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Scots or Scotch with that prose?

by Roaddog
11 replies
In my humble opinion there are two things in online marketing that are important to, if not master, then at least having a working knowledge or overview of.

These would be understanding basic code, and beyond / programmer / software engineering and so forth.

Best place I found a few years ago to start was, (for anyone interested) here,(www.w3schools.com) and its free.

Being able to write well, whether that be copy writing / articles / e books etc...

I believe in starting with the basic of basics.

Now the coding was fairly easy to find how to start at the basic level for free.

My question is, are there any recommendations on basic writing skills, ie: sites, courses to help in improving writing skills.

And I ask, good free ones, because I don't buy, anymore, unless I have proven to myself that I am going to need it, or have some semblance of talent for it.

While I'm at it, I really have to hand it people who do this, where English,
is not their first language.


Like Australians.



Before the Aussie's start on me, I never had a better time when I was stationed in the far east, than with the Aussie's.
but that Strine took awhile to get used to. The only other time I had such a hard time understanding somebody speaking English was a Scottish soldier with no teeth, in a bar in Hong Kong.

Two hours into some tsingtao and scotch, we spoke the same
language however..... go figure.

It goes to show that even speaking the same language, it is hard to understand what people actually mean.

Thus my belief that it is important to at least try to improve my writing,
and to be consistent with it


Any recommendations?
#coding #prose #recommendations #scotch #scots #writing
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    Originally Posted by Roaddog View Post

    My question is, are there any recommendations on basic writing skills, ie, sites, courses to help in improving writing skills.

    And I ask, good free ones, because I don't buy, anymore, unless I have proven to myself that I am going to need it, or have some semblance of talent for it.

    While I'm at it, I really have to hand it people who do this, where English,
    is not their first language.


    Like Australians.


    Any recommendations?

    Loved the Aussie joke.

    ESL sites are usually good for learning English. ESL is short for "English as a Second Language".

    I cannot help you with specific recommendations, but searching Google for ESL might help.
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    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author Roaddog
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      Loved the Aussie joke.

      ESL sites are usually good for learning English. ESL is short for "English as a Second Language".

      I cannot help you with specific recommendations, but searching Google for ESL might help.

      Thanks for answering tpw, but you may have misunderstood my question.
      English is my first language.

      (but it does go to show my writing/ communication stinks) LOL

      I wanted to get a place that might be a good starting point for improving writing skills.

      From the basics on.


      I have to go pick up my boy from school (wish Incansoft would come up with a bot for that one) Hopefully I can get an answer from an experienced writer.

      I really would like to improve the writing skills.

      Thanks

      Jim
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
        One of the issues with teaching and learning writing skills, is that the written work needs feedback and usually feedback in a relatively timey manner.

        You can probably find sites online that will show you the basics of writing, but without a live feedback component, it is going to be hard to improve.

        There may be a site or two somewhere that someone is willing to provide you the kind of in-depth feedback you need to improve, but finding one for free might be kind of tough.

        I have taught writing in a community college in adult classes and I can attest that it takes a fair amount of feedback on a personalized basis for a student to improve.
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        • Profile picture of the author Roaddog
          Originally Posted by JMichaelZ View Post

          One of the issues with teaching and learning writing skills, is that the written work needs feedback and usually feedback in a relatively timey manner.

          You can probably find sites online that will show you the basics of writing, but without a live feedback component, it is going to be hard to improve.

          There may be a site or two somewhere that someone is willing to provide you the kind of in-depth feedback you need to improve, but finding one for free might be kind of tough.

          I have taught writing in a community college in adult classes and I can attest that it takes a fair amount of feedback on a personalized basis for a student to improve.

          Thanks for answering

          So you don't think there is a formula?
          Say for instance for writing articles, improving copywriting.
          One that can be taught?

          If I am reading what your saying right, it's subjective to the point of having to be a natural?


