When you start reading in a certain way that’s already the beginning of your writing. You’re learning what you admire and you’re learning to love other writers. The love of other writers is an important first step. TESS GALLAGHER
Writing
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Advice to Writers
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The Love of Other Writers Is Important
6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm -
If You Are A Writer, Live A Long Time
5 Nov 2009 | 9:06 pmOne of the amusements of being old is that I have no illusions about my literary position. I have been taken very seriously, but I have also seen essays by clever young men on contemporary fiction who would never think of considering me. I no longer mind what people think. On the whole, I have done what I set out to do. Now my age makes everyone take me very seriously. If you are a writer, live a long time. I have found that longevity counts more than talent. W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM -
If You Walk in the Mist, You Get Wet
4 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pmIf you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. Maybe it’s not quite that easy, but if you want to learn something, go to the source. Basho, the great seventeenth-century Haiku master said, “If you want to know about a tree, go to the tree.” If you want to know poetry, read it, listen to it. Let those patterns and forms be imprinted in you. Don’t step away from poetry to analyze a poem with your logical mind. Enter poetry with your whole body. Dogen, a great Zen master, said, “If you walk in the mist, you get wet.” So just listen,… -
Don't Write A Novel
3 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmIf you want to be remembered as a clever person and even as a benefactor of humanity, don't write a novel, or even talk about it; instead, compile tables of compound interest, assemble weather data running back seventy-five years, or develop in tabular form improved actuarial information. All more useful than anything "creative" most people could come up with, and less likely to subject the author to neglect, if not ridicule and contempt. In addition, it will be found that most people who seek attention and regard by announcing that they're writing a novel are actually so devoid of narrative… -
Beware of the Metaphor
2 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pmBeware of the metaphor. It is the spirit of good prose. It gives the reader a picture, a glimpse of what the subject really looks like to the writer. But it is dangerous, can easily get tangled and insistent, and more so when it almost works: don’t have a violent explosion pave the way for a new growth. SHERIDAN BAKER
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the protagonize blog
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Tales of Terror contest winners!
3 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pmAs promised, after a couple of days of deliberation by our judges (the Protagonize moderation team), we’ve managed to decide on the winners of our inaugural 2009 Tales of Terror competition. From the six finalists we had listed previously, we were to select one story as the Editor’s Pick for this week, and the second story’s author would be the Featured Author. Wouldn’t you know it, while we had a nearly unanimous 1st place winner, we managed to deadlock on the 2nd place finisher. So, I’ve decided to have three winners, instead. (ubiquitous drum roll ensues)… -
Tales of Terror contest finalists!
2 Nov 2009 | 2:26 amHappy Dia de los Muertos to all of you! (Err, okay, it’s technically the 2nd now, but I haven’t gone to bed yet. Bear with me.) Apologies for not getting these posted sooner, but I spent the day with my office out of commission and two Polish cleaning ladies demolishing our apartment, prior to our realtor taking photos of the place. Okay, they were cleaning it. It just felt like it was being demolished. In any case, it’s so clean now that I can see my reflection in the sink. Not a particularly flattering reflection, mind you. Anyways. I’ll keep this short and sweet… -
Protagonize’s “Tales of Terror” competition!
28 Oct 2009 | 12:19 pmI realize this is a little last-minute, considering we have three days left until Halloween, but I figured I’d get everyone’s attention with the title. Oh, and the pic. :) In the spirit of this week of goblins and ghouls, and since this is the week leading up to the trials and tribulations of NaNoWriMo, why don’t we have a little fun with it? How about a little friendly competition between Protagonize authors? In these last few days before good ol’ Samhain, I want to see what you folks can do when working together on a “Tale of Terror.” Update: Alright… -
Self-ratings go the way of the dodo
25 Oct 2009 | 5:29 pmAs you may have noticed today — or may not, depending on how you rate stuff — I’ve gone ahead and made one of the changes I had suggested in one of the surveys I posted over the last couple of months. What’s been changed is that authors are no longer able to rate their own work. This change was made for several reasons: First, I wanted to make the ratings a more reliable source of feedback/information about your writing. Second, this will make all of our “Top Rated” and “Hot Stories” rankings a much more accurate gauge of quality and/or popularity of… -
PDFs for the people!
19 Oct 2009 | 6:05 pmGot a nifty new feature for you tonight, folks. If you’re following @protagonize on Twitter, you might have seen my tweet about it last night. PDF support is now live for all stories! Yes, this means you can now save your stories as PDFs and read them on the bus, off in the country, or on the throne (a personal choice, obviously.) Trying to figure out how it works? Well, you’ll see a new button at the bottom of every story, like so: Creating a PDF of your story is as simple as clicking the red button above. Stories in PDF form are replete with a Table of Contents, page numbers,…
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Daily Writing Tips
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Word of the Day: Oxymoron
6 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pmAn oxymoron is a figure of speech where incongruous or contradictory terms are combined. Two examples are “genuine imitation” and “deafening silence.” In response to ”Making E-ZPass Easier” (July 28), let’s not overlook the profound oxymoron of both the name and idea of New Jersey’s E-ZPass system and its out-of-state cousins. (NY Times) Unfortunately a “jobless recovery” is an oxymoron. If its “jobless” it isn’t a recovery, and if its a recovery it can’t be “jobless.” (WSJ) Your eBook: Click here… -
Three Alternatives?
6 Nov 2009 | 8:16 amRecently my mother (British, somewhat pedantic) visited us, and I mentioned “three alternatives” in conversation. She immediately jumped down my throat and told me that “alternative” was one of two choices – and that “three alternatives” was a contradiction in terms. So, rushing to my own defense, I pulled down the New Oxford American Dictionary, a dictionary I prefer to Webster’s, for a number of reasons, as detailed below, and there I found: One of two or more available possibilities but with a rider that added: Some traditionalists maintain… -
Parsons Chairs and Parsons
5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmThe first time I heard the term parsons chair I immediately imagined that the name derived from some quaint country custom of seating the visiting preacher on the best chair in the parlor. Not so. The Parsons chair takes its name from its place of invention: the Parsons School of Design founded in Paris in 1921 by Frank Alvah Parsons. According to an article on a site called Modern Dining Chairs, The parsons chair is virtually always crafted of hardwood, and features a slightly curving, squared backrest and legs. They are usually featured with slipcover upholstery that entirely covers the… -
Word of the Day: Vernacular
5 Nov 2009 | 2:56 pmVernacular, the noun, is the native language of a place. It can also refer to the everyday expressions used by people or to the vocabulary used inside a particular place or profession. The adjective means native or indigenous. “Super Freakonomics” also tiptoes around important public policy debates such as healthcare and doesn’t dare venture into any sort of policy prescriptions using the political vernacular of the day. (LA Times) The son of a farm labourer, Clare also wrote poetry on unrequited love, the sometimes fragile nature of his mental health – he was twice… -
Appositives and Possessives
5 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amAre you planning to go to a writers conference? Or is it a writers’ conference? Is the Saturday market in the town square a farmers market or a farmers’ market? This is a construction that often perplexes writers. The first instance in each example is an appositive: a noun phrase consisting of a plural noun that modifies another noun that follows it. The form with the apostrophe is a possessive, a noun that “owns” the noun that follows it. So if the conference is one that is organized for writers, it’s an appositive. But if it’s a conference organized by writers—one that belongs…
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Grammar Girl
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195 GG "Which" Versus "That"
29 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmWhat better to talk about for Halloween than a "which"? The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
194 GG Using Italics
22 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmYou don't have to be Italian. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
193 GG "Diffuse" Versus "Defuse"
15 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmAnd "convince" versus "persuade." The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
192 GG That's My Gerund
8 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmDo I Hate Your Singing or You Singing? The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
191 GG And Another Thing...
1 Oct 2009 | 9:48 pmWriting a Complaint Letter. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7
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www.writersnewsweekly.com
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This Week's Headlines
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amIt could have been taken verbatim from an Orwell novel, or from a George Romero movie. It could have been 1992 Belfast, or 1969 Prague, under the full weight of the Iron Curtain. But it was Pittsburgh, in 2009, with the Democrats in control of Congress and Obama in the oval office. For two days last month, Pittsburgh, my Pittsburgh, was transformed and fortified into a totalitarian police state. Read More It’s as simple as a broken baguette with goat cheese. Sautéed eggplant smashed with roasted garlic, basil, and sundried tomatoes. Bright yellow curry vivid against a white porcelain bowl.
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Copyblogger
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The Oscar the Grouch Guide to Building a More Remarkable Blog
6 Nov 2009 | 7:33 amThis week marked the 40th anniversary of the breakthrough TV program Sesame Street. I’ve written before about some of the many lessons you can learn from this cultural icon, but today I’m going to zero in something new. You might have an Elmo blog, a Cookie Monster blog, or a Big Bird blog. (How you define those is up to you.) But some of the smartest and most successful bloggers out there bear more in common with the show’s least-likeable character: Oscar the Grouch. Oscar was an important character from the show’s beginning, and on the surface he doesn’t seem to quite fit in. -
Here’s Something to Think (and Talk) About
5 Nov 2009 | 6:55 amI’m flying to New York City today for the Audience Conference, so I thought I’d share a quotation about the relationship between writers (or any content creator) and the people they hope to connect with. When talented people write badly it’s generally for one of two reasons: Either they’re blinded by an idea they feel compelled to prove or they’re driven by an emotion they must express. When talented people write well, it is generally for this reason: They’re moved by a desire to touch the audience. ~Robert McKee Let’s discuss. What do McKee’s words mean to you? About the… -
Get Off Your Computer and Become a Better Blogger
4 Nov 2009 | 6:45 amBloggers spend a lot of time on their computers. They’re posting, reading, commenting on other blogs, sending Tweets, checking half a dozen social networking sites, and generally being web-geeky. They find something interesting or random, and then clue in other people to that interesting or random thing. This is how blog posts gain steam on Digg or go viral. This is how we find out about new YouTube videos. This is how we communicate now. Except we don’t. We were people before we were bloggers Think about the blogs that you like the most. Like, to pick a totally random example,… -
The Quentin Tarantino Guide to Creating Killer Content
3 Nov 2009 | 5:58 amIn a recent Copyblogger post discussing how the king of content is being slowly usurped by the Crown Prince of Context, author Larry Brooks referenced the remarkable opening scene of Quentin Tarantino’s new movie Inglourious Basterds. There are few writers like Tarantino, and though his verbal carpet bombs and kinetic escalation of violence aren’t for everyone, there is no doubt that the dude follows his muse. Those who love him will eagerly wait in lines wrapped around the block to show their support. In short, Tarantino sells it every time. And by it, I mean an ironclad belief in… -
How to Get Lucky With Content Marketing
2 Nov 2009 | 7:36 amDo you feel like you’re fighting for every page view your blog receives? Do you wonder why you’re struggling to find readers when other bloggers seem to just hit “publish” and the world comes running? It may be tempting to throw up your hands and say, “those other guys have all the luck,” but it won’t get you anywhere. The truth is, those “lucky” people are doing something you’re not doing. (Or they’re doing what you are doing, but better.) If you want to get lucky, you’re going to have to give up the “poor…
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National Novel Writing Month
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Episode 10: Weekend pledge!
6 Nov 2009 | 4:40 pmJoin Chris and his heavily armed Ewok in getting to 15K by end-of-day on Monday! We can do it! -
Heading into the weekend
6 Nov 2009 | 4:17 pmBefore we take the next couple of days to majorly boost our word counts, here are a few updates from the office: 1. Word Count Widgets are working! Just in time to for you not play with them. Because you’re going to be writing, right? Right. (If you need a break, though, you can find them under the "Fun Stuff" tab.) 2. We got another shipment of shirts and hoodies in this morning! They are flying out of the store, though, so buy now or forever hold your peace. 3. We’re still looking for Daily Q&A guests! If you think you know someone with a great story, tell us all about it! We love… -
Word Count Boosters!
6 Nov 2009 | 8:28 amMeet Mr Ian Woon Behind in your word count? Write or die! -
Today's Guest: Paul Carroll, vlogging toward 50K!
5 Nov 2009 | 3:06 pmQ: Paul, you've made three YouTube videos about NaNoWriMo. What made you decide to vlog about the program? Do you feel more motivated to reach 50K now that you've told the YouTube universe you'll be writing a novel? A: For some time now, my writers group, The Literary Den, has been discussing our campaign to promote reading and writing, particularly over here in the UK and Ireland. We had spent a lot of time talking on our forum, and very little time actually doing anything, so I took it to YouTube and promoted the biggest global writing event I know of: NaNoWriMo. I had so much fun with it… -
Reminder of CreateSpace offer for winners!
5 Nov 2009 | 9:02 amIt's so great seeing the word-count numbers rising upwards! If you're among the 70,000 authors who've signed up but not started writing yet, I applaud you. That's the kind of cheeky daredevil-ism that this event is based on. Please do have a word count by the end of this weekend, though, or we'll cry. If our tears aren't enough to get you noveling and you need another reason to set those sights set on 50K…For the third year running, our fantastic sponsor CreateSpace is offering all NaNoWriMo 2009 winners a free proof copy of your manuscript in paperback book form. They'll even cover basic…
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Protagonize: Hot Stories
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the hideout for misfit characters
Ever made a brilliant character, only to be told "they weren't right for the story"? Ever thought, "this story is getting old, but I love my character"? This is the place for those characters - the ones with no story. The ones you love and can't bear to cast off. In the past, you might have dumped your character on the Protagonize Bus. But with 600+ chapters, it's really not feasible to start reading now. So this is the place for your character. A few rules and guidelines ... This is a house in the middle of nowhere It can only be reached by magic or on foot Characaters that get here may find… -
My Life According to that Pen Over There
"And what is that?" I asked her Pointing to the busy scrawls Across neat lines of paper Among many crumpled balls She frowned before she answered me at a misplaced strand of hair, and then she said, "This is my life according to that pen over there." -
The Protagonize Bus
Im Beth. I am a bus driver.. unfortunatly. I Used to be a driving instructor untill red driving school charged in and stole my buisness. Anyway it isnt too bad work at least I get to go places. At the curent moment im musing over what travel lodge we should stop at tonigh for food. You see I drive tour busses around the world. Im still driving a student group on a school trip It's a two week expedition so I'm getting used to the noise. This morning we picked up a Tourist group who are currently sitting at the front chatting. I live alone when it comes to my holidays. With my golden retreiver… -
To those who died for our freedom
To the soldiers who fought deep in the trenches, and to those who battled our enemies on the front lines of war. We shall forever be bound in the debt that we owe you To the heroes who fought to keep their children free, and to the veterans who laid down their lives for queen and country. We owe such love and respect for your bravery and sacrafices To those who believed good would triumph, and to the leaders who lead us to make lives better for others. Our gratitude leaves us at your mercy To those who had to live on, after losing so much, and to those whom they… -
Protagonize Surgery
FactfileName- Hallie TaylorJob- ReceptionistLooks- red,wavy hair, green eyes, 5'8 and skinny. Personality- friendly, kind, looking for love, puts out the impression she hates her job but she really loves it. I sighed. It's not much fun being a receptionist. Being surrounded by the sick eventually makes you also one of the many patients walking through these doors. But the best thing is the bliss of morning coffee. The phone started ringing, each ring pitch louder than it's previous. I knew who this would be, today was the second week back at school for all the children, this…
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About.com Fiction Writing
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Share Your NaNoWriMo Stories
6 Nov 2009 | 5:22 amNow that NaNoWriMo has officially kicked off, we want to hear about the events and write-ins that are keeping wrimos going. I started the storytelling off earlier this week with a short description of the November 1 write-in organized by About.com folks here in Brooklyn. As always, I was amazed at how much more I wrote when in the company of other writers. Have you attended or hosted a write-in recently? Did you find that it helped you crank your words out for that day? Tell us about your write-in. Want to host a write-in, but not sure how? Find write-in advice from wrimos around the country. -
Writing Space Therapy
2 Nov 2009 | 12:40 amA reader named Angie wrote in, asking me to post her predicament here. She wrote, "This year I moved into a new apartment -- and in with my boyfriend -- and I've had writer's block ever since. My old one-bedroom was right by the highway in a fairly industrial neighborhood, so there was always a jack hammer going off somewhere. I also had this courtyard that was really more of an airspace, and there was always music playing or a baby crying or a couple fighting. When I moved out, one of the MOVERS even looked out my window at my gritty little courtyard and said, 'You lived here how long?' "But… -
First Day of NaNo
1 Nov 2009 | 10:18 amToday I kicked off the first day of NaNo 2009 at a write-in organized by one of our lovely managers at About.com. With Halloween candy, coffee, and beer for some (as the afternoon wore on), we all hammered out the first chapters of our November novels, several of us going over the 1,1667-word goal, just for good measure. Did you host or attend an opening day write-in? Tell us about it in our new show & tell tool. First Day of NaNo originally appeared on About.com Fiction Writing on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 18:18:55.Permalink | Comment | Email this -
Discover Brooklyn Creative League, an Urban Oasis
30 Oct 2009 | 1:36 amAfter touring Brooklyn Creative League (BCL) in South Brooklyn, I almost wished I didn't have an office at home -- so I'd have an excuse to join. Created with both the environment and the worker bee in mind, BCL offers an airy, sunlit space as well as ample opportunities to network and socialize with other Brooklyn writers and professionals. Where do you write? Share the story of how you found or fixed up your space. Discover Brooklyn Creative League, an Urban Oasis originally appeared on About.com Fiction Writing on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 08:36:35.Permalink | Comment | Email this -
November Writing Prompt Challenge: Past and Present
28 Oct 2009 | 2:51 amFor this month's writing prompt challenge, we have an exercise based on a story by Abigail Thomas, "Hey Jude." The instructions are to write 500-600 words, starting in the present moment, going back to some moment in the past, and then returning to the present. In this way, both past self and present self are revealed in a very short space. It can be autobiographical or fictional. (For an idea of what this might look like, read a sample, submitted by a reader named Casey, or look up "Hey Jude" in Thomas's book, Safekeeping.) The closing date for submissions for this project is Friday,…
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Words You Want Ghostwriting
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WordsYouWant.com Launches New Article Directory ArticlesYouWant.com
12 Oct 2009 | 9:17 pmFor Immediate Release Contact: ArticlesYouWant.com Valerie Mellema 5505 W. 34th Amarillo, Texas 79109 Info@articlesyouwant.com http://www.articlesyouwant.com WordsYouWant.com Launches New Article Directory ArticlesYouWant.com Prominent online ghostwriting and SEO writing company WordsYouWant.com has launched a new article directory in an effort to offer authors a new venue for posting articles and receiving increased web traffic. Amarillo, Texas – 12, October, 2009: Article marketing is one of the best methods of presenting yourself as an expert in your industry as well as creating… -
Copywriting Services Can Get You into the Public Eye
6 Oct 2009 | 11:46 amIf you own an online business, then you know how important it is to constantly target new customers while still appealing to existing ones. In a market that offers thousands and thousands of competing businesses, this can be a tough goal to achieve. Copywriting services are an excellent way to help get your business ahead while ensuring that you are always offering potential customers something that they can truly use. Information is the way of the future online and if you are not offering it, you are simply missing out on opportunity. At its most basic, copywriting is simply the act of… -
An SEO Consultant Can Help You Get Your Business on Top
25 Sep 2009 | 8:31 amWhen you own a business, it is a natural desire to want to be the best. The problem is that many business owners are specialists in something other than internet advertising. If this describes you, then you can benefit greatly from the expertise of an SEO consultant. These highly skilled professionals can help you learn what keywords are most relevant to your business or website. They can then work with you to create articles and blog postings that help you reach the top of the search rankings while offering your potential customers the answers and information that they seek. Becoming… -
ArticlesYouWant.com – A New Article Directory!
24 Sep 2009 | 8:04 amFor quite some time now, we have been planning on starting our own article directory. Article marketing is a huge part of our business, so it only made sense for us to create our own article directory. ArticlesYouWant.com is on a WordPress platform, so posting articles is as easy as posting a blog. Our guidelines are the same as every other article directory out there. You get a resource box at the bottom of the article with two self-serving links. Articles should not be overly promotional and should provide online readers with information on your topic. This is a great way to create… -
Are You Looking for Affordable SEO Services?
8 Sep 2009 | 12:27 pmAre you looking for affordable SEO services? It does seem that good work is hard to find these days. After all, so many people just have that clock-in, clock-out mentality when it comes to a hard day’s work. Some people may tell you that good work is worth paying for. However, hiring an established writer can be pricey. Some writers, especially ones that have a large following or have an authoritative name in their field, will charge thousands of dollars for a single article. This hardly makes for affordable SEO services for the average website owner! If you can’t afford…
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Grammar Grater - Minnesota Public Radio
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Episode 123: A Chapter About Averse
5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pmThis week, we examine two easily confused words: adverse and averse. -
Episode 122: A Halloween Special
28 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm(Repeat Episode) We look at interesting words having to do with Halloween. We're joined by MPR News arts reporter, Euan Kerr. -
Episode 121: Ellipsis Incorporated
21 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pmThis week, we're talking about the ellipsis. What's an ellipsis, you ask? Listen to the podcast to find out... -
Episode 120: Little-Known Side Effects
14 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pmWe investigate the seldom-told story about the meanings of the words affect and effect. -
Episode 119: Intensify
7 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm(Repeat episode) Adding intensifiers can give emphasis to your speech and writing; but sometimes they serve to weaken the message and are best left out.
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Becoming A Writer - Seriously
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David Lyons: Case Study in Self-Publishing - from POD to Ebook
Image via Wikipedia David Lyons is a "case" that I've been studying for years. He's a member of the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group, which I attend weekly whenever I'm at my second home there. And I've watched David travel from his struggles with his first novel through to ... -
ALERT: E-Book Publishing Software at Discount on Tuesday
Publishing an e-book just got a lot easier. InfoHesiveEP, an e-book publishing software, is now into version 2, and to stir up interest, the developer is offering it at 40-percent discount -- $29.97, discounted from $49.95 -- this Tuesday on Bits du Jour . It certainly has caught my interest, ... -
The Future of Publishing — A Busy Week
This has been a dizzying week for anyone concerned about the future of publishing. And, yes, that includes us writers. The European Union is suddenly joining the parade to digital e-books. Barnes and Noble is challenging Amazon head-on with its own e-reader. Hewlett Packard has signed deals to provide on-demand ... -
INSIDER DEAL on E-Book Publishing Bundle
Image by ceslava.com via Flickr This morning I received an insider's email from the team that's behind one of the more remarkable e-book software and store operations. It announced an upgrade of one of its major programs, along with a special bundle deal that's available only for a few days. I ... -
The March Toward E-Book Readers Continues
Image via CrunchBase The e-book reader competition heats up this week. Barnes and Noble is set to announce its own reader device next week, and the Amazon Kindle is finally going international. Information about the new B&N device is already beginning to leak out, with Gizmodo posting the first ...
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English Study Materials
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Podcasts from The Denver Post
31 Oct 2009 | 5:18 amThe Denver Post, one of the best-known newspapers in the United States, provides free daily podcasts that summarize events in Denver, Colorado, where the paper is published, as well as national and world news. Besides, there are feature podcasts on music and the theater, plus a video podcast on... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
English The International Language
26 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amEnglish The International Language is a good source of free learning and teaching materials for students and teachers of English as a Second Language. Besides free lessons and exercises on a variety of essential ESL topics, this site boasts a unique Idiom Buster, which tests students' knowledge of... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
Free TOEIC Practice Tests from TestDEN.com
23 Oct 2009 | 5:15 amBesides the free TOEFL practice tests, TestDEN.com has free TOEIC practice tests that will be useful for any students who are preparing to take the TOEIC. Offered as interactive, Internet-based simulation tests, these great preparation materials will familiarize TOEIC candidates with the exam and... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
Free TOEFL Practice Tests from TestDEN.com
19 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amTestDEN.com offers free TOEFL sample tests for students who are preparing to take the TOEFL iBT. Available to be taken online, each of these interactive simulation tests takes students through all the four sections of the TOEFL iBT and gives them an idea of how well they would perform on the actual... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.] -
BusinessEnglishSite.com: Business English Vocabulary and Grammar Exercises for ESL Students
17 Oct 2009 | 11:38 pmBusinessEnglishSite.com provides free business English exercises for ESL students at intermediate and advanced levels. Focusing on a wide range of business topics, the exercises will help learners use business English correctly, both in terms of vocabulary and grammar, for everyday communication... [This is a content preview only. Visit my website for full articles, links, and much more.]
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Writing and Speaking: Writing Articles from EzineArticles.com
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Are You Up to Speed With Hyphenation?
6 Nov 2009 | 5:01 pmIt's neither a dash nor an underscore (_), the hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark most commonly used to join two words to make one - and for such a small character, it has an important role in any text document. In fact the hyphen has an entire function dedicated to its use in Word 2007. -
Magazine Article Writing - How to Become a Freelance Magazine Writer
6 Nov 2009 | 4:59 pmMost magazines heavily rely on freelance writers for their content. From features to fillers, from first to the last page, most parts of the publication is just a fair game for aspiring writers who want to break in this field. You'll be happy to know that you'll easily increase your chances of getting your stories published on renowned magazines by simply taking these simple steps. -
Writing For Money - 3 Profitable Ways to Make Money With Writing
6 Nov 2009 | 4:59 pmAs content is still considered the king over the internet, anyone with great talent in writing can potentially make thousands of dollars online. Some of the best and the most profitable ways are the following... -
Writing, Values and You - The Mutual Impact
6 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pmAs a writer, the search for a value system may not seem relevant to you but it is - and not just 'relevant', 'central'. Even if you're surprised you have any values, the first step as always is to identify them. Let's see what comes up. -
Tips For Quickly Creating Quality Content to Increase Your Online Presence
6 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pmDo you have an online presence but not enough time to maintain it or become more visible? Create quality content quickly using tips that will work even for those who hate to write.
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Writing Forums - Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar
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Dashes in Numbers in Sentences
5 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pmWhich is the right way? One thousand three hundred One-thousand-three-hundred One-thousand three-hundred One thousand-three hundred -
Said tags for Question Dialogues
5 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pmI asked about this in another thread, but it never got answered, so I thought I should make a new topic. I find that in my work I have a few dialogues where the dialogue ends with a question mark but it is not said in the form of a question. For example: “You’re kidding right?” he said. (Someone says something unbelievable) "What?" she said. “And what do we have here?” Michael said. (In this scene, Michael is robbing a bank and he addresses a mouthy, defiant hostage) Is it acceptable to use the said tag in this case? They're not really questions, more… -
in or into?
4 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pmWhat would be more appropriate? Jumping in the cold seat, I crank the ignition. or Jumping into the cold seat, I crank the ignition. -
typical American or typically American
3 Nov 2009 | 10:45 pmHi,everyone. Please help me with a problem which has long tortured me. Several years ago, I read a novel by Gish Jen titled Typical American . I always think that the expression "typical American", if used as an adjectival compound, is derived from "typically American"; however, I have never been able to prove it. Last week, a student of mine, who is preparing for next year's graduate school entrance test of another university, asked me to help her with 31 sentences she collected from the old test papers. Every one of the sentences has one and only one error and the test… -
Paragraphs??
