]

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Creativity & The Zen of Good Enough

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The squirrel is alert, frozen and waiting. He (or she) is single minded and focused on the moment. Is this Zen? Maybe, but I came across this photo while browsing my collection and decided to “sneak” it in because I like it.
So what is the Zen of good [...]

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AlphaSmart NEO: Writing Without a Leash

Writing with a typical word processor comes with a stiff price. A power hungry desktop or battery eating laptop turns a power cord into a leash. We wait for the beast to boot and when it’s finally ready for us, we’re confronted with menus, the Internet, and other distractions that have nothing to do with [...]

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Word Processing: The Enemy of Writing

I don’t know what I’m thinking until I write. I can’t remember who said that or if my remembering is even accurate. Writing has nothing to do with word processing, the eternal quest for the perfect editor or the latest megaflop — do everything faster — super computer. Technology is the enemy of writing, a [...]

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