John Steinbeck’s Six Tips for the Aspiring Writer and His Nobel Prize Speech. Today is the 110th birthday of writer John Steinbeck, whose great novel of the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath, gives an eloquent and sympathetic voice to the dispossessed.
In 1962, Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception. " You can watch him deliver his Nobel speech above. And for insights into how Steinbeck reached that pinnacle, you can read a collection of his observations on the art of fiction from the Fall, 1975 edition of The Paris Review, including six writing tips jotted down in a letter to a friend the same year he won the Nobel Prize. Writing Tips by Henry Miller, Elmore Leonard, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman & George Orwell. Image by Austin Kleon Here's one way to become a better writer.
Listen to the advice of writers who earn their daily bread with their pens. During the past week, lists of writing commandments by Henry Miller, Elmore Leonard (above) and William Safire have buzzed around Twitter. (Find our Twitter stream here.) Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction. Image by Lloyd Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Before he was a big game hunter, before he was a deep-sea fisherman, Ernest Hemingway was a craftsman who would rise very early in the morning and write.
His best stories are masterpieces of the modern era, and his prose style is one of the most influential of the 20th century. Hemingway never wrote a treatise on the art of writing fiction. PageFour - Novel Writing Software - Software for Creative Writers. How to Edit Your Own Writing. Phrase Thesaurus - ideas generator for writers. Big Think Interview With Robert McKee. How To Bullshit Your Way Through Any Essay. If there is one thing college kids neglect the most, besides basic diet and hygiene, it’s the homework assignment essay.
Hastily written and utterly unedited the night before it’s due, the modern essay has become something of a nightmare for lackadaisical college students. But writing an essay that seems like it was written by someone with more than a double-digit IQ is not nearly as difficult as it seems, I assure you. Even the laziest Guitar Hero II god can whiz through an essay that reads like it was written by F.
Scott Motherfucking Fitzgerald. What seems difficult and scary is actually as simple and accessible as you can want. 1)The introductory paragraph. 2)The thesis. Book-A-Minute Classics. Got another book report to do?
English teachers have the inconsiderate habit of assigning mammoth-sized works of literature to read and then actually expecting you to do it. This wouldn't be so bad except that invariably the requisite reading is as boring as fly fishing in an empty lake. Half of those books don't even have discernible plots.
And let's face it -- the Cliff's Notes are pretty time-consuming too. Worry no more. Creative Writing Forums - Writing Workshops, Writing Help, Creative Writing Contests. Plot Scenario Generator. Confusing Words. Tension. Hook Your Readers With Tension By Laura Backes, Write4Kids.com Tension.
Without it, life would be—let's face it—boring. So would fiction. Tension works with conflict to raise the emotional level of the text to a boiling point. It forces the reader to become invested in the story. "Tension" is a loaded word, and can be misleading. Tension is what hooks readers of any age and keeps them turning the pages. . * The ticking clock. . * Dialogue. . * Pacing. . * Sentence structure. Each story requires a different kind of tension. Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles. Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE.
We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. Each time I have learned something new. The one thing I love, you take everything apart and give examples.
" - Katlen Skye "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!! " "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers Links for Writers.
Unsorted [/writers] James Patrick Kelly - Murder Your Darlings - "When time comes to make that final revision, however, you must harden your heart, sharpen the ax and murder your darlings.
" - StumbleUpon. Naomi Rose can help you with: how to write a book, writing a book, short story writing, writing child book, tips on writing a book, steps to writing a book, writing your own book, writing a non fiction book, Book coaching, Book-writing guidance, Help writ. By Naomi Rose.
National Novel Writing Month. [places for writers] - connecting writers with places to publish [places for writers] The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle.
Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. DarkCopy - Simple, full screen text editing. BlaBlaMeter - Bullshit detection tool.