OPINION
This series is designed to help people to understand modern technology, and become more confident in using computing devices. It is not designed to educate experts.
The author is involved in tutoring older students at SeniorNet, a New Zealand wide organisation. SeniorNet hopes that students will feel more confident in using their computing devices as a result of the learning opportunities offered. This series of articles shares that hope.
I recently wrote about why I write. Today I’m going to try and tell you how I go about writing an article.
It’s a step-by-step process, and I try to follow a reasonably set routine to put my article together.
Coming up with possible subjects is the first step. As I read and watch various videos I will get an idea that something will make a good article. I maintain a group of favourites in my Firefox web browser where I store potential article ideas. Unsurprisingly, the favourites file, called bookmarks in Firefox, is named Potential Articles and currently has five items. This is a low number for me as I like to have ten or more items in this store.
The current article did not come from my store but arose out of the first article I mentioned. That original article came from the request for articles from the editor of The BFD.
Once I’ve decided what my article will be about I distil it into a few words. These few words will often become the article title, and also the file name for storing the article. This article is a good example of that. It’s called Tech Talk: How Do I Write? And the file name is Tech Talk : How Do I Write.odt.
I will read articles on the subject, and/or watch videos as appropriate. For this article I revisited some of my previous articles, to remember how I had constructed them.
At this stage, I often write out a list of bullet points of items I wish to explore in the article. I may reorder the bullet points to make a more logical list. Then the bullet points form the basis of the article.
I use LibreOffice Writer to write my articles.
This is a free and open source application able to produce Microsoft Word formatted output, except for some complex macros. As few users use macros this is no problem for most. Also, some formatting in Microsoft Word isn’t exactly replicated in LibreOffice Writer. Neither of these concerns me. The big advantages to me are: Free. Absolutely no cost. Open source, so I can be sure there is no data leakage back to a controlling corporation.
LibreOffice Writer is available cross platform. I use Manjaro Linux operating system, and I can open my files produced with LibreOffice on Microsoft Windows or MacOS, providing LibreOffice has been installed. LibreOffice stores all data locally, so if the internet goes down I can continue to work. It can, allegedly, store data in the cloud, but I have never managed to get this to work.
As I write my output is spell checked with a New Zealand spell checker (I’ve written about this in the past), so my worst spelling mistakes are picked up and highlighted so I can correct them. This spell check also helps me with Maori words, should I use them. LibreOffice does NOT check grammar.
For many of my articles about computers I need graphics to illustrate software etc. For this, I use Spectacle, a free open source screen capture programme, and GIMP to edit, resize or crop as required. GIMP is also a well known open source cross platform graphics editor. For other graphics on articles I use royalty free and appropriately licensed image sites, such as pixabay.com .
The article writing may take a number of sessions, and not all articles started reach completion. If I don’t like what I’ve produced I may scrap it and start again, or I’ve been known to completely abandon projects that aren’t coming together as I would wish.
Once an article is complete I will often let it sit for a week or two, revisiting it and rereading it. During this period I may find errors or better ways of phrasing information. There could be additions and other changes, depending on how this period goes.
Once I’m satisfied I often print the article and have it proofread by Mrs Korau. She is a whiz with apostrophes and also sometimes picks up spelling errors. And she is someone whose judgement I trust and value.
Only at this stage is an article ready for submission. Many of the articles do not reach this stage because I’m not happy. And because I write only for my satisfaction, it must satisfy me. Otherwise, it doesn’t make the cut.
You can see that writing, for me, is an extended process, following a flexible roadmap. The final product must satisfy only one customer, me. Then it’s offered to others. But that one difficult customer can sometimes be a pain!
My way works for me, but others may take another road. The most important thing is to write. Just make up your own way, and follow it. Join those that have a story to tell, and tell it. An untold story is an opportunity lost.