If I’ve got something to say, I write it and then link to that post: Write Once, Then Link.
Follow this link if you want to read more about the thinking behind these posts. If you’re digging around and looking for the topics I’ve covered, you’ll find every page is categorized and tagged with either or both person tags and content tags.
If you’re unsure how this tagging can help you, then read this article.
last updated: 6 September 2018
When you’re away from home or the office, it’s great to leave the computer behind. But what if you want, or need, to do the computer thing when you’re not in familiar surroundings? The most obvious answer is to drag a laptop along. I have a preferable option…
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...continue reading: Computing On the Go
last updated: 6 September 2018
Five questions can reveal the core of a story. These five questions are my canary in the coal mine—unless I can answer the questions, then I don’t have a grasp on the story. And once I do have a grasp, then these questions are my map and guiding star to ensure that I focus on telling that story.
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...continue reading: Five Questions
last updated: 6 September 2018
Any winner-takes-all election has a simple implication: If you can’t get your side elected, then you lose. If you lose, then there are consequences. This is neither good nor bad—it’s simply how it is and the same principles apply irrespective of which side of any party divide your loyalties lie.
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...continue reading: Politics 101
last updated: 3 September 2018
Per-Olov Kindgren is a guitarist and arranger, who brings familiar material to a new instrument, taking advantage of the unique nature of the classical guitar to offer a new perspective to familiar melodies.
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...continue reading: Per-Olov Kindgren
last updated: 2 September 2018
I use Pocket several times a day. For me, it’s a tool much like a video recorder…but for reading. It allows me to save articles so that I can read them at a time that suits me.
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...continue reading: Read It Later
last updated: 29 August 2018
Hugo uses a command-line interface so you need to type text to make things happen—there’s no graphical interface to click with a mouse. While the command line is scary, it does bring some flexibility. However, to use the program, you need to get familiar with the commands that Hugo will understand.
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...continue reading: Hugo: Draft and Future
last updated: 24 August 2018
RSS is a tool which allows you to make your content widely available. You can publish once on your website and then see the content republished on many other sites and through other channels. This can give you access to a wider audience than you may be able to reach on your site alone.
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...continue reading: Why RSS matters
last updated: 23 August 2018
Content marketing is a practice that has been employed for a long time but which has acquired enhanced utility in the internet age. Here’s a brief introduction and some thoughts about how you can adopt this simple, yet effective technique.
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...continue reading: An Introduction to Content Marketing
last updated: 22 August 2018
When building a website, there are two main choices if you don’t want to hand code: a static site generator to create a static HTML site or a database-driven content management system. You can choose one or the other, not both. Here’s how I think the comparison comes out.
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...continue reading: Which to Choose: Static Site Generator vs Content Management System
last updated: 21 August 2018
If you offer a search tool on your website you probably think that it’s helpful. It’s not. It’s an abdication of responsibility on your part and is covering up a bigger problem with your website and how you think about the information you provide.
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...continue reading: Reasons to Avoid Site Search
last updated: 10 July 2018
Have you been watching The Bridge? If you haven’t, here’s why I think you should…
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...continue reading: The Bridge
last updated: 12 June 2018
For every book I have written there’s always something special for me as the author. Sometimes I’ve just tried something different and it worked and at other times it can be a character that I feel was realized especially well. Whatever the book, if it’s been published, you can be sure that in addition to me being happy with the story there are some things in there that I will like that you might not notice.
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...continue reading: A Certain Satisfaction
last updated: 12 June 2018
It’s very easy to come up with a situation for a novel. It’s much harder to come up with a story. People often confuse the two and the difference is significant.
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...continue reading: Situation vs Story
last updated: 8 May 2018
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry on 19 May 2018. It may seem inopportune to suggest that Miss Markle could become the Queen of England, but once you understand the rules around royal succession, you will see that it is quite possible that an American born non-royal divorcee could become Queen—it just takes one death at a certain time.
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...continue reading: Meghan Markle, Queen of England
last updated: 8 May 2018
I am a British subject and my language is English, but let me suggest a heresy: American English spellings (and grammatical practices) should be preferred over British spellings.
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...continue reading: Spelling: UK vs US
last updated: 10 April 2018
When I was writing Tattoo Your Name on My Heart, I had a need for a minor character—a guitarist who plays in the fictional rock band Prickle. Luca Parzani is that character. In crafting Luca, I took inspiration from real life.
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...continue reading: Needing a Guitarist
last updated: 10 April 2018
I’m going to take a controversial line for someone who makes his living by scribbling down words: Spelling doesn’t matter. At least, it doesn’t matter as much as people make out and it doesn’t matter for the reasons they think it does. What matters is the ability to be understood.
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...continue reading: No One Cares If You Can’t Spell
last updated: 13 February 2018
In 2010, when I first started outlining The Murder of Henry VIII, I had an idea for a 500-year-old conspiracy theory about the murder of Henry VIII. The notion of the Russians trying to influence an election just didn’t seem that much of a stretch. The scenario felt plausible to me. In fact, it wasn’t simply plausible—it was something that I expected to happen (assuming it hadn’t already happened). Events since then suggest that my fiction is quite plausible.
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...continue reading: Interference in Foreign Politics
last updated: 13 February 2018
John le Carré’s 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was adapted to be a movie and tv miniseries. Seek out all three.
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...continue reading: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
last updated: 9 January 2018
From time to time I get questions about bad language in my books. There are variants on this question, but it mostly boils down to: will I be offended by something in one of your books, Simon? In short, maybe, but I hope not. Or at least, I hope you will agree that any offense reflects what the character feels and is justified within the context.
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