Category: Writing

How I Blog On My iPad 


Watch any science fiction movie or show and you will see a common thread – touch screens and tablets are pervasive. Physical keyboards are nowhere to be found. Today, most people’s primary computing device is the phone in their pocket or purse, and that trend seems likely to continue and to escalate.

I happily use my MacBook Air daily for my web design boot camp, podcast editing for my church, recording, and other tasks. But my primary computers are my iPad Air 2 and, to a lesser extent, my iPhone. They are always with me (yes, my iPad too), and are terrific tools for the way I write and manage data. As such, I have decided to intentionally use my iPad as my primary blogging tool whenever possible. I am typing this post on the iPad using the standard iOS keyboard.

Here are three of the tools I use to accomplish this… Continue reading “How I Blog On My iPad “ →

What Should I Write?

I have been writing #NoCamo for quite some time now. And though I primarily write for my own enjoyment and invite you to read along, I would like to ask…

What would you like to read on #NoCamo?

That’s right. It’s the opportunity for you, loyal reader, to request topics or to ask a question. So fire away on my Contact page. 

Thanks in advance!

Can I Write a Book?

As a blogger, I know that I at least LIKE to write. Some of it’s good; some isn’t. That’s part of the growing as a writer, right?

But the thought of putting together a book’s worth of material seems daunting to say the least.

I have the basic framework for a book already. I have topic. I’ve done some research here and there. Done some reading on my subject. But is the fact that I haven’t really done a lot of writing just procrastination?

The way I see it, there are three things required to write a book. You may have heard these somewhere before…

1. Time. Obviously, it takes a lot of time. But it not only requires a time investment: that time has to be given up somewhere. Family. Job. Church. All take time. Is there room for more time to be spent on this?

2. Talent. As I mentioned, I believe I can write. But I’ve never tried anything like this. I guess, if you’ve never written a book before,  you can’t really know what it takes.

3. Treasure. There will undoubtedly be some financial investment at some point in the process. Since this is completely new to me, I can only rely on what I’ve read. Self-publishing seems like the way to go with a first effort. I have contacted a publisher of physical books, but the prices seem out of reach. Publishing a Kindle Single or something of that nature seems feasible, but will it be a product anyone will want? And is that even the point?

So many questions.

Learning to Type Again

Anybody else catch 24: Live Another Day?

(How’s that for the intro line to a post about tablet blogging?)

I love 24. Always have. And for many reasons.  But this isn’t really a fan post, so let me get to the point.

There was a scene early on in the series where Chloe met up with her hacker group at their HQ. I noticed that one of the hackers, aside from having an awesome accent, also used a very large tablet as his primary computer.

Then, a couple of days ago,  I read a news article about Tim Cook. Apparently, he does 80 to 90% of his work on an iPad, and thinks the rest of us should do the same. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am shaking up my writing by inputting my next few posts on my Nexus 7.

I’ve been meaning to do something like this for a while. For one thing, I like my Nexus. While I primarily use it for content consumption, I know it is a capable tool for other things.

But the primary reason I am doing this experiment, as it were, is that I believe mobiles and tablets are only going to become more of a mainstay of our lives, and there are some skills I need to improve.

Namely, touchscreen typing.

Remember when you first tried to type? Maybe it was a typewriter.  Perhaps it was a computer.  In any event, no one faces the keyboard for the first time and finds it easy. Remembering the home row of keys and gaining the muscle memory necessary to effectively type at a decent speed takes a lot of time and effort.

Aside from thumb typing on our phones, I don’t think there are many folks trying to learn to effectively type on a tablet.

Granted, there are plenty of good Bluetooth keyboards out there. But isn’t that kinda cheating? I mean, I have MacBook Air in the next room.  Why am I taking the time to practice a completely new form of typing?

Because technology, business, and even society is heading in this direction.

Though they have recently rebounded, PC sales have plummeted of late. iPads, Tabs, Nexuses (or whatever the plural of Nexus is) will continue to increase their share of the computing market, so improving the way we interface with these devices will also be increasingly relevant.

Ever thought about this? Anybody else learning to type all over again?

Tablet Blogging

I won’t make excuses for the haphazard frequency of posting lately. It’s a reality, but I quite simply haven’t taken the time to write. Well, I’ve written some things, but nothing ready to publish.

What I thought I’d do is shake up my processes. I think, for the next few posts, I will create, edit, and post them completely from my Nexus 7. Continue reading “Tablet Blogging” →

Blogging Is a Ministry… to Yourself

I have often referred to #NoCamo as a ministry. I feel that the life of a Christian living life and documenting various aspects of faith can be uplifting and informational.

But I have also found that, while I trust that others enjoy reading what is here, I’m positive that I enjoy writing it all the more. Continue reading “Blogging Is a Ministry… to Yourself” →

Five Ideas a Day

Last week, I read my favorite weekly online article, How I Work. It appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. I am truly fascinated by the tools and methods successful people use to do what they do.

The article featured James Altucher, author and investor. Among the tech tools and tips he mentions, one idea really stood out…

He strives to come up with 10 (writing) ideas a day. Continue reading “Five Ideas a Day” →

I Take Myself Too Seriously

If you are a #NoCamo reader, you have probably noticed that I have slipped in and out of regularity with regards to posting (that sentence is very awkward, but I’m keeping it).

I’ve been trying to determine why. I could say that it is due to schedules, or Christmas, or, well, any number of things. But I think I’ve figured out the main reason.

I take myself WAY too seriously. Continue reading “I Take Myself Too Seriously” →

Blogger Etiquette – To Delete or Not To Delete?

I have been going through some of the posts here on #NoCamo and editing for relevance. This has caused me to consider issues of authenticity and transparency.

Namely… when is it OK to simply delete, and when should text be crossed through?

Blogging is a living medium. By that, I mean that there is no printing press. There are no editions. There is no permanence. Edits are instantaneous and leave no eraser marks, as it were.

But I know of bloggers that make edits to posts and cross through removed words, effectively leaving them in the post so that the changes are apparent.

So, which is the best approach? Continue reading “Blogger Etiquette – To Delete or Not To Delete?” →