Thursday, December 12, 2019

Blogging and Social Media

"Watchman, tell us of the night."

Writing is only one form of social media. When I began computer studies before Y2K, designing websites seemed to be a great way to publish articles. The only problem was, mistakes had to be fixed on the file and uploaded again.

When Free Republic kicked me off their discussions - for calling George W. Bush a liberal - I decided to control my own media and start blogging. That was 12 years - and almost 18,000 posts - ago, some of them kelmed from news sources.

Later, the founder of Free Republic admitted that GW Bush was indeed a liberal.

I think everyone with an opinion should blog. All sermons should be blogged so there is a record of what is taught by that person. Many post audios but not the text. Of course, the text will reveal plagiarism, but there must be other reasons.

Blogging can connect with other faithful workers in the vineyard -




 We do not let barriers divide us.

Writing Is the Best Pain-Reliever.
The Seven Steps of Highly Effective Writers



I taught 50+ writing classes and always enjoyed taking people through the steps neglected in my schooling. No one taught me those systematic steps in good writing, so I taught a thousand or more writing students. Students in other classes get the same treatment.

People often say, "I hate writing," but what they mean is "I hate the pain of writing." That comes from turning the opportunity into a problem. Writing is the most organized form of thinking, so the art is a great weapon, a superb defense, and a lot of fun to use.


  1. If we stop and think, trying to concentrate on one topic, our minds are still assaulted with a typhoon of images, sounds, thoughts, emotions, and random memories.
  2. When we speak, our thoughts are more organized, though we are terribly verbose and often obscure. A typescript of a TV program, whee various experts speak, is quite long and difficult to follow. 
  3. But writing is necessarily more organized, more easily amended, more conveniently disciplined from start to finish.

Readers tend to become writers, and writers are voracious, predatory readers. I once stopped someone from buying a book at a seminary book auction, giving him a speech about how I had to have it. Soon it was mine.

Here Are the Seven Steps of Writing

Better Grades – The Seven Steps for All Writing Assignments

Teaching is grading, and grading is teaching. Do not be offended by my corrections and suggestions. I only want to make you more successful in school and in your careers. 

The following is how professional writers get their work done fast and effectively. The Seven Steps are the opposite of students at work – “How many words? Type, type, type. Check word-count. Need more. Type, type, type. Word-count good. Submit.”

Title – Creating a title is an important first step in coherent writing. Open up Word or a presentation software and name it. APA means a title page and a references page at the end. Skip those for lower grades.
Outline – An outline can be in Roman numerals or without numbers. The idea is to create a framework for thoughts that lead to the final product.
Research – The energy behind great writing is great research, even with a personal reflection. Curiosity motivates research, just as the right food is essential to run a long race. Quoting the textbook is like eating a Little Debbie cupcake. I suggest aiming at (no heart attacks please) five good academic references for each assignment. That means per team member for team assignments. Extreme? – the best students aim high and that becomes a habit.
First Draft – After those initial steps, anyone should be able to sit down and write the first draft quickly and efficiently. Rather than stopping and perfecting, write fast and add quotations afterwards. Use APA software or an APA template.
Second Draft – There are two ways to self-edit. One is to read it out loud to someone or a pet. The other is to read it from the last word to the first – reading backwards is an old editor’s trick. As many students have said in shock, “It works.” Quotations can be added at this point.
Third Draft – Ideally, have another person read the effort, pointing out what is good and what needs help. Accept all criticism as valid. I usually adopt 80% of all suggestions. Lack of clarity is an issue best addressed by the reader.


Those who practice these steps will find themselves steadily improving in effectiveness and speed. Professional writers cannot afford the higher education method – “Look up the word count. Start writing. Check the word count. Write some more. Print or upload when the word count is reached.” That sounds like bringing a hog to market.

[Repetition is one of the three steps of education. The other two are repetition, repetition.]