background preloader

Become a Better Writer with These Important Reading Skills First

Become a Better Writer with These Important Reading Skills First

A Breathing Earth - CometBird Here's a view looking at one year of seasonal transformations on Earth. Made possible by the tremendous folks of the NASA Visible Earth team, I downloaded the twelve cloud-free satellite imagery mosaics of Earth ("Blue Marble Next Generation") at each month of the year. I wrapped them into some fun projections then stitched them together into a couple animated gifs... Don't click this small version or this tiny version. Click here to see the irrationally large version (8.9 MB). Don't waste your time with this boring small version or this lame tiny version. I of course had some expectation of what I would see as a result of animating these frames. Why? Of course there are the global characteristics of climate and the nature of land to heat and cool more rapidly than water. But, overall, to me it looks like breathing.

Finding your voice - making your writing sound like YOU Finding your voice by Christopher Meeks Developing a voice in your writing is a notion that passes over me every now and then like the "thung" sound of an error message on my computer. "I should develop a voice," I think. To some people, the image of "voice" may be akin to a rotund person belting something out in Italian in front of a lot of penguin-suited people paying big bucks waiting for the crystal to shatter. Or, if that metaphor's a bit too extreme, think of "voice" as simply like your own voice. A voice on the Web: Strive to create a "text" voice that is as distinctive as your speaking voice.We can't all be Hemingway: Don't try to write like someone else; find your own voice and don't try to change your demeanor.Write like you talk: It really can be that simple.Let your passion be your guide: Follow the urge; follow the idea.Let me entertain you: All writing, even the most serious, is a form of entertainment. I can recognize voice in other people's work. How do we do that? Boom.

Intuit® | Website Building Software & Website Design 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. "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. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lessons and feel they were very helpful in introducing new ideas and perspectives to my writing. "Thanks very much for this course. "Thank you so much!!

Western-backed resolution on Syria doomed? Published time: January 27, 2012 11:25 Edited time: January 28, 2012 08:39 The UN Security Council is due to consider a new resolution on Syria, which demands that the country’s authorities step down. Russia however has stated that the draft offered by the West and the Arab League has no chance of being passed as it is. ­"The UN Security Council will meet in closed consultations this Friday 3:00 pm in New York to discuss steps to take on the situation in Syria," France's UN mission Twitter page informed. The draft resolution was reportedly proposed by France and supported by the United States, the UK, Portugal, Germany and the Arab countries. It comes as an alternative to the draft earlier proposed by Russia, which pushes for peaceful resolution of the conflict. According to the Itar-Tass news agency, the new draft will demand that the Syrian regime stop all violence in Syria, withdraw armed forces from inhabited areas and allow peaceful rallies.

25 Things You Should Know About Word Choice 1. A Series Of Word Choices Here’s why this matters: because both writing and storytelling comprise, at the most basic level, a series of word choices. Words are the building blocks of what we do. 2. Words are like LEGO bricks: the more we add, the more we define the reality of our playset. 3. You know that game — “Oh, you’re cold, colder, colder — oh! 4. Think of it like a different game, perhaps: you’re trying to say as much as possible with as few words as you can muster. 5. Finding the perfect word is as likely as finding a downy-soft unicorn with a pearlescent horn riding a skateboard made from the bones of your many enemies. 6. For every right word, you have an infinity of wrong ones. 7. You might use a word that either oversteps or fails to meet the idea you hope to present. 8. Remember how I said earlier that words are like LEGO, blah blah blah help define reality yadda yadda poop noise? 9. Incorrect word choice means you’re using the wrong damn word. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Am. 15.

Free Chat Rooms | Paltalk My Account Not yet a Member? Meet 4 million+ friendly members 5000+ video chat rooms Free group video calls Already a Member, login. Forgot your password? Popular Free Chat Rooms All Categories Lesbian leather and lace no men no drama Welcome ladies 18 and up! ll PuNjABi PRidE ll (________JI Aya Nu__________) InternaTional DJS CluB music,fun,chat,friends,no drama,have a great time everyone, enjoy it Iran Saraye Doost Be Saraye Doost Khosh Amadin City On A Hill Matt 5:14 You are the light of the world. Ah Sto Te Volim Selam i pozdrav dobro dosl u sobu Ah Sto Te Volim osjecaj te se kao u svoi samo bez uvreda i provokacija hvala@@@@ Elegant RnB Lovers Lane **Welcome Home Elegant Family This Room is Open 24 Hours You r welcome to Hang **1Play**6 Min. ii JM ii FRIENDS cricket n masti Healthy conversation speak your mind not mouth NO English HERE Viet & English Something Good 2 We cant promise you Drama free ... Washington State Two The Music Lounge1 Welcome ...

