Here I am, Jeff Cutler, purporting to be an instructor-level writer. I openly assign you writing tasks and then complete them myself to show you how a professional writer might accomplish each task. AND I’m completely and utterly freaked out because I spelled ASSIGNMENTS wrong in the header of this blog. I’m so ashamed. Sorry. Now get back to that keyboard!
Archive for September, 2007We’re picking up some steam on Jeff Cutler dot com. The DIGGs are flowing in and people are really enjoying doing these assignments. Keep up the good work…here’s assignment number five. Think of your favorite food. Now make that food poisonous and write a short short where that food has killed someone. No word count limit on this one, just no novels please. Put your completed assignment in the comments section below. Mine will appear there shortly. From time to time this site – Jeff Cutler dot com – will present writers with some info they might want to be more successful and have more fun in their writing life. Today, I’m alerting you to a few tools that I find indispensable when I’m writing for fun and for money. 1 – The AlphaSmart line of typing machines. I call them typing machines because that’s what schools use them for – keyboarding. But for the writer – pro or amateur – the AlphaSmart line is a great tool. They run for hundreds of hours on a set of batteries. They’re flash memory based so they don’t lose files. They are rechargeable and LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT. Learn more > 2 – Laptop. When you’re not typing on your AlphaSmart, you’re going to probably want a laptop. I’m a confessed Macintosh fan-boy because it’s what I know and I have found Macs easy to work with for the 17 years+ that I’ve been writing for money. As a writer, you don’t need more than a Macbook. Look here for your model > A few tips about what to get…. buy lots of space, buy lots of memory (RAM), buy a DVD burner, and don’t be afraid to commit to a model.* Also, buy it as a student if you can and get it shipped to a state with no taxes like NH or FL so you won’t pay sales tax on a $1100+ item. 3 – DSL or WiFi connectivity. I currently have Verizon DSL for my Internet connectivity at home, but when I’m on the road I use the USB720 WiFi modem. It let’s me connect to the Internet anywhere I can get a cell signal. Learn more > At $60 a month, it’s a little pricey, but think about that the next time you’re at a client’s office (or even at the beach) and you’ve got to send off that one file. It’s great and it uses FAST EVDO technology. That’s all for now. If you have a topic for jeff cutler dot com, send it in via the comments below. *SOME people have indicated that Apple is going back to the subnotebook. It will be a sub or a compact compact laptop from Apple. Similar to the 12″ PowerBook, this model should be out in mid-October (according to a source at Apple, Inc.) and will be part of the MacBook Pro line. I think the name will be MacBook Mini. Maybe I’ll go buy the domain name right now. Hmmmm. SO, if you’re ready to buy a laptop and are going with an Apple Macintosh, wait three weeks to see if this subcompact MacBook Pro appears. Keep writing! Today we’re going to delve a little into your psyche. Perform word association on paper and create a string of 20 related words. You can make the jump to the next word however you want, but the first word you use must be ONE of these three terms… Screen Carpaccio Knuckle My word association will appear in the next day or so. As always, submit your assignment in the comments field of this post. **Welcome to everyone who has posted comments here on Jeff Cutler dot com. It seems we have started to roll along nicely and attract some regular writers. But even if you’re just a dabbler, please participate. You’ll get better at being creative and I’m hoping you’ll have some fun along the way. ***Finally, if you have an idea for a Jeff Cutler dot com assignment, send me a note…jeff@jeffcutler.com Now go write! Hope you’re having fun with these writing assignments. Please put your submissions in the comments field of the post so we can all share your writing. For assignment number three, I would like you to pretend that… You have just found a carpet tack in a can of tuna. It clearly didn’t come from any environmental sources (you didn’t put it there and it didn’t fall in after you opened the can). Please write a text message to the president of the company with your reaction to this shocking development in your tuna-preparation activities. You have only 140 characters. Post your answer/assignment in the comments. Lots of people have been commenting on the look of the site, so I wanted to make some things clear… 1 – it was designed by the voices in my head (actually look down the bottom for a link to the template designer) 2 – I’ll soon be doing a background photo to go along with the writing assignments 3 – blogging is my life but helping people with their writing skills is a close second 4 – BlueHost is a great company with fantastic rates and service 5 – Please leave comments here 6 – If you’ve got a blog you want me to link to, let’s talk reciprocity 7 – Top 7 lists are the new top 10 lists Think of three street names. Examples might include Grove, Forest and Maple. Now, use those street names as last names for characters in a vignette. Give each character traits that are clearly from the street name. You have 200 words. Submit your exercise in the comments to this post. My vignette will be there shortly. If you’re a freelance writer, I can’t tell you long enough or loud enough that you must ALWAYS be looking around at available opportunities. For more than 15 years I have fluctuated between being fully motivated and just going through the motions. But one resource I found lately that has helped me maintain some focus and get some work is Freelance Daily. It’s a daily email that compiles all the random writing jobs from a bunch of Craigslist and employment sites. It would probably take you a couple hours each morning to peruse these sources and Freelance Daily gives it all to you in one email. Their accuracy is probably about 97% (the random $10 job slips through from time to time as does the “send us your work and if it gets featured we’ll pay you”) and there are jobs from all over the country. I think the cost is about $30 a year or less and if you’re a professional writer, you should make that in the time it takes you to read this Jeff Cutler dot com blog post and then look at the FD site. Mention my name – Jeff Cutler – if you sign up for a subscription. I don’t get any referral fee but I’d like them to know I mentioned the newsletter in my blog. Assignment 2 is coming tomorrow!! Jeff Think of a recent meal and describe it from the point of view of your silverware. If you didn’t use silverware to eat this meal, you are a heathen. And, if you didn’t use silverware, describe the meal from the point of view of the animal or plant from which the meal’s main components originated. You have 100 words. Submit your exercise in the comments for this post. I’ll put mine there shortly. Welcome to Jeff Cutler dot com. Here I’ll regularly post writing exercises to keep your brain working. Bookmark this site and visit often. |
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