My first public book reading
I gotta start off with a disclaimer: Despite all my aspirations otherwise, I am not a professional writer. (At least, not yet. Maybe. One day.) But I do have a novel! Books from new/unknown authors very rarely sell …
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Writing
33 posts tagged with this topic.
So, I published a book...
Remember that book I wrote? It’s been published. To be fair, I didn’t get a publisher (believe it or not, I am the publisher). I got a printer. And a seller. And they’re called Amazon. Yes, yes, I know, …
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So, I wrote a book...
You already know that I’m a writer. If this blog alone isn’t enough of a reason, I’ve got a bunch of stories in some sort of draft state. Well, now I’ve taken it more seriously. I wrote (well, …
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AI Will Not Replace Writers
I suspect that in the decades to come, 2023 will be noted as the year that AI started to take over the world, and humanity both embraced and recoiled in horror at the possibilities. It was no longer science fiction that …
My First Query Letter
I’ve been writing this blog for years, there’s well over 1.3 million words of my idle rambling. Stories? A few dozen shorter ones (some are on this site). I’m now three novels written (two completed) …
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The Importance of Technical Writing
I started my career as a technical writer. I wrote manuals. I was fairly decent at it, though more than one of my editors would tell you that I was a bit too verbose (yes, I know, shocker). I gave up on technical writing …
Another Apology to my Kids
Hey kids, I hope you’re looking at this blog, especially at the two tags I’ve created to help you find all the things I’ve written for you, and you find this. Because I’m assuming you’ve …
Evolution of my Website
The Wayback Machine and I go … well, way back. It’s got versions of my website dating back 20 years (as of February 2022, anyway) and through more than a few variations on the theme. I bought sowrey.org a …
The Story Is Key
Years ago, I started blogging because I had moved away from home and wanted those I knew and loved to know what I was up to, things I’d done, and that I was, in fact, okay. (The grand irony in that belief is that I …
Things I learned by leaving social media
On 8 November 2016, Americans elected their new president, whom I hope to never have to publicly acknowledge. That night, I came to a rather painful conclusion: I needed to abandon social media for a while. In this …
I need your help to be an author
[UPDATE: 7 February 2016] On the advice of a more experienced and wiser friend and author, I dug deeper into the terms and conditions of both the contest and Inkshares standard contracts with authors. And … well, …
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25 years of The Observer
Though I didn’t know it at the time — how could I, I was but a lad of 16 — my blogging alter ego, The Observer, was born 25 years ago today. Twenty-five years ago, my family took me to the airport, dropped me into the …
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So, I wrote a book...
I like writing. [Insert world’s largest ‘Well, DUH!’ here.] And while I’ve been content to write a blog — great practice for any writer, if you ask me — it’s just not the same as when you write for someone else. Which I …
How to be a Technical Writer
It’s surprising how often I’ve been asked this question over the last few months. Once upon a time — some dozen years ago — I was a technical writer. I wrote manuals, technical documentation, and various forms of other …
There are times
There are times when I wish I could do Whatever I wanted And then I remember you There are times when I wish you could feel The aching of my heart And know why it is so There are times when I see your sense of wonder And …
To end, this shall
Today I watched the setting sun Golden fringed clouds Mustard streaks over the horizon I thought This, too, shall end I count in weeks Soon to be days Soon to be hours Then minutes The arms swirl forward …
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True story
As you know, I’m going to be moving back to Calgary in December. The exact timing for that is still being determined, but let’s just go with the broad stroke: we have a lot of stuff that needs to be done as part of …
20 years of blogging (and Post
Well, okay, not so much “blogging” as journaling, but most of them are now online for everyone to ignore. Twenty years ago, I got to do something that (comparatively) very few westerners got to do, and will …
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Blog or Die
There’s been a lot of talk lately about people saying you shouldn’t blog anymore. The arguments seem to break into two categories: Don’t blog because you probably have nothing interesting to say and no-one will read it …
ScribbleLive - Live Blogging Done Right!
Late last month, I had the chance to go to the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. On behalf of my co-workers, I blogged notes from the event to make sure that they had the benefit of getting the information in as much detail …
I'm on Twitter
Sigh. I gave in. Communicating at this conference seems to require it.
Read this book
Are you getting into digital photography? Wish that your pictures looked better? I know I do. Every time I see one of those pro shots — especially if they were taken in a place I’ve taken a picture — I wonder how they …
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Experience Matters
We’ve been in the interactive marketing industry now for over 11 years. We’ve been there, we’ve done that, we’ve seen … well, maybe not all of it, but we’ve seen a lot. A lot of it is not great (ranges from okay …
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Creative writing challenge
Last night seemed to be one filled with sequels to previous dreams I’d had. Very odd. In one of them though, I was in an English class being taught by John Houseman. (Don’t ask, most of my dreams make no sense at all.) …
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Up a notch in ranking
I freely admit that I don’t have a lot of truly useful information in this site. While I do get a considerable number of hits for how to throw a surprise party, steam locomotive 2816, movie piracy (and Calgary movie …
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Apparently I've been lying all this time...
So I’m taking a moment for a break at lunch to read my favourite article, The Globe and Mail’s Social Studies page. I read the following: U.S. researchers are developing “truth detection” software, to see if …
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Pictures return to Sowrey.Org
It’s been a long time since a photograph has been seen here. It’s not for a lack of wanting. As of right now, I’ve got 3,606 pictures in my library, covering a huge range of subjects and topics. (988 of those are for …
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With a few bugs, it would seem...
Grr. So much for local dev and test, and upload to live server. It’s not behaving, which is frustrating me immensely. So bear with me while I make K2 work properly.
All new for 2007!
It’s taken me a few months, but I’m finally back up and running with something a lot better: a new blog format (and technology) and a new host. Okay, so first the blog… It’s taken me months — literally — to move …
I've been blogging on the railroad
[This entry written by Geoff Sowrey, ©2006 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Text used with permission of CBC. The opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the CBC, employees, affiliates, or …
Writing Short Stories
Old hobbies die hard. Have keyboard, will write. Love four word sentences. A lot of you … some of you … at least ONE of you asked why I didn’t send a log about Thanksgiving. No particular reason, I just …
Why I Don't Want to be a Technical Writer Anymore
It’s been a busy beginning to the year. I think it’s just a sign of things to come. You’ve probably been wondering where I’ve been — didn’t I send all those logs during Christmas? Where are all the ones from January? …
A Decade since the Soviet Union, Birthday of the Observer
10 years. I can’t believe it has been 10 years. On 30 June 1989, I departed for the first of what would become a string of interesting journeys into the unknown. This was my first trip out of North America, and my first …