Online Writing Tips

Writing for Publications in a Different Country

2008-11-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Q: I’d like to write articles for publications in a different country. Can you offer any tips?

A: With the internet and email, it’s never been easier for a freelance writer to access new markets and pick up good commissions in other countries. This is good news for all writers but, to be successful, you need to have the right approach. Consider the following:

1. Study your target publication. Be familiar with the magazine that you hope to write for. Research a copy or look for the publication’s articles that have been printed online.

2. Ask the editor for the Writer Guidelines and make sure you adhere to every point.

3. Write for your target audience and be aware of the different style / format. If you are writing for an American magazine, you need to write for an American readership.

4. Avoid using colloquial and slang terms in your work which international readers may not be familiar with.

5. Consider the terms of any contractual agreements.

6. Gain advice from your bank about issues such as exchange rates and charges for international payments.

If you are open to submitting your writing to publications in different countries, you increase your chances of success. With attention to detail and good research, you really can have a world-wide audience for your work.

Freelance Writing: Writers Beware!

2008-11-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Life can be tough for the freelance writer. It takes a lot of hard work to gain contracts to earn a decent living. So, the last thing you need is to fall victim to a company or publisher who fails to pay for the commissioned writing services you’ve provided.

When you become a self-employed writer, you need to be aware that there are companies out there, some unscrupulous, who commission writers then fail to pay. At the same time, there are publications (often new ones) that hire writers to undertake work before disappearing without explanation or apology, let alone payment. It’s a sad fact that magazines and publishing ventures do fold or experience financial difficulties and, if this happens, there appears to be little a writer can do except try selling any completed material elsewhere.

Failure to be paid for commissioned work is a problem affecting beginners and established writers alike. It seems to be rife in the creative world and yet wouldn’t be tolerated in other industries. The problem is that although you could pursue payment via the legal system, it’s not often cost or time effective for us writers nor practical if the company concerned has disappeared or gone bankrupt.

As an established writer, I’ve encountered three incidents of being commissioned for work by publishers who failed to honour payment in the past year. These were all genuine publishing companies too! One involved a newsletter publisher who decided to wind down the venture without notice and failed to pay the substantial amount owed. Another concerned a national magazine publisher who commissioned a feature then changed their editorial direction. The last one happened recently. The editor of a new green magazine commissioned me to write an article then promptly disappeared!

Where the national magazine was concerned, I managed to negotiate a kill fee (50% of the agreed fee paid for commissioned work). This was duly paid. The newsletter publishing company made a token fee but didn’t honour the payment arrangement. As to the green magazine, it must have recycled itself as I’ve not heard anything since! It’s obviously infuriating when commissions fail to pay but if no resolution can be found, the writer has no choice but to move on.

To reiterate, these were all genuine publishers – not unscrupulous companies deliberately out to deceive or treat writers unfairly but publishers who were experiencing financial difficulties or a change of situation which, unfortunately, created an adverse knock-on effect. What we writers find intolerable though is when such publishers / editors fail to communicate when they can’t pay. It’s far worse, in my opinion, when we are left wondering. I would certainly be more understanding if an editor / publisher explained a problem rather than having to endure the `not knowing’. This way, writers can move-on and decide whether to re-write the work or sell elsewhere.

Safeguarding your Writing Business

The incidences of writers being treated unfairly seems to be on the rise. As writers, we need to do all we can to protect ourselves from unscrupulous dealings and safeguard our work against theft and non-payment. You may already have procedures in place but, if not, here’s what you can do:

1. When you gain a commission do some research and establish who you are working for.

2. Make sure you have the company’s full contact details. If not provided, ask for names and postal address.

3. Keep copies of any communication that has taken place such as letters of commission and offers of payment.

4. Carefully read the terms of any contracts / writers agreements. Do not accept or sign such an agreement until you understand and agree to the terms. Read the small-print. Make sure you are not giving away `all rights’ to your work (unless you want to do so in lieu perhaps of a higher payment).

5. Don’t be afraid to discuss payment. Remember, you are offering a service as a writer. You are providing your time, expertise and skill. You are also using your equipment and utilities to produce the material. Even if you are writing for sheer joy and to be published, at least cover your expenses and make sure you are paid fairly for commissioned work. You are doing yourself and other writers a great disservice if you don’t!

