The Policy

On content

I write more or less whatever I feel like writing. I don't really do current affairs. Not for the most part. Political discussion in Australia has kind of reached a point where there is so little real information that most conversations are rendered moot before they even get off the ground. There are some things I really care about, and they might come up from time to time, but generally speaking it isn't something I tend to get involved in.

If you want to hear more about certain things, I would probably try and accommodate any request you might have to the best of my ability. That's not a promise, but, if only for the sake of the exercise, I'd more than likely have a go at it. There is a high likelihood though that if I didn't like it, I wouldn't post it.

The style will vary, because part of the reason I have my own blog instead of writing for other people is  that I like to write in different styles. Different things come from different parts of my self, and they sound different to me when they come out, so I write them differently.

I am trying not to swear a lot of the time, but I will swear from time to time. Usually the tone of the piece will indicate whether or not I will be swearing. That's going to happen. If you don't like swearing, then you are the one giving those words that power in your life. Some words, when you really drill down to what they mean, are only bad by cultural consensus. I think there are a lot of words that are much worse than swear words, and you can usually pick them because their dictionary definition will often contain the word 'derogatory'. I try not to direct my swearing at people or organisations, because I think it invalidates what ever point I am trying to make. I will often swear when I am talking about my anxiety, because it is the way that I think when I am anxious.

It has become increasingly important for me to be less negative towards other people, and the things that they create, which I hope is eventually reflected in my writing. I know that there are things that I have already said, and probably things that I am yet to say that go against this, but I hope that this will be a general trend going forward. It is something that is important to me.

On editing

I don't, generally speaking.

I often write what I write in a single sitting, and I don't really review what I've written. There will be grammatical errors. Yes. There will also more than likely be errors in punctuation. At the end of the day (often literally), I write posts in about fifteen minutes due to the plethora of things that I should be doing that aren't writing posts.

I at times work as a professional writer, which means that I get paid to pay attention to a lot of the little things. Pick up on the details and all of that jazz. I really like writing without that process though. I like putting words together, and the tappity-tap that goes along with the activity when I use a computer, or a typewriter. As a result, when I write for myself, I'm not really doing it to hawk the small things. In much the same way as I will often ignore those things when I am really getting into something that I am reading.

The downside of this is that there are going to be times when I look like an idiot. I quite frequently use the spelling for a homophone when I am tired, even when I am fully aware of the difference between the two words. Hear/here, practice/practise and want/wont are some of the most common ones. Mistakes that I do not make in my professional writing. I know the difference, but when I write on autopilot, I don't really think about spelling. Something I don't do for other people.

That said. If you notice an error, please point it out if it is going to make you feel better. It will also make me feel better. I'll get to it as speedily as I can. e-mail address at the bottom.

On research

I don't really do a lot of this either. Most of what I write comes from whatever I have accumulated about a topic along the way. I will check years and dates (usually), and other numbers and statistics (always), though this doesn't preclude the possibility for mistakes. Does this mean that I am likely to be wrong? Yes it does. This doesn't really bother me. If what you 'know' is different from what I 'know', tell me about it. My e-mail is at the bottom. Alternatively, point out my mistakes in the comments section. I'm all about that.

It should also be noted that most of what I write is my opinion. I don't like including 'I think' in every sentence, so I don't. I like opinions. If your opinions differ from mine, and you want to share them without being a dick about it, send me an e-mail. I'd love to talk about someone else's ideas.

You can also share your opinions in the comments section. If you're dead set on being heard, and you don't want your comment deleted, try your hardest to avoid name calling, and attacks on anyone's character. I don't really have a lot of patience for that stuff, and I find that it is rarely constructive or productive. If you feel that your point can't be made without these things, perhaps whatever you have to say isn't worth saying, but feel free to say it anyway.

If you think that my opinion is based on poor information, or  that I am grossly misrepresenting something, let me know.

On contacting me

Do it. For whatever reason you feel like. I'm happy to hear from just about anyone, and you (and probably I) won't know if you aren't one of those someones until you try. My name is all over the place here, so you could probably find me on Facebook if you were so inclined, but it might be more straight forward if you e-mail me. My e-mail address is jacob dot c dot w dot henwood at gmail dot com.

There is also an e-mail contact form just up there to the right, and right up near the top are social media links to Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.

2 comments :

Mark Disher said...

'They' have invented a keyboard shortcut for dot. It is '.' Can you see it? It is not a full stop it is a dot or . fullstop

Jacob Henwood said...

Thanks full stop That apostrophe s going to make a huge difference to my blogging full stop Do you have any more tips to improve my productivity question mark Mark comma I apostrophe m still new at this full stop I also like chooks full stop