Roland Mann's Blog, page 14

Beware of your “private” emails

I’ve noticed something in recent months that disturbs me and I think it’s probably only going to get worse than to get better. While I won’t give specifics or web addresses, you may have heard of it anyway. Not long … Continue reading →

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride my bike I want to ride my bicycle I want to ride it where I like Okay, so corny opening using the lyrics to a Queen song, but I thought … Continue reading →

Plotting for Multiple Characters (part 2)

I want to pick up right where I left off last week. If you missed part 1, you can get it here. So, once I have this down with 4-6 entries for every character on my chart, I start weaving … Continue reading →

Plotting for Multiple Characters (part 1)

Seems my writing posts have been popular lately, so this will be another one of those and I hope you enjoy it and get something out of it. I’m often asked how to plan out how to interweave storylines with … Continue reading →

Visiting the Swamp

I was going to talk about plotting for multiple characters this week…but last week I had the opportunity to see my beloved Razorbacks get beat by Florida. Actually, I went thinking the Hogs had a great chance at victory…and if … Continue reading →

Ding Dong Ditch

We’ve only been in our new temporary apartment for a little more than three weeks. Our doorbell has chimed six times; only one of those times was someone actually at the door—and they were looking for the neighbors we hadn’t … Continue reading →

My outlining process

My last blog on outlining vs letting it flow seemed to be a fun topic for many, so I thought I’d actually go through an “outlining lite” here. Keep in mind, this is the way that I try to do … Continue reading →

Outline? Or let it flow?

One of my recent responsibilities for a class assignment was to respond to student essays about certain aspects of writing: influences, how to start a project, etc. One common comment about starting a writing project always makes me think, “hmm. … Continue reading →

Back to brick and mortar

Last week marked my return to an actual brick and mortar classroom for the first time in several years. Oh, I’ve been teaching, but online is very different from a live classroom. And even though I posted about the challenges … Continue reading →

Eventually, everything breaks

An old friend of mine used to always tell me that computer hard drives have a 100% failure rate. I’m not sure if it was originally his or not, but he was fond of saying it whenever we talked about … Continue reading →