6. If you are undertaking a substantial amount of work for an unknown publisher / company, ask for an advance payment.

7. If payment is late, submit a professional reminder (the Freelance Writers’ Business Kit has sample letter templates which you can use).

8. If the publisher / company admit to experiencing financial difficulties, don’t get angry! Try to negotiate a settlement fee or payment arrangement.

9. More difficult is if the company who has commissioned you to produce material disappears seemingly without trace. Try to follow up using the contact information you have. If you fail to resolve, move on! Record it as a loss / bad debt in your accounts (ask your accountant for advice). Revise the material, if possible…recycle it and look for a new market.

10. If you suspect a company has published or used your work without payment or permission, the company could be in breach of copyright. You can take legal action and will need to gain professional advice.

Sometimes, a commission can fall through for reasons beyond your control. Magazines fold, editors’ move on and companies can have unexpected financial problems … that’s part of the course and you should anticipate this can happen at any stage of your writing career. Although demoralising, don’t dwell on it. After over 20 years’ in the writing business, I’ve found that the best way to deal with such situations is to quickly move on and focus on turning a negative into a positive. There are always other opportunities and more successful outcomes!

Travel Articles Writing Tips

2008-11-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Travel is booming. No doubt about it. It seems like everyone with a mouse and keyboard has visited Orbitz, Expedia, et al, for the best rates on trips to ... well, to everywhere. Dropping prices make travel that much more appealing to an ever-widening group of Americans.

This mini-boom in travel has had the side effect of increasing the number of travel-article markets, both on-line and off. Magazines that wouldn't have considered running travel a few years ago are clamboring to bolster their travel-related content. And why not. The travel industry is a mega-monster constantly seeking to gobble up new customers. In publishing lingo, that translates into travel-related advertising revenue. Come one, come all. It's gravy time!

You can cash in on the scramble for travel features. Just remember that, in a glutted freelance market, you're not alone. To give yourself a competitive edge over other travel writers (including those who specialize in the genre), keep these tips in mind.

Know your market

Just as not all magazines are alike, not all travel markets are the same. It's no surprise that medical magazines gear their travel pages to their readers (doctors, mostly) and where they most want to go. Environmental magazines concentrate their coverage on hands-on eco-related excursions. Cruise magazines want destinations accessible by ship.

Try selling a piece on the bars of Puerto Vallarta to Sierra and you're simply wasting your time

Do sweat the details

Some magazines have a strict taboo against fam (familiarization) trips. If you're planning on accepting anything from a travel agent, airline, cruise line, or hotel, make sure the editor knows up front and doesn't object.

Similarly, some magazines want all rights to publication (including Internet rights), some want only print rights, and some negotiate rights separately. Understand in advance what you're giving up so that no one is disappointed or disillusioned afterwards.

Don't get greedy

One of the prime tip-offs inexperienced writers give seasoned editors is something like this: "I've got a great idea for a travel piece to Miami and want to know if you pay expenses." Or this: "I'd like to write an article for you. How much do you pay?" Or one of our personal favorites: "I want to do an article for you. Can I have an assignment?"

Here's a guy the editor has never worked with before, whose credentials may or may not be accurate as presented, and who may or may not actually come through with the article that the editor requested to see and can actually use. Now he wants expenses? An assignment? A payment guarantee? Uh-huh. Sure.

In short, don't insult the editor's intelligence by trying to get him to commit to something before he's actually seen the piece and gets comfortable working with you. What this all boils down to is that you have to give any relationship time to grow--and that includes a writer-editor relationship. When the editor is convinced you're a writer who delivers what he promises, you'll know it. Then if you have an idea for an assignment, or need help with costs, or need a certain amount of money out of a piece, you can ask for it without fear of alienating him.

Slant your article

It's a simple enough concept. Your recent trip to the jungles of Peru might fly in Smithsonian or National Geographic, but with a little fine-tuning, you can also make it appealing to magazines with a greatly different subscriber base. If you're going to sell the same trip to Rolling Stone or Mother Jones, work in a human-interest element. (Remember your guide and how he introduced you to his family, all struggling financially to stay alive?)

