Allan Duffin - Writer/Producer

Summer's here! Upcoming magazine articles

Lots of great reading coming up in the next several months! I have articles scheduled for publication in Military Heritage Magazine this October (Roy Morris, Jr., editor); DramaBiz (2 articles in the July/August issue -- Joel Dorr, editor); and Towing & Recovery Footnotes (multiple articles during the next several months -- Bill Candler, editor).

Also coming up: A short piece for Air&Space/Smithsonian Magazine (Linda Shiner and Pat Trenner, editors); a new article for AMVETS' American Veteran Magazine (Jonathan Agg, editor); and still more in Military Heritage.

I've been asked why I usually list the editors' names along with the articles. Well, when it comes to creating and fine-tuning a piece for a magazine or newspaper, the editor is the boss, and I'm very fortunate to work for a lot of great ones. So I like to list their names in appreciation, and because I think it's good for readers to know who drives these outstanding publications.

I'll post more about these articles as the issues appear on the newsstands in the near future. Stay tuned!

Oral history from any telephone, anywhere

So much of my writing takes the form of personal storytelling -- interviews with people about their lives -- that I was intrigued to find the online service LifeOnRecord.com. During any event, or anytime at all, someone can dial a telephone number and record their thoughts for posterity. The audio recordings can then be dropped to a CD, transmitted via e-mail, or sent on iTunes. If you don't want to carry a voice recorder, don't have your computer nearby, or want to do something different for, say, your wedding, LifeOnRecord.com gives you an interesting option.

From the company's recent announcement:

Subscribers to the LifeOnRecord Personal Audio Journal receive a phone number to call and record their thoughts and stories of daily life that might otherwise be forgotten.

The LifeOnRecord Weddings and Events Services capture the well-wishes and anecdotes that surround special occasions. Guests invited to a birthday, wedding, or other special occasion call a toll-free number and record their sentiments and favorite stories about the guest of honor.

With both services, the recordings can be preserved on a keepsake CD, managed from a web site, listened to on a telephone, automatically emailed, and one-click downloaded into iTunes. The services take the traditional means of scrapbooking, journaling, and home videos one step further.

It's an interesting way to get an oral record of events because many people can call in to leave their thoughts and wishes in one place. Pretty cool!