The 90 Top Secrets of Bestselling Authors
Writing advice: It can be all at once inspiring and contradictory, uplifting and off-putting, insightful and superficial. There are successful writers who impart wisdom freely and willingly, and then there are literary icons who claim to have none to dispense at all. As for the rest of us, we just can’t seem to help but look to our fellow writers who’ve achieved so much and wonder: What’s their secret? Here, some of the most successful writers in recent (and not-so-recent) memory share their take on everything from how they get ideas (or go find them), to the best way to start a manuscript (or why the only important thing is that you start at all), to their most methodical writing habits (and quirkiest rituals), to writing with the readers in mind (or ignoring them entirely). We trust you’ll find some quotes to be admirably succinct, others to be charmingly old-fashioned but timeless all the same. —No. 1— “Every idea is my last.
How to Write a Horror Story: 11 steps
Adjunct Assistant Professor of English This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD. Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.
7 Can't-Miss Ways To Kick-Start The Writing Habit
Blogging can bring your business exposure, credibility, and whole lot more revenue – so it’s in your best interest to deliver a steady stream of powerful writing. But for a lot of us, that’s a tall order. If you’re finding your creative juices running a little dry, this list of quick and easy tips is sure to get them flowing again.
Say What You Mean
You want to talk about fear? This is where the process of writing comes right down to sweat under the armpits, racing pulse, dry mouth, and the urge to get up and go to the bathroom, or to switch over from the word processor to Maxis “Space Cadet” for five or ten quick games of pinball, or where the dust on the ceiling suddenly becomes an unbearable affront that you have to get rid of Right Now. This is where facing anything else becomes preferable to facing the words on the page, because the words on the page are about to get up and bite you on the nose. You are faced with uncomfortable truth and the urge to pussyfoot around an issue, and you have to decide which way you want to go—be honest, or whitewash.
25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing
I read this cool article last week — “30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself” — and I thought, hey, heeeey, that’s interesting. Writers might could use their own version of that. So, I started to cobble one together. And, of course, as most of these writing-related posts become, it ended up that for the most part I’m sitting here in the blog yelling at myself first and foremost. That is, then, how you should read this: me, yelling at me.
How to Write First Thing in the Morning
Photo courtesy of Peter Gene As I write these words, it’s a little after 4:00 a.m. and my wife and kids are sleeping. The house is dark and quiet, with no TV or music playing, no conversation to distract the voice in my head. It’s the perfect writing environment, for me at least.
Satisfying Story Endings
Below are some tips on writing effective story endings. At the bottom of the page, you'll find links to more tips on story writing. The ending of a story or novel forms readers' final impression of what they have read. An effective ending seals the readers' satisfaction with your piece. It leaves them thinking and maybe talking about it long after they have finished reading.
681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Creative Writing
Cliches (properly spelled clichés, with the acute accent) are words and phrases, once interesting, which have lost their original effect from overuse. They are considered trite and should be avoided in writing unless used purposely for effect. We all use them without thinking, sometimes because they fit the bill or are just the ticket (both cliches), but usually because they're metaphors, idiom, or truisms that have become so common we no longer notice them. If we say better late than never or speak of someone being down in the dumps , we likely won't register that we just used a cliche. Speech is filled with shortcuts as we aim to make ourselves understood. Check the cliches below to see if you're prone to using them.
How to Schedule Your Writing Like a Professional Writer
October 15th, 2007 · 89 comments [UPDATE: 2/18/08] Welcome new readers! If this is your first time here, Study Hacks is a blog that focuses on hacks to help you do better at college (and in life) while spending less time. If you like this article, you might also like related productivity posts on: accomplishing more by doing less, using a productivity-free day, implementing a Sunday ritual, and calculating your churn rate. If you like what you see, consider subscribing to the blog’s RSS feed.
The Depressed Writer: An Interview with Julie Fast, Author of Get It Done When You’re Depressed
I’m on vacation this week, so I’m running an oldie-but-goodie that seemed to resonate with a lot of writers. Enjoy! Julie Fast is the author of several books and e-books, including the traditionally-published book Get It Done When You’re Depressed. Julie has bipolar disorder and uses the techniques in her book to be one of the most productive and creative writers I’ve ever met. And you don’t need to be clinically depressed to get a lot out of her advice — it works even if you’re just someone who has down days, suffers from that nagging “I’m not good enough” inner voice, or has trouble getting started on writing projects for any reason.
9 Editing Tips that Make Your Writing Sparkle
It’s often said that writing is rewriting. Banging out a quick first draft can be fun, but the real grunt work comes in revising your work. Here are nine editing tips that can help you polish your writing until it sparkles: 1. Read aloud When you become too familiar with a piece of writing, suddenly it’s more difficult to spot weaknesses and errors.
The Proofreader’s Marks
Have you ever looked at a paper that your teacher handed you back, with her scribbles in red ink all over the page asking you to revise, and you didn’t have a clue what she meant? You’re seeing brackets and squigglies and letters with circles around them–it’s obvious she has a system–but it just looks like jibberish? If she’s a trained writer/editor, there’s a good chance she was using the Proofreader’s Marks. And, if you didn’t understand them, there’s a good chance you never learned them.
R.A. Salvatore on How to Write a Damn Good Fight Scene
By Nothing gets your pulse pounding like a good fight scene. It's better than coffee in the morning, and worse than a Red Bull at night"”especially if you're trying to get to sleep sometime before dawn. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would confess to missing more than one lunch bell while engrossed in the middle of a particularly riveting fight scene.
6 Writers Who Broke the Rules and Got Away with It
Have you ever read a book and noticed the author has broken what we writers often hear of as “the rules”? My initial reaction is usually indignation: “Why can she get away with that, and I can’t??” The more I study the craft of writing, the more rules I hear about, and most of these are guidelines based on making a book reader-friendly. As much as I believe it’s good practice to avoid the common pitfalls of beginning writers, there are always exceptions to every rule.
