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How to write an excellent first chapter for your novel - Writing Tips

How to write an excellent first chapter for your novel - Writing Tips
From philosophy to literature to learning a new language, Humanities 360 is a veritable fountain of knowledge on everything you’d like to know about the humanities. Resources for every level of writing Here at Helium Publishing, we pride ourselves on knowing a thing or two about writing. The grand world of poetry and literature There’s nothing quite like opening up a great piece of literature. Journeying across time and history If the old adage is true that history is bound to repeat itself, then find out what’s coming by boning up on what’s already happened. Learning new languages The intricacies of learning a new language can leave you tongue-tied, but in our Languages section, you can find out language learning tips, and discover the origins of new words you encounter. From exploring worlds of old to writing about what’s to come, you’ll find all the help you need at Humanities 360!

Writer’s Digest - Writing Prompts Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters. (Note: You don't necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be creative with it!) Describe a character's reaction to something without explaining what it is. Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another. Writing Prompt: Write a story that involves confusion over homonyms (words that have the same spelling but different meanings) or homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you've ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story. You're making your way down a cobbled street when a stocky, red-bearded man beckons you into an alley. Pick an item from each column in the chart to create a simile.

50 Strategies For Making Yourself Work Written by Jerry Oltion Copyright © 2001 by Jerry Oltion Work avoidance is one of the major paradoxes of the writing profession. Generally, writers want to write (or want to have written), but all too often we find ourselves doing anything else but. Sometimes a single strategy works beautifully for an entire writer’s career (for instance: for over 40 years Fred Pohl wrote four pages a day no matter what, after which he was free to polish all the silverware he wanted), but in my own case I’ve discovered that any particular strategy only works for a couple of months before I learn to subvert it. Set a quota of pages written per day.

Writing Tips for Fiction Writers 23 Websites that Make Your Writing Stronger We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway How strong is your writing? No matter how good you think it is, there’s always room for improvement. (***By the way, have you seen this amazing online creative writing course, “Story Is a State of Mind,” created by Giller finalist Sarah Selecky? Want to strengthen your story, empower your performance, and beef up on the publishing business? Here are 23 sites (in no particular order) I look to for daily inspiration and advice: PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it! 4) Query Shark A query critique site you don’t want to miss. 5) Men with Pens Fantastic articles on copywriting and freelancing. 6) Ask Allison Writing and publishing Q&A by novelist Allison Winn Scotch. 10) Pub Rants Self-proclaimed “very nice literary agent,” Kristin Nelson, rants about writing and publishing. What sites help you make your writing stronger?

Fantasy: Getting Started By Sandra C. Durham © 2003, Sandra C. his is a newcomer’s guide on how to get started in the genre of fantasy writing, from one newcomer to another. Writing fantasy, whether in the form of short stories or novels, does not necessarily follow a set pattern or formula. Contemporary and Urban Fantasy – Stories taking place in the real world, but with an element of magic or fantasy. The best approach to writing in any genre is to know your field. Once you have your book collection, read them carefully. A next logical step in progressing as a new fantasy writer might be to pick up a few good books on the subject. How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference, from Writers Digest Books. The first book gives an overview of the field from a writing perspective. A critical step in writing fantasy is a concept called world building. Each step in the world building process is crucial to providing a cohesive background to your story.

25 Things Every Writer Should Know An alternate title for this post might be, “Things I Think About Writing,” which is to say, these are random snidbits (snippets + tidbits) of beliefs I hold about what it takes to be a writer. I hesitate to say that any of this is exactly Zen (oh how often we as a culture misuse the term “Zen” — like, “Whoa, that tapestry is so cool, it’s really Zen“), but it certainly favors a sharper, shorter style than the blathering wordsplosions I tend to rely on in my day-to-day writing posts. Anyway. Peruse these. Feel free to disagree with any of these; these are not immutable laws. Buckle up. 1. The Internet is 55% porn, and 45% writers. 2. A lot of writers try to skip over the basics and leap fully-formed out of their own head-wombs. 3. Some writers do what they do and are who they are because they were born with some magical storytelling gland that they can flex like their pubococcygeus, ejaculating brilliant storytelling and powerful linguistic voodoo with but a twitch of their taint. 4. 5.

