thinking blogs

The motto at the top of my blog has become something of a professional mantra for me. My goal here on the Active Voice blog (and by extension through all my writing and editing work) is to address issues that are of concern to readers and writers — whether practical, technical, philosophical, or whimsical.

Thinking Blogger AwardWriter, certified creativity coach, and journal writing teacher Quinn McDonald, a regular here on the AV blog, has tagged me with a Thinking Blogger Award, a meme started earlier this year by ilker yoldas. Quinn described me as “the thinking person’s writer.”

(*Blush*) Thanks, Quinn! Coming as it does from the thinking person’s coach, that means a lot!

To fulfill my obligations as an awardee, and to help pass on its spirit, I must name name five blogs that I, too, find to be interesting, informative, and helpful. Here are five blogs that make me think:

Continue reading “thinking blogs”

a new look

To commemorate the six-month anniversary of the Active Voice blog, I’m happy to introduce its new theme, custom-built by my friend Roan at JustJohnnyWeb. Roan did a smashing job of distilling the look and feel of my site’s Flat WhiteBezel-inspired design into a WordPress template that integrates with the rest of the site while also standing a little bit apart.

A very public thanks, Roan!

Loyal readers: if you’re looking for a web designer who actually listens to what you say and delivers what you asked for (gasp!), or if you’re looking for an affordable and responsive webhosting company, check out JustJohnnyWeb.

And tell ’em Paul sent ya. (I’ve always wanted to say that!)

welcome 43folderers, lifehackers, and GTD’ers!

You can imagine the shouts of joy and the dancing around the room when I found out that the Active Voice hPDA templates have been featured on 43Folders, Lifehacker (a coveted Download of the Day!), and Did I Get Things Done? yesterday and today.

Thanks, Merlin, Gina, and Paul for the shout-outs! Each of you are an inspiration to me, and it’s an honor and a pleasure to be able to pay it forward in my humble way. And thank you everyone who linked to the templates on del.icio.us — the Download page was the day’s fourth most popular link! That’s a very fine way to be introduced to you all.

There are more templates to come, and I’m always happy to hear suggestions for improvements or new designs. So feel free to leave comments and e-mail me. And to those who have already, thanks again!

A bit of template-related news: currently I’m in discussions to design custom templates for a series of business planning and creativity classes that are currently in development. Stay tuned for more information as this unique opportunity develops.

Cheers,
Paul

announcing the active voice blog

Along with redesigning the look and feel of the Active Voice website (this is the fourth major iteration, for those keeping track), I’ve decided that it’s high time I launched a blog as a way to interact with clients and colleagues through the exchange of useful tools, tips, and techniques.

By way of an introduction: I launched Active Voice Writing & Editorial Services seven years ago after leaving a management position to become a full-time freelance writer. Since then, my clientele has grown steadily to include a variety of nonprofit and professional organizations, private companies, and the federal government. Along the way, I won a national award and in my spare time I wrote a novel that was published last year.

On the Active Voice blog, you’ll find articles on:

  • Writing and editing tips
  • Lifehacks for writers
  • Observations on issues that affect writers
  • Handy reference downloads
  • Tips for managing your paper and computer files
  • Links to useful and interesting resources
  • …and more!

I hope you’ll follow along as I gear up the blog over the next few weeks. Feel free to leave comments or e-mail me with suggestions for topics that you’d like to see covered — or to finally get an authoritative answer about when to use “that” vs. “which.”

Cheers,

Paul