Somebody once said there's only one story, but there are a million different slants. It's true. With the right slant, you can sell the same basic trip to dozens of different magazines.

Don't get too personal

When used properly, working yourself or people you know into the article can be effective. But unless the magazine thrives on personal reminiscences (and few do), you'll do well to keep personal intrusions to a minimum. After all, editors want to share the place with their readers, not the writer writing about it. A little "Marge and I" goes a long, long way in a travel piece.

Build a reputation

In order to capture those all-important repeat sales, you'll need to convince your editors that you're reliable, factual, and prompt, as well as a damned good writer. You can do this by following these maxims:

Never promise anything in a query letter that you can't deliver.
Never miss a deadline without a very good reason, and then alert the editor as far in advance as possible of just how late you're going to be.
Always fact-check your articles through diligent research at reliable sources before submitting.

Take care of this business first, and you can't help but be a successful travel writer. I guarantee it.

Overcoming "Stress"

2008-11-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Imagine a heavy barbell you've managed to bench-press up off your chest. Your arms are extended, but the weight remains at arm's length, exerting pressure. Now that you've been holding it up for a while, it's starting to quiver, you're beginning to sweat, and there's no one around to spot you. It's that hopeless feeling you may think of as stress: that you're running out of strength and energy, and eventually the weight is going to crush you.

Been there? There now?

As a clinical psychologist at the UCLA school of medicine for the past two decades, I've treated hundreds of men who feel the weight of jobs, families, and financial responsibilities bearing down on them. And I've helped most of them relieve the pressure by convincing them of one thing: Stress doesn't exist.

That's right. You heard me correctly. Stress will one day take its place in medical history as a disease we couldn't cure because it didn't exist. The idea of stress was first floated by Dr. Hans Selye in 1936. (Rather strange that no one noticed this "disease" before then.) Since its "discovery," we have cured polio and made progress with almost every cancer, yet by all accounts, stress remains in epidemic proportions. Those who suffer from it usually report one or more of the following symptoms: rapid heart rate, neck tension, lower-back pain, dry mouth, headache, loss of interest in sex, overeating, stomach distress, frequent urination, diarrhea, crying, insomnia, fatigue, sweating, and rapid breathing.

But these are not symptoms of that phantom disease, stress. Rather, they are symptoms of an emotion that's far more primitive. An emotion that originates in a pea-size part of the brain called the amygdala. An emotion that causes our hearts to beat faster, our muscles to tense, our mouths to dry, and our digestive systems to shut down (is this sounding familiar?) as we prepare to either fight or flee. It is the age-old emotion of fear.

When highly successful men describe the challenges of life, they seldom use the word "stress." Instead they speak like this:

"When you are running an institution, you are always scared at first. You are afraid you'll break it. People don't think about leaders this way, but it's true. Everyone who is running something goes home at night and wrestles with the same fear. Am I going to be the one who blows this place up?" --Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric

". . . being scared to death was a condition of life in submarine warfare in the South Pacific. Being afraid is okay, if you are afraid with dignity. To a greater or lesser extent, fear is a part of the challenge." --Pat Riley, NBA coach

"Going on stage is part catharsis for me, but it is always trying to work out my own fears." --Robin Williams, comedian/actor

React Like a 3-Year-Old

Why do these successful guys use the word "fear" rather than "stress" when describing the same emotional responses we all share? Being scared is the language of children, but they're not afraid to use it. This isn't immaturity or weakness; it's honesty.

Children never say they're "anxious about the bogeyman" or "stressed about thunder." Rather, they recognize they can't control the world, and they acknowledge the resulting anxiety for what it is: fear. To learn how to handle fear better, they engage it by watching scary movies or dressing as monsters on Halloween. Rather than push the emotion out of their minds as adults often do, they learn to understand and, ultimately, handle it without being enslaved by the thing that scares them.

Successful men realize that the bigger the challenge, the more fear shows up. Like children, they accept fear as the price of being alive. Other men see fear as a disease or a sign of failure that's to be avoided at all costs. They don't think about it, talk about it, or even admit to having it. As a result, they end up depressed, angry, or fatigued, or become abusers of food, alcohol, or other people. Even worse, they may avoid pursuing their dreams just to avoid the essential emotion--fear--that they've labeled an enemy and are misinterpreting as stress.