3 Nov 2009 | 7:43 pmDo I always have to create a new paragraph with every new dialogue? Tips on paragraphinh please..
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The Purdue OWL News
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MLA and APA Update Reminder for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmSpecial AnnouncementMLA and APA Update ReminderBy Allen BrizeeOWL staff would like to remind our users that all OWL resources (web pages, PDF samples, and PowerPoint presentations) are updated and correct, reflecting the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to.. -
Purdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics Exercises for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmSpecial AnnouncementPurdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics ExercisesBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL staff is very happy to announce the posting of the redesigned and corrected Purdue OWL Grammar and Mechanics Exercises. For the past year and a half, we have been working on updating the OWL page design and OWL navigation based on our OWL Usa.. -
New and Updated Purdue OWL Resources for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmNews from the Purdue OWLNew and Updated Purdue OWL ResourcesBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL staff is happy to announce the completion of the following resources:MLA Classroom Poster: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/17/APA Classroom Poster: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/Exercises: http://owl.english.. -
Computers and Writing 2010 to be Hosted at Purdue for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmFeature StoryComputers and Writing 2010 to be Hosted at PurdueBy Allen BrizeeThe OWL is happy to announced that the 2010 Computers and Writing (C&W) conference will be hosted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, from May 20 - 23, 2010. The online C&W conference will run from April 15 - May 13, 2010. T.. -
Purdue Writing Lab - A Space for Writing Workshops - And Haiku Events for October 28, 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pmNews from the Purdue Writing LabPurdue Writing Lab - A Space for Writing Workshops - And Haiku EventsBy Allen BrizeeThe Purdue Writing Lab hosted a haiku writing event to celebrate the National Day on Writing (http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting) on Tuesday, October 20. Haiku are three-line poems that contain five, seven, and five syllables per line, respectively.Pur..
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Academia-Research blog
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How to Spot Legitimate Online Jobs
31 Oct 2009 | 4:31 amThere are so many online jobs out there that you cannot simply find the best one for you. Well you can but it will take a lot of time and effort just to stumble upon the legitimate online jobs that you are looking for. Of course there are certain ways for you to identify which of these jobs are legit and which are not. In this article, let me give you some tips on how to identify a website or an offer that can be considered legitimate. Freelance writing jobs are probably the most popular types of internet based jobs. There are also so many websites out there looking for qualified writers to… -
Freelance Writing for Your Application
23 Sep 2009 | 4:47 amMost of the writers today are threatened by the fact that you can easily find work online. In this scenario, there are many freelance writing jobs that can be found online instead of looking for these jobs at newspaper ads. What is the big problem? Well for established writers this could mean a slash in their work opportunity because companies will then simply post online jobs for more diversity of employees. But for you this could mean great fortune. You can now apply for a job to work at home without having to go to company offices. Freelance writing is one of the most lucrative job offers… -
Best Online Jobs: How to Spot Them
6 Sep 2009 | 12:08 amIt is quite a good idea to simply get online jobs that you can avail from internet resources. Of course we all know the fact that there are some legitimate online jobs and there are fraud jobs that we need to astray away from. But when it comes to benefits and advantages, how do we actually identify the best online jobs? An online jobs is the like dong your work at home without having to go to a regular office. This way, you will be able to attend to the needs of your employer and clients no matter where you are in the world as long as you have computer systems and internet connection. There… -
Online Jobs for Working at Home and Earn Money
30 Aug 2009 | 12:28 amWe all know that fact that many people are still hoping to get online jobs for working at home. Because of the economic recession, many individuals are now applying for online jobs and they are really eager to get a career that they can do at home. In this case, we are currently offering our online jobs offerings so you can have a chance to earn money without having to apply for new positions in conventional companies. Right here, you may be on your way to get the dream job that you have wanted to have. Academia Research is a company that can provide many jobs that are related to freelance… -
Jobs for Freelance Writers
16 Aug 2009 | 4:10 amWhat can we do to make our computers earn some money? Actually, computers are merely tools to acquire some cash from the internet. That is why we have been providing great online jobs for writers who are knowledgeable in academic writing. Of course jobs for freelance writers are always available online but you can increase your earnings if only you will apply for the jobs that we are offering. A computer system with internet connection is all you need when it comes to freelance writing opportunities online. Did you know that there are so many people out there who are earning more than their…
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Dissertation and thesis writing guide. Literature Review and Research Proposal Hints.
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Electronic Digital Thesis
6 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pmIf your teacher requires you to have or submit a digital thesis, you should not worry about it. Because converting your hard copy file to electronic forms is very easy. Of course it would take a lot of work in doing this but a digital thesis is simply a dissertation in computer file form. Why do some teachers require a digital thesis or those thesis online copies?? Actually you still have to print out your work and submit the papers to your adviser and to the panel. But sometimes, having an electronic counterpart of your file is convenient. There are teachers who prefer e-mail submissions so… -
Thesis Online – Purchasing Over the Internet
5 Nov 2009 | 10:56 pmHave you ever considered getting a thesis online? Well you can really place an order for a dissertation paper today because many companies online are offering writing services. You simply need to fill out the necessary form and you are done with your order. What is the information needed in placing an order online? First you need to specify the order type. You can place an order for a dissertation paper, coursework, essay or any other research papers. If you can provide the thesis sentence right away, much better. You also need to provide the order description. Put some instructions of your… -
Master Thesis Examples
4 Nov 2009 | 5:54 pmWe can provide you some master thesis examples if you are looking for them. This time, you can have the convenience of looking for files from a single source. We all know that a thesis and dissertation example is important. They can give you ideas and guidance to make sure that you can write a quality paper. So what are the procedures to undertake to get hold of these master thesis samples. Before anything else, you should know how to write a dissertation first before you look for a master thesis example. This will help you further maximize the value of your samples. If you do not have any… -
Developing a Thesis Statement
2 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pmThe first thing that you need to understand in a thesis paper is the thesis statement. This is simply the most important part of the research parameter. Without a thesis statement, there is nothing to prove or research for. So how do we write a thesis statement? Developing a thesis statement is simple. If you can assert an idea then you have already constructed a thesis. This is simply because of the fact that the main agenda of the writer is to prove that his claims are true. So when you have asserted that one claim is valid, then you have already written a thesis sentence. Developing a… -
High School Thesis Topics
1 Nov 2009 | 6:33 pmThere are some students who do not know how to select high school thesis topics. usually, they are not familiar with the process of considering factors when choosing one. Today, let me give you the important things to consider when using a dissertation* topics to your advantage. 1. A High school thesis topic should be based on your capacity to write about it. Of course you must be familiar with the subject because this aspect will give you the motivation to write about it. the high school thesis topic should also reflect the thesis statement so you can just imagine how important it is. 2. You…
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Writing for the Web
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'Fakeosphere' latest Web trap for consumers
5 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pmVia Jerz's Literacy Weblog: 'Fakeosphere' latest Web trap for consumers. Bogus blogs are now being used as advertising gimmicks.I've seen a few in Flublogia, where some sites are clearly trying to part visitors from their money in exchange for "cures" for H1N1 and other ailments. -
The Fake AP Stylebook
5 Nov 2009 | 9:31 amAnyone who writes for the online news media will welcome the Fake AP Stylebook (FakeAPStylebook) on Twitter. This may be the best collective translation effort since the committee that produced the King James Bible.Now we can await web text that rigorously follows the new style. -
Happy birthday, Internet
29 Oct 2009 | 9:46 pmVia the Globe and Mail: The Web at 40: How the world got wired. Excerpt:Oct. 29, 1969, 10:30 p.m., Pacific Time The Internet is born ... and promptly crashes. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency were trying to figure out a way to combine physically distant computers into one virtual network. Exactly 40 years ago today, the first such network - called Arpanet - was established between machines at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Stanford Research Institute. The first message transmitted was supposed to be the… -
How not to write for the web
21 Oct 2009 | 8:54 pmI have a Google Alert for "writing for the web," and it's turned up a depressing number of trivial tips ("Keep it simple"). But this evening Google has brought me this item from a site called Writing Tips: Web Writing – A Succedaneum to the Usual Terms of Living. It's clearly an attempt at irony, but irony works poorly in webwriting. Excerpt, followed by comments:An efficient way to lend support to the inflow of cash in your quotidian life can be attributed to the concepts of web writing. Millions of websites are available at your fingertips to… -
Worst government website in the world?
20 Oct 2009 | 4:41 pmAt my flu blog H5N1, I link to a lot of government health websites, but I spare my visitors the shock of the Indian government's Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.At first glance you might think it was a relic of the 1990s, last updated perhaps in 1997. But it's up to date, more or less, with a crawling banner about swine flu that will take you to a site that looks completely different--and is not quite as up to date as it should be. Click on links to other sites, and you wouldn't know they were all part of one ministry.Given that India has a flourishing high-tech industry,…
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Word Strumpet
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A Writer's Inspiration
30 Oct 2009 | 6:32 amThus beginneth. I woke up this morning with this post in my head and even though it was only 5:30, I jumped out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and started in. Yesterday a character began talking to me.... -
Overcomers Book Blog Stop
23 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amI am interested in overcoming adversity. Also overcoming sloth, gluttony, laziness, and pride. I think those are four of the seven deadly sins, no? (Does anybody actually remember what the seven deadly sins are?) I struggle with overcoming all of... -
Guest Review: A Sudden Country
19 Oct 2009 | 2:00 amAnd now, while I am on vacation, I have a guest post for you. It is from my dear friend Paula, one of the most voracious readers and excellent writers I know. I trust her opinion and you should, too.... -
Contest Winner!
17 Oct 2009 | 4:50 pmI've been running a little contest this week to give away a free copy of The Midnight Disease. Today I chose the winner in a most scientific fashion--I wrote the names of the people who commented on pieces of paper,... -
It is done, it is done, it is done
16 Oct 2009 | 11:57 amA ritual from an energy-healing technique that shall remain nameless ends thusly: it is done, it is done, it is done. This is meant to be the signal that the healing has taken place. But today I am co-opting it...
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What Kate Did Next
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Lights Camera Action
5 Nov 2009 | 8:14 amWhen I told the three year old I was going to be on TV he frowned. 'But how do you get in there?' he asked. It's rather wonderful to think that to him these little people really live in the box - I didn't want to disillusion him by telling him about TV studios. When we watched my heat of the People's Author he looked puzzled - how could I be sitting on the sofa next to him, and be on TV?Thank you so much to all of you who have emailed, Facebooked and Tweeted - yes, I lost, but as the pilot said with a chuckle 'that doesn't mean you're like, a loser'. Fnaa. He also said 'don't worry - you… -
Heavenly Guest Spot
3 Nov 2009 | 12:30 amThanks for all your messages - after surviving being rejected in front of 3 million people I think I can cope with anything now, (kept thinking of those award ceremonies where the camera pans in on the nominees and their rictus grins as the winner is announced :) The People's Author was great fun and I'll blog about it at a later date - today, I'm delighted to welcome long-time blogging friend Cally Taylor to WKDN as part of her blog tour. Orion has just published her first novel 'Heaven Can Wait' - it has been wonderful following Cally's success story from the early days of landing a great… -
Sense of Place
21 Oct 2009 | 7:09 amThe second heat of 'The People's Author' was won by a Romany storyteller called Rosemary - her lyrical childhood tale 'A Field of Butterflies' was chosen because she clearly - and warmly - evoked a sense of place. 'You are the people's author' judge Fay Weldon said ... which isn't too intimidating for those of us coming afterwards.There is a minute and 43 seconds to pitch your book. It focuses your mind to say the least. I've been studying the questions the previous contestants have been asked carefully, and they are in today's prompt. It's a good exercise to answer these questions, whatever… -
Old friends
13 Oct 2009 | 1:06 amDevon, 1977Hello everyone - how's tricks? It's the usual juggling act here - I'm attempting to do a Blue Peter and stick leaves on a shoebox to make the three year old's box of goodies for tomorrow's Harvest Festival, while editing the first 'bare bones' draft of the memoir. For any of you also writing memoirs at the moment, I've just read a great book - Natalie Goldberg's 'Old Friend From Far Away'. Just like 'Writing Down the Bones' Goldberg is very good at making you come at your writing, and memories, sideways. There are some excellent prompts in there and I really recommend the book… -
Me myself and 'i'
4 Oct 2009 | 11:47 amI'd been wondering why, in spite of blogging less frequently, there has been such a huge spike in visitors to WKDN. Flicking through the TV guide last night I realised why. To those folks who were hoping to see this Katie (left): apologies. This is What Kate Did Next, not What Katie Did Next - the latest installment in the saga of Jordan's life story on UK TV. Imagine how many frustrated teenagers there are out there. They came here hoping for tits and tiaras and found typewriters and toddler tantrums instead. The only similarity between me and Jordan is our first name. Here's a link to…
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The Screenwrightist
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Eternal Sources of Character Story Conflict
27 Oct 2009 | 5:09 amPlaywriting and much television writing is mostly dialogue. What people say to each other can come off as simply talk if there is no character motivation behind it. When writing dialogue it is easy to bless whatever comes out of your head as gold, but a yardstick can help keep the drama taut and the situation believable. Nearly anything that comes out of a character's mouth is an action, an attempt to get something from the other person or make them do something. Though a character may have a different long-term goal in mind, these subjects are constant possible sources of conflict among… -
TV Writing is Mostly About Dialogue
31 Jul 2009 | 1:22 pmWriters often put on paper whatever comes into their minds first. Freewriting is a great skill to have, but a consideration of the media you are writing for can help you communicate in it best. Just as novels cannot as accurately describe things like a photograph, there are certain things television does well that should be played to. photo: crostinii Although television does include moving images, dialogue is the driving force behind it. This is best proven by the way television is produced and consumed. Small Screens Are As Good As Big Televisions screens vary in size from huge to tiny, but… -
Why Write a Short Film
30 Apr 2009 | 3:27 pmMany writers overlook short form material, concentrating on full-length works such as novels, films, and plays. Though longer works can seem more fulfilling and more in demand than shorter pieces, there are some great reasons to put effort into short writings. A short film especially holds a lot of value for a writer in that it could be produced more easily, possibly by the writer. With internet video distribution so ubiquitous and its focus on short form content, it is much easier to get people to watch such videos. photo: Samuelraj Aside from opportunities to get short films seen online,… -
Writers Should Learn Story Structure
25 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pmphoto: oscheneMany writers just write whatever comes in their head and when it feels "finished" they bring it to friends and then share it with the world. They do not believe in any kind of act structure and feel constrained by the idea of craft. These writers yearn to be able to do whatever they want and do not feel the need to impinge their creative juices. Though story structure is a set of restrictions it is not much different than many other restrictions that we take for granted. Writers do not rail against the tyranny of the English language and how if it just were not for the words we… -
Writing Places Most Writers Overlook
24 Feb 2009 | 5:09 amphoto: Tuvie Writing is mostly a solitary activity. Since writing only requires a writer and a writing instrument, writers spend a fair amount of time alone. Although others can be around as the writing happens, they are not necessary and can even sometimes get in the way. Being along so often many writers can lose sight of what they are doing and generally feel disconnected from life. Reality is the well from whence their stories spring and being alone too much can make it run dry. This and other social reasons leads many writers to do their writing in public places. Not only can it fulfill…
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life-story-writing at Yahoo! Groups
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The Old Home Place by Melva
1 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pmI hope this poem inspires you to write about your family of origin and the place that you grew up in! You can do it! Clickety-Click! The Old Home Place by -
"More Treats Than Tricks" by Pamela Perry Blaine
31 Oct 2009 | 5:01 pmBaring, Missouri Where there were always more treats than tricks By Pamela Perry Blaine "What are you going to be?" One child would say to another when the -
San Clemente Sunset
30 Oct 2009 | 6:22 pmAt *dinner fixin' time* I can look out my kitchen window, just above the sink and see San Clemente Island on a clear day. Yesterday was like that. The horizon -
Making The Rounds by Thelly Reahm
30 Oct 2009 | 11:33 amChristmas is coming, it's time to haul out those memories, whether they are good, bad or ugly! Writing your life story is sometimes like psycho-therapy...it -
Re: Waffle House - Not just a place to eat...it's an experience!
30 Oct 2009 | 10:48 am... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm always trying to help! For Waffle House coupons go to: http://www.mahalo.com/waffle-house-coupons Git on down there and
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The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing
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Has the Memoir Genre Developed a Pain Complex?
6 Nov 2009 | 4:36 pmPhoto by Polina Sergeeva Has a pain complex developed around our favored genre of memoir? Someone recently observed that to be interesting a memoir has to be about pain and suffering. Perhaps I exaggerate the intent of that remark, but as I think about it, I’ve been hearing variations on that theme in a number of places lately. For example, “People are interested in reading about struggle and how you overcame obstacles.” “My life is so ordinary. Nobody would want to read about it.” “Conflict. That’s what sells.” Maybe that last statement is the crux of the matter. -
How to Write a Best Selling Memoir in Four Months
2 Nov 2009 | 6:58 amMany memoir authors take ages to write their book. Jeannette Walls took about five years to write The Glass Castle. Other outstanding memoirs that have not made it to the best-seller list — yet — are Linda Joy Myers’ Don’t Call Me Mother, Karen Walker's Following the Whispers, and Heather Cariou’s Sixtyfive Roses. Each of those books reportedly took about twenty years to write. So how did Sarah Palin manage to crank out Going Rogue (which topped the best-seller list weeks before its release) in only four months? Answer: she had help, and she is Sarah Palin. I have not… -
Misplaced Muttering and Mumbling
27 Oct 2009 | 1:58 pmTo my mind, a character who routinely muttered and mumbled would seem eccentric, to say the least, if not sullen or belligerent. An image that comes to mind is an old estate caretaker, wiry and bent with age, given to conversing with plants as he prunes them. Another is a street person suffering some form of mental illness. Not long ago I read an adventure novel, which charity demands I refrain from naming. I’ll refer to the author simply as Jane. The two main characters were teenagers of extraordinary intelligence and achievement. The imaginative plot held my interest, but as I read, I… -
Tribute to a Mentor
22 Oct 2009 | 7:22 pmEarlier today I read a review of a book, Muses, Mentors and Monsters, by Elizabeth Benedict. The book features a collection of tributes from thirty writers to mentors who changed their lives. I immediately thought of the mentor who changed my writing life by kicking it off. Lacking the opportunity to put this into a book, I'll pay tribute here to Larry Sparks, my main mentor while I was an off-campus grad student in the psych department at Central Washington U in the seventies. I doubt I would have made it through the mazes in that program if Larry's office hadn't been available as my… -
National Day on Writing
20 Oct 2009 | 12:10 pmPhoto by Churl A new tradition is being established today — the National Day on Writing, officially recognized by the US Senate. It officially began at 12:01 EDT today. Every citizen is encouraged to submit a piece of writing, This may be anything from a polished story or poem to a shopping list. According to an article in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Danielle Koupf, a doctoral student in English at the University of Pittsburgh, is trying to collect "scrap writing" in her gallery, including lists, sticky notes, homemade signs, letters and journal entries in order to…
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Writing Roads
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Because sometimes, things need a little massaging
6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 amI’m not usually into massage. I think it’s because 7 years ago, I had an especially intense rub-down of the Ayurvedic variety and woke up the the next morning to greet my first of 40 some-odd kidney stones. Now granted, the massage didn’t give me the kidney stone. When they did an MRI, my kidneys were so chock-full, they looked like a 1960’s fallout shelter – just substitute cans of tuna and beans for tiny, jagged rocks. What the massage did do was take me from my deliriously innocent state wherein I was 29 and believed myself to be the picture of health (and… -
Go where you want to write.
4 Nov 2009 | 8:56 amThe most critical piece of advice that I give to anyone who wants to write – whether I’m officially coaching them or not – is that they have to find their voice. And to do this, I highly recommend that they write like they’re talking to their best friend, mate, cohort – the person who makes them feel like their greatest self, the person who doesn’t judge, who wants the world for them, who loves and encourages their bright light to shine, shine, shine. By the way, it’s not your mother or anyone that holds an emotionally charged lightening rod to you. -
Crystal balls, English accents and tea leaves
2 Nov 2009 | 7:14 amIt’s hard for me to write a post that mentions my neighbor (let’s call her Mary – because she’s a far, far cry from the virgin mother) without including a picture. But I do want to keep her anonymity. So, I’m linking you to the ‘Shoes’ video since she dressed up like that girl (or guy?) for Halloween. 1. I think it will help you get the point of how wacky she is, and 2. She looked exactly like him/her. Exactly. I will tell you however, because it’s her most intense feature (besides the fact that she smells like hooch and incense) that her real… -
Go get it.
30 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI had the good fortune of meeting Chris Brogan on Tuesday night…and to listen to him tell story after story, all of them heavy with hidden ideas and more than a fair bit of laughter. One in particular keeps playing in my head… Chris’ phone rings and he answers. A pipe fitter or roofer or something of that nature is on the other end, chewing his dinner loudly into the phone. In between chomps, slurps and smacks, he tells Chris, “Someone told me I should call you.” Chew, swallow. “That you might be able to help me.” Burp, gulp. “Do you think I… -
Holy bonus, Batman.
28 Oct 2009 | 5:44 amSomething strange has happened. I’m about to call the EPA and have them check my water. I can’t think of any other explanation. Here’s the thing: I’m ahead. I’m not just caught up with my work, I have things done before they’re due – as in, in advance of their deadline. It’s not that I’m a slacker usually, it’s just that I love the thrill of the deadline, so I usually push each one to the limit. But this week, I’ve been like a machine. Can I tell you how many times I checked my calendar this week to verify that it was actually…
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Ghostwriting: TheHiddenWriter
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Free Elance Book For Freelance Writers
5 Nov 2009 | 1:54 amLast week I received an email from Neil Asher in which he included a link to a free Elance E-book. This free e-book has been written for people who want to outsource but it is also a good read for freelance writers who use Elance as a means of getting freelance writing jobs. This e-book explains how buyers can use Elance which you probably won’t find interesting but it also goes on to explain how buyers should screen freelancers, what they should look for and how they should evaluate bids. This is great for freelance writers as it will give you an insight into the mind of the buyer… -
My Latest Ghostwriting Interview
3 Nov 2009 | 8:52 amA number of months ago I took part in an interview for the Write Out Loud website that was being carried out by Ami Spencer. I am delighted to announce that this interview is now live and if you would like to read it you can do do by visiting the Write Out Loud Website: I always love taking part in interviews and being able to give any advice and help that I can. Hope you enjoy the interview. Until next time, Keep writing Bookmark to: Hide Sites -
Freelance Writing – Do You Have An Illness Plan?
19 Oct 2009 | 11:11 amI was sick the entire weekend which is what has sparked this post. I have vertigo which meant that I spend my entire weekend lying on the couch. This of course had an impact on my freelance writing work because I wasn’t able to do anything. It was hard enough to keep my eyes focused let alone look at the laptop. I have a client that I work with an my job involves posting on three different blogs on a daily basis. One of these blogs has two posts per day so even at the weekend I have some work to do. I had no choice this weekend but to inform my client that I was ill and… -
Bloggers Must Disclose Endorsements
7 Oct 2009 | 2:53 amI like to keep up to date with what is happening online and yesterday the main story that caught my eye was the one where the FTC have updated their regulations. These new rules will come into effect on the 1st of December. If you promote products on your blog or you write paid reviews you now have to disclose them. I’m not sure how this will effect everyone and I’m sure you will all have your views on this too. A Google search for blogger must disclose endorsement will bring up over 60,000 results so this is obviously causing quite a stir. Below is a list of some of the articles… -
Grammar Tips – When To Use Commas
30 Sep 2009 | 8:01 amCommas are the one thing that always confuses me. Knowing exactly where to put them and where not to put them can be a little tricky. Most comma situations are easy to use. These include commas in numbers, after dates, and after geographical locations. The tricky situations and errors arise out of the two main ways in which we use commas. Today’s article will focus on these. Commas Separate List Items Commas are always used to separate items in a list. These items can be real things, or places you go. Below are some examples: I need some bread, sugar, milk, and eggs from the…
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Published and Profitable
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Sell more books with teleseminars
6 Nov 2009 | 9:34 amFriday’s upcoming events for authors Teleseminars and teleconferences are one of the most powerful tools authors can use to market their books. Book marketing teleseminars are flexible, easy to set-up, fun to present, and highly effective. They’re great for cultivating, and maintaining, profitable relationships with readers and clients. Many authors call them their Number One book marketing tool. If you’re not presently using teleseminars to market and sell your books, you’ll definitely want to attend Published & Profitable’s free event next week! Get the… -
Get the inside story on the business impact of writing a book
4 Nov 2009 | 11:16 pmThursday’s profit tip for authors Self-employed professionals and firms interested in getting the inside story of the business impact of writing a book will find the information they’re looking for in the detailed 2-part Business Book Publishing Series report from RainToday.com, the research and publishing arm of the Wellesley Hills Group. Report One contains 80 pages. It’s title is The Business Impact of Writing a Book: Data, Analysis, and Lessons from Professional Service Providers Who Have Done It. Report Two is The Ultimate Guide to Publishing and Marketing a Business… -
Graphic design makeover–see how design adds value to words
3 Nov 2009 | 10:19 pmWednesday’s promotion tip for authors I’d like to show you how a skilled graphic designer, like Maria G. Nozza, can take a good design and turn it into great design, as the before and after design makeover at left, and below, shows. After making a few, relatively simple changes, the instructions to accompany a series of Published & Profitable writing worksheets change from being merely OK to projecting a far more professional and purposeful image. The before, or original, instructions On the scale of things, the original instructions, above, are not particularly bad;… -
Is there a “universal” process for writing a book?
2 Nov 2009 | 9:51 pmTuesday’s writing tip for authors Authors looking for a process to guide them through the steps involved in writing a book will discover the topic addressed throughout The Essential Don Murray: Lessons from America’s Greatest Writing Teacher. How do writers write? and How do I write? were topics that Don Murray addressed throughout his life. The search for a writing process forms the backbone of The Essential Don Murray, Thomas Newkirk and Lisa C. Miller’s just-published anthology of Don’s extensive writings, teachings, and personal notebooks. The starting point is… -
Tips for authors choosing the right title for their book
2 Nov 2009 | 8:40 amMonday’s planning tip for authors Book titles play a “make or break” role in the success of your nonfiction book. One of your most important planning topics is to choose the right title: Choose the right title, and you establish instant rapport with your intended readers. The right title clearly indicates who should buy your book, why they should buy your book, and how readers will benefit from your book. Strong titles cross boundaries; they communicate audibly and visually, contributing to sales success in bookstores and online. Choose the wrong title, however, and your…
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Writing Forward
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November News and Announcements
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amWe are now midway through autumn. Soon, the holiday season will be here and then winter will settle across the land. Here in the U.S., November brings the Thanksgiving holiday, a time to be grateful for the blessings in our lives. There is wide belief in gratitude as a means to promote positive thinking (and feeling good in general), which seems to be growing. By practicing gratitude each day, you train yourself to recognize the good things in life, a very beneficial practice for people who are prone to complaining or seeing the glass as half empty. You can start a gratitude journal with a… -
How to Use Research for Better Writing (and Credibility)
3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amAlmost all writers rely on research for facts and information. Even fiction writers and memoir authors, whose work is either made up from imagination or based on personal experience, will turn to research to fill in holes and answer questions. We use writing resources like dictionaries and style guides. We use encyclopedias and reference books, articles from scholarly journals, and we rely on historical facts and datum collected by researchers so we can write truthfully and honestly. We also use Google (and some of us use Wikipedia), and we use blogs and other material found online. All of… -
The Poetry of William Shakespeare (Sonnets)
29 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amThis is the second article in a three-part series on William Shakespeare’s life and poetry and its relevance to modern writers and poets. If you haven’t done so, you might want to read the introduction. Shakespeare the Sonneteer In 1609, a collection titled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS was published, which included two previously published pieces (sonnets 138 and 144) plus 152 previously unpublished sonnets. This collection contains the entirety of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, which are each referred to by number as they are not titled. There is some confusion surrounding this… -
It’s NaNoWriMo Novel Writing Time!