5 Ways to Get Rid of Your Damn Empty Modifiers I discussed the need to get rid of empty emphatics when I gave you 8 words to seek and destroy in your writing, but just saying that you should get rid of a thing doesn't say much about the right way to do so. Today I'm going to show you a few of my favorite ways to get rid of your empty modifiers. What exactly is an empty modifier? It's any word whose only role is to intensify the word it's modifying. I'm not saying that empty modifiers should never be used. 1. Sylvia was very crazy. This is the easiest and often the best solution. (Though, these days, you may need to use something a bit more extreme to earn the cut; I offer "mother-fucking" for your consideration.) 2. Bob was really ugly hideous. When I started dating my second serious girlfriend, we quickly fell in like. Both of us were using the repeated "really" as a way to avoid saying the more powerful—and culturally loaded—word that captured our mutual infatuation. There are more powerful versions of most words out there. 3. 4. 5.

In Kabul, Afghan police sympathize with protesters angry over Koran burning “Afghans and the world’s Muslims should rise against the foreigners. We have no patience left,” said one police officer in central Kabul, who has worked at the same checkpoint since he joined the force seven months ago. He looked at his colleague, who stood next to him, nodding. Police officers interviewed at four posts in the Afghan capital voiced the anti-American sentiments on Thursday, the same day that two U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan were fatally shot by a man wearing an Afghan army uniform. In the wake of the Koran burning that came to light Tuesday at the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, some uniformed Afghan officers have worked tirelessly to keep the peace through three days of demonstrations and riots. At least three protesters were killed Thursday, bringing the week’s death toll to 10, as some police officers were ordered to fire on demonstrators. U.S. apologies dismissed With tensions still high, however, the U.S. Anger within Bagram base

Unique Plots Medieval Names - List of Medieval Names Character Flaw Index To make characters realistic and relatable they are given flaws, because if there is anything a writer can be sure of it is that no one in their audience will be perfect. Flaws are character traits that have a negative impact in the narrative, unless they are simply informed. They can also be exploited. See Good Flaws, Bad Flaws for a scale of flaw acceptability. Compare Seven Deadly Sins, Ego Tropes. Abusive Parents: Habitually violent and cruel to their own children, often because that's how they themselves were raised.

Physical Descriptions - List of Hair Colors Hair Color List (Note: an updated and expanded version of this list appears in my 15K-word book How to Describe Hair and Skin. See below.) [First, my profound apologies to the vast majority of readers who don't steal content, but I have to state the following. This article and all content on this website belongs to Val Kovalin, copyright © Obsidianbookshelf.com, except where noted. I'll admit it – hair colors are fun, even for someone like me who advocates keeping description to a minimum. Natural human hair color comes in these basic shades: blond(e), red, light brown, dark brown, black, gray, white. Don't forget about highlights! What are the nouns that apply to people with certain hair colors? Also, sometimes words pick up additional shades of meaning over time that are irrational but exist, and you won't find these connotations listed in the dictionary. Please check for frequent updates to this list! Blond – ash Blond – bronze.

Famous Writers' Small Writing Sheds and Off-the-Grid Huts Previous image Next image Roald Dahl's writing hut, The Gipsy House When I hear the phrase "writing hut" or "backyard shed" my imagination practically squeals with delight. Roald Dahl "The whole of the inside was organised as a place for writing: so the old wing-back chair had part of the back burrowed out to make it more comfortable; he had a sleeping bag that he put his legs in when it was cold and a footstool to rest them on; he had a very characteristic Roald arrangement for a writing table with a bar across the arms of the chair and a cardboard tube that altered the angle of the board on which he wrote. Mark Twain "It is the loveliest study you ever saw...octagonal with a peaked roof, each face filled with a spacious window...perched in complete isolation on the top of an elevation that commands leagues of valley and city and retreating ranges of distant blue hills. George Bernard Shaw Dylan Thomas "Dylan Thomas’s writing shed began its life back in the 1920s. Henry David Thoreau

Related: