Life Unsettled | Online Writing: Tales, Tips and How-to's

February 21, 2012
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But It’s Just on a Blog: Copyright, Plagiarism and the Internet

I’m not a lawyer so I’m not the end all, know all about copyright. I do have a degree in journalism, learned about copyright, fair use and plagiarism several times over in my course work and have read up on the subject. I can’t pretend to know all the details, but I do know this, whenever you use someone’s words, you must cite the author, publication and title of the piece.

Yes, that goes for a blog. In fact, it even goes for a Facebook posting. Every time you copy and paste someone’s Facebook status, you should make sure to cite your source.

Last week, one of my blog posts was copied completely into a Facebook post, without even citing the source. You cannot copy and paste a large amount of the work, so copying the entire thing into your status is definitely plagiarism. While it’s highly unlikely you’ll be sued, it’s still illegal.

Again last week, I stumbled on a blog that copied and pasted most of a page of mine. While that author did cite my webpage, still wasn’t okay because the author didn’t have my permission.

It’s a clear cut situation, anytime you use someone’s words or thoughts without citing, you’re doing something illegal.

“Simply put, plagiarism is the use of another’s original words or ideas as though they were your own. Any time you borrow from an original source and do not give proper credit, you have committed plagiarism and violated U.S. copyright laws,” from Plagiarism.org.

Sure copying from someone’s blog or Facebook status doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it doesn’t matter if it’s a New York Times best selling book or a friend on Facebook, use their words and you must cite.

Also, for the most part, you can’t copy the entire work and simply cite it back to the source, or most of the original.

You could not copy this entire blog post, legally, and then cite it to this blog. You could pull out a few sentences and credit it back to this blog.

It is important, when you copy and paste someone’s work without credit, you’re making it harder to track down the original source in case there’s ever an issue. You’re also stealing their ideas and words.

In summary:

1. Whenever you post anything that isn’t oringnal, you must cite it (list the author and where you found the posting), even if it’s just on Facebook.

2. You cannot just copy large amounts of text from a source and cite it. You must ask and receive permission to use a large amount of someone’s work.

January 6, 2012
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Resources for Freelancers: Four Online Writing Sites I Can’t Live Without

I make a lot of mistakes and errors when I write. I feel odd giving writing advice here, or anywhere. Mechanically, I can be weak. My power lies in making people feel and making people act. I’ve learned that over the past two years, and I’m more than okay with it. That being said, I am going to dose out some writing advice. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite writing resources.

Creating this list was a no-brainer. Through the years I’ve stumbled upon many a writing resources. Some of these sites are the ones I find myself thinking about from time-to-time and visiting just to see what’s new. Others are the sites I go to when I have questions. Of course many times Google is my favorite grammar guide. If I can’t decide to use who or whom, I’ll just Google “who vs whom.” Google is good for the basic questions, but if you’re here, I bet you are already well aware.

Ann Wylie’s Writing Tips

I learned about Ann Wylie as an intern for a local nonprofit from my supervisor. She suggested I sign up for emails from Ann, or a series called Ann Wylie’s Writing Tips and I did. Even nearly five years later, the internship is a distant memory, but I still get Ann’s emails. I don’t always open them, but when I do I never regret it. She’s good. So good, I fear linking to the site and having her find my little world of mixed up prepositions and misused words from a pingback. Her emails usually include a few short articles. For example, the articles in the latest email were about reading out loud to become a better writer. I know this. I’ve done it, but sometimes getting a reminder doesn’t hurt. I rush about and don’t even proofread things I post because of a lack of time, much less read them out loud to myself as I type or after I’ve finished. Sign up for Ann Wylie’s Writing Tips here.

No Job for Mom

At No Job for Mom, Felica writes about her journey from outside the home career to a freelance online writer. I honestly can’t pinpoint what it is I like so much about her site. She’s a wonderful writer. I always learn something from her blog, but her’s is the only blog that makes my list. I seem to often find myself typing in her URL to see what she’s had to say lately. I’ve been doing this and following along for a few years. I think what draws me to follow her journey is her perseverance and work ethic. Slow and steady seems to win the race for her, and she’s done a stellar job.

Grammar Girl

If I fear a visit from Ann Wylie to this site, I’m petrified of a visit from Grammar Girl. She’s built a large following as the go-to-girl for grammar and usage questions. I follow her Facebook page, but tend to visit when I think about it. She also has a popular podcast I haven’t listened to and at least one book that I hope to buy some day. If you’re a grammar geek or have been an online writer for awhile, chances are you know about Grammar Girl. Somehow she even manages to bring a big of spunk and excitement to grammar for us non-grammar geeks.

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Yes, Purdue managed to come up with something worthwhile. I’m not biased or anything as a grad of their rival–Indiana University. The Purdue University OWL was even recommended to me in my IU English courses. If you have a question about MLA style, format of a letter and much in between, this is–I grudgingly admit–your spot. Okay, go, but don’t tell them I sent you.

