Helping Writers Become Authors: Juxtaposition: The Power of the Unexpected in Fiction. Freelance Writing: Ten Steps, Tons of Resources. This is the guide which I wish I’d had when I was getting interested in freelance writing. It’s a step by step walk-through for the adventure that lies ahead of you. You’ll find tips for each stage of your journey, and summaries of great resources to help you along the way. Tip: You’ll probably want to bookmark this post or even print it out, so you can come back and dip in at each new step of your journey.
Ready to get going? Step #1: Is Freelancing for You? (Image from Flickr by Jeff Kubina) In medieval times when knights roamed the land and fighting was done on horseback with a long pole known as a lance, the mercenaries of the time were referred to as ‘free lances’. That quote (from freelancer extraordinaire, Collis Ta’eed of Freelance Switch) pretty much sold me on freelancing. You can’t know for sure whether freelance writing is for you until you try it out. Do you enjoy writing? Further Reading: 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job – one of Steve Pavlina’s most popular articles. Home. Storytelling to the Beat of a Different Drummer. Introducing My Very Favorite Creative Writing Tool Whether you’re a plotter or a plodder, a planner or a pantser, organized or organic … at the end of the writing day we are all faced with the very same daunting question: what do we write next?
From that outrageously complex question springs other key questions and issues. Such as: where are you in this story? … what will further the dramatic tension best at this point? This, of course, implies you even know what your story options are at any given point, something you can’t effectively do until you completely understand where the story is heading. It would be great to have a tool help us know. Well, there is one. The search for structure is inescapable. Every choice you make creates your story’s sequence. Or almost as bad, going somewhere ineffectively and inefficiently. The use of a beat sheet is a means of avoiding all these disasters. Each entry on the beat sheet describes what the scene does in context to story exposition. Generic 1. 2. NaNoWriMo Rescue. A Strategy for Finishing Strong You’re a quarter of the way there. Calendar-wise. If that’s all NaNoWriMo means to you, stop reading here.
I wish you well on this project. And by the way, you’re missing the point. If you are using NaNoWriMo to jump start your novel, get off the procrastination dime or otherwise put to work what you’ve learned about story structure and the other five core competencies of storytelling, then you already know this: Where you are on word-count is less important than where you are story-wise. Either way, you’re probably somewhere near a quarter of the way into it.
That’s natural. There’s a way out of this jam. It’s like recovery: to heal, you have to acknowledge where you are. Don’t kid yourself into believing that, even if you are at 12,500 words, you are a quarter of the way through your story. Reach 50K without finishing (not sure if that counts as a “win” or not in NaNoWriMo-speak), or “finish” a story of 50K words that is, that has to be, somewhat bare bones. Would like to meet: The truth about internet dating - Romance & Passion, Love & Sex. The adverts for such services, featuring blissfully happy couples pushing each other on swings, would have us believe otherwise. eHarmony likes to stress how many members get married as a result of being matched via the service (236 every day, according to data gathered in the US in 2008.) Match.com did a survey last year indicating that an impressive 58,500 people found a partner on the site over a 12-month period – and they still offer a six-month guarantee of "finding love", albeit underlined (understandably) by a 500-word list of conditions.
And we're suckers for all this. When Time Out magazine recently ran a cover story offering free online dating for every reader, it was dangling a huge metaphorical carrot. We all want to be loved, after all. But you rarely hear from those who, having failed to find a partner online, back away from the computer shaking their heads at the way the process distorts social conventions and leaves you slightly shell-shocked. Sarah's right. Top 25 creative writing blogs for students. 1. The Best Damn Creative-Writing Blog It’s hard to argue with a name like that. You’ll find a diverse array of resources here on all aspects of writing, from the actual craft to marketing and publishing your work. There are a lot of articles about social networking and other new technology and how writers should (or shouldn’t) use these tools. 2.
This blog’s author works in the sales department of a publishing house, and he offers feedback about what happens to novels after a book has been acquired. 3. There are interviews with a wide variety of published authors here, as well as with professionals in the field such as literary agents. 4. You’ll find a lot of great commentary and discussion here about all aspects of writing, including the “problem novel,” public relations, maneuvering radio interviews, finishing projects, and more. 5.
Aspiring writer Brady shares his thoughts on writing and the creative process on this blog. 6. 7. 8. wordswimmer 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.