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Part II **Hashtag Special**

21/4/2012

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You may have seen my most recent blog post below on how to use hashtags to get the best out of Twitter, on a recycling theme. And now, to my absolute favourite topic... WRITING!!!! I couldn't forget my dear scribblers!

There are a un-countable blogs and forums where you can find hashtags for writers (e.g. Book Cover Cafe), so Google until your heart's content. 

Here are my top six if you're desperate to get started:

#writerwednesday or #ww 
For networking with other writers - only for use on a Wednesday 

#ff 
This means 'Follow Friday' - a great way to recommend and find other Tweeps you might be interested in following. 

#fridayreads 
This is a weekly hashtag (used on Fridays, of course!) to show the world what you're reading at the moment. It can also be used to promote your book, if you can encourage your fans to include your Twitter name in their #fridayreads tweets! 

#mustread
 Loved that book? Want to recommend it to others? Why not finish your tweet with this hashtag?

#amwriting This can be any kind of writing (e.g. song writing, letters, recipes). It's not novel or short story specific, which I can find frustrating, but it's interesting as a networking tool. 

#writingprompt Great to get the creative juices flowing.

Let me know what you think in the comments box below, where you, as a writer, stop by Twitter. Have a great week - oh, and find me @MissWriteUK!

Lou x

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Recycling Hashtag Special

20/4/2012

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Pun intended...

Yes, I'm a writer. But another passion (and day job) of mine recycling. I thought I'd combine the two today to show you how to get the most out of your hashtags on Twitter, and particularly if you're into recycling.

If you're a writer, stay tuned. I'm going to blog a nod to us hard working scribblers very soon, since this blog is, and will remain, centred around creative writing.

I've been very active on Twitter for about 4 months now. One of the best tips I can give new Twitter users is to (relevant) hashtag your tweets until you run out of characters -140 max.

What’s a hashtag?
**Quick shout out and thanks to Andy White for explaining it so clearly to me in the early days**
Hashtags are a method of joining conversations on Twitter. They are words or phrases used in tweets, which have the ‘#’ symbol placed at the beginning of the word. There are no spaces or punctuation in them. When you click on one (normally highlighted in green), Twitter reveals a stream of everyone’s tweets which include that particular hashtag.

An example of this is #pmqs for the BBC’s Prime Minister's Questions. This hashtag quite often trends on Wednesdays due to the weekly TV coverage live from the Houses of Parliament. Searching for #pmqs, you can see all the tweets where people on Twitter (‘Tweeps’) are posting about PMQs. Comments and moaning, jokes and quotes – politics is a popular topic on Twitter.

Ok, I understand that. So, how can I use a hashtag to my advantage?
Hashtags are a great way to learn about subjects you're interested in (e.g. recycling), to get more exposure, build relationships, and therefore increase your own following. As mentioned above, hashtags are a link to a conversation, to be included in tweets that are relevant to a specific topic. So, if you're interested in recycling, you could tweet something short like

Found a place to #recycle my #tetrapak cartons for the first time today - #proud!

This means your post will be visible in the three hashtag conversations of #recycle (talk of all things recycling), #tetrapak (type of rubbish - yes there are hashtags for rubbish!!)  and #proud (Tweeps pleased with themselves on a plethora of achievements). All three hashtag streams will feature this tweet. That's exposure for you!

Please note: Hashtags are Twitter limited; they DO NOT work on Facebook, but I have noticed it’s quickly becoming a method of showing emotions, like with emoticons: #smile and #grr are popular. These do not link into the Twitter conversations though.

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Top Recycling Hashtags
Let me know in the comments box below if you find any more good ones to add to the list.

#recycling / #recycle / #wasteA complete pair and a good place to start.

#green / #environment / #ecofriendly

Related broader environmental issues.

#litterSelf-explanatory... A good #Twitter account to follow for these kinds of posts is @KeepBritainTidy

#upcycling
If you saw last week's #Apprentice you'd know about this already! Take a look at the new craze in recycling circles.

#plastic / #packaging / #paper ... etc!
For specific waste streams.

#lovefoodhatewasteUK campaign to reduce #food waste and help you #savemoney (space missed deliberately – it’s a popular hashtag).

You might do well to remember that hashtags can backfire on you, like McDonalds found out recently to their relative undoing when they created a hashtag to encourage customers' feedback on their food. Within a matter of hours horror stories were flooding in. Play it safe - never say anything you wouldn't say in public, and try not to open yourself up for a fall!

If you're into all things green, you can also follow accounts like ‘waste reducing guru' Unconsumption  @unconsumption, WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign @wasteawarefood, and the UK Environment Agency @EnvAgency, among many others.

Don't forget to check if your favourite charity (e.g. @UNICEF), local Council (e.g. @RecycleNptshire), grocery store (e.g. @Waitrose), favourite singer (e.g. @official_flo for Flo Rida) etc. has a Twitter page. The world is your limit!