In order to escape the symptoms of fear, you must admit to being scared. The more you desire in life, the more fear arises as the body's way of preparing itself for action. It's not a sign of weakness, but a signal of success and a call for courage. Assume that whenever you're upset or unhappy, there is fear underneath. There are only two basic fears: One is that you're not worthwhile or good enough to get the job, the woman, whatever; and the other is that you're going to lose control, such as in health or financial concerns. I'd wager that these fears underlie what many people think of as stress.

Turn Off the Alarm

But there's another facet to this. The fight-or-flight alarm system we all carry was designed to sound, create a response, and then shut down. When a deer is scared, it runs. When a lion is frightened, it attacks. But when a man is afraid, he obsesses about it and complains that he's stressed. He leaves his alarm system on, clanging. And the consequences can be deadly.

The healthy human response is, again, to do what children do. Reach to others for support. Men who do so live longer, have lower cholesterol, are more likely to endure crises without becoming ill, are more effective leaders, and have a greater chance of finding (and keeping) romance. Successful men have friends they can lean on in time of need.

Do you see the logic? The symptoms you're feeling are normal, healthful signals from a body faced with a life challenge (positive or negative). Our masculine culture values stoicism and independence, but what your body really craves is to draw strength from others.

So the next time you're feeling stressed, do two things: Identify your fear, and find people who can help you deal with it. You need emotional spotters, my friend.
Doing these two simple things will allow you to safely lower that quivering barbell and then push it back up many more times. You'll gain strength against the only enemy worth fighting: your fear.

Preparing a Writer's Resume

2008-11-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

Call it a resume, call it a precis. Whatever you call it, make sure it helps you sell yourself to those editors who don't yet know you!

All of us have to do it from time to time ... cold-call on an editor who doesn't know us from Adam. Sure, a query letter works well when introducing our projects. But even when an idea for a book or a short story catches an editor's eye, there's always the nagging thought in the back of his mind: "Yeah, but can this writer really deliver?"

You see, editors hate taking a chance on a an unknown writer by tying up his time and resources, planning on publishing an article on the history of Amtrak, for example, only to have the writer fail to come through in the end. That's where a writing resume comes in.

A resume helps to sell an editor on you--as a reliable, trustworthy writer who deserves an assignment ... or, at least, a closer look. By reviewing your writing-related accomplishments, an editor can get a pretty good idea of whether or not you can be relied upon to deliver what your query letter or outline promises.

What's that, you say? You haven't had anything published? You're new at the freelance writing game? You haven't written much of anything before and don't have a real literary track record to follow? Well, don't be too sure.

Have you ever had a letter-to-the-editor printed in a local newspaper? Have you ever self-published anything like a book or a pamphlet? Have you published anything on a Web site or a home page?

Have you written promotional copy for a brochure? A church picnic? A service club? Have you done any book or product reviews, either for the print media or the Internet?

Have you entered any writing contests and won any awards? Do you belong to any writing groups, either amateur or professional? Have you helped anyone else out with his or her writing? Or perhaps critiqued someone's writing, either formally or otherwise?

Have you worked anywhere near a book, newspaper, or magazine publishing house? A television or radio station?

Have you ever taught English as a first or second language either at a school or at someplace less formal, either here or in another country? Have you ever shown someone how to write a more effective business letter or been asked to edit or re-write someone else's correspondence? Have you received any awards or compliments for your communications skills? And, by the way, what courses did you take in high school and college? Anything related to writing, communication, journalism, media, filmmaking, photography, etc? Were you an editor or a reporter for the school newspaper or yearbook?

If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, you have a good head start on your writing resume. No editor wants to know that you were a member of the Skokie High School Chess Club, but someone will be interested in knowing that you helped write a brochure or a paper (call it an article, please!) on how to play better chess.

If you don't have any published material to show off, show off your unpublished stuff. If you've written seventeen short stories--but have nothing published yet--list the seventeen short stories. Most editors are more concerned about your being a quality writer who lives up to his word than a widely published one. Prove that you can do what you say you can and back it up with a writing resume that says you're both creative and industrious, and we can almost guarantee a by-line in your near future.

