25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer When George Plimpton asked Ernest Hemingway what the best training for an aspiring writer would be in a 1954 interview, Hem replied, “Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.” Today, writing well is more important than ever. Far from being the province of a select few as it was in Hemingway’s day, writing is a daily occupation for all of us — in email, on blogs, and through social media. It is also a primary means for documenting, communicating, and refining our ideas. So what can we do to improve our writing short of hanging ourselves? 1. Don’t just plan to write—write. 2. [The] Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around “getting ready,” the more time and opportunity we’ll have to sabotage ourselves. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
How to Write Articles and Essays Quickly and Expertly - StumbleUpon Translations: Belorussian Introduction: Four Types of Discursive Writing From time to time people express amazement at how I can get so much done. I, of course, aware of the many hours I have idled away doing nothing, demur. Begin by writing - in your head, at least - your second paragraph (that would be the one you just read, above). But how do you write this paragraph? You have more options because there are four types of discursive writing. These are your choices of types of article or essay: Argument: convinces someone of something Explanation: tells why something happened instead of something else Definition: states what a word or concept means Description: identifies properties or qualities of things An argument is a collection of sentences (known formally as 'propositions') intended to convince the reader that something is he case. An explanation tells the reader why something is the case. A definition identifies the meaning of some word, phrase or concept. Organizing Your Writing
How to Publish an Ebook, Step by Step Want to publish a book? You can either kill a bunch of trees, or get with the 2010s and publish it as an ebook. If you haven’t noticed already, ebooks are no longer a niche market. As of June 2011, ebook reader adoption had reportedly hit 25 percent in the United States, with the market growing at a phenomenal 169 percent year over year. Today, most new releases are being published in ebook format. An ebook can provide your small business a real competitive advantage by giving you instant credibility and visibility in the marketplace. Unfortunately, the ebook sales market is fragmented. As a budding publisher, you will need to prepare your book for at least those three platforms. I have a couple of ebooks on the market, but for the past few years they’ve been available only for Kindle. Prepare for E-Publishing Before you even create your Amazon or B&N account, here’s how to get ready for your career as an e-publisher. Start with the book: First, write a book.
8 Signs That You Were Meant to Be a Writer Are you meant to be a writer? Do you ever wonder if you were truly meant to be a writer? Deep down you sense that it might just be so. But then doubt creeps in, and you just aren’t sure. You look at your writing. You realize that you aren’t where you want to be. A great writer would be further along by now, right? Wrong. If you’re reading this, chances are you were meant to be a writer. Here are 8 signs that you were meant to be a word wizard. 1. You secretly dream about writing. And if you already write, you dream about doing something bigger, like writing a novel, or scoring that big freelancing client. You dream about more, bigger, better. Deep inside you know you can do it, but that pesky little voice stops you. 2. Yes, doubt is a sign that you were meant to be a writer. If you didn’t have anything to say, you wouldn’t even think about writing, but you do have something to say, and you know it. But doubt stops you. However, doubt is just a thought popping up. Why keep moving forward? 3. 4. 5. 6.
Online Creative Writing Courses Offered Free by Top Universities and Educational Websites Getting Educated for Free 1. Introductory Courses Introduction to Creative Writing - University of Utah Course Creative Writing 101 - Eight Lesson Suite101 Course Intro to Creative Writing - Eight Week Course from the Crafty Writer Creative Writing Workshop - Four Lesson Suite 101 Course Writing What You Know - Introductory Course from the UK's Open University 2. Introduction to Fiction - Undergraduate Course from MIT Start Writing Fiction - Introductory Course from the UK's Open University Introduction to Screenwriting - Steve Barnes' Nine Week UCLA Writing Course Approaching Prose Fiction - Intermediate Course from the UK's Open University Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Quick Launch or In-Depth Courses for Writers of All Ages 3. 4. 5. 6. Utilizing Your Creative Writing Knowledge Writers do not necessarily need a degree to be successful. You can be published online, in magazines, newspapers, trade publications and in books. Salary Potential Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly - Do Your Job Better By Michael C. Munger Most academics, including administrators, spend much of our time writing. In my nearly 30 years at universities, I have seen a lot of very talented people fail because they couldn't, or didn't, write. It starts in graduate school. The difference is not complicated. Rachel Toor and other writers on these pages have talked about how hard it is to write well, and of course that's true. 1. 2. 3. 4. Writers sit at their desks for hours, wrestling with ideas. The articles and books that will be read decades from now were written by men and women sitting at a desk and forcing themselves to translate profound ideas into words and then to let those words lead them to even more ideas. 5. Years pass, and they still have the same pat, 200-word answer to "What are you working on?" You, on the other hand, actually are working on something, and it keeps evolving. 6. "X and Y start with same assumptions but reach opposing conclusions. 7. 8. 9. 10. Michael C.
Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online When historians come to write about the digital transformation currently engulfing the book-publishing world, they will almost certainly refer to Amanda Hocking, writer of paranormal fiction who in the past 18 months has emerged from obscurity to bestselling status entirely under her own self-published steam. What the historians may omit to mention is the crucial role played in her rise by those furry wide-mouthed friends, the Muppets. To understand the vital Muppet connection we have to go back to April 2010. We find Hocking sitting in her tiny, sparsely furnished apartment in Austin, Minnesota. Then it comes to her. "I'm going to sell books on Amazon," she announces to her housemate, Eric. To which Eric replies: "Yeah. Let's jump to October 2010. So let the historians take note: Amanda Hocking does get to Chicago to see the Muppets. But step inside and convention gives way to a riot of colour. By the age of seven she was reading Jaws by Peter Benchley and anything by Stephen King.
8 Writing Techniques to Win You a Pulitzer Today’s guest post is from writer Joe Bunting, who blogs at The Write Practice. We all know there are novels and then there are “literary” novels. When you read Margaret Atwood, it just feels different than when you read Tom Clancy. And for some reason, these literary novels are the ones that win all the most prestigious awards like the Pulitzer Prize, the Man Booker Prize, and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Literary authors are known for their unique voices and experimental styles. This is both good and bad. So if you’re salivating to win a Nobel Prize, and just don’t think your diplomacy skills are good enough to win the Peace Prize, here are eight techniques you can use to make your writing more “literary.” Long sentences can make for beautiful, complex prose that you want to read again and again to fully appreciate. Isn’t that beautiful? Writing long sentences can get old. One thing. Try reading it aloud. Literary writers are well read. Also, it makes those who “get it” feel special.
50 Essential Tools I Use For Blogging and Freelance Writing - BestVendor.com How to write a book – the short honest truth Every author I know gets asked the same question: How do you write a book? It’s a simple question, but it causes unexpected problems. On the one hand, it’s nice to have people interested in something I do. If I told people I fixed toasters for a living, I doubt I’d get many inquires. People are curious about writing and that’s cool and flattering. Rock on. But on the other hand, the hand involving people who ask because they have an inkling to do it themselves, is that writing books is a topic so old and so well trod by so many famous people that anyone who asks hoping to discover secret advice is hard to take seriously. Here’s the short honest truth: 20% of the people who ask me are hoping to hear this – Anyone can write a book. If you want to write, kill the magic: a book is just a bunch of writing. Writing a good book, compared to a bad one, involves one thing. Getting published. 30% of the time the real thing people are asking is how do you find a publisher. Discouraged yet?
How to Write an Outline What is it? An outline is a general plan of the material that is to be presented in a speech or a paper. The outline shows the order of the various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationship between the various parts. Order in an Outline There are many ways to arrange the different parts of a subject. Sometimes, a chronological arrangement works well. Thesis Statement of Summarizing Sentence All outlines should begin with a thesis statement of summarizing sentence. Types of Outlines The two main types of outlines are the topic outline and the sentence outline. Rules for Outlining 1. Example: I. 2. Examples Topic Outline Choices in College and After Thesis: The decisions I have to make in choosing college courses, depend on larger questions I am beginning to ask myself about my life’s work. I. A. 1. B. 1. II. A. III. A. Sentence Outline Thesis: The decisions I have to make in choosing college courses, depend on larger questions I am beginning to ask myself about my life’s work.
Basic Outlining Basic Outlining An outline presents a picture of the main ideas and the subsidiary ideas of any subject. Some typical uses of outlining are: a class reading assignment, an essay, a term paper, a book review or a speech. Some professors will require an outline in sentence form, or require the main points to be in chronological order, or have other specific requirements. Below is a synopsis of the outline form. I. II. It is up to the writer to decide on how many main ideas and supporting ideas adequately describe the subject. Suppose you are outlining a speech on AIDS, and these are some of the ideas you feel should be included: AZT, Transmittal, AIDS babies, Teenagers, Safe sex, Epidemic numbers, Research. To put these ideas into outline form, decide first on the main encompassing ideas. Next, decide where the rest of the important ideas fit in. Major Aspects of Aids I. II. III. It is only possible to make an outline if you have familiarity with the subject. Campbell, W. Ellis, B.