Fantasy world Many fantasy worlds draw heavily on real world history, geography and sociology, and also on mythology and folklore. Plot function[edit] The setting of a fantasy work is often of great importance to the plot and characters of the story. The setting itself can be imperiled by the evil of the story, suffer a calamity, and be restored by the transformation the story brings about.[3] Stories that use the setting as merely a backdrop for the story have been criticized for their failure to use it fully.[4] Even when the land itself is not in danger, it is often used symbolically, for thematic purposes, and to underscore moods.[5] History[edit] Early fantasy worlds appeared as fantasy lands, part of the same planet but separated by geographical barriers. Even within the span of mere decades, Oz, which had been situated in a desert in the United States when first written about in 1900,[6] was relocated to a spot in the Pacific Ocean.[8] Common elements[edit] Constructed worlds[edit] Examples[edit]

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. 2. Better than just reading your work aloud is recording yourself (most computers have a voice recording program already installed). 3. Don’t write the last word of your first draft and then launch into editing mode straight away. 4. If your sentence makes sense without using a particular word, cut it. 5. “A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence,” says this university web resource. 6. Have you ever re-read a piece of your writing, only to find you’ve used the same word twice in the same sentence, or three times in the same paragraph? 7. 8. 9. Polished Writing

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. Here are six commonly heard rules for writers, and six authors who’ve gotten away with breaking them. Rule: Don’t write in First Person, Present Tense Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife: Niffenegger’s popular title is told by dual narrators from the first person point of view, in the present tense. Rule: Keep your novel under 100,000 words Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall: Literary agents keep telling us it’s nearly impossible to sell an overly long book, these days. Rule: Limit the use of adverbs.

How to Write Thousands of Words Every Single Week How much do you write every week? It’s probably not as much as you’d like. A few years ago, I had all day, every day to write – but I’d still end up spending the whole of Monday writing a couple of pages for my critique group. Nowadays, if I still wrote at that rate, I’d be broke. Here’s how I do it – and how you can too. #1: Write on Topics Which Interest You It’s no coincidence that my blog posts are nearly always about writing, blogging or personal development. It’s much easier to produce thousands of words if you really enjoy writing them. What interests ? Particular themes, settings and character types for fiction – hint: start with what you love to read Topics which you’re a little bit obsessed with for blogging – don’t just pick something which you think will be popular, unless you really do love it A specific audience (e.g. you love writing for artists, or for new mothers, or for teenagers) Write a list of things which interest you – and give yourself permission to be totally honest!

How to Cut the Waffle From Your Writing – and Grab Readers’ Attention (Image from Flickr by Unhindered by Talent) Have you ever read a book that was way too wordy? (For me, Stephen Covey’s otherwise excellent 7 Habits of Highly Effective People comes to mind…) The content itself might have been good – but the substance ended up buried beneath a froth of unnecessary words. When you write – especially if you’re writing online – it’s important to avoid waffle. So, how do you go about cutting the waffle from your writing? Step #1: Get Clear About the Topic Whatever you’ve written – whether it’s a novel, an ebook or a blog post – you need to figure out what belongs and what doesn’t. Have you included a chapter in your ebook that should really be a separate blog post? This isn’t about how good your writing is. Do It: Write down a one-sentence summary of your post/book/etc.Skim through and ask yourself does this fit? Step #2: Cut Out Any Paragraphs That Don’t Belong Now you can start drilling down within each section or chapter. At the start of your piece.

500 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. Writing that relies heavily on cliches is considered poor or lazy writing. The list of cliches below is not meant to be comprehensive, but should help you catch some of the more common cliches in use. Cliche list A-K:

Writing Tips - Publishers list of phrases for writers to avoid | authonomy writing community We have all met people who have the extraordinary ability to talk in clichés: Y’know, not to beat around the bush or hedge your bet, this section is a must-read because it calls a spade a spade and in a nutshell leaves no stone unturned to pull the rug from under those off-the-cuff, old-hat bête noires called clichés. These are the people who’ve given the cliché its bad name. We all tend to use them, of course. Sometimes that familiar phrase is the neatest way of expressing yourself and most of us can, in a flash (cliché), unconsciously call up a few hundred of them to help us out in writing and conversation. Most clichés begin life as someone’s incredibly neat, timely or witty way of expressing or emphasising a thought. Many clichés are centuries old. The grammarian Eric Partridge identified four kinds of cliché. However we haven’t yet rounded up all the usual suspects (cliché). Answers: 1D; 2C; 3A; 4E; 5B Here are a few you might remove from your vocabulary:

Scene Transitions « Becky Levine Posted by beckylevine under Scenes | Tags: Revising, Scenes, Transitions | [4] Comments Remember, in the days when you were writing essays for English class, and a teacher would write the word “transition” in the margin of your paper? They wanted you to smooth out the jump from one paragraph to another, to use a phrase that would make the flow of text more clean. So you’d stick in something like “After Joe got home from the zoo…” or “Once Sally dug the pickle out of the pudding…” Then you’d hand the essay back in and hope for a better grade. When we’re writing fiction, moving our readers from scene to scene, we need transitions, too. So what do we do? We have to be elephants. So you remember the connections. Here are a few suggestions: Show your hero stuck in, or fighting off, her mood from the scene before.Drop the characters into an action set up by the previous scene’s cliff-hanger.Send the story in a new direction, but let the main character show an awareness of that change.

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