Nostalgia of the Mind

Build-up/Filler: Here I’ll outline another random writing tip which is extremely useful when you don’t know the exact name of someone or something, but will look it up later. Maybe you are too tired search for a name buried deep in your (horrendously messy, if you are(?) I) notes. Maybe you are without internet, as I am, riding a bus home from work (here as a programmer). Maybe you are in “the zone” and even the moment’s pause looking something up will break your concentration, and your work flow. Whatever the circumstance, this method makes it nice and simple for you.

Breakdown: Let’s say you are writing an essay on Pakistan’s prime minister (or president, or whatever), and you don’t know his name. You could just leave it blank, and then go through the document, inserting his name in two dozen different places. Or, just use a placeholder. Just a word or a phrase to let you (and the computer) where the name should be. I like to use NAME1, because then, if you need another name, then you can use NAME2, and also, the computer won’t confuse it with name, or Name. The trick here is to use the greatest of inventions, the “Find and Replace” dialog. Pressing Edit - Find or CRTL-F brings it up in most applications. Then, making sure to press “case sensitive,” type in NAME1 to find, and the guy’s name as the replacement. And, presto, all done.