It's really not that hard. Just be polite, interesting and honest. So, what are you waiting for? Get making a change to your world via Twitter and make the most of those recycling themed hashtags! 

Oh, and you can follow me on Twitter @MissWriteUK

Lou x
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Are you a Speed Reader?

16/4/2012

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ereader test
Source: Staples eReader Department

Are you a Speed Reader? Take this simple online test devised by Staples to find out!

It's a timed test, and completing it will tell you how many words per minute you read, and also what how much faster/slower you read compared to the average reader.

DO NOT SKIM - read as you would normally. It's interesting how different the two approaches to reading can feel...
 
I know I normally skim a lot when I read, but I still managed 370 words per minute, which is (not to brag!) 48% faster than the average reader. It's got to be exhausting to maintain that speed! I'd like to see what speed I'd read at over say, 4-5 pages or a whole chapter.

How did you do?

Thank for checking in, by the way. I know it's been two weeks since my last weekly *ahem* post. Have a fantastic week!

Lou x

@literaturelou
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Oxford Literary Festival

3/4/2012

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Last week, a teenage dream of mine came true. I met American author Jodi Picoult. Sure, it was about 10 years too late, and I've grown up and out of Jodi Picoult's books a little bit, but it was fantastic to get to meet her on her book tour for 'Lone Wolf'.

I've never been to Oxford Literary Festival, and was surprised at how small this particular venue was, in Christ Church's Master Gardens. There are several venues across the city though, and it's lovely to have these (albeit temporary) hubs spring up for wordsmiths and readers alike.

Before the presentation started, I got chatting to some ladies sitting next to me, one from Faringdon in Oxfordshire, and another from Salisbury, Wilts. They are keen Kindle users, and made some significant impact on me, such that I even started picturing myself buying a Kindle. Me! Ditching paperbacks! Anyway, we shared some book recommendations, chatted about the festival, and since then have become fans or friends on Facebook. Hello to you Sandie Smith, in particular, a self-professed Jodi groupie!

Of course, we're looking all forward to reading 'Lone Wolf', but what did my new friends also recommend?

        Only The Innocent ~ Rachel Abbott (only on Kindle)

        Dance with A Poor Man's Daughter - Pamela Jooste

Anyway, the Jodi Picoult show. I was so excited. I didn't know quite what to expect, and didn't even know how long Jodi's time slot was for talking to us, but it was very interesting. Jodi not only found time to speak to us for a full hour, but she also personally spoke to and signed books for an enormous queue of people afterwards. One of my all time favourite books (and least favourite movie adaptation) is 'My Sister's Keeper', so I took it along to be signed by the author.

Jodi was engaging, interesting, and came across as an intelligent writer who really has a passion for the stories she tells. We even saw some of the comedic side of our guest speaker. Her personal anecdotes from her life had the audience of about 200 glued to theirs seats, as she explained how she writes and researches the stories, and how her experiences and beliefs which challenge her every day inspires her. If you're a reader, (and I recommend that you try at least one book, if only to see the clever twists work their way out!), you'll know that Jodi tackles ethics in most of her books, and quite a few involve a court case. Jodi's newly published novel 'Lone Wolf', of which an excerpt was read, is a story of wolf whisperer placed into a coma. His children have the moral obligation of deciding if they should have the power to sustain or end their father's life to donate his organs to someone in need. His story brings in questions of morality and cutting edge medicine. That must have taken some researching!

Jodi spoke at length about the research she did to really get a flavour or how wolves live and function as a pack. I now know how to choose a pet dog judging on how important family/aggression/protection is for them (info to bank for the future!), and the ranks of wolves in a particular pack really fascinated me. Alpha, Beta, Diffuser, Tester, Numbers wolves... And it was interesting to hear how much the hunt and the kill of prey cements the animals' relationships and becomes an intricate tool in the pack socialising together. Much like domestic life in many UK households! I didn't know wolves were so intelligent! Jodi kept the crowds thoroughly entertained, even teaching us a short lesson on how to howl like a pack of wolves. You might have seen Jodi demonstrating it on the BBC News? It was incredible to see how such a convincing sound was built from only three (human) voices. I half expected the dogs of Oxford to arrive at the door of the marquee! 

The Oxford Literary Festival is not something to be intimidated by, despite its history, reputation, scale and grandeur. It's a fantastic event, and I felt totally literature-cised and refreshed, having absorbed so much literary atmosphere. Thank you to Jodi Picoult and all the organisers for a lovely afternoon.

Follow Jodi Picoult on Twitter @jodipicoult

See you on the flip side...

Lou x

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    I'm a writer based in South Wales, with an unhealthy obsession with stationery and baking. I mainly blog for my own sanity, but I'm also working on a novel. Still. 

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