Quick Poll: Most Annoying Punctuation Mark

August 27, 2015Sue Archer 36 Comments

Writing a series on how to deal with rogue words was a lot of fun, and now I’m thinking of taking on punctuation. I’ve already talked about everyone’s favourite, the apostrophe, in a few popular posts: Night of the Apostrophe Ninja, Separating Siblings With Apostrophe S, and You’re Not a Yutz. Now I’d like to see if I can make other punctuation marks fun to learn about!

To help me figure out what to focus on, I’d love it if you could let me know which punctuation mark drives you crazy:

Please feel free to share any of your punctuation horror stories below, and I’ll do my best to write some tips that will help!

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P.S. For those of you who are interested in learning about how art books are edited, I have an interview with award-winning editor Grace Yaginuma this week on the Editors’ Weekly.

Announcement: My New Editing Site

July 28, 2015Sue Archer 47 Comments

Dear readers,

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was working on a new project. Well, here it is — my brand new editing site — Sue Archer, Wordsmith. I’m excited to share it here with all of you!

In addition to my day job, I have recently started up my own freelance editing business. Collaborating with self-publishing authors has been such a rewarding experience for me. I’d love to have the opportunity to work with some of you someday. 🙂

If you have the time and the interest, I’d appreciate it if you could visit my site and let me know what you think in the comments below. Please be honest — I consider it a work in progress. I have also started up a blog on my new site that will be focused on editing and self-publishing tips for writers. If you feel that’s something that would be useful for you, please feel free to follow.

Doorway Between Worlds won’t be changing – I’ll be continuing to blog about communication here, and I won’t be doing any more posts advertising my services.

And finally — in the spirit of “the big reveal,” I thought it was time that I showed all of you the real me behind the avatar:

Thank you to all of you for your support!

Sue

Reader Poll Results: Blog Changes for Year 2

March 9, 2015March 9, 2015Sue Archer 10 Comments

Thanks to everyone who participated in my reader survey. I’d like to share the results with you and talk about some upcoming changes to my blog. (Don’t worry – things aren’t going to change that much!)

Poll Question 1: I love sci-fi/fantasy, but I’m thinking about expanding to include references to other genres I enjoy, like mystery or romance. What say you?

73% of you said expand away. The rest of you are not big sci-fi/fantasy fans, so you would be happy if I wrote about other things.

I expect I will still be using a lot of sci-fi and fantasy references in my posts, but I am going to leave the door open for other inspirations to come to me as I write.

My tagline now says “Communication tips with a creative twist.” It’s official. Time to explore!

Poll Question 2: I’m thinking about occasionally posting some short stories / flash fiction. What do you think?

92% said of you said to go for it. Thank you for your faith in my capability to write good fiction stories! For those of you who like things the way they are, I’m not planning on going crazy with writing fiction. I see it as a once-in-a-while thing where I post something that I feel my readers would like. It may not happen right away, but stay tuned!

Poll Question 3: I’m thinking about posting on a regular weekly schedule. Which time of the week works best for you?

This one kind of surprised me. 75% of you said any time, any day, random goodness is fine with you. Only 8% of you wanted a consistent day. In a way that’s reassuring, since most of you will find me regardless of when I post. To keep myself honest and help me write consistently, I will pick a standard post day, with the idea that there may be the occasional extra posts thrown in. I’ll announce the new posting day after the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Poll Question 4: Which of these post types would you like to see more of in the future? (You can pick as many as you like. Hopefully, there’s at least one!)

Here’s what you asked for:
Grammar and writing tips with a creative twist    38%
Conversation Corner: interviews with tips from others 19%
Personal stories about communication        19%
DBW Reviews: Reviews of writing resources    16%
Tips on presenting and public speaking       6%
Observations on building relationships       3%

This fits nicely with what I’ve already been doing. I’ll continue to focus on creative tips, with (hopefully) regular interviews and resource reviews added in to the mix, along with some of my personal stories about communication.

Thanks again for letting me know what you think. I hope you enjoy the second year as much as I’ve enjoyed writing the first.

All the best,

Sue

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

It’s DBW’s First Anniversary! Have Your Say on Changes for Year Two

March 2, 2015March 1, 2015Sue Archer 25 Comments

Dear readers,

It’s now been a year since I started blogging on Doorway Between Worlds. When I first started this journey, I had a vague hope that somebody out there would read my posts (and maybe even enjoy them). Everything that has happened since then has far exceeded my expectations, and it’s all thanks to you!

This past year has been an incredible experience. What started as an experiment in writing creative posts to help others with communication has evolved into a wonderfully collaborative effort. I have met so many wonderful people. I have participated in fascinating conversations that have sparked new ideas and brought new energy to my writing.