January 2, 2012
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You’ve Set Goals and Resolutions. Do You Have a Plan to Reach Them? My experience action planning.

Also see part 1 of this series, all about rocking 2012.

I wrote last week about setting goals, and how I met my goals last year. This year, I’m ramping up my efforts and planning for success. I didn’t just jot down a few goals I wanted to accomplish this year, I wrote out a plan on what I was going to do and when to accomplish that goal. This action planning has already delivered results. I’ve started on projects. I have a great feeling about 2012, and want to help you have lofty ambitions, too.

You can do it. Set goals that are realistic, but that are also big and bold. Test your boundaries and do some things that are new and exciting.

I came across the word “action plan” on Twitter when someone was talking about goals for the next year. “Aha,” I thought. It’s a fantastic idea to do in our personal and professional lives. Just by taking the time to write a plan for the goal, and I thought to myself, “I’m doing this!” The goal moved from something I wanted to do this year, into something I am doing this year. I was taking action already.

I wanted a template to use for my planning. I thought something like a flow sheet of do this and then do that might work. Frankly, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted. A search for action planning templates on Google didn’t turn up anything I really liked, so instead I just got started and made up my own to template.

To start, I wrote two sets of goals on the top of a document. Ongoing forever goals are ones that I’m going to work on every year, all the time. I wanted to note those so that I could think about what I wanted to do this year. Yearly goals are goals that will be finished and accomplished this year (or this year-ish–not beating myself up for taking a month or two longer to accomplish something).

This is what my goal planning looked like. I blurred out most of them. I know I share a lot online, but some of these just aren’t ready, not because they’re some big huge secret, but because I just don’t feel like sharing on a personal level, yet.

Under the list of goals, I started action planning. I used Microsoft Word, and I drew a simple table to begin. I made four rows with the headers of: Action, Timeline/Dates, Desired Outcomes and Needed Resources. I wasn’t strict about filling every thing out for every action, and I didn’t get wrapped up in every little action I planned. I kept the actions rather large and broad, otherwise, it would have taken me days to finish. I estimate that altogether I worked on this two hours, tops.

As an example, I’m sharing one of my ongoing goals, to provide information about pulse oximetry screening to advocates that want to help and to parents and caregivers that want more information. Sorry, I have no idea why my WordPress theme is cutting off some of my screenshot, and am too drained to figure it out right now. You don’t need to see the specifics to see what I’m talking about.

Action planning obviously doesn’t have to look like my document. If you’re the artsy type, you could draw a collage of actions under your goals. You don’t even have to type an action plan, you can jot it down while you wait at the doctor’s office. Remember, it’s all for you, it’s not like you’re going to be graded or judged. No one has to even see it. The important part is to just do it.

Take some action on your goals by creating an action plan for the rest of the year and beyond.

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by creepyed

December 26, 2011
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How I Rocked My 2011 Goals and Plan On Taking 2012 By Storm. On Goal Setting.

Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by creepyed

I’m as excited for this week as were all the kids waiting on Santa last week. This week, I’m going to sit down and come up with a handful of goals for the next week. I’m going to list off several, narrow it down and then map out what I need to do for each goal. These resolutions will guide me through the next year.

I learned an important, life changing lesson last year. When you really set your mind to something and work on it little by little, reaching your goals is possible. It just takes nearly daily dedication, and more preparation than I previously imagined.

Last year, I kept my New Year’s resolution. I also reached a goal I’d set the previous year, to make sure that every baby born in Indiana is screened with pulse oximetry for congenital heart defects. Some goals take more than a year.

My New Year’s resolution from last year might seem simple to some of you, but for my fellow Diet Coke drinkers, you’ll get it. That’s right, I completely gave up Diet Coke after a nearly 12 pack a day habit for about 10 years. I drank my last one on New Year’s Eve, had a few weeks of headaches and general malaise, and never looked back after years of trying to quit. I’m sharing what I learned from that experience and through my experience working on screening for CHD in my home state, Indiana.

I know this post doesn’t directly relate to writing and publishing, but I thought it would be a huge help to anyone hoping to enter that world. Just take the advice and try it with some of your writing goals.

Phase One: Preparation

Before when I set goals, I skipped over this part. Quitting Diet Coke, well you just stop drinking it, that easy, right? Trying to start a career writing your own blog? Just start a blog, duh. Not so much. This has been the most important step in any successful goal I’ve had.

For stopping Diet Coke, those other times I quit were a nice trial run. Also helpful was to look up what to expect as far as symptoms and the withdraw process. I also calculated how much money I’d saved and look up the health ramifications of Diet Coke.

I spent nearly a year in the preparation phase for getting pulse oximetry screening into law in Indiana. I researched, researched and even talked face-to-face with clinicians working on this in Washington D.C. It was all this ground work (some of it done by others, a key to all of this was linking up with others working on something similar) that I believe made me successful.

