Daniel Bradley Explores

Author: Dan

  • The Right Way to Incorporate Technology Into College Studies

    The Right Way to Incorporate Technology Into College Studies

    You probably know that prioritizing time, eliminating distractions, taking notes, and using friends can all benefit your studies, but what about the ever evolving world of technology and artificial intelligence? That’s a great question that scientists and education experts are going to be studying for a while, and their findings may differ. For the purpose of helping you survive and thrive in college, let’s remember something important: there’s nothing wrong with being a traditional hard-working student.

    You’re not going to find a truly adequate short-cut to success. Ultimately, where you end up will depend on the character you build within yourself. Therefore, the technology you use to improve your grades, maximize your time, really doesn’t matter in the end. What’s important is that you build yourself into the student that’s going to carry amazing skills and work ethic into your career.

    Let’s imagine two students. One is Janice, the other is Jay. 

    Janice has all the toys. Her bright white, shiny laptop and her numerous tablets make her trendy and smooth at the library. She also makes sure to maximize her use of AI, having it compile notes for her and help her brainstorm ideas. She looks and feels like a blogger dream, right up to her sweet new sublimation printed thermos that says “Future President.”

    Jay, on the other hand, isn’t so trendy. His laptop takes a half hour to start up on a good day. He usually finds himself scribbling notes in binders of notebook paper. When he has to write a paper, he stays in the library until it closes at midnight and emails himself what’s left of the paper even though people have told him he can just use the cloud. He’s behind the times but he has managed to get good grades. His teachers praise his writing voice and original thoughts.

    See that’s where Jay is winning. Originality, because that’s what his professors are looking for.

    But Janice with her toys. She starts to realize that an AI will do the work for her. She can brainstorm, format, compile, and turn in acceptable work in a fraction of the time by having a computer think for her. The only problem is, even before AI checks on her work, her writing feels stale with a hint of uncanny valley. Is she cheating? Maybe, maybe not, but she’s getting away with work that would make the old school great minds of universities past flip over and hurl in their graves.

    That’s because she forgot that she’s going to college to learn and grow herself, not just find fast ways to turn things in.

    The real case study for these two would be to see which one thrives more outside of college. Surely, both will find AI a part of their workplace, but one will have the stronger study and work muscles. Can you tell which one? Probably the person who worked harder to begin with.

    When you get to school, make sure to see what technological expectations your professor has written into your course’s syllabus. If they say no computers, just don’t use any computers. Even if what you’re doing isn’t technically cheating, shortcuts of any kind won’t do you any long term favors. Be adaptable to your school and professor’s expectations first and foremost.

    Got any more tips about technology and school? Try out the comment section.

    This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book How to Survive College by Art Ridley. Find it soon on Amazon.

  • How to Use White Space for Emotional Effect in Your Stories

    How to Use White Space for Emotional Effect in Your Stories

    It’s writing advice day. Recently, I made a video in an over the shoulder-style way to help you use the white space of your paragraph structure to create emotional effect in the rhythm of a reader’s experience. Want to see what I mean? Check it out:

    DBRADELYEXPLORES on YouTube

    You see, too many words on a single page, or in one paragraph, can muddle a readers experience. That’s one of the reasons why on blogs like this you see so much white space.

    It’s easier to read when you have lots of paragraphs with white space in between them.

    Did you see what I just did there?

    I’m using white space to slow down your reading and help you comprehend what I’m writing.

    When you have a moment where you want to highlight something, particularly for emotional effect, you can do so by putting that moment inside it’s own white space frame, or in other words, it’s own paragraph. For example.

    I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was right there the whole time. All my days searching leading up to this and at last I’d found it.

    In my hands I held the lost rolls of Poopydom.

    That’s a silly block, but you get the idea.

    After you watch the video, try this out in your own writing. See if you can change the emotional experience of your writing, not by telling emotions, but drawing them out by altering the rhythm of the page. I think you’ll like what it does for you.

    Check out another article/video I just made, and let me know if these are working for you.

  • How to Write a Short Story that Doesn’t Suck

    Do you like writing short stories? How do you feel about starting one? A blank page, in any medium, can be daunting. Like a painter’s first stroke, the opening line of a story can be hard to lay down. This week, I made a video showing you my own method for quickly creating the first lines of an intriguing story. Check it out!

    All you need to start a good story is a prompt and a willingness to throw a rich character right into the action, a day where everything changes. Opening lines need to create questions that will automatically form in the reader’s mind. Questions evoke a sense of mystery. Short stories that do well play with themes of irony and reflection. Have you ever watched The Twilight Zone? Lots of good examples there, such as the story of Henry Bemis, the bank teller’s best laid plans.

    The short fiction world of writing is in full bloom these days. Contests abound and prizes are ripe. I’m going to be making more videos like this and writing more short fiction of my own. Let me know what you think! Comment your thoughts here on the blog or on the YouTube video itself. What experience/challenges have you had with short fiction?

  • Catching Awesome Insights from Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers

    Catching Awesome Insights from Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers

    Let me tell you about a book, but first let me tell you about why I’m reading it.

    I write, do you?

    I write a lot of science fiction. Am I published? Sort of, I have a story on Amazon’s Kindle Vella and a nonfiction dog training book that’s out there as both an ebook and audiobook, but that’s just the start of an avalanche of words I’m spilling out everyday for a novel that I really want to put out in the traditional publishing world. I’m sure it would be fine if I self-published, but I believe in this book like it were my ivy-league-bound child. I’ve often heard of stories being compared to children. This child of mine is a star athlete on the soccer pitch of sci-fi ideas.