Thank you for being such an amazing community of readers. Next month’s 26 alphabet posts for the April A to Z Blogging Challenge are dedicated to you. 🙂

So what’s happening after April? Here’s where I need your help.

Those of you who have followed for a while know that the focus of the blog has changed a bit over time. I’ve expanded the types of posts I have written about to try and meet the needs of my readers while keeping myself motivated to write.

Once the April challenge is over, I’m thinking about further changes to DBW. And I want to hear what you think. If you’d like to help me plan for a successful second year, please take a couple of minutes to answer today’s four poll questions.

With gratitude,

Sue

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Picture by Vojta Jahoda, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Have other ideas for what you’d like to see? Please share!

The Hunt for Rogue Words is Officially On: A to Z Blogging Challenge

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015Sue Archer 25 Comments

Today I have officially signed up for the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge! As many of you know, I have decided to write about rogue words and how to deal with them. Thank you to all of you who have already provided me with your challenging words.

If you missed my call for words, it’s not too late. I am still looking for words starting with C, G, H, M, N, O, Q, and R. I can pick my own tricky words, but I’d rather hear from you! So if you have a word you’d like me to tackle, please feel free to add it below or on my original rogue words post.

Are any of you participating in A to Z this year?

Versatile Blogger Award

January 14, 2015Sue Archer 38 Comments

Thank you to Lori MacLaughlin, who nominated me a while ago for the Versatile Blogger Award. I am honoured to receive this blogging award. (And I am glad that I finally have the time to sit down and write about it!)

Lori writes about her self-publishing journey on her excellent blog Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams.

For those who are not familiar with the Versatile Blogger Award, you can find the rules here. To accept this award, I need to list 7 random facts about myself and nominate 15 blogs that I feel are versatile (with an emphasis on blogs that I have recently followed).

Here are 7 random facts about me:

1) I hate coffee. No, really.

2) I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old.

3) I watch Love Actually every year around Christmas time, and I’m still not tired of it.

4) I can lift my left eyebrow without moving my right one. (A good skill to have when you need to look skeptical about something.)

5) I prefer sweet foods over salty foods. Hands down. So if you want to bribe me, do it with a brownie and not potato chips. Just sayin’.

6) I’m addicted to my Fitbit. Best fitness tool ever.

7) In one of my high school plays, a Greek tragedy called The Bacchae, I played the role of a wild woman who rips up animals with her bare hands in a crazy rage. Talk about playing against type. Seriously, I’m a nice person. I promise!

It’s tough to pick 15 blogs from the many excellent blogs that I follow. Here’s my short list. Some I have read for a while, while others are new to me but have intriguing and creative voices. I’m looking forward to seeing where they will go.

Writing-Focused Blogs

Eric John Baker – Eric tells it like it is, and helps us to get through it. He has a fantastic sense of humour.

Everwalker – Everwalker provides thoughtful and well-researched posts about the writing process.

Often Clueless, Always Shoeless – Olivia shares her personal observations about life and writing.

Suffolk Scribblings – Dylan gives excellent writing tips and also writes great indie book reviews.

The Write Transition – Carrie writes hilarious observations about life along with informative posts about writing and books.

Creative and Unusual Blogs

Albert’s New York – Albert the dog chronicles his experiences with his People in New York. Albert is super talented. You’ll love this even if you are not a dog person.

Bradscribe – Brad provides well-researched and creative commentary on sci-fi pop culture.

Here, in This Country – Chronicles the experiences of a Norwegian woman living in the United States.

Petros Jordan – Petros features different types of cool and unusual maps.

Planetary Defense Command – Our Planetary Defense Commander gives us creative ideas for story settings along with wonderful book reviews.

Variety Blogs

Here are some life-focused blogs that I started following when I participated in WordPress Writing 201 last December. (There are many more – I wish I could have included them all!) These bloggers write about a variety of topics, so I think they have proved their versatility. I’ll let their blogs speak for themselves:

The Confused Young Adult

Thanks again to Lori. I’ll do my best to live up to this award! And thanks as always to my readers, for supporting me on my blogging journey.

All the best,

Sue

Happy Holidays!

December 24, 2014Sue Archer 11 Comments

For those of you who have a holiday at this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful time. I’m celebrating Christmas and will be taking a few days to relax and spend time with family.

I’ll have more time for writing in the new year, so I’ll be back to a regular posting schedule. Hurrah! Stay tuned for the return of the universal translator, ongoing DBW reviews, and more creative stories on communication topics. I’m also preparing for the A to Z challenge in April, when I will be writing about the rogue words you have shared with me.

Thank you so much for supporting my blog. Your likes and comments have meant a great deal to me. I wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and rewarding New Year!

Cheers,

Sue