Professional Writing Tips

**Jeff Ball j*@usol.com**

Oops, I forgot a subject:
I had an idea on my way back from the GWA meeting in Philly.  There  
were a number of really good professional writing tips offered in  
some of the seminars; tips not available to members not able to  
attend the meeting or a particular seminar.  I was wondering, first,  
has Lagasse allowed someone to send a description of GWL and how to  
join to the entire membership?  If not, he should.  The message  
should go out every year to cover new members.

As an example of a great tip - Alva Salmon from High Country Gardens  
gave an outstanding power point presentation in the Google seminar on  
how to use RSS feeds and the blog reader Bloglines to research  
specific topics for a column or article.

To use this technique you need to belong to www.bloglines.com or some  
other blog reader.    It is free and easy to join.  I use Bloglines  
to keep track of what has been published since my last visit in ten  
gardening blogs, six comic strips my newspaper does not print, and  
new articles coming out each day from Wired Magazine.  Instead of  
going to 17 different sites each day to check on updates, I go to one  
site – Bloglines.

Here is an example - I am going to write a column about the new CCA  
(arsenic) problem in mulch for consumers, described so well in  
another seminar by Steve Jarahian, from Fafard and president of the  
Mulch & Soil Council.

First I go into the News section of Google (I have it included on my  
bookmark tool box)  In the search window of Google’s news section, I  
type “CCA in Mulch” and I hit the news search button (not the entire  
web button).  I get two hits.  I then select and save the web address  
up in the address window.

I go to Bloglines.  I hit the tab “My Feeds” and I hit “add” so I can  
add my Google news search for CCA in Mulch to my bloglines list of  
feeds.  It asks for the URL of the new feed I want to add and I paste  
in the address I had saved.  Now every day, I can automatically check  
to see if there have been any additional news items, from over 4000  
sources,  about CCA in Mulch.  If there have been any new items, they  
are available to me with one click.  When I finish writing the  
column, I go into Blogllines and cancel the feed on CCA in Mulch.

This approach needs to have a topic that is fairly specific.   
“Raising Perennials” would get too many hits to be of much value.   
“New Perennials for 2006” would work very well.

There are 800 members of GWA who should have access to this tip.  It  
seems to me that GWL is the best way at the moment.  We just have to  
alert the membership each year about the availability of GWL.

Another tip I have yet to pursue:  Someone asked if there was any way  
to bypass  the fees required to use the archives of the New York  
Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.  A member said that  
in her state, the state library system had free access so she worked  
her searches through her state library system.

 From the old man needing lots of naps

Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com

Jeff Ball
jeffball@usol.com
810-724-8581
Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters