1. Formatting Shortcuts. As mentioned above, it's a great way to pre-program a type of formatting you prefer for your contributions here on Writing.com. In an article I wrote several years ago called "Effective Formatting" , I talked about the importance of effective formatting in creating work that appeals to a reader. Consider a macro that customizes your preference in terms of font, font size, line spacing, etc. to ensure that your work is effectively formatted with minimal effort on your part.

2. Signatures. While Writing.com does give you the ability to create a signature that will be applied to all of your items (and Premium+ members can create more than one signature and customize them for particular forums or book items), if you're the kind of person that wants to more selectively include a signature in certain circumstances, you can create a macro with all the info and formatting you want contained in a signature that you can then drop into something with the click of a couple buttons.

3. Review Templates. If you've ever used review templates on the site and review more than one type of material, you know that creating templates can be a real challenge. Do you create separate templates for reviewing fiction (where you evaluate story, character, dialogue, etc.) and poetry (where you evaluate structure, imagery, etc.)? Or do you create one big review template with all the options in there, and then delete the pieces that you don't use? If you do reviews for multiple review activities, do you have to create multiple templates per activity? With macros you can create a generic review template, then easily drop in the categories/breakdown that you want to apply to that review.

4. Format Regular Contributions. Do you contribute regularly to an activity that has particular formatting or submission requirements? You can create a macro that contains all the information you need to make sure you don't have to remember time and again. For example, if you always forget to include your word count in items you write for the official contests, create an "official contests" macro that not only includes the WritingML formatting to get it exactly how you want, but also includes a prompt for the word count so you don't forget to enter it in when you're proofing your item. Or if you regularly participate in an activity like "The Soundtrack of Your Life" , you can pre-format your blog entry so that they're all presented the same way, and have a place for you to fill in the day, the link to the song, etc. Macros can be a huge time-saver if you're interested in formatting regular contributions to an activity consistently.

EXCERPT: Though many sports involve much physical exertion, there are also those that require less action and far more mental energy; chess being the latter. Chess is an abstract strategy board game between two players that involves no hidden information. It is played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The player controlling the white pieces moves first, followed by the player controlling the black pieces. The object of the game is to checkmate your opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way for it to escape. There are also several ways for a game to end in a draw. Everyone agrees that chess is a game but there is much debate as to whether or not it is a sport.

EXCERPT: I was 15 years old when I had a dream. I found myself in a place I had heard about but had never been to. I was looking around when a guy stopped in front of me and asked for my name. I answered, "Kimberly." He then asked, "Kimberly what?" and I replied, "Bien-Aime, Kimberly Bien-Aime." He was surprised and immediately asked for my father's name. I answered, "Jeanty." He then asked, "And your mom's name is Rose-Manie, right?" I was surprised and asked, "How do you know my mother's name?"

EXCERPT: “If I had to give an estimate, I’d say you’re probably looking at anywhere between eight to ten months.” The words sent a bolt of ice through her veins, and she stared, unblinking, at the doctor in front of her. She knew he was still speaking, the sound of his voice surrounding her, but none of it made sense. Eight to ten months. The words ricocheted through her, and she felt pressure building behind her eyes. The ticking of the clock seemed to be growing louder and louder, the little metal hand inching along. At best she had 304 days, less than a year to live.

EXCERPT: Most were asleep.

Yet for the vampire, Alucard, the night was young. Those which had not found their slumber were meandering aimlessly about the streets. Most were too drunk to care about where their next step might take them. These were the foolish that were easy prey, boring prey.

EXCERPT: What I'm about to say may challenge the way you think about yourself. The rewards of this shift in perspective may bring a new understanding about who you are and why you might want to seek self-improvement. So - at least for the brief moment - open your mind to the following concept - after we're through, feel free to pick up the concept of self that carried you here, as you walk out the door.

Interesting newsletter, Jeff. — Graywriter


I don't think one can be overly obsessed with trinkets. Certainly not me. That is sarcasm. I have spent hours hunting down hidden trinkets. Maybe my trinket making is also a little obsessive. Interested parties can find them in "Trinkets for Collection"  and on my newsfeed. Did you know that there is a nifty search bar above everyone's newsfeed? If you go to my newsfeed and type in "trinket," you will get a filtered version of my newsfeed with all the trinkets that I have posted along with the places where to collect them. — Annette