27 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amIf you’ve ever dreamed of writing a novel, then NaNoWriMo might be for you. Are you one of those writers who comes up with plot after plot, maybe writing a few pages, or even a few chapters, only to abandon every project for the next great idea? Have you started working on a novel but constantly find yourself caught up in the vicious cycle of endless editing and revising with no end in sight? Is that novel you’ve been thinking about sitting around collecting dust in the annals of your mind? Every year, during the month of November, writers around the globe sign up to participate… -
Parts of Speech
22 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amMastering language can be a very technical process. Never mind the artistic skill that goes into being a good writer — understanding things like parts of speech, sentence diagramming, and other grammatical terms are paramount for writers who want not only to produce concise text, but who want to be able to communicate effectively with other writers and editors about content. Parts of speech explain how words are used in context. Each word in the English language can be categorized into one of the eight parts of speech. According to Wikipedia: Parts of speech: In grammar, a lexical…
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PoeWar
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Writing and Editing Jobs 10/31/2009
31 Oct 2009 | 1:19 pmFreelance Writer – Washington, DC Freelance Financial Presentation Writer — HNW, Inc. — New York Freelance Writer – Tech Website – BrightHub.com Freelance Music Writers – Music Jobs USA – Miami, FL Freelance Writer Fashion and Travel – L-atitude Freelance Writers – The Daily Caller – Washington, DC Freelance Writers Wanted – Suite101.com Proofreader – Cabela’s Inc. – Sidney, NE Proofreader – Cadient – Conshohocken, PA Proofreader – Adlife Marketing – Norwood, MA Proofreader —… -
10 Steps to a Freelance Writing Career
27 Oct 2009 | 11:13 pmOne of the keys to freelance writing success is finding the right market for you. Developing a writing specialty that is both enjoyable and profitable will bring you long-term success as a writer. You don’t have to limit yourself to a single market. You should find and exploit your strengths in as few or as many areas as you feel comfortable working in. Below is a ten-step plan that outlines how to find success as a freelance writer though specialization. Step One: Analyze your Strengths as a Freelance Writer Make a list of subjects that you both know about and feel you would enjoy… -
How to Avoid Copywriting Rewrites
26 Oct 2009 | 11:56 pmAlex Writes: Thank you for your wealth of information on writing. I’m an aspiring copywriter, and on top of my day job, dabble in freelance writing for brochures and corporate websites. The thing is, I occasionally encounter clients who change my copy so much (admittedly, for the better) that it makes me doubt my writing talent and potential. My numerous job applications have also been rejected by ad agencies – both big and small. How do I know if I have what it takes to be a good copywriter? I know I have the passion for advertising copy, but when do I draw the line between… -
How to Send an Effective Press Release
25 Oct 2009 | 11:11 pmCapturing a publication’s attention can be a difficult task. You are competing against a variety of other people, causes and events. To win this competition you must do two things. First, you must gain their interest. Second, you must present your story in a professional manner that will make it easy for them to give you the coverage you desire. Here are some tips to help you send effective press releases. Know Your Target Find out who the publication’s editor / reporter / blogger is for the section you want your press release to appear in. Include that person’s name on the… -
Writing Productivity — Using an Idea Log
25 Oct 2009 | 11:00 amSome writers know exactly what they want to say. They merely have to start typing and passion flows from them. This doesn’t necessarily mean they write well, but they don’t sit around wondering what to write about. Most writers, however, need a little prodding. Sometimes they have great ideas, and sometimes they stare at their computer screen waiting for something to come to them. If you fall into the second category, you can reduce your time spent staring at the screen by creating a log of your good article ideas when they come to you. You can also spend those slow times looking…
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lisahartjes.com
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Tweets for 2009-11-05
5 Nov 2009 | 5:59 pmEnjoying a nice hot coffee with sugar free gingerbread syrup. Yum! # Powered by Twitter Tools -
Ready at last?
5 Nov 2009 | 11:06 amI’ve finally finished up entering all my scene cards for TMA and getting them in order. I’ve assigned them to chapters, and printed up the Book Summary (I’m using the program StorYBook, a free and open source program for novel writing. The program doesn’t have every feature I’m looking for, but it has most of them and that’s good enough for me. Anyway, the summary is 13 pages. It’s a bit misleading, as there’s stuff in it like locations and character’s present for each scene. Many of the scenes have little more than a sentence or two to… -
I told you so.
5 Nov 2009 | 5:58 amYes, I’m doing NaNo this year. And my word count so far? 256. Man, that sucks. I have lots of excuses, but very few good reasons as to why it’s happened. All I can say is I’m working on a plot problem, and hopefully when that’s taken care of, the words will start flowing. -
Tweets for 2009-10-28
28 Oct 2009 | 6:59 pmDecided to throw sanity to the wind and participate in NaNoWriMo this year. #nanowrimo # Support #NaNoWriMo, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! – http://bit.ly/3DdbZo # Powered by Twitter Tools -
NaNoWriMo 2009
28 Oct 2009 | 7:06 amI’ve decided at the last minute to attempt to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. Giving myself the weekends off, I’ll have to hit 2400 words a day. Yes, that might look at a lot of words, but it’s something I need to strive for, especially since it’s unlikely I’m going to do much writing over Thanksgiving. I’ve added a couple of widgets to the left sidebar so those of you who care can see how I’m doing. Got to have accountability.
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Scribble Pad
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Japanese Pop is Just Cool
26 Oct 2009 | 11:34 am -
Laughter and Whispers
26 Oct 2009 | 11:11 amGuest post by Adolfo Nicolai I dreamed of a beautiful house Nestled in a draw, gently framed by whispering pines. In it lived a family, my family. And the laughter joined the whispers Every morning. -
Comments fixed
15 Oct 2009 | 7:24 amApparently, the comments on Scribble Pad were messed up and people couldn't leave their comment. Sorry about that! It should be fixed now. Thanks for letting me know! -
Chronous' Wheel
14 Oct 2009 | 12:08 pmGuest post by Adolfo Nicolai There is a silent destination In the order that is life, Where all of your frustrations Flow from all too human strife. Where plans last till the ink dries, Yet always end the same. Where years on years of hard work Become the never ending game. And so I have to ask, How is one to win? When men and mice on wheels aboard On good 'ol Chronous' wheel? -
Constant Sparks in a Relationship
4 Oct 2009 | 1:05 pmThis morning we were doing the modern digital equivalent of reading the Sunday paper together: two laptops on the dining room table with a cup of Tulsi on the side. Hubby started reading off a link he ran into while I tweeted with writing buddies and translators round the world.I guess it's because we saw He's Just Not That Into You at a friend's house last night, but he got to reading an article called 11 Reasons He Dumped You. One phrase jumped out at me."I know a relationship is not supposed to be exciting all the time, so getting through those flatline moments between the sparks is…
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RSSMix.com Mix ID 50439
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Lede (Lead) This!
6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pmI like having fun on Fridays, I always make it an easy day or a day off of work and I thought I’d bring some fun stuff to the FWJ community. Each Friday we are going to do Lede This and on Monday I’ll pick the best lede and talk about why it works.So here’s [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 6, 2009
6 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am// This has been a crazy week, but I’m still positive. I landed some interviews with some reputable authors and writers which you’ll be seeing at FWJ in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully you’re finding our different series and blog posts helpful and useful. If there’s anything we’re not covering, don’t be afraid to [...] -
What Are You Reading?
6 Nov 2009 | 4:22 amWeve all heard the advice that if you want to be a good writer, you should also be an avid reader. I have to admit that Ive been resting on my laurels for quite some time now. Since I received my Kindle, however, Ive poked my head out of my shell and dived into the [...] -
How You Leave a Gig is Just as Important as How You Started
5 Nov 2009 | 6:53 pmWe talk a lot here at Freelance Writing Jobs about how to find work and how to treat clients at the beginning of your working relationship. How you behave at the end of the gig is just as important.Sometimes your relationship with a client ends because you have decided that it’s time to move on. [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 5, 2009
5 Nov 2009 | 10:07 am// Thanks so much for your patience!Here’s what’s going on around the network:Why Negativity is So Positive10 Ways to Get Your Freelance Writing Foot in the DoorFreelance Writing Experience: Does it Matter Where Your Clips Come FromFreelance Writers Have Health Insurance Options – But You May Not Like Your ChoicesDon’t Say “Google Me”I’m a JackassLeads…Content [...]
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Get It In Writing
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Comment and let me know
5 Nov 2009 | 8:11 amHope you are doing well – happy, successful and at peace. You may have noticed that my weekly e-newsletters and regular e-mails have…..well, disappeared. Earlier this year, I made a deliberate decision to stop creating more content until I looked closer at my business, at my wonderful clients and at great people like you who are members of my e-mail list. I have asked many of you – as well as myself – questions like: How can I best serve you? What are your most pressing challenges when it comes to writing your copy and marketing your business? What are the most… -
How to find a writer
15 Oct 2009 | 9:31 amFor those of you that could relate to my last post, Don’t even think about writing for the web, I wanted to discuss the importance of hiring a copywriter. Finding quality writers is no easy task. As with hiring any employee or contractor, be sure to get the facts first. Ask these questions, and you’re sure to find a talented, hard-working and dependable writer with whom you can build a productive relationship. What exactly am I looking for? Before you begin your search for a writer, make sure to make a rough draft of your needs. Do you need a marketing writer, who produces brochures and… -
Don’t even think about writing for the web
7 Oct 2009 | 10:33 amSo in the last post I talked about my recent website research project and all the bad websites I ran into throughout the process. And it got me thinking. What websites really need is better copy. And I don’t say that because I’m a writer. The sad truth is that – in very general terms – the quality of web writing and copy is mediocre at best. I’m not calling for elegant prose. What I’m saying is that what your website reveals – in clear, well-placed words – influences what people think of you, your product, your company. Here are the top five ways to tell you’re NOT ready for… -
Content creation flaws
2 Oct 2009 | 10:59 amSo I have been doing some research over the past month in preparation for a new site I will be launching. And I hate to have to say it, but there are A LOT of bad websites out there. (No I will not featuring any in particular!). What I am going to do though is share some big time NOs NOs in case any of you are in the midst of a project or considering a site revamp. Flaw # 1: Senseless navigation Your website navigation should immediately let you know: Where you are, Where you’ve been, Where you can go next and Where the home page is. Navigation, in fact, must be so easy that visitors to… -
Keeping your copy active
30 Sep 2009 | 5:10 amOver the last two weeks, I have emphasized the importance of focusing on your target marketing, what they have for hot buttons and pain points and how your copy needs to be centered on the solutions they need. So once you have gone through the pre-writing process (with thorough research) and you embark on the act of writing marketing copy, I have a tip for you. It involves passive and active sentence structure, something you likely haven’t even given a thought. You will find that some also refer to this as writing in passive or active voices, but in this post, and in my book, Do It Yourself…
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Work-in-Progress
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Work in Progress: Enduring, Prevailing
5 Nov 2009 | 7:07 amWriting isn’t hard like digging ditches (or raking leaves!) is hard, but it most definitely can be hard on the spirit sometimes. It’s bad when the words aren’t coming, but it’s a different, perhaps deeper and harder kind of bad you’re feeling that the world doesn’t care* about all your work: No one understands. No one believes. Geez, no one even reads anymore!What’s a writer to do during those rough patches?I turn to other writers and books. What wisdom might I find there? There’s Rilke reminding me that “patience is everything,” and there’s the crazy-funny, crazy-smart… -
Late Bloomers
4 Nov 2009 | 6:38 amThe Glimmer Train newsletter includes a nice piece by Barb Johnson called “On Getting a Late Start,” for late bloomers everywhere.Enticing excerpt:“At the University of New Orleans, I was not the oldest person in the program. Nor the most or least talented person. Nor the only person with a sense of being a late bloomer. Writing is a great equalizer. Writing classes are not easier because you're younger or older. We all make the same beginner's mistakes. One day, over beers at our neighborhood bar, a couple of classmates and I talked about how we felt like late bloomers. They were in… -
Early Bloomers
4 Nov 2009 | 6:36 amHere are some contests for college undergrads and high school students…the previous post is about how it’s never too late to get started, and it’s also never too early, either!For college undergraduates:Spires Intercollegiate Arts & Literary Magazine at Washington University in St. Louis is now accepting submissions of poetry, prose, and artwork for the Fall 2009 issue! We've been in print since 1995, putting out a magazine every semester, and we're proud of what we do, but we couldn't function if it weren't for the talent and work of creative students here and abroad. Should you… -
Best Stuffing in the World
3 Nov 2009 | 7:42 amYou might be thinking about your Thanksgiving menu already…I know I am. If so, it would be cruel of me not to remind you that I have a recipe for the best stuffing in the world. It’s from Gourmet (sigh), and I’ve been making it annually for, well, a REALLY long time!Here’s the link to my original posting, but here’s the recipe.Cornbread & Scallion StuffingAdapted from Gourmet, November 1992(It’s actually called Cornbread, Sausage & Scallion Stuffing, but in an uncharacteristic nod to heart-health, I don’t put in the sausage.)For the cornbread:1 cup all-purpose flour1 1/3… -
Online Poetry Journal LOCUSPOINT Seeks Managing Editors
3 Nov 2009 | 7:39 amHere’s a good opportunity for the right person. This is from poet Charles Jensen’s blog. Along with serving as the Executive Director of the Writer’s Center, he edits LOCUSPOINT:LOCUSPOINT seeks 1-2 co-managing editor volunteers.LOCUSPOINT, an online poetry journal that explores creative work on a city-by-city basis, seeks 1-2 volunteers to join the team of managing editors who support the magazine's production and forward momentum.The perfect teammates will have an interest and investment in contemporary American poetry; be knowledgeable of its practitioners, both established and…
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Buzz, Balls & Hype
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$5 footlongs turbocharge Subway
7 Nov 2009 | 4:36 amIs there a lesson here? -
THE DOCTOR IS IN
5 Nov 2009 | 10:01 pmMAYBE IT’S NOT YOU Hypersensitivity to rejection is a common complaint among writers. We all know that the odds are against any particular novel, story or poem being published; that editors are far from infallible; and that it’s in part a numbers game—it’s often necessary to resubmit repeatedly before work is accepted. Yet so many of us—including those whose writing does get published—register rejection in an intense, visceral way that makes us forget, temporarily, all of the positive feedback we’ve gotten over the years. They’re right; we are nothing; our work is… -
Women Don't Really Write
5 Nov 2009 | 4:41 amThat seems to be the message. I think I'm getting paranoid. Last week PW picked all male best books of 2009. As readers of this blog know sine 2005 Oprah has picked all male bookclubs bks. Now looking into it after reading an article about him and thrillers in the NYT Glen Beck seems to picks mostly all male thriller writers to interview on his show. WTF??And an all female list like the Orange prize won't fix this. Women need to be integrated. Can't believe I'm writing this in 2009 - can you? -
BOOK APP POPULARITY UP & UP
3 Nov 2009 | 5:29 amAn interesting little nugget of a paragraph in Shelf Awareness today.... Book apps now top game apps as the most popular category downloaded to iPhones. Flurry, an analytics firm, has published "a report which shows that games were the number one category of apps downloaded on the iPhone every month from August 2008 until August 2009," the Telegraph reported. "However, in the last four months, book apps have exceeded the popularity of games apps--with one out of every five new apps launching in October having been a book. In September, games apps were overtaken by book… -
Linktopia
2 Nov 2009 | 5:40 pmLinktopia (with the help of Judge Page) looks at going live, social women, and just how much is a chapter worth?Diet Coke is not the only brand going live to garner attention. Marketers including Burger King and Adidas are warming up to real-time Web content, mirroring a shift in digital media away from asynchronous communication and content delivery (e.g., the sending of e-mails and watching posted videos) towards instant feedback and interaction. Continue reading here. "And they are very loyal. If they discover something they like, they tell their friends about it. Women were…
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Suite 101: Writing & Publishing
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When Characters Take Over, Don't Panic
6 Nov 2009 | 10:18 pmOften a story changes in the midst of everything, but not because of your own ideas! More often than not the plot changes course when your main character takes control. -
Using White Papers for Marketing
6 Nov 2009 | 9:33 pmA white paper is a technical document that argues for a specific position or way to solve a problem. It is a business tool that demonstrates the expertise of the writer. -
From Keeping a Journal to Writing a Memoir
6 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pmThe contents of a personal diary can provide a rich vein of stories for biographies and memoirs. The organised writer will find that results exceed expectations. -
MLA Essay Format in Microsoft Word 2007
6 Nov 2009 | 6:36 pmStudents often grasp the idea of formatting papers in MLA style and can even point to good examples. But they don't always know how to make Word do what they need it to. -
Different Approaches to Writing a Book Synopsis
6 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pmMost authors look upon writing a synopsis as a necessary evil in the manuscript publishing process. They tend to overlook the value of the unpolished 'working synopsis'.
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Wordful
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Who Are the Outliers of Modern Publishing?
4 Nov 2009 | 11:34 amHaving just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, I was struck with the immediate question: who will be the next outliers of the now-turbulent publishing industry? Who will do for the publishing world what Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Bill Joy did for the computer world?To put this question in context, I refer to Gladwell’s theory. He claims the most successful people in the world don’t just get there by magic fate or raw talent, but rather by an inexplicable blend of opportunity, luck, hard work and timing. (By the way, Outliers is an excellent read.)While I… -
7 Steps to Blog Post Perfection
28 Oct 2009 | 6:07 pmI want you all to know I suffered at the ruthless hands of time and atrophy to bring you this.We’re talking countless hours spent thinking, writing, scribbling, procrastinating, rewriting, deleting, groaning and starting over—all for a blog post.Nowadays it’s better. I developed an easy 7-step system that helps me power through my blog writing. I now get it done not just in record time, but with much better efficiency and competence.So here you go: Get an idea. Ideas are plentiful, and the best way to capture them is to write them down. Fill your notebook with all the ideas… -
How 1 Year of Blogging Changed My Life
21 Oct 2009 | 6:14 pmWordful.com is now officially 1 year (and a few weeks) old, so let me sum it up: blogging is awesome. It has changed my life, but not quite in the way you’d expect.Blogging For Dollars: Not So EasyFor starters, I haven’t made one dollar from blogging. This is considered a major failure by many but not to me. More on that in a minute.The main reason I haven’t made money from blogging is because I find myself at odds with the “make money online” mindset. Many (but not all) marketers in this so-called niche are not actually trying to help you make money,… -
Deep Lessons Learned In Korea, Part 2
16 Oct 2009 | 7:37 pmI’m back home now after a rather jolting week in Korea. While the the full impact of the visit hasn’t yet settled in, I have some meaningful impressions worth sharing.Family Will Be FamilyIf my previous post was any indication of anxiety and speculation, this post reflects pragmatism and sobriety. In other words, meeting long-lost family in another part of the world for the first time is not that big a deal.I sat down for an hour and a half with two of my cousins Ko, Se-Shil and Ko, Seon-Gyu at the hotel lobby cafe, and we got to know each other a bit. They were attentive and… -
Deep Lessons Learned In Korea
9 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pmThis isn’t your average Wordful post.In fact, I’m writing this from a hotel room in Seoul, South Korea, which is quite a change in pace from the warm family life I lead in Hawai‘i.The reason I’m here now is to take a few days to myself to discover the country of my mother and the ancestors from her side of the family.Unfortunately, though, the odds of success are against me: I don’t speak Korean and my relatives are–how shall I say–very distant. I’ve never met them or spoken to them until about 3 months ago to make arrangements for this visit.In…
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Life on Avenue Z
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The Truth Behind the Logo: Second Guessing Extravaganza!
It's been quite some time since I was neurotic about my business here in public. In fact, things have been going along swimmingly, and I've been happy and busy. But I frequently still feel like a fledgling business owner who gets in over her head. I had this fantastic idea (and ... -
Help Avenue Z Find a New Look!
Now that I've moved into a new office building, I want to rework my business cards and dump the logo design I created at 3 a.m. two days after I quit my day job. Please help me find the look that best represents what Avenue Z has become... Vote on the four ... -
Today is Rock Star Day
It's 7:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, and in a few hours I'll be speaking to the Napa Valley Chamber of Commerce. They booked me to speak on Free and Low-Cost Tools Small Businesses Can't Live Without, based on the cool free tools I collect for The Cheapskate Freelancer. Man but ... -
I’m much obliged…
About 2 years ago, I attended a workshop on how to write electronic newsletters. I exchanged cards with a guy I'll call Paul because I can't really remember his name. We actually corresponded a couple of times in the first month after we met, but I really don't know Paul. I ... -
You had me at the 150th hello
The other day I found myself at free credit report dot com, jingle running through my head, hoping I could save my credit from the fate of the poor guy on TV who can't buy a cool car, has to work at a Renaissance Fair to pay off debts he ...
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Essential Prose
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Listening in on the Other Side
11 Oct 2009 | 9:40 amA few weeks ago, I was looking up a farm in upstate NY where a friend works. As I searched the internet, the first relevant reference to that farm finally popped up. It was an article about a raid on the farm to arrest undocumented immigrants. I scrolled down to view the comments, and was shocked by the hatred poured out on the page. Hatred for immigrants — both with papers and without — was expressed nakedly and often with vulgarity. But why was I shocked? My friend at the farm is an immigrant. A documented immigrant who is too focused on creating new lives for his family to… -
Community Contemplation: Private Life vs. Public Life
30 Sep 2009 | 8:09 amphoto by mbgrigby This blog has sat here in relative silence for the month of September, a silence that was largely prompted by a difficult time my family went through while I was visiting. I was lucky to be with my entire family during that period, and I found myself in a surreal headspace where thoughts became difficult to transfer to paper (or screen); it felt more natural to allow these thoughts the time to unfurl and grow within. We have the absolute of the private life, the inner life so deep even we have trouble grasping it. Then there is the private life of thoughts, the thoughts too… -
Illustrating the Creative Process with Koldo Barroso
3 Sep 2009 | 7:14 amKoldo Barroso is a Spanish illustrator and storyteller who moved to the US in 2008 with a suitcase full of grotesque characters, dark stories and impossible visions. He describes his world of Art and Illusion as a mere act of “making visible and invisible world of magic, mystery and imagination.” His latest published work is a series of illustrations for Judy Dyble’s “Talking With Strangers”, the latest CD album from the legendary singer of Fairport Convention. Koldo Barroso spoke to me about his experience during the making of “Talking With… -
A Reminder: “This is Water…”
28 Aug 2009 | 10:26 amAn uncharacteristically teeny post for me, as my family is going through difficult times and I haven’t found the focus to muse here. Walt Pascoe posted the following message on Twitter, linking to a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace. It is an excellent read that fleshes out the ideas I had hoped to touch upon in my last post, unfolded in DFW’s eloquent, evocative language. Thank you for sharing this, Walt, and I hope you all have a chance to read it. *If you liked this post, please help spread the word!* More » -
Diving Past Skin
16 Aug 2009 | 7:00 amphoto by moriza During a lunch meeting last week in New York, the woman I was chatting with described a conference she’d been to and said something to the effect of, “Once all the distractions and clutter of everyone’s lives were stripped away, even the people whose ideas and lifestyles had seemed to clash with mine suddenly seemed like beautiful people.” This idea kept popping into my head as I was sitting on the subway or hanging out in cafés. Sitting quietly in a crowded place or walking along a bustling street often washes a certain effect over me — I…
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Freelance Writing Gigs
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Lede (Lead) This!
6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pmI like having fun on Fridays, I always make it an easy day or a day off of work and I thought I’d bring some fun stuff to the FWJ community. Each Friday we are going to do Lede This and on Monday I’ll pick the best lede and talk about why it works.So here’s [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 6, 2009
6 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am// This has been a crazy week, but I’m still positive. I landed some interviews with some reputable authors and writers which you’ll be seeing at FWJ in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully you’re finding our different series and blog posts helpful and useful. If there’s anything we’re not covering, don’t be afraid to [...] -
What Are You Reading?
6 Nov 2009 | 4:22 amWeve all heard the advice that if you want to be a good writer, you should also be an avid reader. I have to admit that Ive been resting on my laurels for quite some time now. Since I received my Kindle, however, Ive poked my head out of my shell and dived into the [...] -
How You Leave a Gig is Just as Important as How You Started
5 Nov 2009 | 6:53 pmWe talk a lot here at Freelance Writing Jobs about how to find work and how to treat clients at the beginning of your working relationship. How you behave at the end of the gig is just as important.Sometimes your relationship with a client ends because you have decided that it’s time to move on. [...] -
Freelance Writing Jobs for November 5, 2009
5 Nov 2009 | 10:07 am// Thanks so much for your patience!Here’s what’s going on around the network:Why Negativity is So Positive10 Ways to Get Your Freelance Writing Foot in the DoorFreelance Writing Experience: Does it Matter Where Your Clips Come FromFreelance Writers Have Health Insurance Options – But You May Not Like Your ChoicesDon’t Say “Google Me”I’m a JackassLeads…Content [...]
