About Richard N. Block
I’ve been writing and editing professionally for about ten years. I got started writing training documents for a computer lab and a videography department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I got into arts and entertainment reporting, then news and features, and was soon named managing editor of the Valley Voice, the local paper of Goleta, California. I then reported on city government and features in Chino, California, and I most recently worked in business communications, specializing in proposals.
Editing is my specialty. After spending years proofreading and helping revise academic papers, I followed UCSB’s professional-writing program. I got my minor with an emphasis in professional editing, and since then I have edited fiction, essays, news, reviews, academic papers, and business and marketing documents.
I have been practicing photography off and on since 1994. In 2002, I had the opportunity to advance my skills at the Voice, where I produced much of my own art for the stories I wrote. Then I bought my first digital SLR. Now, what was once a harmless hobby is taking over all my hard drives.
I also have experience tutoring students in English and computer skills, both one-on-one and in groups. I spent the 2007-08 academic year as an assistant teacher at a high school and a middle school in France. Not only did I make enormous progress with my French, but I rediscovered the fundamental components of English. I find I learn (or re-learn) things best by having to explain them, and my writing has grown stronger and clearer as a result of my teaching experience.
In 1998, at the computer lab, I learned how to code Web sites. I create my own Web content using a simple text editor and graphics software.
If you’re interested in discussing photography, writing, travel, soccer, the weather, or anything else, please drop me a line at richard@richardnblock.com. I’d love to hear from you.