    Great right? But now that the book is almost grown, I have to start thinking about how I’m going to publish it. Since you’ve found this article, maybe you’re someone in a similar boat. You’ve had ideas, you’ve written them down, maybe you’re like me and you’re almost done, but now what?

    Let me know about your projects in the comments, I’d love to hear.

    Dealing with an Oversaturated Market

    With the up-rise of self publishing in the book market, especially science fiction, my market, and the consolidation of big publishers, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. That’s why I bought this book that I promised to tell you about. Here it is: Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents. I apologize for how that link looks, those of us who use Amazon affiliate links have the burden of using what we’re given.

    Anyway, of everything I’ve read so far from blogs, etc. this book has the most concise, easy-to-read, no nonsense answers to how to break into the world of publishing. Jeff says that about 1 in 1,000 books submitted to publishers will get published. That’s why you have to play the game more aggressively than you might think. Jeff says:

    “As a writer with an unpublished manuscript, your destination is blocked by a cabal of trolls generally referred to as editors and agents. First, you must get them to read your work. This is done by pitching them, which means you must convince them to actually look at your work without summarily assigning it to the abyss.”

    Jeff Herman

    Herman gives the magic number of 10 for the number of agents to pitch to at a time. To be honest, I would never have guessed that, so I’m glad I’ve read his book.

    Up to Date Information

    Herman’s book is up to date and full of a fantastic directory of agents and publishing editors to start pitching. I haven’t begun that part of my journey yet, but I will soon. It’s exciting and thoroughly daunting all at the same time. I think I felt less intimidated meeting my drill sergeants for the first time.

    Never mind, that’s a lie.

    But the list is more than names. Each agent introduces themselves and what they’re looking for, saving you a lot of time. I’ve already got a few that I’m planning to reach out to here soon.

    The up to date information combined with Herman’s years of expertise makes for a very interesting read. He talks about starting out back in the days of everything snail mail. Oddly enough, he says that snail mail is still a good way to go because it can help you stand out from the hundreds of email submissions that your work might otherwise have to climb out of. However, I’m sure every agent is different.

    Saving Time and Effort

    Researching publishers and their submission requirements can be time-consuming and frustrating. Jeff Herman’s Guide streamlines this process, putting all the essential information in one place. By investing in this guide, you can save countless hours of research and focus your energy on perfecting your manuscript and submissions. That’s what it seems like. I’ll let you know once I’m published in ten years. Just kidding, sort of.

    But I feel like that with this access to insider knowledge, detailed profiles, and expert advice, I’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions.

    Showing My Work

    If you’ve followed the progress of my blog, you know that I’ve written on multiple topics. I want this website to be mainly where I show my work, where my creative journey can be documented with a sense of community. So, on that note. Have you read this book? Do you have any others you would recommend for authors looking to “break out.”

  • Ways Border Collies Can Actually Make the Best Family Dogs

    Ways Border Collies Can Actually Make the Best Family Dogs

    This is Arthur.

    He’s an adopted Border Collie from the county animal shelter. I rescued him in 2019 on National Dog Day when he was 10 months old. I didn’t know it was National Dog Day, but the coincidence was convenient because the shelter waived a whole bunch of fees and I could actually afford him. Let me tell you, don’t be fooled by what you read online, Border Collies like Arthur make the best family dogs.

    Not all dogs are the same, even within a breed, so you should evaluate each dog you meet individually. I’ll just tell you about Arthur.

    Great with kids

    I don’t know if you knew it, but raised properly Border Collies can be fantastic, protective, and loyal to children. They’ve even been known to want to heard them together like sheep in their care. When he was first adopted, Arthur would get nervous when kids would touch him, but after playing fetch with my nephews, he learned that kids were even more fun than adults because they’d play fetch for as long as he wanted to, or even longer, which is insane if you know the endurance of Border Collies.

    Built for Adventure

    Border Collies are made for the outdoor lifestyle. They love open fields and long hiking trails. Being very obedient dogs, you can take them with you off-leash (where it’s allowed, of course.) They’ll love to go with you almost any place you can imagine. Go ahead and read my article about off-leash hiking for more information. In addition, as herding dogs, they’ll likely see children as sheep they need to keep together, so they’ll help make sure the family stays accounted for on long expeditions.

    Well Behaved in the House

    As natural working dogs, many people have the misconception that Border Collies are bad house/apartment dogs. My dog Arthur had a hard time settling down at first indoors, but he’s since learned to be very comfortable. We’ve lived in both houses and apartments together, and he knows how to behave. I would recommend crate training, at least for young Border Collies at first because they tend to get extra bored when you’re not around. They’re little smart escape artists and food finders.

    Border Collies are extremely attached to their families, so they want to be wherever you are. If you are in the house, they want to be in the house. If they want to be outside, they’ll want you outside with them.

    They Love to Cuddle

    The heading speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

    Photo by Undine Tackmann on Unsplash

    Get Down to the Shelter and Adopt

    Of course raising a dog from puppy on up is a wonderful experience, but remember to consider adopting from your local shelter. Border Collies are often left in rescues by their owners who don’t understand what kind of amazing companions they can become. Adopting Arthur was the best decision I ever made. So, if you’re on the fence, head down to the shelter and take a Border Collie mix into the playroom. I bet you’ll like what you find.