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Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers
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How to Earn More Money by Diversifying Your Online Writing
5 Nov 2009 | 8:04 amWho wants to be a starving writer? Not me – especially when I can earn more money by diversifying my web writing (blog posts, online articles on Suite101, etc). These tips for diversification are from Helen Smeaton, a web writer, blogger, and entrepreneur. But before her tips, a quip from the late great Henry James: “With the proceeds of my last novel, I purchased a small handbarrow, on which my guests’ luggage is wheeled from the station to my house,” said James. “It needs a coat of paint. With the proceeds of my next novel, I shall have it painted.” He sounds like many web… -
New Suite101 Writers – How to Stay Motivated to Keep Writing
3 Nov 2009 | 7:26 amIf you’re new to writing at Suite101, you may feel unmotivated by the first few months of low income. These tips for staying motivated are from Prerna Malik, who just finished her first six months as a Suite writer. Before her tips for new “Suitees”, a quip: “I don’t believe in writer’s block,” said Elmore Leonard. “I don’t know what that is. There are just certain little areas that I know I’m going to get through. It’s just a matter of finding a way.” That’s how I felt during my first year of writing for Suite! I knew it would pay off financially (it already… -
Blog Partnerships – Things to Consider Before Co-Blogging
29 Oct 2009 | 2:25 pmI’m embarking on two blog partnerships this month, and have learned several important things to consider before co-blogging with another writer or organization. If you’re thinking about blogging with another writer — not guest posting, but starting a new blog together — this advice will give you a few things to chew on! Before my tips, a quip: “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart you feel others should care about,” said Kurt Vonnegut. “It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive… -
Why Write for Suite 101? 10 Benefits of Online Writing
27 Oct 2009 | 8:04 amSuite 101 writer Rosemary Gemmell answers the question I’m often asked: “Why do you write for Suite 101?” Here, Gemmell shares ten benefits of online writing from her own experience. Before we jump into the reasons she loves writing for Suite, I gotta say that three out of four members of my writer’s group have written for Suite 101! One quit after a few months, saying the writing guidelines were too strict. The second was hired a couple months ago, and recently celebrated her first paycheck. She’s a happy writer! The third has been writing for Suite 101 for three years, and loves… -
5 Things To Do Before Publishing a Blog Post
26 Oct 2009 | 7:29 amWhether you’re a new or experienced blogger (problogger!), you’ll find these five things to do before publishing a blog post helpful. These tips are from freelance writer and blogger Susan Johnston, of The Urban Muse — one of my most regular guest bloggers. Before her tips, a quip: “Put down everything that comes into your head and then you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.” – Colette This writing advice doesn’t just apply to works of fiction, short stories, or print articles for…
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About Freelance Writing
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Ideas – Hone, Disgard or Wait
6 Nov 2009 | 9:38 amA friend called and at the end of the call I asked her what I should blog about. She said something like “write about where ideas come from.” I’ve blogged about where writers get their ideas and started to say “no.” But one of my recent practices has become, more or less, the admonition to my self: Don’t deflect ideas! Instead of saying no, I waited a tiny moment. Sure enough, a new thought came in and I remembered that yesterday I started a rant about my bank and customer service. As I blew off steam I realized I didn’t want to put that kind of… -
Freelance Writing Jobs for Friday, November 6, 2009
6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 amWe end the week with 58 freelance writing jobs, blogging jobs, editing jobs, translation jobs and creative gigs today. How to get freelance writing jobs is a category listing articles about how to get freelance writing jobs and the article, How to land a writing job is an article aimed at helping you when you apply to one of the freelance writing jobs listed here. If you land one of these gigs, let us know. OTOH, if you find one is a problem, let us know that too. Freelance Technology News Reporter Market research report writer Experienced Writers for Real… -
Joe Wikert On the Nook and Ebook Readers
5 Nov 2009 | 8:01 amLast month I wrote about the Nook, the new ebook reader from Barnes and Nobel. Joe Wikert, who blogs about publishing and Amazon’s Kindle talks about the Nook and ebook readers in general in an article on his Publishing blog called B&N’s Nook…and Beyond If you’re at all interested in ebooks, and if you’re not you probably should be, Joe’s observations on ebook readers and the ebook side of publishing are worth following. His suggestion that an ebook reader with a slot for an iPhone connection is an interesting one. His notion that such a device would… -
Freelance Writing Jobs for Wednesday, November 4, 2009
3 Nov 2009 | 9:13 pmWe have 52 56 freelance writing jobs, blogging jobs, editing jobs, translation jobs and creative gigs today. How to get freelance writing jobs is a category listing articles about how to get freelance writing jobs and the article, How to land a writing job is an article aimed at helping you when you apply to one of the freelance writing jobs listed here. If you land one of these gigs, let us know. OTOH, if you find one is a problem, let us know that too. Writer/Web Marketer Writer Needed for Web-Based Drinking Application Essay Writing Expert to Produce Instructional Videos Blogger for… -
Learn How To Build A Membership Site – Yaro’s Class Reopens Briefly
3 Nov 2009 | 8:08 amYaro has re-opened his Membership Mastermind Class for less than 24 hours. Yaro is a hoot! A young bloke from Oz – Australia, who knows blogging and membership sites inside and out. I keep taking his classes and they keep making me money. There’s a 60 day guarantee for this class, so if you signup and decide it isn’t for you you’ll get your money back. And yes, in the interests of full disclosure, I do get a commission if you buy through this link. Write well and often, Two newsletters: Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week…
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A Passion for Letter Writing
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Send Love Today
14 Oct 2009 | 11:32 amSend Love Today is a nonprofit organization that provides emotional support to brain tumor patients and their families in the form of cards and small gifts. Do you have a little bit of time on your hands to commit to jotting a few notes to people who could use some encouragement and uplifting? Go to the [...] -
What We Leave Behind
27 Aug 2009 | 7:40 pmRose over at The Center of My Self recently wrote a great post about the impact we have on people we’ve touched in our lives — what they remember about us, what we teach them, etc. It’s a great and thoughtful post, but as I read on she talked about someone who had left behind letters [...] -
Hanging Postcard Collage
25 Aug 2009 | 8:05 pmHere’s a great craft project for those of you who collect postcards. Check out the hanging postcard collage! -
New Releases and Announcement
18 Aug 2009 | 7:30 pmSabrina Ward Harrison, a lovely and carefree artist, has some new card sets out. Definitely worth check out over at PAPAYA. Also, I have a giveaway coming up. I was sent a set of cards that are WONDERFUL and you’ll love them. I’ll be announcing the giveaway very soon. (I’ve had a terrible, terrible [...] -
Postcards from My Hometown
16 Aug 2009 | 1:17 pmDream Sequins is doing a project called “Postcards from My Hometown” over at her blog. Looks like fun… go check it out!
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How Not to Write
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The One Name
17 Oct 2009 | 10:04 amMy Patron Saint? Probably. NaNoWriMo is coming... In just a few days, thousands of passionate writers will start down the path to writing a novel in 30 days. The goal is 50,000 words. Most will falter around 10,000 (or less). The reason? With Passion, anyone can write 10,000 words... Anyone. To get past the 20% mark, you need something else. Some people fall back on organization: outlines, meticulous planning, character sheets, etc. They spend hours thinking about the structure of their stories, running mental what-if scenarios. I know this because I've done it too, and for sheer volume it… -
On Meeting Writers...
26 Sep 2009 | 8:43 amProof that monkeys and beer sometime mix. It was a dark night in Chicago. Eden was tired. She had to get up early. But there she was, biking across town to meet a man barely knew... Sounds kind of scary, right? A decent setup for a pulp mystery or maybe some boring existentialist diatribe on the nature of meeting people for the first time. Well, the man Eden was going to meet was me, and while I'm not really all that scary in person, I'm probably good casting for the latter. Eden Robins is a Clarion West grad, writer, and editor of Brain Harvest. I've known Eden for awhile, in the casual way… -
Commit to Finish. Commit to Begin Again.
24 Aug 2009 | 6:07 amBrains took this picture of Lake Erie... Nice shot, kid! All writers slack. It's natural. Writers are dreamers by nature, and we make procrastinators in other fields look like paragons of productivity. However, it is the weight a writer gives to working vs. dreaming that determines whether they finish a damn thing. I was thinking about all of this during my long drive down to Washington DC yesterday. I was listening to the excellent Starship Sofa Podcast, and hoping like hell I had the patience and fortitude to sit my butt down long enough to write a story like Neal Asher's Adaptogenic or… -
Ready to Burn
1 Aug 2009 | 8:49 amIn the last year, I've taken a lot of chances. Maybe not as many as I would've liked, especially in my writing, but nonetheless one would be hard pressed to say I'm stuck in a rut. Before I get going, I should say that this isn't one of those apology posts where a blogger comes back after and absence and promises it will all be different. I don't believe in those sort of posts. Frankly, when I see a post like that, I know a blog is about to die a horrible death. The writer is filled with regret and guilt. They feel they are neglecting their audience and they're not sure what to do about it. -
Damn This Writer's Heart
12 Jun 2009 | 6:02 amFor many, the making of the writer is a bloody affair. It consists of trying and failing, trying and succeeding only to find one's self blocked by the promise of a breakthrough, trying once more... Where does this drive come from? What makes the writer who has failed sit down and try once more? I don't claim to know the answer. I'm just a fellow sufferer of the disease. Damn this writer's heart. Damn it for making me feel... Yet, if we knew the answer, would it matter? Would it some how solve the problem? Would it help us to make sense of what it means to posses all these words which are so…
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Editor Unleashed
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Book Design: Beauty in the Details
5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amby Joel Friedlander The first book my son ever got truly captivated by as an early reader was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We had read the earlier Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone together, with me doing most of the reading since he had just learned to read. By the time the second book came out, he was determined to read it himself. It was a remarkable experience to watch him drop into the world of witchcraft and wizardry, to be completely absorbed by the world created by J.K. Rowling, waiting every day for the chance to dive back into that world again. This is a… -
The Savvy Author’s Guide to Podcasting
4 Nov 2009 | 7:24 amBy Emma Newman At the time of writing this, fifteen chapters of my novel have been published on my site as podcasts. I love recording and publishing them now, but it was daunting at the start. I’d like to give you a hand with some of the basics if you are considering taking the podcasting plunge. Technology Let’s get the scariest bit out of the way first—the technology. I’m going to explain the process I use to podcast, but please note that my initial set up may be different to yours. The process will always be record, format correctly and then publish, and I’ll look at each in… -
Get Ready for the “Why I Write” Contest
2 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pmAn all-new writing contest sponsored by two great online resources for writers: Editor Unleashed and Smashwords! You help choose the $500 Grand Prize winner. No entry fee! The Dates: • Post Your Entry on the Forum: Monday, November 9 – Thursday, December 31 • Popular Ranking: Monday, January 4 – Friday, January 29 • Winners Announced: Monday, February 1 How to Enter: • Writers post their essays of 750 words or fewer on the Editor Unleashed forum. Contestants must be registered members of the forum to enter. (Membership is free. Only one entry per writer please.) You Help Choose… -
How to Let Your Imagination Take Flight
30 Oct 2009 | 6:58 amby John Wiswell Writers get asked about imagination a lot. Where do you get your ideas? Most recently a writer on the forum asked the Fantasy and Science Fiction folk who participate in #FridayFlash on Twitter where they get their ideas. Is it drugs? Videogames? I believe that most good fiction comes from the same place, be it humor or horror, scientifically plausible or downright impossible. You have to experience, read and study enough to get the raw material that can make up an original story. But I think the genesis of good fiction is simple: taking an idea in a new direction. I write… -
Announcing: Why I Write Essay Contest
27 Oct 2009 | 8:44 amThe topic that every writer takes on at some point is: “Why I Write.” In fact, reflecting on what compels a writer could be a genre in itself. You might say it’s the literary equivalent of an artist’s self-portrait. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that Editor Unleashed is once again teaming up with Smashwords to present a writing contest with a theme: Why I Write… You may remember the popular Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 contest. The top 40 winners were published in an anthology at Smashwords. This time around we’re looking…
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Sid Prince Explains
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I Break for NaNoWriMo
27 Oct 2009 | 8:20 amIf you've been following this blog for a bit you know that back in April I made a commitment to begin work on my first novel. Well America, up to now I've written exactly 0 pages, 0 words, and 0… -
Wild Things' Wild Ride
16 Oct 2009 | 8:02 pm[Every once in a while when I see a movie or read a book that I really like or really hate, I'll tell you about it. This is just such a time] Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of a young… -
This I believe...and it May be Killing Me
15 Sep 2009 | 5:43 pmI believe I have but one major illness to recover from in this lifetime, and that belief may be killing me. Perhaps a little dramatic you say? Let me explain. This whole healthcare hoopla, with… -
(not) Social Networking 101 - Another Top 5 List
11 Sep 2009 | 11:06 amI dropped some knowledge on Lori Widmer's Words on the Page blog the other day, and it got me thinking (as Lori often does - so blame her for this post); if I were to ask 100 people what networking… -
Yo Politicians - this is how you get your Healthcare on!
4 Sep 2009 | 9:09 am
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Amy Sue Nathan: Writer/Editor/Single Mom
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Don’t chop yourself to bits but…
6 Nov 2009 | 4:58 amOn Tuesday nights I watch The Biggest Loser and then switch to Food Network and watch Chopped. The incongruity of this pairing is not lost on me, not to worry. On Chopped, four chefs each have a basket of secret ingredients and are challenged to make an appetizer in 20 minutes, using all the ingredients. The judges taste, and then CHOP, one of the chefs. The remaining three chefs get a basket of secret ingredients and 30 minutes to prepare an entire. Then the judges CHOP one chef. The remaining two chefs have 30 minutes to create a dessert out of equally odd and secret ingredients. A key… -
Writing like a reader and reading like a writer
4 Nov 2009 | 3:57 amOne of the best decisions I made recently was to beg ask J to be a beta reader. You know why? Because she’s not a writer and because she and I have been online friends since the inception of my very first blog but we don’t know each other outside the blogosphere. While I have no doubt we’d chat for hours and find we’re compatible, we’ve not had the opportunity to do so…yet. Not only do I go to J’s blog any time I want to find a recipe I know I’ll like, but I love reading her thorough, thoughtful, honest book reviews. Therefore I… -
Eat, meow and leave
23 Oct 2009 | 5:15 amAt the beginning of the week we found a mother cat and three kittens on the patio in front of the house. One of the dogs discovered them, I can only surmise, when she decided to jump up on back legs to look outside through the dining room window because she was finished looking out the other seven thousand windows in the house. Then it was the middle of the night when she decided to check on the cats and wake me up to tell me there were, indeed, still squatting on our property. Of course I was awake from then on, as he/we watched the kittens play in the dark amidst the withering flowers… -
A story and a silver lining
18 Oct 2009 | 7:09 amI woke up yesterday with a grand plan. Don’t you love those? I was going to read and write and hang out in whatever order suited me best. I took coffee to bed and pulled up the covers under my neck. It was still dark out so I turned on a flashlight that I laid across my chest so it illuminated a page at a time. Nothing worse than holding a book and a flashlight at 6 am when you’re trying to drink coffee and read a novel. While I was reading I had a thought. Always dangerous. It was a character and a short scene. I did think to myself “that’s a good… -
A terrific typo
14 Oct 2009 | 4:47 amWe see typos everywhere — in the grocery store, on TV, looming over the highway on billboards and of course on the internet. They’re entertaining — they’re harmless — and most of the time I give them no second thought. But the other day perusing a website I saw my new most favorite typo ever. It conjures up all kind of images that are hard to explain, although I’ll try. ‘MANTEL INSTITUTION’ Is this a place where they rebuild fireplace mantels or is it the place where they teach people how to build mantels? Perhaps after years of bumping…
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Bad Language
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Absurd spammy press releases sent to my blog
3 Nov 2009 | 1:03 amAs promised, here are the headlines for the most absurd press releases sent to my blog in the last month plus the PR companies behind them. I can see no reason at all why these PR companies would want to target ME with these stories. I’m pretty sure that all the PR companies concerned are billing their clients for their ‘blog outreach’ campaign. What a waste. Precise picture of early Universe supports "dark matter" theory (Spring O’Brien) Disney FamilyFun Announces Toy of the Year Award Winners (Rosen Group PR) Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet TOP SEARCH on Google This Week… -
A writer’s laptop – the Sony Vaio P11Z
19 Oct 2009 | 1:52 pmI am the proud owner of a large number of tiny, defunct computers. For example, I have a working HP 95LX handheld that runs DOS, a Toshiba Libretto 70CT which only a tiny-fingered Japanese schoolgirl could type on and an OQO Model 01+ which is as tiny as it is noisy and slow. Each one is a testament to my belief that if I could only find the right portable, my life might be beautiful. Well, I think I might have got it. The Sony Vaio P11Z is everything I’m looking for: Very small and light. It weighs less than half a kilo which means it’s easier to carry round than a Jeffrey Archer novel… -
Ten reasons why learning another language will improve your writing
15 Oct 2009 | 9:16 amI’m studying Dutch. It’s my father’s language but I never learned it as a child and now I’m trying to go back to my roots. I just got back from a four day trip to Amsterdam and 16 hours of intensive one-to-one training. It made me think about how learning another language has helped me write English better. Remember simple words. When you start learning another language you have to focus on the basic words first. Everyday words, such as get, use, give and take, are the most important and easiest to understand. This means that they are also the easiest for people to read. Learning… -
Hello Holland!
2 Oct 2009 | 9:38 amIk ga in Amsterdam van maandag 5 oktober tot en met donderdag 8 oktober om enkele Nederlandse lessen te hebben en ook de taal te oefenen. Als u wilt ontmoeten en praten nederlands met me, ik zal de drankjes kopen. Stuur me een e-mail! -
Do PR companies understand blogs yet?
30 Sep 2009 | 11:20 amThanks to the success of this blog, I now get press releases from PR firms. A few are useful, such as announcements of books in my field or writing tools or people I might like to talk to. (For instance, myWriterTools who pinged me earlier this year or the folk at MindJet who sent a very thoughtful email asking me to look at their product or HP – a client – who set me up with an interview with their CTO). Sadly, the vast majority are completely pointless and a waste of their clients’ money. Here are some of the problems: Irrelevant. Products that have nothing to do with the subject of…
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Word Grrls
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Say it in One Sentence
7 Nov 2009 | 3:52 amTell your story in one sentence. Be brief. Get some inspiration from the site, One Sentence. If I hadn’t made the rumballs yesterday, then eaten four of them today, I’m sure I would have made my first attempt at a word quota for NaNoWriMo today. What’s your story, in so many words… Related items Write a Story in 50 Words A Poke at Fairytale Princesses No One is Infallible Brittany’s Little Letters Write the Future for The Gilmore Girls -
Are Blog Archives Too Old Fashioned?
6 Nov 2009 | 3:06 amWhat are reasons to keep an archive on your blog? We have categories and tags. An archive may seem a bit prehistoric or overkill, especially when they aren’t search able and just sit there all static and growing old. Tony Briley started this discussion on the CMF Ads forum. Reasons for keeping an archive on your blog: Web directories tend to list established blogs only, those which are at least six months old. An archive is where they look to find the age of your blog. Knowing the age of your blog establishes your credentials, your experience, especially if you are posting about web… -
A Poke at Fairytale Princesses
5 Nov 2009 | 3:25 amFrancesca Simon wrote “Don’t Cook Cinderella” for kids. I picked the book up just for the title and the picture on the book cover. A Witch, in full black hat and gown, is holding Cinderella up by one ankle over a bubbling black cauldron. Written on the back cover: Fairytale goodies and baddies at school together: Miss Good Fairy is teaching Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Snow White and their classmates to read and write, while Miss Bad Fairy is urging her evil pupils to gobble them all up. But Wicked Witch, Troll, Big Bad Wolf, the Ugly Sisters and the rest are in for a… -
#ArtWalk on Twitter
4 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pmTake the ArtWalk on Twitter. The last Tuesday of Every Month, 7:00 pm EST. Don’t forget to add the #Artwalk tag to your tweets. People who looked at this item also looked at… Very Short Story Related items WordGrrls on Twitter Lists #WriteChat on Twitter, Sundays Very Short Story Create a Favicon Midnight Stories on Twitter -
Eye of Newt, Rule of Thumb and Hands of the Clock…
4 Nov 2009 | 4:47 amIt’s a bit disappointing to go to a favourite blog and find they have no new updates at the time you expect them to be there. What time do you make your blog posts? Even if you don’t choose (or have available) scheduled blog posts you can pick a good time for making a post go live to your blog. Whether you post every day or a few days a week or just every Tuesday, you should have some kind of a planned posting time. I was posting at 6:00AM for several months. I thought that would be a decent time to get it out there, not too early and yet early enough. However, one day I changed…
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Get Paid to Write Online
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Article Writing Research and Idea Tips – Going Beyond Wikipedia – Part 1
4 Nov 2009 | 8:59 amSome people who slag off web content writers claim that there’s too much garbage content online and that too many people who write for money do it just for the money and couldn’t care less about the quality. Some ghostwriters have low work standards when selling writing that won’t have their name on it. In fact, I once hired a person to work on my writing team but found a comment by her on a writing forum that said she couldn’t be bothered to put much effort in when the work was ghost written. I cringed and promptly lost her email address. Too many people rewrite, spin, and… -
Write Right Online – A Review
2 Nov 2009 | 11:22 amI’m always interested in reading books about writing, so I was pleased when Andy Hayes asked me to review Write Right Online. Andy’s a travel writer and the 30 page book shares what he has learned about online writing. Who The Book Is For This book is aimed firmly at the new online writer. In 18 short sections, Write Right Online takes you through everything you need to know about online writing. What I love about the book is that it is a model of simplicity – anyone can follow it – yet it somehow gives new writers information – and examples – they can take… -
Writers and Social Media Tools – Are You Using Social Media to Further Your Writing Career?
28 Oct 2009 | 4:24 amSome writers use social bookmarking tools to follow the bloggers that they regularly read and to occasionally chat with other writer friends. Social networking can be a great way to take some of the isolation out of working from home alone. But if you’re not also using social media tools to your advantage to boost your writing business and to help you attract new clients, you may be leaving money on the table. Here are a few ways that social media has helped me with my writing career: Bookmarking for Writer Self-Promotion and Earnings When I write a blog post or article that promotes my… -
Writers, Are You Working Too Hard?
24 Oct 2009 | 5:25 amIs your writing career wearing you out? How would an extra hour a day help you? New freelance writers often go through the following cycle: Take every writing opportunity that arises Write all day and all night Run out of time to spend on other aspects of life Burnout or wonder whether this career is right for you after all Writing Career Goals A fellow writer who writes marketing copy said to me the other day: “When I said I wanted to be a writer, this was not what I had in mind.” We all write because we enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean that we enjoy every aspect of the job. -
Have You Chosen a Freelance Writing Niche?
21 Oct 2009 | 8:12 amThose who get started in freelance writing can find that there are many clients who will pay writers to write for them on a wide array of topics. Writing on a lot of different subjects can definitely keep your job interesting. While learning how to research and pull information together quickly can help you get writing work, you might want to consider choosing a specialty writing niche (or two) as well. Niche writers benefit in several ways: They become known as experts on a topic and can command higher writing rates as well as get plenty of unsolicited job offers. Self promotion is easier…
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Founders' Blog
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November is Product Sample Give-a-Way Month at LitCentral Founders’ Blog
2 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. Each week we’ll have a few prizes up-for-grabs, and it’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to… -
What’s New in the World of Tablet PCs for Writers (Plus Fujitsu’s New LifeBook T4310)
21 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pmThis blog has written at length about the advantages of tablet PCs (TPC) for writers. In fact, the lack of writers’ awareness regarding various technologies that enhance productivity was the impetus behind LitCentral starting this blog. Lump TPCs into the “technology that enhances writers’ productivity” bunch. If you are the type of writer that likes to map out your novel or script with handwritten notes, 3×5 cards, and Post-it stickers the TPC is a great solution. Using software applications like OneNote and Evernote with your… -
Bluetooth Wireless Handset - Old School Style
16 Oct 2009 | 10:50 amHorchow is offering a different spin on old and new technologies with a bluetooth wireless traditional handset. If you don’t want to be bothered with batteries or recharging, there is also a $68 non-wireless handset that you plug directly into your cellphone. I have my BlackBerry Tour and my office phone at my disposal when I’m seated behind the desk. Often I’ll route BB calls to the office phone for the sheer comfort of it all. The design of the traditional handset actually has some practical ergonomic value. Think about it… You… -
Bamboo Keyboard & Mouse Combo
8 Oct 2009 | 8:41 pmFor those of you who want a little green in your work environment, the Horchow bamboo-like keyboard and mouse offer an interesting eco-friendly approach to computer hardware. It will set you back a cool $78 but you’ll look good writing that next blockbuster. PC compatible only. BTW…check out Horchow for great writer gifts in general. The holidays are fast approaching, ya know! -
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac
2 Oct 2009 | 2:39 pmThe long-awaited BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac is finally available today. Until now, the Mac and the BlackBerry were more like distant 3rd cousins. Today, they are happily married. Ick. That didn’t quite come out right. Just know that syncing your contacts, calendar, music and notes just became effortless. When your computer and smartphone play together nicely, life is just easier. Go here to find out more.
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Fiction Matters
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Using Social Media To Build Your Platform
5 Nov 2009 | 7:58 amThis is a presentation that I gave at the Social Media Club chapter here in Richmond. Ostensibly, the presentation is generic enough to apply to any niche or vertical, but the lessons contained within can be directly applied to building an author’s platform. Fair warning, the tone is a bit cheekier than I use here at Fiction Matters and I do swear a couple of times. Niche Communities and Social Networks – A Presentation from Bradley Robb on Vimeo. Share and Enjoy: Related posts:The New Age of Marketing and the Dawn of the Social Economy This is a Mills & Boon Starts a Social… -
3 Questions To Better Understand Your Novel
3 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amVito and I were talking about our individual works-in-progress this morning. My esteemed colleague has largely put the finishing touches on his manuscript and is readying for the querying process. The conversation then naturally drifted towards how a writer must transition from the author’s cap to the marketer’s fedora to accomplish this. Here are the three questions to ask yourself to make the changing of hats that much easier. Image by Bob Smith 1. In a book store, where would you shelve your novel? Be honest with yourself and don’t immediately leap towards the commercial… -
Free Book: War and Peace
2 Nov 2009 | 9:08 amAuthor: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Description: War and Peace is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russkii Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels. War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, marriage, age,… -
Free Book: I, Robot
26 Oct 2009 | 7:30 amAuthor: Cory Doctorow Description: “I, Robot” is a science-fiction short story by Cory Doctorow published in 2005. The story is set in the type of police state needed to ensure that only one company is allowed to make robots, and only one type of robot is allowed. The story follows single Father detective Arturo Icaza de Arana-Goldberg while he tries to track down his missing teenage daughter. The detective is a bit of an outcast because his wife defected to Eurasia, a rival Superpower. [source: Feedbooks.com] Language: English Published: 2005 Formats: ePub, Mobipocket/Kindle,… -
NaNoWriMo Field Guide
21 Oct 2009 | 7:25 amOn November 1st, thousands of people all over the world will begin to furiously pursue a singular goal – the creation of a 50,000 word novel in the course of just one month. It’s an idea that seems ludicrous at first and purely daunting on closer inspection, yet for ten years now, there are many who have managed to accomplish just that. Photo by channah First carried out in July of 1999, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for those prone to internet-speak) was the brainchild of San Francisco writer Chris Baty. The following year, the event was shifted to November, a month when…
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CathyScott.com, thoughts from the keyboard
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Accused Killers Catch a Break
20 Oct 2009 | 1:21 amReprinted from Women In Crime Ink by Cathy Scott Two murder cases with women as the accused killers have taken similar -- and unusual -- turns. Each was instantly labeled the “Black Widow.” And both women stood to gain millions should their husbands die. In the first case, San Juan and Manhattan socialite Barbara Koganwas indicted late last year for the 1990 murder of her millionaire husband George. She stood accused of convincing her attorney to hire a hitman to kill George. Kogan’s estranged husband, with whom she was in the middle of a nasty divorce, was shot to death in broad… -
Real or Rumor? Tupac's Killer Charged?
10 Oct 2009 | 6:03 pmReprinted from Women in Ink Crime Blog By Cathy Scott It always amazes me when I see a rumor picked up by a media outlet, regardless of how small that outlet is. So I was once again surprised a couple weeks ago when I got an e-mail from a TV producer asking about an arrest in the 13-year-old murder case of platinum-selling rapper Tupac Shakur. I put on my sleuth cap and started digging. This is what was first reported, from Backseat Cuddler, a gossip site that got Tupac fans and the hip hop world hyped up: BREAKING NEWS - Tupac Shakur Killer Has Been Arrested In Las Vegas I just received a… -
Crimes and Misdemeanors
15 Sep 2009 | 5:26 pmI've been thinking a lot lately about when and how I first became interested in criminal cases. My personal initiation was during my second year of college. It was quite an induction -- and one I shared with three others. As a teenager, I regularly followed crime stories in the local newspaper and I was always interested in TV reports, although during that era growing up in San Diego County, there wasn’t much crime. I watched "Perry Mason" because it was one of my mother's favorite TV shows. I lived in La Mesa, a suburb east of San Diego known as the “Jewel of the Hills” with… -
Tupac Shakur Case Revisited
7 Sep 2009 | 8:55 amReprinted from Women in Crime Ink By Cathy Scott As the 13th anniversary approaches of rapper Tupac Shakur’s murder in a drive-by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip at age 25, the media come out in droves to cover it. TV news magazines started weeks ago on their pieces. All want to help solve the crime. In the mix is the third edition of my book, The Killing of Tupac Shakur. In it, I’ve included new interviews and never-before-released information on the case, including a new interview with a detective. Also new to this edition is an exclusive interview, with first-hand background and… -
New True Crime Book Review
5 Sep 2009 | 3:57 pmReprinted from True Crime Book Reviews The Rough Guide to True Crime is the complete compilation of crime's most notorious villains, heinous acts and shocking misdemeanors. The Rough Guide to True Crime provides an unusually wide coverage of crime's most preposterous occurrences and heinous acts; combining in-depth accounts of the most infamous to the lesser known crimes, from conmen to cybercrime, with "at-a-glance" fact files throughout. From the Moors murders and Harold Shipman, to the murder of 2pac, this guide illuminates the psychology in play behind the most intriguing…
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nick usborne's excess voice
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Billions of questions are asked online every single day.