The preparation phase will vary in length depending on the goal and complexity, but don’t skip this phase no matter how small the goal.

Phase Two: Find People That Share Your Goal/Gather Support

This related and overlaps with the preparing phase. But you’ll find reaching your goal oh so much easier if you can split up the work, as was the case with pulse ox, or get support, like for my Diet Coke drinking. My husband and family were so supportive. I made sure they knew I was serious this time and not to offer any of it to me. I also make sure they knew not to joke around about it, at first. While it might sound like not a big deal, I was totally a Diet Coke junkie and firmly believe it was affecting my health.

If you need other people to reach your goal, like with getting every baby screened with pulse ox, start spreading word, finding like minded people and speaking out.

You’ll of course continue to research throughout the process. This should hopefully be made easier by the seeds you planted at the start of your goal planning. It looks like I do a zillion things related to CHD, but they all interplay and overlap, so it’s not as much work as it seems, leaving me a bit of time to work on other things and look after my family.

Phase Three: Consistent Work

So you’ve got people on your side. You’ve done tons of work. You’re probably made good head way. It’s easy to sit back and think that you can put everything on to auto pilot at this point. It’s not the case.

Make a commitment to work on the goal every day, every week or every month, depending on how important the goal is to you. Of course almost universally, the more time and effort you put into something the better the results. While quitting Diet Coke might seem like a do it and a forget it type of deal, I constantly have to remind myself why I quit, and why just having one is not a good idea.

Phase Four: Go Big

When your completing your goal, almost completing or just crossing the finish line, totally go for it. Tell the world, if you want to share. Finish strong and celebrate! Build on your work, and enjoy. You deserve it.

So I’m not an inspirational speaker or some life coach guru person, but I am someone that’s found positive change through changing the way I do things, and with the phenomenal success I had last year, I’m so excited for this week, my goal and resolution setting week. You might wonder why I didn’t share my goals, it’s because as I explained above, I haven’t firmed them up. I’ll let you know when I feel comfortable enough to share.

November 14, 2011
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Guide to Using Images in Your Blog Posts

You’ll read the advice over and over, use images in your blog posts to attract readers. I’m not a stickler for the rule myself. If I’m in the mood or think an image will add to the post, I find one.

I’ve been blogging and writing for the web for years, and have yet to pay for an image. While there are several stock photography sites with beautiful images, paying for those images on a freelance writer’s budget just doesn’t make sense.

Even if you’re a casual blogger, and don’t blog for money, you still need to attribute your pictures. I’m often shocked when I land on a hugely read blog and see a picture that’s not attributed that the author obviously didn’t take. You also just can’t life pictures from any site and smack it on your blog. You can always use images with permission, or in the creative commons.

Finding Images

I get most of my free images from Flickr. Note that a large amount of the pictures aren’t up for grabs because the owner reserves all rights. Luckily Flickr makes it easy to find pictures that are free to use for non-commercial purposes. Next to the search bar, click on “Advanced Search” and scroll to the bottom of the page until you find the “Creative Commons” check box. Click it and then search for images that are licensed under creative commons, or are free to use as long as you don’t sell them for money.

Search within Flickr Creative Commons. Screenshot of the Flickr website.

Another resource I use that’s also free is stock.xchng. You have to create an account, but the pictures are free. The pictures to the top of the results and the bottom are ads, and aren’t free.

Attributing Images

Whenever you use an image, you should always have credits below it, or at the end of the post. I have to admit, I sometimes break this rule when I use pictures that I took, which is fine, but probably not the best habit to get into.

The format you use for attribution is really up to you since it’s your site and follows your writing guidelines. However, you need to include who took the picture, or who owns the copyrights. When I find a picture from Flickr, I often just use the Flickr screen name if the person doesn’t have a real name listed. It’s probably a good idea to link to the original as well, something I’ve got a bad habit of not doing.

Using Your Own Images

Part of the fun of blogging is telling your story through pictures that you take. While you of course can use them however you please, keep a few things in mind. It’s the Internet, no matter what kind of protection you put on your page–such as disabling right click–someone can still steal those pictures. Just something to keep in the back of your mind.

Even if you’re a hobbyist photo or just take snap shots of your kids, you probably still want to put some sort of watermark on the pictures, or write your name or your blog’s name on the photo using a photo editing software. Picnik is really basic if you’re not sure about what to use.

Resolution (Saving and Sizing Your Image)

If you ever want to print your blog or pictures from your blog. Keep in mind that often the pictures won’t print correctly, because they were saved at a different resolution.

Having a lot of pictures on your page can slow load time. This isn’t as big of a problem now with faster processors and Internet connections, but if you find your page loading slowly, either cut down on the pictures or save as smaller files. Here’s a tutorial about how to save images for the web using both Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Picture Manager.

Wondering how to insert your photo? Read these tutorials from WordPress and Blogger.