How Do You Know You’re Growing as a Writer? | noveldoctor I’m not sure how to open this post. I thought about playing the simile card and saying something about how becoming a better writer is a lot like becoming a better other thing – a better architect, a better juggler, a better OPI color namer, a better human. That would have been entirely true. I also considered manufacturing a conversation between a beginning writer and a seasoned writer that could foreshadow the post’s inevitable wisdom. Seasoned Writer: I’m told you want to know how I got to be me. Beginning Writer: Yes. Seasoned Writer: Was that sarcasm? Beginning Writer: Sarcasm? Seasoned Writer: Never mind. Beginning Writer: Yes, master. Seasoned Writer: First of all, stop attributing wisdom to someone just because he’s older. Beginning Writer: That’s it? Seasoned Writer: Yup. Beginning Writer: It’s that simple? Seasoned Writer: Who said anything about it being simple? Beginning Writer: One more thing? Seasoned Writer: Drink a lot.
Stephen King’s Top 7 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer If you want to learn how to write better where do you go? Well, you can take a creative writing course. Or read the books, biographies and studies of men and women hailed as literary geniuses throughout history. For today, I’ve chosen to take some advice from one the most popular fiction writers of the last few decades: Stephen King. Now, great sales figures aren’t always an indication of greatness in any field. But it probably means that the creator knows what s/he is doing and what works. , The Long Walk or The Running Man – are really good reads (and sometimes even greater films I’ve learned/been reminded about these seven tips by rereading King’s memoir/how-to-write book On Writing – highly recommended for many good insights into writing and a writer’s life – and by a whole bunch of his novels I’ve sacrificed sleep to keep on reading. 1. Don’t waste your reader’s time with too much back-story, long intros or longer anecdotes about your life. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. How do you find time to read more?
WriteWords - Writing Community - jobs, directory, forums, articles for writers - StumbleUpon 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. When we write, we are speaking with a voice in our heads, and that voice is communicated through our fingertips and onto paper or the digital whitespace. The more noise that’s around us, the more difficult it is to hear our voice. That’s why the morning has always been my favorite time to write, before anyone awakes, before traffic starts up or the chickens start making crowing noises. Why Write So Early? But here’s why “first thing in the morning” works for me (and that doesn’t have to be 4:00 a.m. — it can be whenever you awake): It’s quiet. Tips for Writing Early in the Morning So you want to write in the morning … but need some suggestions? Wake earlier.
Questions for Meaning and Happiness post written by: Marc Chernoff Email At the cusp of a new day, week, month or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future. We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life’s story. This process of self-reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we’ve been and where we intend to go. The questions below will help you with this process. In one sentence, who are you? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Photo by: Hartwig HKD If you enjoyed this article, check out our new best-selling book. And get inspiring life tips and quotes in your inbox (it's free)...
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. The Pain of Writing Students hate paper writing. The solution is simple. How Professional Writers Write Professional writers spend most days of their adult lives writing. With this in mind, I dug up interviews with the following masters of long form non-fiction: Ted ConoverRichard Ben Cramer,Jonathan HarrJon KrakauerMichael LewisSusan OrleanRichard PrestonEric SchlosserGay TaleseCalvin Trillin. I went through each interview extracting any discussions about the writer’s habits. When During the Day Do Professional Writers Write? Nine out of ten writers discussed when during the day they write. At What Time Do Professional Writers Start Writing? Five out of the ten writers provided a specific start time. Where Do Professional Writers Write? Observations… How to Apply this Advice
Creativity and the process of ideas A guest post by Simon Townley of WriteMindset As a writer, having ideas is one of the most important parts of your craft. But often it seems like one of the most difficult and challenging parts of the whole process. How do you keep ideas flowing? How do you create a wealth of ideas to choose from? Some people like to wait for inspiration to strike. Luckily, there is a formula for producing ideas on a consistent basis. But if you need to produce strong and creative ideas regularly as part of your writing career, then it pays to know the formula, and how to use it. First of all, what is an idea? “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” So how do you combine old elements into new? “The capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships.” Young says the ability to see relationships between facts is the most important factor in coming up with ideas. How do you cultivate it? Step 1 – Gather your information
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. All writers and editors ought to be familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style’s Proofreader’s Marks. These marks were created in order to establish a common language among writers, editors, and proofreaders to make revision simple and straightforward. To purchase a 20×30 poster, please visit the online store.
Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers Unsorted [/writers] James Patrick Kelly - Murder Your Darlings - "When time comes to make that final revision, however, you must harden your heart, sharpen the ax and murder your darlings." Greda Vaso - Determining the Readability of a Book - includes formulas for Gunning's Fog Index, Flesch Formula, Powers Sumner Kearl L. Kip Wheeler - Literary Terms and Definitions L. Kip Wheeler - Comp - Lit - Poetry - Links - more Style - Grammar - Errors in English [/writers]American Heritage - Book of English Usage - free download Band-Aid AP StylebookPaul Brians - Common Errors in EnglishCJ Cherryh - Writerisms and other Sins The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ Gary N. Curtis - The Fallacy Files - Logical fallacies and bad arguments Prof.