Leslie Lang | Talk Story Press

Read this article and you’ll understand why I’m interested in gathering and writing personal histories.

My daughter went to her first-ever day of kindergarten today. It’s actually a sort of kindergarten orientation — two weeks of mandatory summer attendance where the kids get accustomed to their teachers, their classrooms and the routine, before jumping into school when it starts in August.
But it sure felt like real kindergarten this morning, as I walked her into that bright, cheery and busy classroom, and we put her change of clothes and sleeping blanket in her cubby, and learned where her box was for messages from the school. 
“Hi!” said …

Have you looked at my category at the top of this site? You know, where it says Copywriter?
I’m  never quite sure what’s best to call myself. Elsewhere, I have “writer and editorial consultant.” Which is clearer?
What I do is write for businesses.  

Here’s what you’d find if you read my Copywriting page:
These days it’s especially important that your business stands out. That it gets noticed. How do you make that happen?
We work together and make sure your potential clients know your story.
When there are two comparable brands of the same …

An article in tomorrow’s New York Times is titled ‘Hyperlocal’ Web Sites Deliver News Without Newspapers.
If your local newspaper shuts down, what will take the place of its coverage? Perhaps a package of information about your neighborhood, or even your block, assembled by a computer.
A number of Web start-up companies are creating so-called hyperlocal news sites that let people zoom in on what is happening closest to them, often without involving traditional journalists.

It’s very much like what has sprung up over at FBI blogs, to which I belong. (And when I …

Leslie: “Oh, nothing much; what’s new with you?”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Leslie Lang
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
808 964-1494
Twitter: @LeslieLang  
Kris Bordessa
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
530 295-0887
Twitter: @KBordessa
“On The Cheap” Websites Highlight Best Bargains on the Big Island and in Honolulu
Hilo, HI – March 6, 2009 – Tuesday, March 10th is the official launch of two new online sites – Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On The Cheap – which are dedicated to bringing Big Island and O‘ahu residents and visitors up-to-the-minute information on free, discount and cheap things to do and other local deals.
Motivated by the current coupon-clipping climate, Big Island …

Here goes: A “soft launch” of my new project!
I’ll bring out the balloons and party streamers later soon, but for now, I’ll just tell you: 
I’ve launched a new website. It’s called Honolulu On The Cheap, and it’s all about cheap, discounted and free things to do in Honolulu and on O‘ahu in general. It will be useful, I think, to both visitors and residents; I keep both groups in mind as I select what to post about.
I’ve just started putting up copy there, and here’s a sampling of what I’ve got …

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, which usually just end up being rather disappointing.
But like many people, I do tend to get reflective at the end of the year. Doesn’t it seem like a perfect time to pull one’s thoughts together and plan for a fresh new year coming up? While our bodies are relaxed and full of hot cider and snowball cookies, the new year always seems full of delicious possibilities.
This year, in my reflections, I knew that I’m ready to have a Power Year in terms of my …

Procrastination is not the freelance writer’s friend. 
Of all the suggestions I’ve heard over the years regarding being an efficient freelance writer, one of the best has been to start on an assignment as soon as you get it.
I try to do this and it really works. Sometimes it’s just getting started that’s the hardest part of writing something. So even if I just jot down some notes regarding how I plan to approach the story, gather up background research and set it aside in a folder, or make a list of possible interview subjects …

For lunch today, I had a picnic with my husband and little girl in the shade of our big old kukui nut tree. We brought along my daughter’s Bob (learning to read) books, and decided we will call it “The Reading Tree” and sit there sometimes to practice reading. She loved that.
After we ate and read and played some little kid horseshoes, I lay back on the green- and blue-striped picnic blanket and watched a white, cottony cloud barrel across the perfect blue sky. After awhile, my daughter and husband wandered …