          Just so I am a little clearer,

          I have a lot of mechanics down in online, like ftp, building sites, using several software's, getting links.databases etc... etc... ad nauseam. And have for years. The only thing I outsource, is my spelling, to Firefox. I have a number of sites outside the IM niche.

          I have as much conjecture on how to tickle Googles pickle, as any human can retain.
          Also a lot of theories, also conjecture (let's face it) about what they are going to do next, which nobody really knows, except them.

          I've seen a lot of anomalies in the last few years, that so called IM guru's spout as gospel, about what optimizing for search ( any SE) is about


          I am turning back now and trying to improve what I see as very important aspects of business that I need improve on.

          Working on the coding, started a few years ago with HTML, then css, now really trying to get better at php. Especially handy in my view.

          The one good guide to even start in the right place, is learning to write a little better.


          And how would be a good way to start.


          ESL aside


          Thanks

          Jim
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          Ken Strong Cancer Donation | Keep Ken Strong WSO





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          • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
            Originally Posted by Roaddog View Post

            Thanks for answering

            So you don't think there is a formula?
            Say for instance for writing articles, improving copywriting.
            One that can be taught?

            If I am reading what your saying right, it's subjective to the point of having to be a natural?
            Nope, it is me that did not make it clear what I wanted to say. I do think there is a system to learn how to write, but I am not sure you are going to find one for free on the internet.

            Writing copy is different than SEO writing and that is different that writing for the purposes of illustrating something.

            Each of those smaller sized areas of writing is taught in a particular style, but all of those involve feedback. And the best training programs provide relatively instant feedback.

            If you find a writing tutorial for free on the internet, one that gives you feedback from a live human, it will more than likely be for a more scholastic type of writing.

            Might not be, I certainly have not been to all the sites on the internet, but I suspect that to be true.
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            • Profile picture of the author Roaddog
              Originally Posted by JMichaelZ View Post

              Nope, it is me that did not make it clear what I wanted to say. I do think there is a system to learn how to write, but I am not sure you are going to find one for free on the internet.

              Writing copy is different than SEO writing and that is different that writing for the purposes of illustrating something.

              Each of those smaller sized areas of writing is taught in a particular style, but all of those involve feedback. And the best training programs provide relatively instant feedback.

              If you find a writing tutorial for free on the internet, one that gives you feedback from a live human, it will more than likely be for a more scholastic type of writing.

              Might not be, I certainly have not been to all the sites on the internet, but I suspect that to be true.

              I hear ya.

              I was trying, thru my lack of communication skills, to make somewhat of a comparison to find something that equates with the way I got started with learning code.

              Like, W3schools, which in my view is one of the best examples of the advantages of the net in being able to continue your education.

              Which for me will never end.


              How about a paid course any recommendations ( speaking of subjective)


              Thanks Z

              and thanks TPW

              I know I am probably not that clear on what I am looking for.


              Jim
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              KimW a Fellow Warrior Who Really Needs Help
              Ken Strong Cancer Donation | Keep Ken Strong WSO





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              • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
                One of the pretty good places to learn copywriting is the AWAI course.
                That is at

                the writers life dot com.

                There is nothing amiss with your writing skills. Most writing is about communicating what you are thinking. It is the thinking patterns that are the hardest to teach and that is why feedback in a relatively immediate timeframe is probably more important than any other aspect.

                That is one reason why I like the copywriting program I recommended, you do get feedback. That part is pretty cool.
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      • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
        Originally Posted by Roaddog View Post

        English is my first language.

        (but it does go to show my writing/ communication stinks) LOL
        ...or Bill's reading skills
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        • Profile picture of the author tpw
          Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

          Originally Posted by Roaddog View Post

          English is my first language.

          (but it does go to show my writing/ communication stinks) LOL

          I really would like to improve the writing skills.

          ...or Bill's reading skills

          Maybe...

          But I still think there is SOME value in the answer, because they are websites that focus on speaking and writing English.

          Otherwise, the best I can do is this:
          writing tutorials - Google Search
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          Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
          Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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