5 Nov 2009 | 7:11 amHere is the opening paragraph of an article in today’s The New York Times."Two companies that produce massive quantities of new content every day, Answers.com and Demand Media, are rapidly moving up the list of top U.S. web properties, as measured by comScore. Answers.com has risen from #26 to #13 in just two months, and Demand Media has risen from #24 to #15 in the same time period. Answers.com has nearly 38 million pages of content on the Web so far; Demand Media produces 2000 new pieces of content a day."Put simply, a billion people worldwide go online in search of answers to… -
7 Little Choices that Can Wreck Your Business, by Rick Butts.
2 Nov 2009 | 11:43 amI just finished reading this 28-page e-book by Rick Butts.The sub-title of his book is: A Giant Clue for Authors, Speakers, Coaches, Consultants and Other Idea Entrepreneurs.I have known Rick for a few years now. Although we have never met, we have a number of things in common. We are neither of us spring chickens. We have both done the speaking circuit. We have done the consulting thing. We are both students of online marketing. We both do coaching work.And we have something else in common too. We try to discourage people from the compulsive, impulsive purchase of the next great… -
Review of my book, New Path to Riches, by Roger C. Parker
31 Oct 2009 | 2:24 pmI sent Roger a review copy of my new book, and he has been kind enough not only to read it cover to cover, but also to post a very generous review on Amazon.I like the fact that he tells readers this book isn’t about “get rich quick”. And when he says he finished the book with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, that’s the icing on the cake for me.Why? Because in a world where it seems only the loudest, most hype-ridden promises of instant wealth catch attention, it's good to know that I have managed to generate enthusiasm with the description of a more realistic goal..The book isn’t… -
An easy, reliable income, that isn't too good to be true.
26 Oct 2009 | 8:05 amI am constantly amazed by my hobby website, CoffeeDetective.com.Each month it brings in an average income of about $4,000. I spend maybe two hours a week on the site.That’s certainly the easiest money I make each month. It is also the most reliable money I earn. It seems to be immune to economic downturns. It is passive, so I can take a few weeks off from it, with no ill effects. It continues to grow, both in the number of its pages and the income it generates.I don’t have to sell anything, or even create anything to sell.I don’t have to struggle to market the site. 99% of the traffic… -
Not Me Mondays: Marcia Yudkin
26 Oct 2009 | 5:59 amThe web is awash with marketing gurus, many of who started out in business over the last couple of years. Scary.Marcia Yudkin has been writing for a living for almost 30 years now. She is the writer and publisher of numerous information products designed to help small business and soloprenuers better market their businesses. She also teaches people, individually and in groups, to become information marketers themselves.What sets her apart from the crowd? First of all, everything about her, her business and her materials is totally hype-free. She just presents her work as it is, and lets it…
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BenCrowder.net
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No reception
4 Nov 2009 | 8:13 amWant to know how to stir things up a bit in Utah? Get married, but don’t have a wedding reception. :) Since we’re getting a hefty number of people asking what’s up — “Hey, I got your announcement, but there wasn’t any info about the reception,” or, more heartbreakingly, “Was I just not invited?” — I figured it’d be good to explain what’s going down and why. Executive summary: we are not having a wedding reception. Yes, this is heresy in Utah. And that’s okay with me. I don’t really like receptions, to be… -
Getting closer…
1 Nov 2009 | 11:37 amOnly thirteen days till I get married. Wow. You know, I always knew this day would come, but even so, it became harder and harder over the years to imagine it actually happening. I’d go on date after date and never really feel like I was making much progress — like it would take a miracle to get me married. Well, it did take a miracle. Several of them, actually, each nudging me closer to marriage, opening doors and guiding the way before me. I look back on the last few months and I’m amazed at how it all fit together. Sometime later I’ll post about how Meridith and I… -
Pedigree chart using HTML5
26 Oct 2009 | 3:18 pmHere’s a quick demo of a pedigree chart drawn using HTML5 Canvas: The code was pretty much just thrown together; if I were to use this in an actual app, it’d be much cleaner. :) And for some reason it doesn’t quite work in Safari 4, so you’ll need to use Firefox 3.5. As for next steps, I’m going to try to rewrite the demo using Processing.js. I’m also planning to extend it to allow panning (so you can have a huge pedigree chart onscreen — some of the Flash-based pedigrees out there do the same thing), and I’m itching to do some kind of genealogy… -
What I want in a genealogy app
26 Oct 2009 | 3:09 pmOver the past few years I’ve had an itch to do more family history, but the lack of good software stops me in my tracks each time. (Bad excuse, I know. I should still do the research anyway. But I digress.) So, what would my ideal genealogy app look like? I’ve written about this before at BeyondProject.org, but it’s been a few years since then and I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. ;) And what am I looking for? Here goes: Web-based. Why? It’s the future, but also because I want to get to my genealogy data from wherever I am, whether it be on my Mac… -
Using Dropbox for language learning on the iPhone
22 Oct 2009 | 3:51 pmTurns out you can use Dropbox to get language learning material easily onto your iPhone. (I’ve yet to find a decent flash cards app for the iPhone. True, this isn’t exactly a flash card sort of thing, but it’s similar. Roughly. :)) It ends up looking like this: And here’s how to do it: 1. Make an HTML file with the material you want as reference, styled for the iPhone, with the CSS inline in the file. You can preview it in your browser to get it to look the way you want to. Here’s a sample file: LatinConjugations.html (Note: it’s not perfect yet. The…
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Come.Read.Comment.Go.
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Click the screenshot..
4 Nov 2009 | 3:18 am& then... -
w o r d l e
30 Oct 2009 | 2:14 am -
Zero tolerance & tonnes of fake pride...
28 Oct 2009 | 4:02 am... is what we, Indians, are made up of.."Alekh — Woh main Valmikiji ki kahani padh raha tha, Mamaji. Woh kya sach hai ki Valmikiji chor se sadhu ban gaye? Koi aadmi itna badal sakta hai kya?Mamaji — Valmikiji ke paas himmat thi atmavishwas tha, beta. Jiske mann mein atmaa aur vishwas ho, use koi nahi rok sakta."Can anyone tell me, where the hell, the dialogue disrespects Valmiki, the person in question? In fact, the praise for his confidence is clearly visible. But whatever, we Indians are so vella, that we come all the way from Punjab to arrest the actor who said these lines and the… -
"Cooking is like making love..
26 Oct 2009 | 3:10 am..you do it well, or you do not do it at all."How true are the lines above!! Comparing 2 exquisite arts as they belonged to one another; Timeless; Exotic; Stress-relieving and not to mention liberating like hell, with amazing dangers involved.. I have never been able to blog about food, despite dreaming and indulging in it all day.. No wonder, I believe in the saying that "Skinny cooks can't be trusted.." If you can't even eat it yourself, how could you make others even enjoy it??So, under the continuous thunderstorm of taunts of using the new microwave as just a heating device or rice maker;… -
India's Missing Girls
21 Oct 2009 | 11:36 pmNext Showing: Saturday 24 October at 9amRepeats: Saturday 24 October at 3pm Sunday 25 October at 10amEvery year in India, thousands of baby girls are killed for one reason – because they are female. This World investigates why, and how it affects Indian society at large. Earlier this summer, a farmer in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh made a shocking discovery. Sticking out of the earth was a tiny human hand – and barely audible, the cries of a newborn baby. The farmer had found a two day old baby girl who had been buried alive. The baby was still conscious and was rushed to a…
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Confident Writing
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Essential Twitter
5 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pmTime sinking Fast moving Link sharing Focus busting, Target setting Mood shifting Thirst quenching Motivating, Fast moving Cool buzzing Hash tag spinning Exasperating, Awe inspiring Smile inducing Friendship building Inspirating: Twitter. With sincere apologies to the ’70s (?) Pepsi advert for the inspiration (?) For more on the hows and whys of Twitter: Why It’s Worth Sticking with Twitter Why I Talk About the Weather on Twitter Follow me on Twitter @joannayoung -
One Line on Writing and Confidence
2 Nov 2009 | 11:58 pmI came across this quote on Twitter the other day. Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love~LaoTzu It made me think in a different way about confidence and writing. About how much kindness is an essential part of the mix. Kindness in words creates confidence in others. Kindness in words creates confidence in your self. Writing with kindness is not hard. There’s no critic that stands in our way. Writing with kindness just means holding kindness in our hearts, and writing with the intention to share it. Simple,… -
10 Ways to Write Without Apology
29 Oct 2009 | 12:58 amReal humility is not denying the gifts you are offered; it is accepting them. – Alan Cohen Where do the apologies that creep into our writing come from? Thinking about that as I was writing the pieces on apologising, and reading your comments and feedback, I kept on coming back to fear. That fear comes in many guises (and you probably have your own home-made version): Fear that you’re not an authority Fear that you’re not justified in the opinions you express Fear that you’ll be found out Fear that you’re not good enough Fear of criticism Fear of the bright… -
5 Simple Ways to Power Up Your Writing
26 Oct 2009 | 12:10 am“”Begin at the beginning,”, the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop” ~ Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland I could probably share 500 ways to power up your writing, never mind 5… but then I’d be ignoring my own opening line. So I’m going to keep it simple. Partly because this is a blog post, not a book (and there are plenty of books out there that will help). But partly because there’s only so much writing advice you can take in at any one time. And sometimes the more advice you absorb the more… -
Stop Apologising (for the things you’ve never done)
22 Oct 2009 | 12:35 amOne of the defining features of confident writing is that it’s not apologetic. Yes, I know it’s good to signal that you’re human, that you’re not perfect, that you have doubts and concerns and things you’re insecure about just like the next person. That’s part of being engaging, warm, human. It’s part of making connections, and writing with rapport. But we can take that too far, to a point where the writing starts to become apologetic. I seem to have been doing battle with this over the last few weeks, and I’ve been jotting down some thoughts on…
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Write to Done
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One is a Lonely Number – Why You Need a Writing Mentor
5 Nov 2009 | 1:53 pmA guest post by Jules Clancy from stonesoup This writing business can be a lonely endeavour. We’ve all been there. Self imprisoned in our lonely garrets – or more likely behind our laptops. Reaching out to the world with our writing but feeling helpless and alone. Fear not fellow writers. There is hope. I’ve recently discovered a wonderful way to overcome the fear and feel connected with the rest of the world. Let me introduce you to the benefits of finding yourself a writing mentor. Benefits of a writing mentor 1. Confidence boost To give your confidence a well deserved… -
How to Revise Your Titles for Maximum Results
2 Nov 2009 | 6:32 pmBy Sean Platt of Ghostwriter Dad No one has championed the use of killer headlines more than Brian Clark. His advice on what makes for a compelling headline is gospel to many in this latest wave to crash across the copywriting shore. It’s impossible to argue – magnetic headlines invariably lead to more clicks, more conversions, and more clients clamoring for your content. But what about when your words have turned to whisper, and your old posts have been left to whither upon the WordPress vine? When you first craft a piece of killer content, you want as many eyes on it as possible. -
How to Create an Article of 1,000+ Words in 90 Minutes or Less
27 Oct 2009 | 4:09 pmA guest post by Patrick Stöckmann of Unwrap Your Mind It’s a dreaded situation for all beginner (and even seasoned) bloggers. You want to write a post, and are sitting in front of a blank page. Suddenly your mind looks just the same – blank. Your inspiration just stopped, and you feel at a loss. We’ve all been there. The good news is that there are some surefire ways of writing quality content in record time. I want to share with you my techniques for writing a 1,000+ words article in 90 minutes or less. To show you that I actually do what I preach, I’ve written the… -
How to Write a Novel in 30 Days
22 Oct 2009 | 7:54 pmGet your pencils sharpened for November. By Leo Babauta I’ve decided to take the plunge and join NaNoWriMo in November (for the 2nd time), attempting to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. Join me! I successfully completed NaNoWriMo in 2006, and it was an incredible time. It was a lot of fun, and joining with the efforts of tens of thousands of fellow writers is an experience like no other. Just a few reasons to do NaNoWriMo: 1. It gives you the motivation to finally write that novel. 2. It teaches you some good habits — getting writing done every day. 3. You learn a lot… -
The Tarot as a Tool for Writing Your Novel
20 Oct 2009 | 5:50 amNote from the Editor: November sees the beginning of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Anyone can join the thirty days of literary abandon. WTD will run posts to inspire and encourage you on the way. By Marelisa Fábrega of Abundance Blog National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins in just a few days, on November 1st, and thousands of would-be authors are registering with high hopes of crossing the finish line on November 30th, novel firmly in hand. The objective of writing at least 50,000 words in 30 days doesn’t seem so daunting, until the sobering thought hits that you have…
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TopicTurtle
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Flashy in the eReader
4 Nov 2009 | 7:14 pmIf the photos of Alex Reader are any indication, this new device will be a slick new addition to a bevy of electronic readers. Alex Reader relies on the Android OS and Marvell’s ARMADA 166E chip. It’s a classy looking device and a great example of how eBook developers are making innovative advances toward practical, exciting electronic reading. See at MaximPC–Hands-On: Spring Designs Dual-Screen Android Alex eBook Reader -
The Easy Sony Reader PRS-300
25 Oct 2009 | 6:51 pmAlways fascinated with new electronics, I finally decided to make the leap and purchase an ebook reader. The debate was open for quite a while as I considered the Kindle 2, eyed the upcoming Barnes and Nobel device, and wavered over purchasing a Sony Reader. That debate went on while the Sony 505 was still one of the latest Sony devices on the market and in the price range I was looking for. However, when the new PRS-300 was introduced, it immediately caught my eye because of its $199.00 price point and its small profile. The PRS-300 is a pocket edition reader, so make no mistake, for… -
The Coming E-book Wars
15 Jun 2009 | 11:26 amAs the e-book market becomes increasingly hot, publishers, distributors, and e-book developers are beginning a tug of war to secure their stake. Recently Scribd.com began allowing writers and publishers the ability to sell their product. On June 12th, Simon & Schuster entered a deal with Scribd.com to begin offering approximately 5,000 titles for sale the site. Simon & Schuster is directing its attention to alternatives to Amazon and its e-book Kindle business model by entering an agreement with Scribd.com to sell digital copies of its books. Simon & Schuster says it wants to get… -
Looking for an Ebook Reader?
8 Jun 2009 | 12:00 amIf you are as fascinated by the advancement of electronic ebook readers as I am, then you are probably eying the new technology hitting the market and how the electronic book market is going to shake out. A few ebook readers are on the market, and for right now, the Kindle 2 ebook generally rates higher than any other comparably priced reader on the market. Even up and coming challengers, from early reviews, are not much of a threat. Just the same, take a look at ebook readers coming to market or already here. Kindle 2 or Kindle DX The Kindle appears to have the most support in terms of… -
Topic Turtle Writing News
30 May 2009 | 10:11 pmI have added an aggregation page of blogs on writing and publishing news. You can click on the link up in the right hand corner of the Topic Turtle page. New posts should be nearly as fresh as when they were posted on the original site. I decided to put up this page because there are some great topics and ideas being written about and I wanted to make sure you knew about them too. If you have some favorite blogs, let me know and I’ll see about adding them. Visit: top writing blogs and news
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meryl's notes
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Book Review: Thirsty: A Novel
6 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pmI first heard about Thirsty from Christina Katz. Author Kristin Bair O’Keeffe and I connected, and she’ll be stopping by this he’ah blog on November 18 in her book’s blog tour with WOW. You’ll have a chance to win a copy of the book. I admit I was apprehensive about reading the novel when its description mentions abuse, steel town, a depressing place, heartbreak. I know there’s a lot of sadness in our world, but we hear enough so why read a story for more? Because Thirsty tells a lyrical story about the unbendable spirit of Klara, an immigrant from Croatia. -
Links: November 2009. Seriously? Edition
6 Nov 2009 | 9:44 amCongratulations to Kim Priestap! She won a copy of Claudine Wolk’s book. Stay tuned for more books! Wanted: Dallas area company in need of personable and experienced IT manager in hardware and networking (just about everything except software development) among other things. I have just the guy for you. Articles with valuable advice… Ask the editor: The top 5 secrets to getting a book deal: Must read for every author with a book needing a publisher [Link: Maria Schneider] Chrome Extensions: Extend your Google Chrome browser. I love Google Chrome and use it almost as much as Firefox. -
Book Review: The Last Will of Moira Leahy
5 Nov 2009 | 5:29 amTherese Walsh’s debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, opens with Maeve Leahy remembering losing her twin “on a harsh November nine years ago.” So it’s obvious why she has struggled with every November. That is, until now. On a whim, she attends an auction to bid on a keris, a Javanese-style dagger that launches her extraordinary journey where her past and present collide. Though Maeve becomes a successful professor of languages at a university in Bethany, New York; it’s no surprise that she feels incomplete without her twin. So the keris reminds her of… -
Using Twitter’s Lists Feature for Writing
2 Nov 2009 | 8:54 amIf you haven’t heard by now, Twitter now has Lists that lets you put Twitter users into groups. It doesn’t matter if you’re following someone or not, you can add anyone into a list or two or three. Here’s an introduction and a how to use Twitter Lists at Web Worker Daily. Twitter users have their own rules for who they follow and not follow. Some follow those who fall into a specific field, career and whatnot. Guy LeCharles Gonzalez follows those with some connection to publishing. It’s not elitist if someone doesn’t follow you back. They use Twitter in a… -
Links: Halloween 2009 Edition
2 Nov 2009 | 6:01 amMy little guy loves They Might Be Giants. The two Johns were brilliant for coming up with entertaining yet educational (shh…) music for kids that parents can enjoy without sugar overload. Serious niche that didn’t hurt their standing with original audience. They are coming to Dallas on Halloween! Little guy will be there with big guy. Rock on! Vote for your top 25 books on writing… or win a book. Articles with valuable advice… @FakeAPStylebook: OK, this belongs in fun… but it’s for writers and I don’t want it mixing in with pumpkins and zombies.
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Lisa Romeo Writes
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Author Interview: Leslea Newman
2 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pmOne particular group of writers has always especially interested me: Those with full time careers revolving around a constantly changing combination of writing, teaching, and editing projects. In other words, those who make a living with words, but are not on staff full time at a university or media enterprise. The ultimate freelancer, if you will. It is the writers who write and publish, teach and give seminars, edit and consult with other writers, whose careers I study and try to learn from.An excellent example is Leslea Newman, who has published nearly 60 books -- children's books, poetry,… -
Friday Fridge Clean-Out: Writing Links for Weekend Reading
30 Oct 2009 | 12:15 am►In an interview, writer and northern New Jersey neighbor Alice Elliot Dark talks about the writing process for her essay, The Quiet, which appears in the new collection, Heavy Rotation: Twenty Writers on the Albums that Changed Their Lives. Her essay is about George Harrison and Meet the Beatles!►The Fall issue of Mississippi Review Online is all nonfiction.►Copy editors, fact checkers, and proofreaders save writers more often than they torture us. I loved this behind-the-scenes interview with Mary Norris about copy editing at the New Yorker.►Printers Row is the Chicago Tribune's… -
Gold in Them Notebooks, Part 13. Nothing unlucky here.
29 Oct 2009 | 12:15 amIn this series, I'm passing on good writing advice which I recorded in notebooks while I was an MFA student.From a nonfiction workshop:Narrative is a compendium of modules, not necessarily just a beginning, middle, and end. It's an assembly of parts – scenes, reflection, expository, dialogue; not a chronology. You assemble them as building blocks. When considering your next revision, look for what's not on the page, where are the holes for missing blocks? And figure out, what is my comfortable length for a block – how many words or pages?- Baron Wormser, former poet laureate of Maine,… -
Writing Time-Out: Movies, Milk-Duds, and MJ
28 Oct 2009 | 12:15 am"I don't care what they say. Ain't nobody's business..."In some shots it's a body double. The production company is milking a dead man's profit-generating popularity. Parts of some songs are dubbed with old tracks. Too much movie-making craft obscuring the real story. It's all a hoax, he's living in an Eastern European castle, pulling everyone's strings. All hype, no history.Say what you like (and the Internet is saying everything possible), I'm still going to see This it It, the Michael Jackson documentary film made from concert rehearsal footage. I'm fascinated by creativity, by the energy… -
Writers Block. Writing Building Blocks.
27 Oct 2009 | 5:57 amDuring the period of time before a new class begins – like now, while prepping for my creative writing boot camp next week -- I notice that prospective students often ask if we are going to address "writers block".Ahem.This, I say, is what every writer addresses each time a keyboard is opened, a pen is uncapped. I don't mean to be flippant and say there is no such thing as writers block (though at times I do believe that), and I also don't mean to suggest that every writer feels this way about the writing process (thought many days, I do).What I want to get across is that frustration, not…
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Will Write for Food
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Links are the New Currency
6 Nov 2009 | 10:58 amThere’s a new idea in publishing: link, don’t pay. If a company wants your online content, they just link to it. That way, it’s argued, even though you don’t get a check for supplying editorial, you get a bump in traffic. And isn’t that what we all want? More traffic? Well yes. More traffic makes us feel superior when we see rising numbers of unique visitors. It leads to more income from ads, and potentially, more links. But more traffic alone doesn’t pay the mortgage. One of my students mentioned talking to the Meredith Corporation about providing… -
A Blogger Takes Me to Task on Freebies
2 Nov 2009 | 11:34 amYou know how sometimes things come back to bite you in the butt? It just happened to me. Recently I wrote a piece about accepting a free water purifier. At the end, I pointed to Katie’s Nesting Spot, where Katie wrote a long, enthusiastic post about the pitcher and offered it as a giveaway. I wanted to show that even though I was not willing to do this, hundreds of other bloggers were, and here was a good example. Being new to blogging, I forgot that Katie could see where her hits were coming from. After a few days, she sent a comment to the blog post: “I have been watching this… -
FTC Backpedals on Disclosure for Reviews
28 Oct 2009 | 11:41 amOkay, now this is getting strange. First, as mentioned previously, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a big flap a few weeks ago when it said it will fine bloggers $11,000 if they endorse a product without admitting they got the product for free. Now, at least one FTC official is backpedaling or clarifying, depending on how charitable you want to be. The good news: Book reviewers are safe. The bad news: Those Amazon links on your website may not be. According to an article in Publisher’s Weekly, FTC lawyer Mary Engle said at a blogger conference that writers with a… -
Killer Cookbook Proposal Class Coming Up
26 Oct 2009 | 2:50 pmI love to teach, but most of my classes on food writing and publishing take place in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live. On a regular basis, someone asks if I’m ever coming to their town. Usually I’m not, but next month, I’ll be coming to wherever you are, with a 1-night seminar on writing a killer cookbook proposal. All you need is a phone. The award-winning writer David Leite and I started talking about teaching for Leitesculinaria.com a few years ago. Now he has a roster of exciting one-night classes on food writing coming up. My November 10 class tells you How to… -
Who is the Best Food Writer Today?
20 Oct 2009 | 9:29 pmWhile looking through my book, Will Write for Food, over the weekend, I was struck by the writers I quoted just a few years ago, all newspaper and magazine writers and cookbook authors. Certainly they were the big names in print food writing. But that was then and this is now. So now I’m going around asking: “Who is the ultimate food writer today?” On a cemetery walk with blogger and cookbook author Romney Steele, we decided it’s not a simple answer, depending on how you define success and food writing. Later she named cookbook authors Jane and Michael Stern, John T.
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Fiction Notes
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3 Keys to a Successful School Visit
6 Nov 2009 | 3:03 amI just finished a great school visit. Driving home, I realized there were some keys to making it great. Communication. It’s essential to communicate with the venue effectively right from the first contact through the actual event. I try to respond within 24 hours to requests for school visits, weekend retreats, speaking at conferences, or any other speaking requests. I’m often asked how many times a year I do events. Basically, I try accommodate requests as often as I can. So, if I’m asked, I usually go. During the Initial communication, I try to find out these things: What… -
Character Problems?
6 Nov 2009 | 3:01 amRecommended Books about CHARACTERIZATION Are you having any of these problems? Plot and Character are separate and not interwoven * Boring, Flat Characters * Characters are too Shallow and Need to be Deeper Related posts:Plot Problems?Character and Plotcharacter development -
Who is Reading Your Work?
3 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pmOnline Tools I Use Daily As a writer and blogger, I use several tools daily to check on my published work and my online work. To Monitor Sales of my Published Books Salesrankexpress.com This site will quickly return the Amazon Sales Rank of books. (Of course, you may have many other sales on other websites or offline; this is ONLY Amazon rankings.) You can search by author, title, or even publisher; it’s great to check the best sellers for a small publisher. I check it obsessively, I know, but it’s fun to see the numbers bounce lower when there are several sales in an hour. Blogging… -
Revising in the Home Stretch
2 Nov 2009 | 8:39 amRevising in the Home Stretch I know what method of working has made the first 2/3 of my mss better. I’m just getting tired. Don’t get Lazy Now! I’m on the last third. I know that I must rewrite a major scene for a subplot/secondary character climax. But much of these later chapter are in good shape. By now in the story, so much is set, the stakes are established, character arcs and plot arcs are underway, the scenes are focused and full of tension. My inclination is to avoid the work! But I think it’s still essential to question everything! Runners know you can’t… -
Plot Problems?
2 Nov 2009 | 8:39 amRecommended Books about PLOT Anyone Trying to be Funny * If you want the Hero’s Journey, but need to be Funny. * Anyone with a Great Idea, but No Plot * Fantasy writers * Weak plotters * Beginning Writers * Writers whose Novels Lack Focus * Anyone who Needs to see the Big Picture * Anyone who Needs a Structured Approach * Long Novels with a Slow Pace * Anyone who Wants a Fast Pace * Related posts:Plot: Characters v. Patterns4 More Plot VariationsPlot: My personal approach
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There Are No Rules
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Marketing in a Digital Age
3 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pmMore than a year ago, I left a comment on the Booksquare blog by Kassia Krozser, on a post titled "Why Publishers Should Blog." Kassia argued that publishers needed to be more vocal about supporting the titles they publish. I responded: Definitely agree, but I have to wonder if the lack of enthusiastic comments direct from publishers is primarily due to lack of time (and energy, sadly). If an editor (or whomever) is juggling dozens of projects in a given year, accomplishing just the basics can be enormously demanding. (Lean staffs!) The “friendly” online marketing or buzz building has… -
Every Writer Needs a Little Salesperson Inside
2 Nov 2009 | 3:16 pmIt's not a natural thing for most creative people to sell their work, but when it comes time to publish, you have to know something about how to sell. You have to put in the effort, make the calls, not get beat down by rejection. (It's why I love this Alec Baldwin video, and my advice based on it.) I'm definitely not a salesperson by nature. But it didn't take long to learn some basic skills, since my first editorial job depended on convincing salespeople my ideas were worthwhile. Most writers need a little help in understanding how to pitch their work effectively, and I love being the one to… -
Writer's Digest Hits Top 10 Amazon List
2 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pmJust got word that our recent release, And Here's the Kicker: Conversations With 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft by Mike Sacks, hit Amazon's Top 10 List of Best Entertainment Books in 2009. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, and said, "Veteran journalist Sacks conducted dozens of interviews with the top humor writers of the last century, and the result is a whiz-bang collection of Q&As that will school readers just as often as it provokes laughter." Read an excerpt: an interview with Stephen Merchant, co-creator of The Office. (And go buy in our shop at Amazon-like pricing. -
Looking for Your Feedback: What Do Established Writers Need?
