How to Write Better: Online Writing Class. “I’ve taken other writing classes and this one was by far the most helpful and most practical.
My writing improved dramatically over the last month.” —James Gummer (additional testimonials) I recently decided to offer a recorded version of my online writing class to accommodate students who weren’t able to commit to attending the live class. As a result, the new class includes 21 videos (instead of the live class’s 4), plus 59 pages of written content, 26 email updates, and a plethora of other materials. Since I won’t be teaching any live classes in 2014 while I’m on our book tour, this recorded version needed to be robust enough to meet the needs of students who wanted to work at their own pace, as well as students who would find value in the interactive portions of the live class. You can find the full class details below… Words Have Power Hello. Many people want guidance when it comes to improving their writing. A Recipe for Better Writing You can—I know firsthand. Course Overview. 10 Most Commonly Misused Words. Think you’re the best writer or speaker in the world?
After viewing this infographic of the 10 most commonly misused words, you may want to think again. Even though we learn how to spell and use words in properly in grade school, this information is often forgotten once we get older. Even worse, because we hear everyone else using a word a certain way, we tend to follow suit and do the same thing. How To Structure A Story: The 8 Point Arc. By Ali Hale - 3 minute read One of my favourite “how to write” books is Nigel Watts’ Writing A Novel and Getting Published.
My battered, torn and heavily-pencil-marked copy is a testament to how useful I’ve found it over the years. Although the cover appears to be on the verge of falling off altogether, I’ve risked opening the book once more to bring you Watts’ very useful “Eight-Point Story Arc” – a fool-proof, fail-safe and time-honoured way to structure a story. Vonnegut’s 8 Tips On How To Write A Great Story.
By Maria Popova The year of reading more and writing better is well underway with writing advice the likes of David Ogilvy’s 10 no-bullshit tips, Henry Miller’s 11 commandments, Jack Kerouac’s 30 beliefs and techniques, John Steinbeck’s 6 pointers, and various invaluable insight from other great writers.
Now comes Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922–April 11, 2007) — anarchist, Second Life dweller, imaginary interviewer of the dead, sad soul — with eight tips on how to write a good short story, narrated by the author himself. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.Start as close to the end as possible.Be a Sadist.
Famous Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers. By Maria Popova By popular demand, I’ve put together a periodically updated reading list of all the famous advice on writing presented here over the years, featuring words of wisdom from such masters of the craft as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, Henry Miller, Stephen King, F.
Scott Fitzgerald, Susan Orlean, Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, and more. Please enjoy. Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language. Translate emotions into written body language We are always told to use body language in our writing.
Sometimes, it's easier said than written.
How To Write A Book In 3 Days: Lessons: Michael Moorcock. This article is the first part of a series about one of my favorite writers, Michael Moorcock, which will culminate in an interview with the man himself. In the early days of Michael Moorcock's 50-plus-years career, when he was living paycheck-to-paycheck, he wrote a whole slew of action-adventure sword-and-sorcery novels very, very quickly, including his most famous books about the tortured anti-hero Elric.
In 1992, he published a collection of interviews conducted by Colin Greenland called Michael Moorcock: Death is No Obstacle, in which he discusses his writing method. In the first chapter, "Six Days to Save the World", he says those early novels were written in about "three to ten days" each, and outlines exactly how one accomplishes such fast writing. Bloggers: 23 Ways to Counter Writer’s Block. All of a sudden, your blog seems like a dog biting your heel cap and refusing to let go.
You do not have time for yourself, all your research zeal has been exhausted and the topics you want to write on are all water down. They have no juice anymore. You have no juice anymore. Welcome to the world of writer’s block! (Image source: Fotolia) All bloggers reach their writing limits at one time or the other. When this happens, do not tear your short point notebook. Related: Designers: 5 Tips to Get Back Your Creativity 1. The 10 Types of Writers’ Block (and How to Overcome Them) 50 Tools Which Can Help You In Writing.
Guide for Writers: Layout Elements. There are basic design elements we will discuss throughout this book.
You need to know their names, since all in-house designs use some of these elements. There are dozens of other objects familiar to professional designers, but most are related directly to these major items. Layout elements serve to either provide information to readers or to attract their attention. In the best situations, these elements accomplish both tasks. Plot Scenario Generator. 60 Awesome Search Engines For Serious Writers. June 20th, 2010 Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore.
Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print. Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful search applications that are great from making writing a little easier and more efficient. Professional Find other writers, publishers and ways to market your work through these searchable databases and search engines. Writing These helpful tools will help you along in the writing process. Research Try out these tools to get your writing research done in a snap.
Google Scholar: With this specialized search engine from Google, you’ll only get reliable, academic results for your searches.WorldCat: If you need a book from the library, try out this tool. Reference. 102 Resources For Fiction Writing. UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections.
Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration. Also, I recommend some resources for Revision and some online Tools and Software. Too many links? The Write Life : Helping writers create, connect and earn. Top 99 Creative Writing Blogs. Posted on Thursday February 5, 2009 by Staff Writers.
WRITING. Writing Online. Writing.