What Made Me Yell On The SkyWheel?

The other weekend I was in Niagara Falls, Ontairo with my siblings and my kids and we decided to take a ride on the SkyWheel.

Niagara SkyWheel is a 175-foot tall Ferris wheel in the middle of Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

When we reached the top and I saw the view, I let out a yell. What made me yell? No, I'm not afraid of heights.

It wasn't this.

Niagara Falls, USA.

Or this.

Dino Mini Putt

But actually this! 

 

More specifically this!

It's an upside down house! Why did this make me yell? In my picture book manuscript, ANNALEE FRILL, the main character lives in an upside down house. I was so excited that one actually existed I yelled to my sister to take a picture. Being the wonderful person that she is, she got the best picture she could. This house is exactly how I pictured Annalee's house, except it would be on an upside down hill. If you want to learn more about the upside down house in Niagara Falls you can visit their site at http://www.upsidedownhouseniagarafalls.ca/

Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the house during our visit but we don't live too far from Niagara so I will be sure to go next time I'm there. Looking for the ANNALEE FRILL picture book? Well, it's not published yet. I'm currently looking for a publisher or agent. When it does get published, I will be sure to get a picture of me with my book in front of the house. I look forward to that day!

How is a Car like an Oven?

How hot is it in Hamilton, Ontario?

It's so hot, a closed car can kill a person.

Spectator Reporter, Bill Dunphy 'bakes' himself in a car for 30 minutes. The inside of the car gets so hot that the paramedics' equipment, used to monitor Bill, malfunctions. Be sure to watch the video in Bill Dunphy's report at http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3895169-baked-my-car-turned-into-an-oven/

Don't leave anyone(children, elderly, pets) in a car in the heat!

The Hamilton Peregrine Falcon Banding

A quick post to share this year's banding video of the peregrine falcons in Hamilton.
TheSpec - Banding the Peregrine Falcons in Hamilton

See my post from last year http://madelinebarr.blogspot.ca/2012/06/peregrine-falcon-chicks-banded-in.html

Measuring the Readability of Your Writing

In a Business Writing workshop I learned about Gunning Fog Index.
Fog Index measures the readability of English writing.
Which made me wonder if this can help me with other writing projects.

What is the ideal Fog Index? 

That would depend on how well your audience can read.
An index of 12 or more is for people with a reading ability at the University level. This would be ideal for an academic paper.

If you're looking to reach a wider audience, a lower index number would be more appropriate. For the general population an index of 8-10 is ideal.

Different publications have a different fog index:

• Reader's Digest 8-9
• Time and Wall Street Journal 11
• The Bible and Mark Twain 6

Calculating the Fog Index

1. Select a section of writing about 100 words in length. End with a complete sentence.
2. Count the number of sentences in that section
3. Count the complex words in that section. Complex words have three syllables or more. Do not include proper names or compound words. Do not include suffixes as a syllable (e.g. ing, ed and es)
4. Divide 100 by the number of sentences. Add the number of complex words.
5. Multiply this number by 0.4 for the Fog Index number.

And, for those of you who like equations:  0.4(100/b +c) = Fog Index

Online Fog Index Calculators

If you are having difficulty with the calculation, you can always use an online calculator. I've noticed they give different results plus they can't take out proper names and so on, but they will giver you a general idea. 

• http://gunning-fog-index.com/
• http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp
• http://www.panix.com/~dhf/fog.html

Personally, I like to do the calculation myself.

If you're curious, this post's Fog Index is between 8 and 9.

How foggy is your writing? 

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Other Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunning_fog_index

http://www.writing-information-and-tips.com/fog-index.html

http://www.knitnut.net/2009/02/are-you-happy-with-your-fog-index/

Technical Writing Course Update: Interviewing a Subject Matter Expert.

Last week in the Technical Writing course I'm taking we covered publication goals (business and usability goals) and audience analysis. Absolutely loved it!

This week we're working on task-mapping, table of contents and indexes. I'm in the process of working on my assignment and I can see why task-mapping is so important. I can't wait to try this on a real project.

I've already done a lot of the reading for next week. It involves information gathering and interviewing subject matter experts (SME.) The articles about SME make me laugh because I can think of a few people who fit into 'hoarder' category. The people who want to keep all information to themselves because it makes them feel smarter - they know something you don't. Or maybe it makes them feel more secure in their jobs. In either case, trying to get information from them sometimes feels impossible. After you have interviewed these people and find out you missed something you may find yourself asking them, "Why didn't you tell me that?" Usually the answer from an information 'hoader' is an arrogant, "You didn't ask."

 Below are some links to more information about interviewing SMEs. They are not the ones from my class but basically contain the same information.

• http://poewar.com/how-technical-writers-gather-information-interviewing-the-smes/
• http://www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/0505-sme.html 
• http://www.slideshare.net/RichMaggiani/effective-interviewing-of-subject-matter-experts

On My Way To A Technical Writer Certificate!

I am starting my journey towards getting my Technical Writer Certificate!  My first course starts on September 12^th and I’m very excited.  In my full time job I work in the technical field where I already write up a lot of documentation. The department has been going through big changes and some of my new responsibilities will be:

Create test documents

Document system functionality, particularly related to new enhancements

Document analysis and defects

Prepare and review recommendations and other project initiation documents

Prepare and review end user and operations documentation, training materials, and timelines

Not only did I request to take this program to become more efficient in my job, creating clear and informative documents but it has been a personal interest for some time.

I can’t wait to start.

How Can You Not Love This?

Here's something while you procrastinate. Maybe it will give you some writing inspiration.

I'm In The Author Spotlight!

I was interviewed by the Ink Babes on the Bleeding Ink blog for my poem YOU ARE NOT MY CHILD in the Bleeding Ink Anthology. (That's a lot of bleeding and a lot of ink)

Check out the interview at bleedinginkanthology.wordpress.com
/2012/08/21/bleeding-ink-author-spotlight-madeline-barr/

Thank you Ink Babes!

You can purchase a copy of the Bleeding Ink Anthology at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/178855

WriteOnCon - Online Children’s Writers Conference

Guess what I am attending over the next 2 days? WriteOnCon!

I found it last year just as is ended and I was very disappointed. Well, this year I've made sure I'm there and I'm very excited.

WriteOnCon has all the events of a writer's conference done online and free! All the events are scheduled around working hours.

Hopefully a "ninja agent" finds the picture book manuscripts I posted and provides some helpful feedback. Maybe I will randomly be selected to receive feed back from Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tiffany Strelitz Haber on the stanza I submitted from my rhyming PB manuscript. Or perhaps I will submit a query for review. The events are not just for picture books but all kidlit including MG and YA.

To find out more information about WriteOnCon visit http://writeoncon.com/about/what-is-writeoncon/

Are you attending WriteOnCon and want to critique my work? Two of my picture book stories can be found are....

• ANNALEE FRILL - Quirky Annalee lives an upside-down in a right-side-up world
• ELEPHANT IN THE CUPBOARD - Save the peanut butter!

Can't wait to see you there!

My 2012 Horrorku Is Now Available in Scifaikuest - 10th Anniversary issue

I'm excited to announce that the 10th Anniversary issue of Scifaikuest is now available at http://sdpbookstore.com/scifaikuest.htm

Along with the featured poet Albert W. Grohmann, you will find my 2012 horrorku in the print edition. This is my second appearance in this magazine. I had my scifi tanka, BRAIN SPIDERS, published in the November 2009 print edition issue.

I can't wait to have my copy of the print edition arrive in the mail any day now.

Feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any questions or comments.

CHEERS!