1 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pmOne of the biggest criticisms or complaints about Writer's Digest (usually the magazine) is that it's for wannabes, and that after a few years, the advice/information either becomes repetitive or irrelevant, especially for someone who works at the professional level. I've been daydreaming about how to develop a new periodical that would offer information and insights for advanced, established, or professional writers/authors, and remain relevant even after achieving publication. (Just to be sure, such a periodical would not serve to replace the current magazine.) But I need your help to get… -
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 10/30/09)
1 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pmI watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets. If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Always welcome your suggestions on improving this weekly feature. Check out new Twitter lists: List of Tweeps most often included in weekly Best Tweets for Writers (always under development) Writer's Digest list of publishers on Twitter (let us know who we missed) Writer's Digest list of agents on Twitter (let us know who we missed) Best of Best The top 5 Secrets to Getting a [nonfiction] Book Deal (by editor Alan Rinzler) @mariaschneider Rights and…
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The Truth About Lies
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Beckett the tinkerer (part one)
5 Nov 2009 | 3:46 amWe're not entirely restrictive. We're not . . . conservers of museum pieces. Not at all. — Edward Beckett There is a school of thought (passionately held by many) that holds that it is tantamount to sacrilege to tamper with one of Samuel Beckett's texts. In the most recent (and most successful) run of Waiting for Godot some have criticised the production for playing for laughs. Had they forgotten that this was supposed to be a comedy? It is true that his estate now keeps a wary eye on new performances and has waded in where it thought the director was overstepping the mark. And some… -
Travels in the Scriptorium Part II
1 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pmI have spent my life in conversations with people I have never seen, with people I will never know and I hope to continue until the day I stop breathing. - from Paul Auster's acceptance speech for the Prince of Asturias Prize for Letters If you have not read Part I then here is a link. You may not want to read this at all afterwards. Paul Auster is an American writer, based in Brooklyn, New York. He was born in Newark, New Jersey to Jewish middle class parents of Polish descent and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. As well as prose he has also written poetry, screenplays, essays, memoirs… -
Travels in the Scriptorium Part I
1 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pmI knew very little about Paul Auster when I bought this book. I knew the name. I knew of him and that he was a respected, probably American, author. It was certainly why I picked the book up although I suspect its size – it's only 130 pages long – would have been the first thing that attracted me to it. The austere cover was striking, although I'm sure I only saw the book's spine; I doubt the book's title had even registered at this point, however, once it did, this would have been a definite plus. I expect I flipped the book over in my hand and scanned the blurb. I sometimes do I… -
Where are all the poetical prodigies?
29 Oct 2009 | 8:25 amIf you were asked to think of a prodigy, who would jump to mind? I would suggest that that list would be topped by Mozart. Wee Wölfi began to play the harpsichord when he was 3. By 5 he was performing publicly and had begun composing. But were these early pieces any good? Well, good enough at the time but the earliest work by him that is still performed today is Exsultate, Jubilate K165, written in 1773 when he was 17. (The K refers to Köchel, a musicologist who catalogued Mozart's complete output which makes Exsultate, Jubilate his 165th composition.) Musical prodigies come ten a… -
The Master and Margarita
25 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pmWhen God created light, the first shadow was born – tagline to the film Shadow Builder This is a very long review so for those of you reading this in your lunch hour let me cut to the chase. The Master and Margarita can be reasonably called the greatest novel to come out of Communist Russia, a work of magical realism, a pre-apocalyptic novel, a love story, a biting political satire or simply a damn good read if you can get over the fact that most of the names are thirty-odd characters long. But even that doesn't really cover it so there's no way in this review I can do this book…
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Imperfect Clarity
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Guest Post: Nurturing Creativity by Terri Main
5 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmThe story is told of a fly crawling across the ceiling. A reporter asks the fly “How do you crawl across the ceiling and not fall off. The fly thought about it for a moment, decided he couldn’t and promptly fell to the floor. I feel like that fly talking about the creative process at times. It seems like when I look directly at the muse, she scurries away into the shadows. However, as a teacher and writer, I have learned that there are certain things we can do to create a nurturing place for creativity to flourish. Be willing to be silly. If it’s normal, then it isn’t… -
Critique: Swan Song by Kari Wolfe
4 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pmOk, let’s try something new here. What I’m wanting to do is to post a short story and to have anyone who wishes to critique it to take a stab at it. But don’t just tell me whether you like or dislike it – that’s not entirely helpful, while it’s nice to know. What I want is: how did this make you feel? What was the gist of the story to you? What worked or didn’t work for you with this story? Did I make the characters believable and realistic? I don’t really care about punctuation – I’ve never really had a problem with it so… -
Review of “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” by S. A. Bolich
2 Nov 2009 | 3:08 pmI am pleased to announce that my first blog post of a book review for Niteblade Fantasy and Horror Magazine’s News has just been published. The novella reviewed is called “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” and was written by S. A. Bolich. Definitely an interesting story, but you will have to visit the website for more details! The review can be found here: Review: “Who Mourns for the Hangman?” by S. A. Bolich I would like to thank Kim Richards Gilchrist of Damnation Books for the opportunity to review this wonderful story! -
I Have a Blogging Position! :) iSmashPhone.com
1 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pmYay! Congrats me! I applied to an advertisement that I saw regarding a blogging position for an iPhone blog and I got an email back not too long afterwards. After discussing the position with the blog editor, I am in kinda of a trial period where I am a junior author (which means my blog posts are checked out before they are posted), but so far things seem to be pretty good. I’m rather excited about it in all honesty So, if you want to see some of my work: iSmashPhone.com I just need to work on getting him to tweak the code to show names. BUT, I am keeping track of the posts that… -
Official Decision: No NaNo This Year For ME
31 Oct 2009 | 2:54 pmI have made an official decision and we’ll see how it goes for me this year. Next year I may want to change my mind. I am going to take this month – this month that we’re supposed to be writing 50,000 words – and instead of just writing down the 50,000 words that NaNo requires, I am going to deliberately take my time and work on my newest novel: working title: “The House.” I know the story behind it and I have some of the outline – I just need to focus my attentions on the writing aspect of it. I can work things out as I go – the important…
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A Book Inside - How to Write and Publish a Book
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Tips to Query a Publisher
6 Nov 2009 | 6:02 pmYour first step in querying a publisher should be to order the book Writer’s Market. The book is available through Amazon.com for about $30 or check with your local library. Writer’s Market includes 4,000 listings for book publishers, consumer magazines, trade journals, and literary agents. Most publishers’ listings in the book will tell you if they accept new authors, with or without agent representation, what types of manuscripts they want, what they pay, their contact information, and where to obtain authors’ submission guidelines for their company. Confirm all information by… -
For The Love of Helping a Good Cause-Book Donations
4 Nov 2009 | 7:09 amMany published authors choose to support a worthwhile and personal cause through their book sales. A portion of my own book sales goes to Breast Cancer Research as well as libraries affected by natural disaster. As the season of giving quickly approaches, I would like to share an interview I recently had with another author who makes her own contribution through her books revenue, Jo Fulkerson. Jo has been blessed with the talent to write a book and smart enough to have it published; now she contributes a portion of her book sales to her own personal cause. Read on.Carol Denbow: How or why… -
I'm On a Roll, A Blog Roll! Do You Enjoy A Book Inside Blog?
2 Nov 2009 | 7:52 amAnother year has blown by and we are again asking our Blog visitors to vote for us for the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer's Digest for 2010. Last year we were fortunate enough to make the list thanks to our wonderful viewers who sent e-mails to Writer’s Digest on our behalf.If you find a moment to help us again this year, we would be extremely grateful. Please send an e-mail with your comments and nomination for next year’s list to writersdigest@fwmedia.com with “101 Websites” in the subject line. Do you see a post here on A Book Inside that you would like to include on your… -
A Couple Book Marketing Tips for my Blog Visitors
1 Nov 2009 | 8:29 amI wanted to share a couple good tips for authors who visit my Blog. My eyes are always open for opportunities to help you sell more books.If you are a published author and would like an online interview on Susan Whitfield’s Blog at www.susanwhitfield.blogspot.com you can e-mail her at dwhitfield@nc.rr.com for more information.Jo Linsdell may still be looking for guests as well. E-mail her at writersandauthors@yahoo.it. A note regarding Amazon.com book listings…If your book is listed with Amazon.com and you are not yet enrolled in their “Search Inside” the book program, read this… -
Tips for Accepting Query Letter Rejection
29 Oct 2009 | 9:16 amGIMME CHOCOLATE, NOW! Dealing with rejection, written and submitted by Molli Nickell (we thank you Molli!)Heart pounding, you open the mailbox. Digging through bills and letters, you spot something familiar. It’s the SASE (self-addressed-stamped-envelope) you’d submitted with your manuscript. Woo-hoo! Your heart dances with possibilities. “Finally, I can order ‘Published Author’ business cards.” You rip open the envelope and yank out the letter. Then . . . There it is. That letter. You’ve seen it before. Crookedly copied, coffee-stained, unsigned, offering the same sappy…
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The Adventurous Writer
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New Articles – Blog Partnerships, Relationship Breakups, Caregiving Elderly Parents
31 Oct 2009 | 7:50 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer; topics include starting blog partnerships, getting over relationship breakup guilt, caregiving elderly parents – and more! Last week’s new articles included travel writing, anger management, and letting go of someone you love. First, a word about how to read for writers: “Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word by word, to see what made it so wonderful. Then use those tricks the next time you write.” ~ W.P. -
New Articles – Travel Writing, Anger Management, Letting Go of Someone You Love
24 Oct 2009 | 8:02 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer, covering travel writing, anger management, letting go of someone you love, and more! Last week’s new articles included writing careers, overcoming jet lag, and infertility tests. First, some wise words on writing talent: “I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.” – Gordon Lish. I don’t know what “assiduity” means, but I get the rest of it. To be a successful writer, you need to work your tushie… -
New Articles – Writing Careers, Jet Lag, and Infertility Tests
2 Oct 2009 | 11:23 pmHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer; I’m writing in sunny Salzburg, Austria. On my blogs this week, I’ve covered everything from investing in your writing career to overcoming jet lag – which I’m doing right now! Last week’s new articles included Halloween, Internet Affairs, and Challenge Tests. Before the articles, here’s one of my favorite quotations from Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens… -
New Articles – Halloween, Internet Affairs, and Challenge Tests
26 Sep 2009 | 8:15 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer – and the Big News is that Quips & Tips for Successful Writers is now a Top 10 Writing Blog! Awesome. On my blogs this week, I’ve covered everything from Halloween to Clomiphene Challenge Tests – including networking tips for successful writers. Last week was Divorce, Divorce, Divorce! and Thanksgiving. First, here’s an interesting quip from How I Became a Successful Novelist (a work of fiction) by Steve Hely. “The financial success of an author is inversely proportional to the literary worth of the book.” –… -
New Articles – Divorce, Divorce, Divorce! and Thanksgiving Dinner
19 Sep 2009 | 8:21 amHere are this week’s new articles from The Adventurous Writer – divorce was the hot topic, because of a wonderful book I’ve been reading (and no, it’s not because my marriage is unhappy!). I also wrote about writing careers, Thanksgiving, saving money for Christmas shopping, and Halloween costumes. First, advice from Ray Bradbury for writers: “To sum it all up, if you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books,…
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Booksquare
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A (Probably Naive) Attempt to Move the DRM Conversation Forward
2 Nov 2009 | 8:43 amIf there are two truths we hold to be self-evident, they are these: 1) DRM does nothing to stop piracy, and 2) DRM, as used by many publishers today, frustrates legitimate purchasers of books. This leads many to conclude that DRM does not work, and that DRM is evil. How do we get past “it’s good” or “it’s evil”? Not true. And not true. Consumers will happily accept the shackles of DRM if the trade-off is worth it to them. For example, while some Kindle users grumble about loss of rights, they express joy at the ease of purchase created by the Kindle system. -
On Listening and Learning
30 Oct 2009 | 11:51 amAuthor Mur Lafferty offers her thoughts about the changes in publishing. What really surprises me is when you hear publishing people say that they don’t know what to do, or that they refuse listen to Internet professionals. They seem to believe if they do what has worked in the past, eventually the storm will pass and the anchor of tradition will have kept them steady and safe. They look at the people who are succeeding by merging their digital plans with their traditional print plans and call them anomalies at best, or insane at worst. What they need to be doing is learning from them. I Am… -
The Week That Was
23 Oct 2009 | 11:58 amA lot happened in publishing this week — so much that just as I wrapped my head around one thing, something new popped up to either make me re-evaluate my previous thinking…or to send me down a different rabbit hole. Let’s just put it out there: once you’ve gone subterranean, things start to make a lot of sense. Which probably accounts for my mood today. Here in the dark and dangerous world of the publishing underground, spirits are sapped and minds are bent. Sometimes you travel toward the bright light, only to find a seemingly insurmountable pile of… -
On Reality Based Business
20 Oct 2009 | 10:31 amIn his Frankfurt wrap-up, Richard Nash distills a lot of thoughts and questions into some very big ideas. Picking a single quote was hard, so go read and consider the whole thing. There will be an essay test later. What this means is that we (publishers, authors, agents) are going to need to make decisions based on the world that is (people will make unauthorized copies, people will undercut your price), rather than the world we will wish for. Until recently, it was not clear that the publishing industry accepted this, but these statements by Richard Charkin, Victoria Barnsley and other… -
Moving Beyond Catch Phrases
19 Oct 2009 | 11:18 amLike so many others, I am bemused by some of the coverage of the Tools of Change Frankfurt conference (bemused=not sure people interviewed were at same conference I attended)*. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but when your industry is undergoing what can generously be described as upheaval, it is imperative that you listen to other viewpoints. You do not have to agree, but if you’re not hearing what the other side is saying, you are making a huge mistake. DRM — Digital Rights Management — has effective and useful applications. I heard representatives from major European…
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Editor Unleashed
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Book Design: Beauty in the Details
5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 amby Joel Friedlander The first book my son ever got truly captivated by as an early reader was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We had read the earlier Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone together, with me doing most of the reading since he had just learned to read. By the time the second book came out, he was determined to read it himself. It was a remarkable experience to watch him drop into the world of witchcraft and wizardry, to be completely absorbed by the world created by J.K. Rowling, waiting every day for the chance to dive back into that world again. This is a… -
The Savvy Author’s Guide to Podcasting
4 Nov 2009 | 7:24 amBy Emma Newman At the time of writing this, fifteen chapters of my novel have been published on my site as podcasts. I love recording and publishing them now, but it was daunting at the start. I’d like to give you a hand with some of the basics if you are considering taking the podcasting plunge. Technology Let’s get the scariest bit out of the way first—the technology. I’m going to explain the process I use to podcast, but please note that my initial set up may be different to yours. The process will always be record, format correctly and then publish, and I’ll look at each in… -
Get Ready for the “Why I Write” Contest
2 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pmAn all-new writing contest sponsored by two great online resources for writers: Editor Unleashed and Smashwords! You help choose the $500 Grand Prize winner. No entry fee! The Dates: • Post Your Entry on the Forum: Monday, November 9 – Thursday, December 31 • Popular Ranking: Monday, January 4 – Friday, January 29 • Winners Announced: Monday, February 1 How to Enter: • Writers post their essays of 750 words or fewer on the Editor Unleashed forum. Contestants must be registered members of the forum to enter. (Membership is free. Only one entry per writer please.) You Help Choose… -
How to Let Your Imagination Take Flight
30 Oct 2009 | 6:58 amby John Wiswell Writers get asked about imagination a lot. Where do you get your ideas? Most recently a writer on the forum asked the Fantasy and Science Fiction folk who participate in #FridayFlash on Twitter where they get their ideas. Is it drugs? Videogames? I believe that most good fiction comes from the same place, be it humor or horror, scientifically plausible or downright impossible. You have to experience, read and study enough to get the raw material that can make up an original story. But I think the genesis of good fiction is simple: taking an idea in a new direction. I write… -
Announcing: Why I Write Essay Contest
27 Oct 2009 | 8:44 amThe topic that every writer takes on at some point is: “Why I Write.” In fact, reflecting on what compels a writer could be a genre in itself. You might say it’s the literary equivalent of an artist’s self-portrait. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that Editor Unleashed is once again teaming up with Smashwords to present a writing contest with a theme: Why I Write… You may remember the popular Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 contest. The top 40 winners were published in an anthology at Smashwords. This time around we’re looking…
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Flogging the Quill
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Flogometer for Anne—would you turn the page?
6 Nov 2009 | 6:38 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for Jonathan—would you turn the page?
4 Nov 2009 | 6:20 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for Vaughn—would you turn the page?
2 Nov 2009 | 6:28 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Flogometer for M.Z.—would you turn the page?
30 Oct 2009 | 6:34 amThe Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me to turn to the next page? Caveat: Please keep in mind that this is entirely subjective. Note: all the Flogometer posts are here. What's a first page in publishingland? In a properly formatted novel manuscript (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point type, etc.) there should be about 16 lines on the first page (first pages of chapters/prologues start about 1/3 of the way down the page). Directions for submissions are below. Some homework. Before sending your novel's opening, you might want to read these two FtQ posts: Story… -
Plot structure tutorial from Joe Nassise
28 Oct 2009 | 5:44 am20 steps to get you from start to climax Friend of the blog and terrific horror author Joe Nassise posted the following “tried and true plot structure” on the GENREALITY blog to help writers prepare for NANOWRIMO . I thought it might be of help to you, so asked to pass it on. Joe was happy to share—click his link and get to know Joe. Step 1: Characters, Conflict, and Major Story Goal are introduced At the very beginning of your story, the characters, the opposition/conflict, and the overall goal of the tale are introduced. Step 2: Characters begin their journey The characters begin…
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Follow The Reader
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The Invasion of the Bookish Apps
5 Nov 2009 | 11:27 amLately there’s been a lot of hubbub surrounding the emergence of “book as app.” Sure it sounds exciting, but is the book app here to stay, or merely the current IT GIRL in publishing’s endless search for the next big thing? What can an app do that a book can’t? Is an app inherently better than other ways of experiencing book content? Well, that depends. The short answer might be: maybe and sometimes, and if the two companies profiled below are any indication of what book apps can be, then I’d be willing to wager that the book as app is here to stay. the… -
This Friday, #FollowReader is Waxing Poetic!
4 Nov 2009 | 10:03 amIs the digital age welcoming in a new poetry renaissance? That will be the topic of discussion on Friday’s #FollowReader TwitChat. Join Dominique Raccah-publisher for SourceBooks and creator of the newly-launched site PoetrySpeaks.com; along with Guy LeCharles Gonzales of LoudPoet.com, and me as we talk about what the World Wide Web might mean for the world of poetry. Some probable topics of discussion: Why PoetrySpeaks, and why now? Can the web (and PoetrySpeaks.com in particular) fix the “problems” poetry has faced in the past (notably: discoverability and the intimidation… -
Book Reviewing in a Digital World: #FollowReader Recap
4 Nov 2009 | 8:13 amHow do major book reviewers select books, and how much has social media and other technology changed the way they discover new titles? Do print galleys, pre-pub reviews and trade shows matter any more, as digital tools expand and print review outlets continue to shrink? Those were some of the questions we explored with Lev Grossman,Time magazine’s book critic, technology writer and Nerd World blogger, and Carolyn Kellogg, who reviews for the Los Angeles Times and writes the Jacket Copy blog, last Friday our #followreader discussion on Twitter (October 30, 2009). Among the… -
NaNoWriMo + Bite-Size Edits Ring in November’s Spirit of Wordiness
3 Nov 2009 | 10:07 amAh, November: a time of thanksgiving, and a time of NANOWRIMO!! Yup, it’s now officially 3 days into the wonderful November tradition (now in it’s tenth year) that writers everywhere simultaneously loathe and love – NaNoWriMo. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, NaNoWriMo–or National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. And this year, thanks to the folks at BookOven, NaNoWriMo partcipants will also have a chance… -
Giving Readers What They Want: Susan Danziger
2 Nov 2009 | 6:36 amDelivering books to readers in new, more accessible ways is the book industry’s new challenge. Yet few publishing insiders can claim to have pioneered new delivery systems the way Susan Danziger has with DailyLit, which offers subscriptions to regular book installments that can be read in 5 minutes or less via email or RSS. Fewer still have devoted themselves to introducing publishing’s rank and file to today’s digital leaders. Yet that’s what Danziger has done with the free monthly speaker series The Publishing Point (formerly known as the Digital Publishing…
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Founders' Blog
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November is Product Sample Give-a-Way Month at LitCentral Founders’ Blog
2 Nov 2009 | 11:30 amThis November we’re giving away product samples at LitCentral Founders’ Blog. Throughout the year we conduct numerous product reviews for some of the finest tech products on the market. Our goodie box is piling up with product samples, and the season for giving is fast approaching. The product samples have been used for testing purposes, but are in excellent condition. Items include ergonomic mice, laptop bags/backpacks, Field Notes and an OtterBox BlackBerry Tour case. Each week we’ll have a few prizes up-for-grabs, and it’s as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 to… -
What’s New in the World of Tablet PCs for Writers (Plus Fujitsu’s New LifeBook T4310)
21 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pmThis blog has written at length about the advantages of tablet PCs (TPC) for writers. In fact, the lack of writers’ awareness regarding various technologies that enhance productivity was the impetus behind LitCentral starting this blog. Lump TPCs into the “technology that enhances writers’ productivity” bunch. If you are the type of writer that likes to map out your novel or script with handwritten notes, 3×5 cards, and Post-it stickers the TPC is a great solution. Using software applications like OneNote and Evernote with your… -
Bluetooth Wireless Handset - Old School Style
16 Oct 2009 | 10:50 amHorchow is offering a different spin on old and new technologies with a bluetooth wireless traditional handset. If you don’t want to be bothered with batteries or recharging, there is also a $68 non-wireless handset that you plug directly into your cellphone. I have my BlackBerry Tour and my office phone at my disposal when I’m seated behind the desk. Often I’ll route BB calls to the office phone for the sheer comfort of it all. The design of the traditional handset actually has some practical ergonomic value. Think about it… You… -
Bamboo Keyboard & Mouse Combo
8 Oct 2009 | 8:41 pmFor those of you who want a little green in your work environment, the Horchow bamboo-like keyboard and mouse offer an interesting eco-friendly approach to computer hardware. It will set you back a cool $78 but you’ll look good writing that next blockbuster. PC compatible only. BTW…check out Horchow for great writer gifts in general. The holidays are fast approaching, ya know! -
BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac
2 Oct 2009 | 2:39 pmThe long-awaited BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac is finally available today. Until now, the Mac and the BlackBerry were more like distant 3rd cousins. Today, they are happily married. Ick. That didn’t quite come out right. Just know that syncing your contacts, calendar, music and notes just became effortless. When your computer and smartphone play together nicely, life is just easier. Go here to find out more.
