A few days ago I launched a new series of articles in my
DeHaan Blog of Fitness and Weight Control.
"
Starting a Series on Target Heart Rate for Different Goals" simply introduces the topic, and stresses that different heart rates provide different benefits.
"Target Heart Rate" by dansmath [not from SportsMed]
Amazingly, there were not many abstract images of "target heart rate", but this illustrates the zones very nicely.
As always, I also publicize my articles in DeHaan Services ("
The New Target Heart Rate Series"
).
Writing Tip
I've said it before, but it's a good writing tip.
When you realize that a topic is too large for an individual article, write a series.
Ensure that each article stands on its own, but link back (if your site permits) to earlier topics if they are helpful for the current item.
My latest DeHaan Services article, "
Prepare for the 2012 Toronto Triathlon Event", clears the confusion about the 2012 Toronto "Ironman 5150 Triathlon".
What Triathletes Need to Know
"North West Triathlon" by (The contributor of this photos is David Hawgood)
Triathletes immediately needed to know "How long is this triathlon: Olympic distance or the full Ironman distance"?
They also wanted to know whether this Toronto event would be open to all competitors, or would it be restricted to "elites".
My research supplies the answers; just click on the above link to learn.
Writing Tip
Today's writing tip is: recognize and resolve an information gap, then fill it with a well-researched article.
My first follow-up article about prime numbers is "
Filtering Prime Numbers using the Sieve of Eratosthenes". My editor advised me to split the contents of one article into two. It will actually take even more articles to cover this topic.
My
second follow-up article about prime numbers was published in
Decoded Science as "
Several Different Paths to Prime Numbers".
"Sieve of Eratosthenes to 26" by Mike DeHaan
Normally, I pre-publish any original images that I create for other online magazine sites here in my Blog of Writing. This establishes authorship.
As always, I also publicize my articles in DeHaan Services. "
Secrets of the Sieve of Eratosthenes"
covers only the first of the articles. "
Paths to Primes via Decoded Science" promotes the second.
Writing Tips
Today's writing tips are simple.
First, accept your editor's advice unless she (or he) totally misses the point. In this case, I cheerfully accepted the advice to split the article.
Second, it's better to focus your article into one topic. Sometimes the topic needs an overview, and then a set of inter-related topics. Watch the overall word count: the article should be long enough that the readers are satisfied, but short enough that they get to the finish.
I wrote my latest Suite 101 article, "
A Mennonite View of Work in the Story of Noah and the Ark", based on a sermon for my church.
"Noah's Ark with Rainbow by Brother Jones" by Svadilfari
Although there were no pictures of the historic Noah's Ark, it was easy to find images that had some relationship to the theme. This one is perhaps the most reverent.
Of course I also promoted my article in DeHaan Services ("
Noah and the Ark Work at Suite 101"
).
Writing Tip
Today's writing tip is: if you research something for one purpose, be ready to re-purpose it into an article.
My latest
Decoded Science article is "
A Brief Introduction to Prime Numbers".
"Sieve for Seven" by Scot Nelson
Whether a student needs a quick reminder, or an adult wants to refresh a faded memory, I like to think that my articles have value for my readers.
As always, I also promote my articles in DeHaan Services ("
Introducing Prime Numbers"
).
Writing Tip
I just read an interview with a business executive who said that one must always ask "What will my customer find valuable"?
I try to follow that guideline with every article, but even more deliberately for my Mathematics articles in Decoded Science.
Today's writing tip: Plan your topics and articles by asking, and answering, "Who will find this useful"? "What will they find useful about this"?
"Ed Whitlock, age 80, in March 2011" by susayoun237 (Susan Young)
After a quick online search, I found this image of Ed Whitlock, one of the people who set a world record at the 2011 STWM.
Writing Tip
Today's writing tip is that although it may appear trite or contrived, a title with alliteration can capture attention and lead to readers.
My latest Suite 101 article jumps onto the bandwagon of controversy about faster than light neutrinos.
"
The Controversial OPERA of Faster Than Light Neutrinos from CERN" is a nice light introduction.
"ATLAS at CERN" by Image Editor
Finding remarkable images of big equipment is tricky, but this seems really nice.
I had already written about one tiny facet of this story, just a bit of the math, in my Decoded Science article "
Lightning Fast Math for Neutrinos versus the Speed of Light".
As always, I also promote my article in DeHaan Services ("
Introduction to Faster Than Light Neutrinos"
).
Writing Tips
I wrote this article because I was fascinated with the subject, and had already written about it (and so had done some research). Unfortunately, I had to re-check sources for details that I had read but had become unclear in my memory. (Cut me some slack; this subject has a lot of details).
The first writing tip is to write about what you research anyway: it's likely that other people also want to know.
The second writing tip is to build your list of references as you go; it may save time in the future.
I took a few poor images for the
Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2011 "Torch Relay" on Oct. 14. At least one is in today's blog entry in
DeHaan Services: "
Records and Relays Before the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon".
"STWM 2011 Torch Relay (#2)" by Mike DeHaan
Actually, I had tried taking several images before and after this one; but the digital camera did not register them.
"STWM 2011 Torch Relay (#1)" by Mike DeHaan
Unfortunately this was the best image I captured.
Writing Tip
Today's writing tip is about photography, for those times you want to take pictures to cover some event.
My prior experience in capturing images for articles has been with "still life". I could arrange some object, snap a photo, check the result and try again.
Today I had to point and click while people were working on their own schedule.
Writing Tip: Practice with the equipment and under trying conditions, before the main event. Know how to focus, zoom and take the pictures quickly.
"Aleph", by Renaud Camus
Symbols are important in math as well as religion. The Hebrew "Aleph" represents the size of infinite sets.
Bookmark my article as a reference for high school math.
As always, I also publicize my article in DeHaan Services ("
My Definitive Quick Reference Guide to All Numbers").
Writing Tip
This writing tip follows up on the idea of writing a series of related articles.
I contacted my editor at Decoded Science to update the two previous articles that had led to this one. We needed to add the forward-pointing links so the readers could follow the information without going back to an index page and guessing what comes next!
Besides, in any online magazine with multiple authors, you have no guarantee that your series will be presented together in the index. Other writers probably submitted articles in the meantime.
Originally, the previous articles had simply said "Next week we will explore...". Now it was time to put in a solid link!
Writing Tip: After completing a series of articles, update the old ones to ensure your readers can navigate through them smoothly and easily. (Do not force them to use the main index).