Tedium Highlight in Writing: The strange, fascinating career of Tom Bodett, who parlayed NPR radio essays into the longest-running spokesperson gig around. Not that it’s all he does. 

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Tag results: Writing

A Note On Note Apps

You shouldn’t rely on a SaaS-based note-taking application, in my view, and if you buy something, buy it outright. Here’s why.

Mile-High Productivity

Making room for in-flight productivity has long been a source of both consternation and electronic interference. But for some reason, it persists.

One Song, Many Writers

How modern songwriting evolved into a game of aggressive credit—even for the people who didn’t technically do the composing.

A Blank’s Blank

What does it mean to be an actor’s actor? Or a writer’s writer? Or … well, you get the idea. Let’s try to make sense of a phrase that shapes how we think about success.

Longform Brevity

Alt-form storytelling, a key magazine-and-newspaper design trend, hasn’t truly flourished on the modern internet. Axios could go way further than it does.

❝The Quote Issue❞

“We use a lot of quotes at Tedium, but we’ve never done an issue of Tedium ABOUT quotations,” Ernie said when writing this piece. “Let’s fix that.”

Yikes! You Call That a Pencil?

How a pencil made out of compressed particle boards became a schoolyard fad—and what that pencil line has to do with olestra.

Tedious Failures, Revisited

A little advice on how to become a successful writer, as explained via lessons on becoming a failed comedy songwriter.

How I Research Stuff

If you’re a longtime reader of Tedium, you might wonder how I manage to uncover so many strange stories. Well, let me tell you. Hopefully it’s inspiring.

The Things That Go Bump On The Web

Explaining the power of collaborative fiction on the web—particularly the extremely compelling work of the SCP Foundation.

The World Of Whiteboards

The whiteboard, despite being designed specifically for schools at first, became a huge hit with the business world before schools really embraced it.

So Much Stuff Out There

It’s been a while since we’ve done a grab bag, so let’s grab that bag and see what’s inside.

Newsletter, Untethered

There’s no real reason you have to use a platform like Substack to send email. If you want to get into making a newsletter of your own, understand your options.

Sorkin, Strunk, and White

Pondering one of the the defining screenwriters of the 21st century through the prism of an iconic style guide. Sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners.

The Tough Climb

Being creative is easier than ever, yet some are motivated to go down the more complicated road to reach creative nirvana. Why is that?

Text By Procedure

A short history of procedurally generated text, which both humans and computers have had a hand in making throughout history.

Write Everything Down

What makes someone obsessively journal every moment of their life? In some cases, it might actually be hypergraphia, a condition tied to a neurological trait.

Blogging Bandwagon Jumpers

Are you starting a blog in 2019? Here's a list of some sites that I know are getting off the ground this year. Have one of your own? Let us know.

Leavin’ The Light On

The strange, fascinating career of Tom Bodett, who parlayed NPR radio essays into the longest-running spokesperson gig around. Not that it’s all he does.

Blogging Before it Was Cool

Jerry Pournelle, who died last week at 84, was perhaps the first blogger, even if he hated the term. Here’s a reflection on the iconic former Byte writer.
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