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The Freelance Rant
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The Week in Freelance: November 6th
6 Nov 2009 | 7:45 amWeb Worker Daily: Tells you to do one little thing before accepting that job over the web. Hint: Get to know who you are working for. Freelance Apple: Lessons freelancers can learn from Warren Buffett. Smashing Magazine: If you are a designer, ever consider taking it offline for inspiration on your next work? An important step: “The first step to getting into the habit of finding offline, or “natural,” inspiration is to stop looking at online inspiration in the first place. For many designers, online is the first place to look. It shouldn’t be.” oDesk: Brings up a good point… -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 24]: Never Forget To Ask These Two Questions
5 Nov 2009 | 8:09 amPhoto by Wok (Flickr) This is Day 24 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today you’ll learn two questions you must ask every client. A Quick Lesson For Today What would you say to doing a task that requires almost no time and can drum up a few extra clients your way? I know, I’m beginning to sound like an infomercial but it’s true. All you have to do remember two simple questions to ask each and every client after a project. This is provided, of course, if they are happy and satisfied with the… -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 23]: The Rights and Wrongs of Client Communication
4 Nov 2009 | 7:18 amPhoto by DCvision2006 (Flickr) This is Day 23 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today we’ll discuss the rights and wrongs of communicating with your clients. No More Handshakes In the freelancing age we live in now, person-to-person contact is becoming a rarity while emailing and Skype calls are becoming the norm. More workin’ and less time chattin’. A typical motto of freelancing. Its crucial, however, to make sure that communication with clients is done correctly. Mess this up and you… -
Freelance In 40 Days [Day 22]: Project Management Tools (Until You Get a Secretary)
28 Oct 2009 | 12:50 pmPhoto by Pinprick (Flickr) This is Day 22 of the Freelance in 40 Days series where you’ll learn to freelance just by taking it one day and one task at a time. Today will be an introduction to project management software. The Do-It-Yourself Secretary I’ll admit that I got into the concept of project management tools fairly recently, but I became very open to it after a couple of realizations: 1. I would occasionally get dates mixed up when completing stages for larger projects. 2. Writing all your tasks to complete on sheets and scraps of paper eventually get tangled in a mess on your… -
Top Ten Famous Last Words of Freelancers
16 Oct 2009 | 12:43 pmSimilar to General Custer, who’s famous last words were (unofficially) “We’ve caught them napping,” those not-so-lucky freelancers who fell off of face the planet also had some last words to be remembered by. Here are the best of them: 10. “Naw, I won’t charge you just this one time.” 9. “Why yes, billable time does include calls, emailing, invoicing, showers, naps and Twitter use.” 8. “If you don’t mind me saying, it looks way more professional with Comic Sans.” 7. “Here’s my cell number in case anything goes…
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Fritinancy
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The Cadillac of Language Columns
6 Nov 2009 | 7:35 amThat would be Ben Zimmer's "On Language" column in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, "Cadillac Thrives As a Figure of Speech." In fact, I'd encourage you to read it even if I weren't quoted in it.Here's a tasty passage in which I'm not quoted; it's worth reading anyway, as is all of Ben Zimmer's writing:It was perhaps a bad sign when, in a print ad in 1979, Cadillac felt the need to remind consumers that it was still “the Cadillac of cars.” As the fortunes of Cadillac declined in the ’80s and ’90s, the old laudatory… -
Opportunism Knocks
5 Nov 2009 | 10:32 amThis ad for Saks Fifth Avenue appeared on page A3 of Monday's New York Times: I skimmed along until opportunistic brought me up short. Opportunistic? Really?It's clearly the wrong word. But why? And what should it have been? Some background: Opportunity, opportune, and opportunist(ic) share a Latin root, opportunus, which means "favorable": it's a contraction of ob portus, "toward the harbor." An opportunity is a favorable time; opportune, the adjective, means "favorable," "timely," or "convenient." Both words came into English… -
Any Color, As Long As It's Printable
4 Nov 2009 | 6:23 amGeneral Motors, apparently not satisfied with a $30 billion government bailout, is asking U.S. citizens to chip in just one more tiny little thing: a color name for the new Chevy Volt, the world's first mass-produced extended-range electric vehicle. From the photos, I'd say it looks silverish-greenish. But hey, we're Americans! We can do better!So GM sponsored a contest (deadline was this morning, I regret to inform). And then Autopia, Wired.com's car blog, spread the word. And the fun began. Suffice it to say that Autopia's readers exibit little of the earnest… -
Webster's New World Dictionary Word of the Year
3 Nov 2009 | 10:47 amIt's distracted driving.From Webster's Word of the Year website:A sign of the times surely, distracted driving is another reflection – and consequence – of our ongoing romance with all things digital and mobile and the enhanced capabilities they provide. While it now may be easier and quicker to feed our multitasking habits, it is not always safe, and many jurisdictions are formalizing that position by making it a crime to text or otherwise use a cellphone while driving. In other words, CrackBerry users beware, lest a charge of DWD (driving while distracted) or DWT (driving… -
Word of the Week: Mockolate
2 Nov 2009 | 7:44 amMockolate: A derisive term for an ingredient used as a chocolate substitute that contains cocoa solids but no cocoa butter. Cheaper than real chocolate, mockolate is sometimes found in inexpensive confections and baked goods, sometimes described as "chocolate-y coating" or "milk compound chocolate."Mockolate hasn't yet shown up in published dictionaries. (Mocktail, however, appears in the fourth edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, published in 2006.) The online Double-Tongued Dictionary provides a single citation for mockolate, from a…
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Holt Uncensored Blog
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THE DIY AUTHOR RETURNS
23 Oct 2009 | 3:29 pmWhat To Do When the Mainstream Yawns (and Spends): Pt 2 Often when talking to Seth Harwood (see last column) I’ve been struck (again) by the fact that American writers are forced to adjust to a publishing industry that has removed authors from the top of the hierarchy and told them to be grateful to be stuck at the bottom. I’m not talking about the small number of blockbuster authors who pay all the bills. In fact, the few stars who remain on top seem to encourage publishing excesses like the shamefully overdone Random House book launch for Dan Brown in New York a while ago. At… -
THE DIY AUTHOR
6 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pmWhat To Do When the Mainstream Yawns: Part 1 Seth Harwood is the kind of Internet techno-whiz that fuddy-duddy types like me are scared of. He’s so knowledgeable about podcasting, video-posting, eBook-pricing, iPhone-apping and what is now called (nostalgically by everyone but me) “the Amazon Rush” that I wanted to run the other way. Then I read his fiction and became a Seth Harwood fan. Then I watched his video and became a Seth Harwood student. You can see why Seth is in the vanguard of a new writers’ movement by taking a look at the instructive interim video he made some months… -
A Newspaper Comeback Plan – Part B
28 Aug 2009 | 12:08 pmPART B: BE BOLD So now: What can newspapers do to lure readers back to print? As our quiz last week suggested, after our 30-year honeymoon with computers, and 20 solid years on the Internet, people are getting tired of screens and starting to miss the newsprint experience. It’s time for newspapers to earn their way back into readers’ minds and pocketbooks. Here are some suggestions: Fight for Your Paper Everybody’s waiting for publishers to do something — to, in the first place, define the benefits of newspapers that computers can’t offer. If you run a… -
A Newspaper Comeback Plan
17 Aug 2009 | 1:58 pmPART A: TAKE THE QUIZ If I were a newspaper publisher, I’d be waiting for that great sea change that’s bound to come when people who use computers start pining for newsprint. Think that’s never going to happen? Take this easy quiz and see: Dear Reader: 1) Don’t you get tired of looking at screens all day? There’s your computer at work, your computer at home, your TV, your cell phone, your camera, iPod, e-Reader, camcorder, iPhone. That’s about 10 different screens hitting our eyeballs all day. 2) Aren’t you running out of patience with bloggers like me endlessly citing… -
Why Authors Are Furious, Part 2
22 Jul 2009 | 12:28 pmI STILL DON’T BLAME THEM As mentioned last week, I don’t blame authors for blowing up at reviewers who spoil the ending or otherwise ruin the experience for the very readers they’re supposed to serve. This is a time when newspapers are trying to win back readers by saying, “Don’t bother with those slovenly customer reviews on Amazon! We have professional reviewers for you. We pay them for their skills. You can trust what they say.” Uh huh. That would be fine if these same critics weren’t violating every rule in the criticism handbook (not that there…
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Inkthinker
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The Fine Line Between “Writing” and “Being a Writer”
3 Nov 2009 | 1:05 pmOn Monday, I posted about my experience thus far with My First NaNoWriMo. Today, I did my first “morning pages” before settling down for my NaNo session (I fell asleep on the floor of my office on some comfy pillows before I got to the NaNo part, so that’s to come as soon as I finish this post). For those not familiar with morning pages, it’s a technique devised by Julia Cameron that grabbed the writing public through her book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. In simple terms, first thing every morning (after peeing and brushing your teeth,… -
My First NaNoWriMo
2 Nov 2009 | 6:20 amIn a fit of creative bravado, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month this year. Although I’m on track with my word count (3,700 at the moment), I’m still not entirely sure what I’m writing about. This became abundantly clear to me last night at the Richmond-area kickoff party, when I gave a different answer to everyone who asked me to tell them about my novel. Here’s what I ended up deciding on for my NaNo profile page, subject to revision: Kaylee Marsh is a college junior who knows what she wants in life. That’s the only reason she can manage her 18-credit… -
VIDEO: Office Space Meets eBooks
1 Nov 2009 | 1:09 pmOther Posts You Might Like:If You Think Social Media Is a Passing Fad...VIDEO: What I'm Doing Today -- Friday, February 6Inkthinker Quick Tip for August 21, 2009 - Use an E-mail ForwarderShort Film About the Impact of Good CopywritingUsing YouTube to Promote Your Business? -
All Freelance Writing Releases Two Free Word Count Trackers in Time for NaNoWriMo
29 Oct 2009 | 7:55 amFrom my pal Jenn at All Freelance Writing… Woohoo! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE All Freelance Writing Releases Two Free Word Count Trackers in Time for NaNoWriMo Contact Information Jennifer Mattern www.AllFreelanceWriting.com 484-366-1003 jenn@allfreelancewriting.com Philadelphia, PA — October 29, 2009 — All Freelance Writing (www.AllFreelanceWriting.com), a business blog for freelance writers, launches a new collection of free interactive tools for writers starting with two free word count trackers. The word count trackers are being released in time for National Novel Writing… -
TO: Red Lobster RE: Endless Shrimp
27 Oct 2009 | 11:04 amDear Red Lobster: I just received an email announcement regarding your endless shrimp promotion that gave me pause. See below. “Endless shrimp ends soon,” eh? Do we need to have a talk about the definition of the word “endless”? I think we might. end⋅less –adjective 1. having or seeming to have no end, limit, or conclusion; boundless; infinite; interminable; incessant: an endless series of complaints; Time is endless. 2. made continuous, as by joining the two ends of a single length: an endless chain or belt. Origin: bef. 900; ME endelees, OE endelēas. See end 1 ,…
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Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers
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#nanopanic: hashtag for those behind in their NaNoWriMo wordcount
7 Nov 2009 | 4:25 amIf you’re on Twitter and are behind in your wordcount, use the #nanopanic hashtag to find others for mutual encouragement (and motivational panic ). Please ONLY use #nanopanic if you’re behind in wordcount or are posting encouragement for those behind in wordcount. And no “I wrote 25,000 wds yesterday and you can, too” [...] -
NaNoWriMo Day 6: Don’t forget to have FUN
6 Nov 2009 | 6:13 amCARTOON EMBED CODE: (Before embedding, see my cartoon licensing info.) For those interested, Lazette Gifford (or Zette on the NaNoWriMo forums) is a published author, owner of Forward Motion for writers, and the editor for Vision: A Resource for Writers (which has published some of my comics). She’s an extraordinarily productive writer and has some excellent advice about [...] -
E-Book Reader Poll Results: 26.6% want an Apple tablet
6 Nov 2009 | 5:03 amThanks to all those who responded to my poll earlier this week. 244 people responded. I realized that very few were familiar with ALL the e-reader devices I listed, but one of my goals was to see what basic reaction you had to the list: an “off the top of my head” reaction, based on [...] -
Toronto MG/YA Writers tweetup last night
5 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pmHad so much fun getting together with some of the Toronto MG/YA Writers group last night at The Spotted Dick near Yonge & Bloor. We all met via Twitter and Claudia Osmond. I was the only one who hadn’t yet published a children’s/YA book but the others were SO encouraging; I feel pretty lucky to [...] -
NaNoWriMo Day 5: Fresh Air
5 Nov 2009 | 7:35 amCARTOON EMBED CODE: (Before embedding, see my cartoon licensing info.)
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Mots Justes
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Monday Morning Grammar: Pronouns Part XIV—Interrogative
1 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pmInterrogative pronouns—who, whom, whose, which, and what—introduce questions. Who Vs. Whom Who is in subjective case. It can be used in two situations: as the subject of a verb or as the predicate nominative after a linking verb: Who hosted a Halloween party this year? It was who? Whom is in objective case. It can also be used in two situations: as the object of a verb or preposition: Whom did you invite to your Halloween party? As whom did you dress for your costume? If you’re having a hard time figuring out whether the interrogative pronoun is in subjective or objective case,… -
24 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am
24 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am -
Usage Thursday: Top Nine Misused Words
22 Oct 2009 | 4:18 pmOne of my oldest, dearest friends uses the word irregardless. She is smart and highly educated, yet insists on using this non-word. Should I correct her? Cracked.com says yes and lists eight other words that don’t mean what we think they do with advice on whether it’s worth insisting people use them the right way. Although the site’s presentation is crude, the explanations of how we’re using peruse, ironic, pristine, nonplussed, bemused, enormity, plethora, and deceptively incorrectly and what they really mean are clear and entertaining. Do you have any to add? -
Wednesday Writing Exercise: Literary Roadshow
21 Oct 2009 | 12:56 pmWriter’s Digest’s prolific blogroll introduced a new feature a couple of months ago: Promptly, a blog updated three times a week with writing exercises to get the juices flowing. I started digging around in the relatively recent archives and discovered a prompt centered around words that have already been written—and published: “Pull a random, seemingly unimportant, out-of-context line from a book, and use it as prompt fodder.” I did this with A Thousand Acres, the book that inspired me to be a writer. I wasn’t about to page throughout my four-hundred-word copy… -
Tuesday Afternoon Punctuation: Commas, Part XVIII—Addresses
20 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pmWhen addresses and place names appear in text, use commas to separate the individual elements. Think of it this way: at any point where you would start a new line when addressing an envelope, use a comma (so don’t set off abbreviations such as NE or zip codes with commas): When touring the nation’s capital, make sure to schedule a visit to the White House, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, preferably in early April when the Japanese Cherry Blossoms are blooming. When Jeff and I vacationed in Washington a few years ago, we rented a car and drove to Baltimore,…
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Pimp My Novel
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Fridays are Fundays
6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amFriday is Laura round up time:This week, I learned something important: there's no need to blog, people. No need at all. You can be successful without it and, in the case of the PMN bloggers, perhaps despite it. You can use your iPhone instead and read your eyes out, or write your novel on your cellphone for NaCePhoNoWriMo, or tweet some literary chatter. Or you can use Twitter to find Amazon products that aren't clearly marked as advertisements (FDIC, now you don't pay attention?). If you're into snippets, you can buy some books chapter by chapter from Simon & Schuster, although you… -
NaNoWriMOhNo
5 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amThis year marks the tenth anniversary of the birth of NaNoWriMo, or "National Novel Writing Month." If you're not familiar, NaNoWriMo works as follows: you sign up in early November, write as much as you can during the month, and if you break 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th, you win. Hooray, you! You wrote a novel!...or did you? Here's the deal: first, 50,000 words is not a novel, unless you're writing middle grade. You're going to have to beef it up to 60,000 words—minimum—and would probably be better off getting it into the 75,000 – 90,000-word range. Over 100,000 is… -
Monday Mailbag: Wednesday Edition
4 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amContinuing on from yesterday's post: real questions. Real people. Judge Judy.SM Schmidt writes: What exactly does the big craze behind the holiday season mean for a debut author?Probably not much, unless you're lucky enough to score some co-op. If so, you may see a reasonable spike in sales (the holiday season is the industry's busiest). If not, you might see a small increase in sales, but I wouldn't count on it.e writes: I'd love to learn about everything that happens "after the sale": covers, interior layout, galleys, ARCs, blurbs. And, how the sales team view all of this. What gets you… -
Monday Mailbag: Tuesday Edition
3 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amAfter many a delay, fair readers, I've finally gotten around to answering some of your questions. Without further ado, part one of two—Ghostfolk.com writes: What I really would like for you do is tell me exactly what to produce that a publisher simply could NOT turn down because the product (novel) is just what the market gets exicted about and every professional in the sales department of a major publishing house dreams of having assigned specifically to him/her.P.S. Any idea for a character name?If you are J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter #8: Harry Potter and the Endless Denouement would be… -
We Regret to Inform You: The Form Rejection
2 Nov 2009 | 7:00 amFor those of you in the know (and there are more of you than you might think), there have, over the past several months and years, been periodic imbroglios re: the use of the form rejection by literary agents. I don't usually foray into this territory, but I thought a patented PMN Analogy® might be of some use. It's actually not my analogy—I'm shamelessly appropriating it from a guy I was talking to last week—but I find it too good to pass up.Remember when you applied to college? Fun, right? The standardized tests, the trips to the guidance office, the teacher recommendations, the thrill…
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www.publetariat.com
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Creating Your Villain, tips from Donald Maass
5 Nov 2009 | 6:26 pmThis post, from Debby Atkinson, originally appeared on the Type M For Murder blog on 10/21/09. It's Debby this morning, just returned from Bouchercon, where Sisters in Crime sponsored a terrific seminar, titled SinC into Great Writing. The headline speaker was literary agent Donald Maas, who gave so many great tips on improving our WIP's that I couldn’t write fast enough. Here are some of his suggestions about how to create a stronger antagonist. read more -
Why Creating A New Habit Is So Hard
5 Nov 2009 | 6:12 pmThis post, from Alex Schleber, originally appeared on his Business Mind Hacks blog on 9/30/09. It seems particularly apt with so many Publetarians trying to get into the habit of writing every day to complete their NaNoWriMo novels! Leo Babauta of ZenHabits.com recently writes in his post The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior: read more -
Come With A Manuscript, Leave With The Knowledge And Confidence To Publish And Promote Successfully---And A Tan!
5 Nov 2009 | 5:35 pmThe Stem-To-Stern Workshop Cruise will be taking place 10/10/10 - 10/17/10, and just $25 paid to AAA Travel holds your spot on the cruise roster until May 6, 2010. It's a weeklong cruise vacation, and intensive writers' workshop series, and private consulting sessions, all combined into a single, affordable, tax-deductible* trip for writers! read more -
Why You Need To Fail
4 Nov 2009 | 6:31 pmThis article, from Peter Bregman, originally appeared on The Harvard Business Publishing site on 7/6/09. While it was originally written with business executives in mind, the information presented here is equally helpful to authors who are struggling with setbacks---who are, after all, businesspeople too. "Peter, I'd like you to stay for a minute after class." Calvin teaches my favorite body conditioning class at the gym. "What'd I do?" I asked him. "It's what you didn't do." "What didn't I do?" "Fail." read more
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Self-Publishing Review
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Ebooks are a Disaster
4 Nov 2009 | 9:25 amA confession: ebooks are totally mystifying to me. I may run this site and the future success of self-publishing rests on how much ebooks saturate the market, but I’m not a tech-head whatsoever. I don’t buy the latest gadgets or even follow the news that religiously - because a new gadget comes every third minute, and who can afford to shell out another $300 for the latest thing? I have a Sony ereader, but it’s not my first choice when it comes to reading. This may put me in a better position to talk about how incredibly and unnecessarily difficult it is to navigate the… -
Don’t You Just Hate Words?
4 Nov 2009 | 8:52 amI hate words. Nothing complicates your ideas more than words. However, most writers love words. Go figure. I don’t necessarily mean that an article’s word count is problematic. How many words it takes you to express and support your points is circumstantial. Just don’t get carried away with words that hinder, rather than enhance, your thoughts. For example, the passive voice is often considered taboo. But I just used it anyway. In the exemplary first sentence of this paragraph “is often considered taboo” is the passive voice. In this case I used the word “considered” to… -
West of Mars: An Interview with Susan Helene Gottfried
30 Oct 2009 | 4:35 pmSusan Helene Gottfried runs the website West of Mars, where she will tell you she does very little talking about her writing. Instead, she writes. She engages readers addicted to her Demo Tapes, described on her website as “collections of short fiction that introduce you to Trevor, Mitchell, and the rest of the fictional band, ShapeShifter — as well as the world in which they inhabit.” But West of Mars, winner of twenty blog awards, isn’t all about Susan and her own writing. She also promotes other writers who want to reach readers. In the following interview, Susan discusses… -
Page One Review - Eyeleash by Jess C. Scott
29 Oct 2009 | 9:29 amThis first page of Jess C. Scott’s Eyeleash falls flat, and here’s why: the use of shortened language (”abt”), the suggestion that I’m about to read a series of random blog entries with no particular movement in any direction (”Rants raves and everything else”), and the immediate introduction to a narrator who believes her blog and herself are interesting enough to warrant warnings about sharing the material, which usually means the entries won’t actually be that interesting - or, not as interesting as the author suspects. However, at the same… -
What Book Designers Do with Their Time
29 Oct 2009 | 9:17 amA guest post by Cathi Stevenson, from Book Cover Express, reprinted from her blog on book cover design. Part 1: It Should Only Take Five Minutes “It shouldn’t take more than five minutes or so. I saw a web designer do it once.” Words that make any print designer cringe. I remember one client I had a few years ago who wanted seven or eight images combined to make a design and he told me it would take only a few minutes. First, I had to find all these images. Just for the heck of it, you try a search on fotosearch.com, istockphoto.com, bigstockphoto.com or photos.com for some similar…
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Tumblemoose Writer
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The Book Mender – Part 2
6 Nov 2009 | 7:12 amIn last weeks post about book mending I mentioned that one of my duties at the Wasilla Public Library is to mend the circulating books when they come back damaged. it’s a job that I really enjoy. In this post, I’ll walk you through the steps for mending a very common kind of problem: A broken spine that has caused the text block (pages) to separate from the cover. This little treasure came in with the typical problem described above Obviously, this won’t do. First, since the book is here and the cover is a tad ratty, we’ll replace the cover. The tape holding the… -
Flash – The Crazy Lady Who Yells at Her Dogs
4 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amMy neighbor is a crazy lady who yells at her dogs. In thinking about it, I guess every town has at least one. At first, her rantings merely had a high entertainment value. That all changed one day in the hottest July on record. A stifling day that ended in a rock-the-house thunderstorm that sprang from the gunmetal gray anvil shaped clouds which had been building all afternoon. Gertie Boswell had lived in the ramshackle semi-Victorian house as long as I could remember. When I was young, a wide berth was given while walking home from school. As far as I know, school kids still… -
Heal Thyself – New Blog of the Week
2 Nov 2009 | 4:07 amI first came across this blogger about a year ago. Her web site, Writing the Cyber Highway was wonderful. I was immediately engaged by the writing style and design of her site. As I spent time reading her posts, her story gradually came out, and what a story it is. Inspiring, touching, truly amazing. Her posts there became less frequent and then one day I understood why. She had launched a new blog in a different niche. Since then, most of my followings of her have been through her newer site, which I’ve chosen as a most deserved new blog of the week. Her blog is really… -
Making Amends – It’s All About The Books
30 Oct 2009 | 5:10 amOne of the responsibilities I have at the Wasilla Public Library is the mending of the circulating books, videos and other media. The impression I have is that the mending of books is not one of the jobs at the library that holds “favored nation status”. I happen to love it. There is something about taking some poor, well used book into my hands and making it all shiny and ready for circulation again. Putting those mended books on the shelf is a highlight of my day. This post is the first in a mini-series of how book mending works. You need to know that book mending… -
How To Be Rich and Happy – A Book Review
28 Oct 2009 | 5:10 amA few weeks back, Tim Brownson DM’d me on Twitter and asked if I would have a look at the new E-book that he and John P. Strelecky had written. I know that Tim is a wonderful life coach and that he has helped at least one friend of mine so I said, “Of course!”. Disclaimer: I get nothing from this review other than the warm fuzzies of helping out a friend. I am not an affiliate. I do recommend the book for purchase and if you plan on doing so, head on over to Tracy O’Connor at I Hate My Message Board and go through her affiliate link – she deserves it. The…
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The Write News
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Fortune Reduces Its Publishing Frequency
24 Oct 2009 | 1:43 pmFortune magazine is reducing the number of issues it publishes annually from 25 to 18. Reuters reports that the business magazine may also cut staff. Fortune, like many other U.S. business magazines, has struggled in the advertising downturn. Fortune will publish two issues some months and just one issue during other months, in the new publishing schedule is part of a remodeling that is expected to result in staff cuts and a sharper focus on the long stories that have been its trademark, the Journal said. The New York Times reports that the cuts are part of a new round of layoffs from… -
Newsday Starts Charging $5 Weekly Fee
22 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pmNewsday has announced that people who are not Optimum Online customers or Newsday customers will have to start paying a $5 weekly fee to access Newsday.com. Those who are not customers of Optimum Online or the newspaper - both owned by Bethpage-based Cablevision Systems Corp. - will have to pay a $5 weekly fee. However, nonpaying customers will have access to some of newsday.com's information, including the home page, school closings, weather, obituaries, classified and entertainment listings. There also will be some limited access to Newsday stories. Newsday described the move as one that… -
New York Times Cutting 100 Newsroom Jobs
19 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pmThe New York Times Media Decoder blog is reporting that the Times is cutting 100 newsroom jobs, about 8% of the total newsroom jobs. The job cuts will happen by the end of the year, which is not far away. The program mirrors one carried out in the spring of 2008, when the paper erased 100 positions in its newsroom, though other jobs were created, so the net reduction was smaller. That round of cuts included some layoffs of journalists - about 15 to 20, though The Times would not disclose the actual figure - which was the first time in memory that had happened. The paper has made much deeper… -
Get Married Magazine Debuts
14 Oct 2009 | 4:30 pmGet Married Media has announced the launch of Get Married magazine, a new shopping and trend guide for brides. The wedding magazine includes editorial features on real brides, wedding professionals and experts, as well as an array of inspiring challenges, trend round-ups, product profiles, shopping guides and informative articles. Get Married is giving the first issue of its magazine for free. Subsequent quarterly issues will be on newsstands beginning January 2010. Annual subscriptions (4 issues) are available at $14.96. "Get Married magazine is as smart as it is fun, and the response has… -
Conde Nast Closes Several Publications
11 Oct 2009 | 4:00 pmThe big news in the magazine industry this week was Conde Nast's decision to shutter several publications. The publications being closed include Gourmet, Cookie, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride. 180 people at Conde Nast will lose jobs as a result of the titles closing. The L.A. Times describes a sudden switch at glossy magazines form generous expense accounts to cutbacks and firings. Generous expense accounts were de rigueur at glossy fashion and lifestyle magazines. Some top editors and publishers enjoyed clothing allowances and mortgage assistance. Even lowly assistants flitted about in…
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WritersWeekly.com - Freelance Writing Ezine
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BookLocker - Your Book Deserves the Best
5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amAccording to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is one of the top-rated POD publishers in the industry. -
Paying Markets And Jobs For November 4th
4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amNew markets and freelance writing jobs. -
Whispers And Warnings For November 4th
4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amJUSTICE IS SERVED (but will the victim ever get paid?) "The Kansas City Star received a $2.4 million award in a court case against the owners of RiseUp, a short-lived magazine on race relations. A judgment was entered in Ray County Circuit Court on Tuesday against Ellis Management Marketing Group Inc. and its principals, Janice S. Ellis and E. Frank Ellis." http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1536328.html -
Success Story For November 4th
4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amSuccess Story will return next week. -
Ask The Expert For November 4th
4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amAsk the Expert will return next week.
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Writing Forward
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November News and Announcements
5 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amWe are now midway through autumn. Soon, the holiday season will be here and then winter will settle across the land. Here in the U.S., November brings the Thanksgiving holiday, a time to be grateful for the blessings in our lives. There is wide belief in gratitude as a means to promote positive thinking (and feeling good in general), which seems to be growing. By practicing gratitude each day, you train yourself to recognize the good things in life, a very beneficial practice for people who are prone to complaining or seeing the glass as half empty. You can start a gratitude journal with a… -
How to Use Research for Better Writing (and Credibility)
3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 amAlmost all writers rely on research for facts and information. Even fiction writers and memoir authors, whose work is either made up from imagination or based on personal experience, will turn to research to fill in holes and answer questions. We use writing resources like dictionaries and style guides. We use encyclopedias and reference books, articles from scholarly journals, and we rely on historical facts and datum collected by researchers so we can write truthfully and honestly. We also use Google (and some of us use Wikipedia), and we use blogs and other material found online. All of… -
The Poetry of William Shakespeare (Sonnets)
29 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amThis is the second article in a three-part series on William Shakespeare’s life and poetry and its relevance to modern writers and poets. If you haven’t done so, you might want to read the introduction. Shakespeare the Sonneteer In 1609, a collection titled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS was published, which included two previously published pieces (sonnets 138 and 144) plus 152 previously unpublished sonnets. This collection contains the entirety of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, which are each referred to by number as they are not titled. There is some confusion surrounding this… -
It’s NaNoWriMo Novel Writing Time!
27 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amIf you’ve ever dreamed of writing a novel, then NaNoWriMo might be for you. Are you one of those writers who comes up with plot after plot, maybe writing a few pages, or even a few chapters, only to abandon every project for the next great idea? Have you started working on a novel but constantly find yourself caught up in the vicious cycle of endless editing and revising with no end in sight? Is that novel you’ve been thinking about sitting around collecting dust in the annals of your mind? Every year, during the month of November, writers around the globe sign up to participate… -
Parts of Speech
22 Oct 2009 | 1:00 amMastering language can be a very technical process. Never mind the artistic skill that goes into being a good writer — understanding things like parts of speech, sentence diagramming, and other grammatical terms are paramount for writers who want not only to produce concise text, but who want to be able to communicate effectively with other writers and editors about content. Parts of speech explain how words are used in context. Each word in the English language can be categorized into one of the eight parts of speech. According to Wikipedia: Parts of speech: In grammar, a lexical…
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Writing Roads
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Because sometimes, things need a little massaging
6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 amI’m not usually into massage. I think it’s because 7 years ago, I had an especially intense rub-down of the Ayurvedic variety and woke up the the next morning to greet my first of 40 some-odd kidney stones. Now granted, the massage didn’t give me the kidney stone. When they did an MRI, my kidneys were so chock-full, they looked like a 1960’s fallout shelter – just substitute cans of tuna and beans for tiny, jagged rocks. What the massage did do was take me from my deliriously innocent state wherein I was 29 and believed myself to be the picture of health (and… -
Go where you want to write.
4 Nov 2009 | 8:56 amThe most critical piece of advice that I give to anyone who wants to write – whether I’m officially coaching them or not – is that they have to find their voice. And to do this, I highly recommend that they write like they’re talking to their best friend, mate, cohort – the person who makes them feel like their greatest self, the person who doesn’t judge, who wants the world for them, who loves and encourages their bright light to shine, shine, shine. By the way, it’s not your mother or anyone that holds an emotionally charged lightening rod to you. -
Crystal balls, English accents and tea leaves
2 Nov 2009 | 7:14 amIt’s hard for me to write a post that mentions my neighbor (let’s call her Mary – because she’s a far, far cry from the virgin mother) without including a picture. But I do want to keep her anonymity. So, I’m linking you to the ‘Shoes’ video since she dressed up like that girl (or guy?) for Halloween. 1. I think it will help you get the point of how wacky she is, and 2. She looked exactly like him/her. Exactly. I will tell you however, because it’s her most intense feature (besides the fact that she smells like hooch and incense) that her real… -
Go get it.
30 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI had the good fortune of meeting Chris Brogan on Tuesday night…and to listen to him tell story after story, all of them heavy with hidden ideas and more than a fair bit of laughter. One in particular keeps playing in my head… Chris’ phone rings and he answers. A pipe fitter or roofer or something of that nature is on the other end, chewing his dinner loudly into the phone. In between chomps, slurps and smacks, he tells Chris, “Someone told me I should call you.” Chew, swallow. “That you might be able to help me.” Burp, gulp. “Do you think I… -
Holy bonus, Batman.
28 Oct 2009 | 5:44 amSomething strange has happened. I’m about to call the EPA and have them check my water. I can’t think of any other explanation. Here’s the thing: I’m ahead. I’m not just caught up with my work, I have things done before they’re due – as in, in advance of their deadline. It’s not that I’m a slacker usually, it’s just that I love the thrill of the deadline, so I usually push each one to the limit. But this week, I’ve been like a machine. Can I tell you how many times I checked my calendar this week to verify that it was actually…
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Creative Writing Ideas Blog
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Nov 6, Free Creative Writing Prompts #58: Pregnancy
6 Nov 2009 | 10:39 amOh baby! These free creative writing prompts about pregnancy can turn your nine months of joy or...less than joy and turn them into some great writing. -
Nov 6, Free Creative Writing Prompts #57: Law
6 Nov 2009 | 10:33 amThis court is in session! These free creative writing prompts about law can help you cultivate your experiences with the legal system and turn them into some productive writing! -
Nov 6, Free Creative Writing Prompts #56: Politics
6 Nov 2009 | 10:28 amIt's a political party! These free creative writing prompts about politics will work no matter what your affiliation to use your political leanings to create some new writing. -
Nov 6, Free Creative Writing Prompts #55: Books
6 Nov 2009 | 10:16 amAttention bookworms! These free creative writing prompts can be used to take your love of books and translate that into your own writing ability! -
Nov 6, Free Creative Writing Prompts #54: Beach
6 Nov 2009 | 10:11 amSurf's up! These free creative writing prompts about the beach can help you use your beach memories to craft some awesome writing.
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Website Makeover Workshop
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How Not To Make Online Marketing Blunders
Have you been wondering how not to make marketing blunders when it comes to your website and online? At this very moment over 539 million searches have taken place on Google. Many are searchers aren't reaching millions of websites because of marketing blunders when it comes to marketing online. It was in June of 2005 ... -
Easiest Way On How To Do Website Optimization
Have you been in search of website optimization tricks? Or how to do website optimization. Today, we're covering one the most important website optimization techniques that most website owners are missing. And I'm sure you're one of them. This is the most pivotal element when it comes to generating web traffic and helping people find you ... -
One Powerful Strategy on How to Market Yourself
Have you been wondering how to market yourself? How about how to market a business? I discovered there's a way to help market yourself that many people seem to overlook. Just the other week I wrote the article titled "Can Customer Feedback Increase Your Sales?" The article discusses how to use customer testimonials ... -
3 Keys on How to Publish Your Own Book
How to publish your own book? Has this question been running through your mind? For me in 2003 it was a process of collecting information and this is what I share with you today. Over 821,500 new book titles have been published thus far, this year. Isn't it time to get your book out to your ... -
Can Customer Feedback Increase Your Sales?
What are your customers saying about your products or services? Are you sharing your customer testimonials with your future customers and clients? Today, we are caught in the web of more complaints and more negative opinions. With the social networking world and Web 2.0,negativity and complaints are spreading like a wildfire. Like with most decisions we ...
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Grace Notes
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Waiting for the Muse
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI’ve been working on a novel for quite a while now. I received an email about writing a 50,00 word novel in one month—- the month of November, no less–but it would have to be a new work. I did consider it, thought maybe this would be a good way to shake up my brain, get in touch with my intuition, banish my workaholic inner editor. But, but—-it’s not that I’m procrastinating, it’s that I have devoted so much time, so much living with the characters that I am discovering— shaping and writing the words, yes, but there is another process at… -
Progress
15 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pmI’ve made some progress on my novel this week. Yeah!! I’ve had a long stretch of thinking of scenes and situations and movement of the work, but very little of actually putting words down in the documents. Last week, though, my writers group had its reunion after a summer break. This is our second year of meeting, so we decided to up the game a bit. There are four of us scribblers and after a year of sharing our work and witnessing the only man among us finish two, count ‘em, two books which will come out early in 2010, we agreed we can all reach a little higher. We are… -
Control
10 Oct 2009 | 10:05 amI play computer solitaire. A lot. I started playing solitaire when I wrote a weekly column. I found it relaxed my brain just enough to let the ideas I had roaming around take root and form themselves into something I could write about. Some people fold laundry or wash dishes (by hand, of course, or it defeats the purpose). I came upon solitaire as the almost mindless activity to cook writing ideas. My hands are engaged and minimal brain activity is required. I’ve been using this technique for years now, trying to avoid any sense of competition with myself, or the game, for… -
September
26 Sep 2009 | 7:49 amSeptember is almost over and I have not added to this blog in several weeks. You’d think after 18 years in the grand state of Texas I’d be used to hot brown Septembers, but, no, I still cannot adjust. Stubborn, you say? Well, yes. Always have been and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. September still means to me cooler weather, sweaters, leaves goldening on the branch to fall to the ground in October and November, and then of course, raking a big pile of leaves and jumping into them in anticipation of the snow mounds to come in December and January. … -
Legacy
28 Aug 2009 | 10:07 amSitting on the cool basement floor, legs splayed on the blue linoleum squares, my knees hold the cover of a large colorful book. I lean against the boxy yellow bookcase that holds childrens books when I am not bent over examining a picture or outlining the shapes of words with my small fingers. Mom is doing laundry in the back room, the basement door opened to let in the breeze. Blossoms from the apple tree float down the concrete stairwell, itself the location of many games. The breeze smells sweet, the jalousy windows have been turned open letting in the air and the occasional noise…
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Show Some Character!
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NaNoWriMo diary part 2: the serendipity begins
6 Nov 2009 | 11:25 amAfter 5 days of writing, I’m 10,000 words in. I’m quite enjoying the process of watching this book unfold, but I have to say that some days have been a lot harder than others. Part of that may be unavoidable. I know that there’s a bunch of stuff I need Anna to discover before the plot can logically move forward. I know better than to just infodump it into the narrative, which means I’ve got to actually show Anna learning this stuff. Frankly, it’s hard work coming up with interesting ways for Anna to discover a whole bunch of stuff about her father that she never… -
What's in a name?
4 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pmYou want to know what I hate about the process of writing novels? Coming up with names. Judging by the number of “Help me name my character!” threads on the NaNoWriMo forums, I’m not the only one. Seriously. What a chore. That is hands-down my least favorite part, because on the one hand names are irrelevant to the story, but on the other hand they have to sound right or you’ll lose the reader. Well, most of the time they’re irrelevant to the plot. One book I read recently jumps to mind as a great counter-example, but the fact of the name’s relevance is… -
NaNoWriMo diary, part 1: This is the fun part.
2 Nov 2009 | 3:17 pmAh, November. There’s a chill in the air. The leaves are dropping from the trees. And thousands of insane writers all over the world are banging out first drafts of new novels. Yes, I’m one of the NaNoWriMo faithful. This is my fifth year doing it. My “logline” this year is: A young woman searches for her missing father through clues hidden in underground comic books from Soviet Russia. I decided to do a NaNoWriMo diary because frankly, I’ve been blogging about novel writing and character development in the abstract for a while now, and I thought it would be a… -
Who moved my cheese?
30 Oct 2009 | 3:47 pmI don’t know what it is with me and cheese, but since I seem to think in dairy-related terms, I’m going to go with it. I’m going to embrace my inner cow, and talk about showing a character’s personality through the props that are central to their lives. Moo. The book Who Moved my Cheese? is all about dealing with change in one’s life, which is akin to what this metaphor is about for authors, too. What’s your character’s cheese? That is, what object in your character’s life is so important to them that if it gets lost, stolen, broken, or abducted… -
Character Corner: "Huge," by James Fuerst
26 Oct 2009 | 10:29 am[Note: I’m starting a new semi-regular feature here on the blog. “Character Corner” is book reviews from the perspective of showing character, not plot. Here we go!] Last night I finished reading Huge, the debut novel by James Fuerst. We’ll get to the character stuff in a minute, but let me gush about the book in generic book review terms for a minute: I loved this book. I give it four, maybe four and a half stars. It was awesome. Funny. Poignant. Moving in places. Very well set in its time and place (New Jersey in the 1980s). Funny. Wait, did I just say that? I did.
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Grace Notes
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Waiting for the Muse
29 Oct 2009 | 9:20 amI’ve been working on a novel for quite a while now. I received an email about writing a 50,00 word novel in one month—- the month of November, no less–but it would have to be a new work. I did consider it, thought maybe this would be a good way to shake up my brain, get in touch with my intuition, banish my workaholic inner editor. But, but—-it’s not that I’m procrastinating, it’s that I have devoted so much time, so much living with the characters that I am discovering— shaping and writing the words, yes, but there is another process at… -
Progress
15 Oct 2009 | 12:37 pmI’ve made some progress on my novel this week. Yeah!! I’ve had a long stretch of thinking of scenes and situations and movement of the work, but very little of actually putting words down in the documents. Last week, though, my writers group had its reunion after a summer break. This is our second year of meeting, so we decided to up the game a bit. There are four of us scribblers and after a year of sharing our work and witnessing the only man among us finish two, count ‘em, two books which will come out early in 2010, we agreed we can all reach a little higher. We are… -
Control
10 Oct 2009 | 10:05 amI play computer solitaire. A lot. I started playing solitaire when I wrote a weekly column. I found it relaxed my brain just enough to let the ideas I had roaming around take root and form themselves into something I could write about. Some people fold laundry or wash dishes (by hand, of course, or it defeats the purpose). I came upon solitaire as the almost mindless activity to cook writing ideas. My hands are engaged and minimal brain activity is required. I’ve been using this technique for years now, trying to avoid any sense of competition with myself, or the game, for… -
September
26 Sep 2009 | 7:49 amSeptember is almost over and I have not added to this blog in several weeks. You’d think after 18 years in the grand state of Texas I’d be used to hot brown Septembers, but, no, I still cannot adjust. Stubborn, you say? Well, yes. Always have been and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. September still means to me cooler weather, sweaters, leaves goldening on the branch to fall to the ground in October and November, and then of course, raking a big pile of leaves and jumping into them in anticipation of the snow mounds to come in December and January. … -
Legacy
28 Aug 2009 | 10:07 amSitting on the cool basement floor, legs splayed on the blue linoleum squares, my knees hold the cover of a large colorful book. I lean against the boxy yellow bookcase that holds childrens books when I am not bent over examining a picture or outlining the shapes of words with my small fingers. Mom is doing laundry in the back room, the basement door opened to let in the breeze. Blossoms from the apple tree float down the concrete stairwell, itself the location of many games. The breeze smells sweet, the jalousy windows have been turned open letting in the air and the occasional noise…
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CopySnips
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Are These The Greatest Sales Letters Of All Time?
4 Nov 2009 | 6:15 amI recently came across a great little resource edited by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing, and since he gave permission to distribute it freely, I thought I’d share it with you good folks here at the CopySnips.com blog. It’s a 25 page PDF document called The Greatest Sales Letters Of All Time… and it contains 5 actual sales letters, written to sell products such as a subscription to Newsweek magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and a 20 volume Popular Mechanics Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia. These are “sales letters” in the traditional sense of the world –… -
How To Create Real, Compelling Urgency
2 Nov 2009 | 5:16 amIn my last post we discussed what makes people buy now, rather than later… and I said that what was missing was a sense of overwhelming urgency. The question is, how can you create that sense of urgency in the first place? I’ve written a free 24 page PDF report for you to download, entitled: “Buy Now! – How To Create Compelling Urgency”. In it, I explore the 3 main ways of doing this: Explain the reasons why they should take action now, rather than later. Explain the consequences of not doing so. Create an offer which creates urgency in a credible way. So please… -
What Makes People Buy Now?
8 Oct 2009 | 6:10 amIt’s probably happened to you many times before. You see something you really want to buy. You get all excited about it, and you’re even ready to buy. And then something happens. Maybe you get distracted. Maybe you have second thoughts. Maybe you decide to put it off for a day or two. Then, for whatever reason, you don’t buy it – either now, or at any time in the future – even though right at that moment you really wanted it. So what was missing? It was a sense of urgency. You had the desire, but you didn’t feel an overwhelming need to buy it right away… -
5 Creative Ways To Hide Your Prices (Hiding Prices #5)
5 Oct 2009 | 6:41 amHiding prices In this series we’ve been discussing the main reasons why some marketers and copywriters “hide” the price of their product or service. These reasons include wanting to first build strong desire and demonstrate affordability, to show the personal value is higher than the price value, and to change the potential client’s perception of the price – what I call “price conditioning”. In this last post in the Hiding Prices series I’m going to end it with a bang and share with you some ways you can ethically “hide” your prices,… -
Hiding Prices #4 – The Secret Technique Of Price Conditioning
2 Oct 2009 | 7:22 amAll this week we’ve been discussing the idea of “hiding” your prices (i.e. not making your prices immediately obvious), and there’s one other major reason some marketers and copywriters hide their prices, and it involves the little-known but immensely powerful concept of price conditioning. New visitors have faulty price expectations in mind. When they first visit your website, many of your potential clients have a certain price expectation in mind, which are often based on certain erroneous assumptions. For example, Peter might have heard or read of other people who…
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Children's Writing Web Journal
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Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-06
6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pmJust posted: Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-04 - Just posted: Five Reasons Why You Can’t Be A Writer (And Why No… http://ow.ly/15ZJZm # -
Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-05
5 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pmJust posted: Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-03 - Fightin Bookworms:Hot young author Kaleb Nation on how he built… http://ow.ly/15ZuFu # Fightin’ Bookworms: Just posted - Audrey Carangelo’s Tips for Writing Easy Readers http://cbiclubhouse.com # Great deal on Amazon: ‘2010 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market http://bit.ly/2uA8pI # -
Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-04
4 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pmJust posted: Five Reasons Why You Can’t Be A Writer (And Why None Of Them Are True) http://ow.ly/15ZeAC # Five Reasons Why You Can’t Be A Writer (And Why None Of Them Are True) http://is.gd/4MbUc # -
Jon’s Twitter Updates for 2009-11-03
3 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pmFightin Bookworms:Hot young author Kaleb Nation on how he built an online fan base *before* getting published. http://cbiclubhouse.com # Fightin’ Bookworms: November’s “Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers” is online! http://cbiclubhouse.com # -
Five Reasons Why You Can’t Be A Writer (And Why None Of Them Are True)
3 Nov 2009 | 10:29 amI have a very clean house. I vacuum almost daily, regularly dust my silverware drawer for crumbs, and organize my closets at least three times a year. What’s my secret? I’m a writer who works from home. Like many writers, when deadlines loom I circle my laptop, finding excuses not to get started. But because I do consider myself a writer (and my Mexico vacation depends on it), eventually I plant myself in the chair and get to work. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. I hear from a lot of people who long to call themselves writers, but have generated all sorts of reasons never…
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CPStyle
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Transparency is the New Black – Why Authenticity is Important for Business
16 Oct 2009 | 6:04 amWith the surge in social media marketing, I’ve begun to think about the important role authenticity plays in marketing and in business overall. Rather than keeping customers and stakeholders in the dark, companies are now being encouraged to incorporate transparency into… -
Easy Content Marketing Strategies
6 Oct 2009 | 1:03 pmAre you still relying on traditional marketing efforts to attract customers and generate leads? Perhaps you are cold calling, sending out mass mailings to unsuspecting consumers, spending countless dollars on advertising or delivering flyers door to door…how is that working out… -
Moving Woes
2 Oct 2009 | 11:08 amI haven’t posted to this blog for a while because I was busy packing and moving. My husband and I purchased our first place and we moved in September 30. We have been anticipating this for a while and it… -
5 times it’s Acceptable to take on low paying Writing Jobs
18 Sep 2009 | 2:02 pmSince I started freelance writing, I have noticed countless writing jobs on the Internet offering extremely low pay. Websites like elance.com and guru.com offer jobs from $2 for 500 word articles! I am not kidding. And while I have found some… -
Avoid Attending your Business’ Funeral!
11 Sep 2009 | 12:45 pmMaybe what many people don’t realize when they dream about opening a business is that they have to actually work. And work hard! You see, the number one way to kill a small business is to just sit there and…
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Snappy Sentences
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Marketing on a shoestring budget
31 Oct 2009 | 5:26 amOn Wednesday night I attended a Networx event called Marketing on a shoestring budget. It was a great night and I think everyone in the crowd learned some good tips and tricks to make a small marketing budget go further. One idea that wasn’t really expanded on though was the value of good content. I think that if you are going to go to the effort of pulling together a website, some direct mail outs, or even a decent business card (which were all items given the thumbs up), then don’t forget that the right words can really seal the deal. Hiring a professional copywriter –… -
Start planning your content needs for 2010
17 Oct 2009 | 5:02 amIt’s officially the downhill slide to the end of the year. The first Christmas party invites are starting to filter through, the weather is getting hotter and hotter (around here anyway), and there is a last minute push to get things done before everyone goes on holidays. The savvy ones out there are also starting to think about their content needs for 2010. While it may be hard to do (with all the frivolity on the horizon), start having a think about: What blog topics would you like to cover? Do some brainstorming and map out what you are going to cover for at least the first six… -
Technorati tuning
9 Oct 2009 | 2:06 amI’ve been having some problems with Technorati, basically because I’ve changed my blog URL since joining. The site doesn’t seem to pick up my new blog posts, so after much trial and error I am deleting my claim and re-claiming www.snappysentences.com/blog To get this to work, they need a piece of code. Here it is: fvdq67ky8x Fingers crossed this works -
Courting your customers with content
19 Sep 2009 | 4:05 amPart of the key to writing successful web content is understanding your customers. The web is a fickle place – you have such a short amount of time to stop and engage visitors before they hit the back button and leave your site. So how do you do this? Here are a few things to consider: It’s easy to get carried away on your sales pitch, but make sure you stop and think why your website visitor is actually seeking out your product or service in the first place. What situation brings them to need what you are offering? Are they celebrating? Mourning? In the midst of an emergency? -
Fresh content on SNOBs.com.au
1 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pmI’ve just had an article published on SNOBs.com.au – check out Snappy SEO: Do-it-yourself search engine optimisation. Enjoy!
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Letters of Note
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Prepare For Contact
6 Nov 2009 | 5:27 amHere's a 1924 telegram from then Chief of U.S. Naval Operations, Edward W. Eberle, instructing all Naval stations to monitor the airwaves for any unusual transmissions due to anticipated contact from Martians. August 22nd of that year was witness to the closest Mars opposition since 1804 (a mere 55,777,566 km), and as such provided desirable conditions in which to receive radio signals from the Red Planet. The man tasked with clearing the airwaves - a Professor David Todd - somehow managed to persuade both the Army and Navy to report any findings for a three day period, but failed to silence… -
Please - no preferential treatment
6 Nov 2009 | 1:29 amAs well as writing approximately 500 novels and many articles and essays, prolific and now legendary science fiction author Isaac Asimov somehow found the time to work for The Horn Book Magazine - a well regarded publication in which he reviewed and commented on science books - for nine years. The following letter, written by Asimov to then Horn Book editor Ruth Hill Viguers following a pay increase, perfectly illustrates his passion for the craft and is an example of why he will always be remembered as a man of morals and a perfect gent. Source Transcript ISAAC ASIMOV WEST NEWTON 65… -
Prom is right around the corner
5 Nov 2009 | 10:56 amIn April of 2008, hundreds of Oregon families - the children of which all attended Lincoln High School in Portland - began to receive the following letter in the post prior to an upcoming school prom. The letter, written on the school's official letterhead, recommended that parents prepare for the event by supplying their kids with alcohol and opening their houses to after-parties. The envelope also contained a condom. What turned out to be a prank eventually attracted widespread attention. A CNN report can be watched here. Source Transcript Portland Public Schools Lincoln High School 1600 SW… -
I do hope my airplane crashes
5 Nov 2009 | 10:11 amNew York attorney Phelan Beale reluctantly wrote the following, tragic letter to Edith Bouvier Beale in 1934, just before their divorce. The Great Crash of 1929 saw Phelan's law firm begin to nosedive, but it was another five years before he had to reconsider the lavish lifestyle of his entire family, mother and sister included, all of which he had been funding single-handedly for many years. Soon after this letter, Edith and children moved to Grey Gardens in East Hampton and the home famously fell into disrepair. 'Big Edie' lived in the house for quite some time with her daughter 'Little… -
You will not stop me, Reverend
4 Nov 2009 | 11:15 amNot only is 77 year old Joe Arpaio the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, but he's also known as - and happily promotes usage of the title - 'America's Toughest Sheriff'; a moniker which also happens to feature in the titles of his two published books. In April of this year, Al Sharpton decided to lock horns with Arpaio and publicly demand that Arpaio resign as a result of sweeps the Sheriff's office had been making in order to clamp down on illegal immigrants. Accusations of racial profiling and various human rights violations also followed. Arpaio responded by way of the following letter.
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This Business of Writing
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Tips to Finding Your Writer’s Voice
6 Nov 2009 | 5:34 amTips to Finding Your Writer’s Voice. -
How to Punctuate Dialogue
5 Nov 2009 | 5:13 amHow to Punctuate Dialogue -
Tips for Writing Effective Dialogue
4 Nov 2009 | 4:14 amTips for effective dialogue. -
The Secret to Dialogue vs. Dialect
3 Nov 2009 | 5:43 amDialect vs. Dialogue. How to write dialect and enhance the readability of your manuscript. -
The Hidden Secret to Dialogue
2 Nov 2009 | 3:50 amDialogue may be one of the toughest lessons a successful writer must learn and is often the difference between a novel and a best-selling novel. How then, does one go about mastering written dialogue? This week, I’ll take an in-depth look at the subject. Some say this skill called dialogue cannot be taught. It is an [...]
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Creative Writing Corner
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Photo of the Week
6 Nov 2009 | 7:08 amPostcards from Far Away, originally uploaded by buttonmoOon. The greyish melancholy of this scene, shot through with streaks of sunlight, is quite lovely. Hopefully it will get you in a writerly mood. -
From the Archives
4 Nov 2009 | 10:25 amIt's time for your regular tour through the archives. Take a look at a few posts from roughly one year ago: What Makes You Really Angry? Stewing In Your Own Juice Why Self-Publishing is a Bad Idea What is it Really Like to Be a Writer? -
Identify what Prose You Love
2 Nov 2009 | 5:32 amThere are books out there that I love, and among those I can make divisions. Some I love for the story, characters, or ideas. Others I love purely for their stunning prose. As a writer, I think it's important to find which prose I love and wish I could emulate in my work. So be discerning in your reading. Ask yourself, is this writing I'd like to do someday? Does this match my style? Do I want my style to be more or less like this? Is this good or bad writing? And more than that, figure out what you like specifically and what you would leave behind. Be choosy. Pick out the small things you… -
Have the Courage to Start Again
1 Nov 2009 | 6:46 amSometimes you start work on a story and plunge your heart and soul into it. You put your tears and sweat into this story, and when things seem to get tough you keep tinkering and re-tinkering with it, trying to figure out a way to make it work. It's a losing battle, but you're afraid to let it go. Or else you've just successfully finished a story. It took a tremendous amount of effort, but you worked hard and you know that it's some of your best work. And now the blank page of your next project is staring you in the face. So what do you do when you have to start again? Beginnings, in addition… -
What Do You Love About Halloween?
31 Oct 2009 | 7:59 amHappy Halloween, writers! I hope you're having a good time and are busily planning costumes, parties, and candy. I must say it's one of my favorite holidays, both for the sense of fun and the gorgeous fall foliage. In honor of the day, I'd like to direct you to the post I wrote a while back for a previous halloween about How to Write Horror. Enjoy, be safe, and don't let the zombies bite tonight!
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Freelance Writing Jobs
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6 Tips for Receiving Feedback from Your Freelance Writing Clients
6 Nov 2009 | 12:16 pmClient feedback is essential for freelance writing success. Even though we may not want to receive constructive criticism, not to do so could mean the end of our business. Look at it this way, even negative feedback offers the opportunity for improvement. Soliciting feedback from clients is just good customer service. Some freelancers aren’t sure how to take criticism, or what to say to a client who offers unsolicited advice. What follows are some tips for receiving feedback from your freelance writing clients. 1. Say “thank you” When your clients offer feedback, say… -
10 Tips for Telling if an Article Contains Reliable Information
6 Nov 2009 | 5:41 amBad content floods the web. It’s so bad that schools are giving out guidelines for sites to avoid when collecting information for reports. Many writers also use the web to research information, but how can we know if it’s someone else’s unreliable content rewritten ten times, or if it’s a realistic investigation or expose? Perhaps these tips can help: 1. The article contains verifiable and checkable facts Speculation isn’t fact, it’s speculation. Magazines and reputable websites have fact checkers on hand to check sources and content. Every important bit of… -
Pitch to the “Hidden” Places that Hire Freelance Writers
5 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pmHave you ever done a search for “freelance writer” only to land on a gig that isn’t for a freelance writer at all? For example you may land on a job for an editor who has to “supervise freelance writers” or a managing editor who has to “hire freelance writers”. Don’t click away from these gigs yet. They’re actually offering valuable information — they’re telling you these businesses hire freelance writers. Even though they don’t have job ad requesting freelance writers, it doesn’t mean they’re not open to… -
Hey Content Sites: Enough With All The Job Ads Already
5 Nov 2009 | 10:21 amI take a lot of heat for defending certain content sites who hire writers for entry level opportunities. However, I have a pet peeve with many, and I’m sure you’ll share my sentiments. I can’t stand when web content sites flood the job boards. Every city, every state, every town, and in some cases, every country. Most writers look beyond their towns for finding freelance writing work. They look in the major cities and they check job search engines such as Indeed. There’s no need to flood the feeds. This only makes you look spammy. We see your ads, we simply don’t… -
Tax Tips for UK Freelancers
5 Nov 2009 | 5:15 amby James Hendicott Working for yourself is great, isn’t it? You get an open schedule, a nice mixed bag of employers and plenty of creative freedom. Wait, nobody told you about the paperwork? Well, if you’re a casual freelancer with a small income, you might not have to worry too much (see how to pay, and how to calculate payments). If this is the start of something big, though, you’d better get on with registration… here’s a quick lowdown on freelance tax issues to get you started: How to register with HMRC: So you’ve just received that first fulfilling payment as a freelancer?
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Mysterious Matters: Mystery Publishing Demystified
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Overblurbing, Underselling, and the Dustbin of History
3 Nov 2009 | 10:50 amWell, I have to thank the readership of Mysterious Matters for making me feel as though I have arrived as a blogger. I'm late with this most recent blog, and a few readers have written to ask me if I'm doing OK. Doing fine (thanks for asking); I just tend to write when the spirit moves me as opposed to on any specific schedule. And a few things have come up.... A couple of weeks ago I talked a bit about blurbing. I forgot about what may be the most massive case of over-blurbing I have ever encountered. Check out the hardcover of Celia Fremlin's Possession, published… -
Subtlety Gets Us Nowhere
23 Oct 2009 | 3:50 pmWith all that's being written about the Kindle, and the future of publishing, and books vs. electronic products, I thought I should go on record as saying I have no idea how it will all pan out. I HOPE that more options means more books sold, regardless of format, which would mean more revenue for publishers and more royalties for authors. I fear, as many do, Amazon's Microsoftian attempt at world domination in this arena, but that's another whole story not worth getting worked up about, at this time.I use this as a starting off point to talk about a mild fetish of mine,… -
Interns Taking Over the Publishing Biz
16 Oct 2009 | 3:59 pmToo much going on this week for a "real post" (a certain convention is in full swing), but the following is making the rounds, and rightfully so. The person who wrote it knows the business. http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/10/19/091019sh_shouts_weiner/ What is the solution? Some would say, "Publish many fewer books, especially in fiction." What can readers do? Ask your library to buy books, and buy only NEW books from bookstores or online booksellers. -
What the Hell Does "Well Written" Mean?
9 Oct 2009 | 3:06 pmSo, everyone says that for a book to get agented and published, it has to be "well written." I'm not sure that is 100% true - we can all think of people who have made the best-seller lists whose books are competently, or borderline-competently written, but not WELL written.However, I think it's fairly safe to say that if you are an unknown (i.e., non-celebrity, non-politician, non-sportstype, non-CEO), your manuscript has to be well written. This is one of those terms, I realize, that is bandied about without ever being quite defined. I suppose we could say it's… -
Why We Persevere
2 Oct 2009 | 3:30 pmThose who read Mysterious Matters with any regularity know that I am a tiresome and sometime long-winded advocate of small and independent presses. Independently held publishers have long been a source of innovation and fresh new voices, as well as fabulous books that our corporate cousins find too quirky, or not commercial enough, for their tastes. I have been hoping to have the voices of other small presses contribute to Mysterious Matters, and I feel fortunate this week to present a guest blog by Meredith Phillips, editor at…