Writers Reveal : Why, How, Where, When

2008-11-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

I get most of my ideas from some type of interaction with a child at any age group and any type of activity. Sometimes just floating on our flat boat on our pond with my son. While the sun glistens on the water and the dragonflies gently land on us. Also, listening to what kids are saying and "take the time."

--Karen

How: That’s a toughie, but I tend to like writing with a computer in front of me. Computers are convenient because it’s nice and neat and so easy to use. But, sometimes, there’s a downside. Some people can get stuck using a computer all the time, if you’re like me that is, and most writers are at some point. In that case, whip out the good ol’ pad and pencil; sometimes there’s nothing like them. A pad and pencil help me to forget all of the technology around me, and just really think about what I’m writing. Usually, my best writing comes from my paper-entries; whenever I get stuck on my novel, or even writing an essay for school, I always turn back to my faithful Steno-pad. And it’s ok if you start over several times in a notebook, DON’T tear out the pages, until you’re completely finished: you’d be surprised how several false starts can come together to form a beautiful beginning to your project.

Where: Well, for me personally, it’s wherever I feel comfortable at the moment. Usually, however that’s at the computer desk in front of my screen, but when I use a notebook, I’ll most likely end up on the couch or in a comfortable chair with my feet up and a nice cushion to my back. Not too comfortable, or you’ll get drowsy! But, a few times in the past, I’ve ended up outside, even in the tree house with my sibling. Wherever you feel like going at the moment, go. It’s the best advice I can give; don’t fret about it, just do it. Get comfortable, and let your mind unfold.

When: For me, most times when a thought pops into my head that I think is worth remembering. I don’t really have a schedule, though I do tend to write better at night or early in the morning. But sometimes, there’s no stopping me; if the dialogue I’ve been working on suddenly falls in place, I write it down, no matter what time of day. (I even halted my sleep at 11:30 one night and wrote down an entire conversation because I knew I wouldn’t remember it the next morning). It’s ok: if you keep weird hours, you keep weird hours, don’t feel bad. Writers have imaginations, and they usually don’t stop for rest.

Why: Now that’s the big one. I write because I love it, characters and places open up to me, new worlds are born. Ideas are sorted out, conflictions are solved, and life’s questions are one step further to being answered. I also like to write because I want to give people the joy and excitement that I get every time I open a beloved book. You know that feeling you get when Tolkien describes Aragorn and Eomer standing alongside each other at Helm’s Deep? Or when the Black Knight rushes into the burning castle to save Ivanhoe and the Saxon princess? That’s why I write, because I want to give people those characters to love and cherish, and those emotions to keep whenever they read my works. Hopefully, someday that will happen. But for know, I’m writing to improve and better what I do know, and to gain experience in the world of publishing. And people’s feelings about writing change. Sometimes you start out to get famous, and end up doing it just because you love it, even though you never get recognition for it. That’s alright, too. Write just because you love it.

-- Walker

How: I put pen to page before typing anything. Maybe something about scribbling in my own script is more organic or tactile, so creativity flows better. More likely that it is just habit born of necessity…I started writing as a child and only had a typewriter for eight years, which I had saved to purchase for myself on my thirteenth birthday, and I had a limited budget for correction tape and typing paper.

When: I write three afternoons a week while my daughter is at childcare, and at night after she goes to bed. Mornings are reserved for housework, errands, or rest. I have two chronic pain conditions, so pain or sleepless nights or medication side effects can throw off the schedule, but I stick to it as much as possible.

Where: My living room is the most uncluttered room in my apartment, and I feel more creative and able to concentrate there since it is empty of distractions that call to those who work at home. Then I go to my desk in a corner of the bedroom and type. When confined to my bed or couch, I write there and type manuscripts on a laptop. I move into a house soon, instead of sharing a one-bedroom apartment with my preschooler, which will afford me an office – with a door! It will include my big, soft (but not “sleepy soft”) wingback chair, where I can curl up my legs, place a steno pad on my lap, and draft manuscripts.

Why: I could say that for ten years as a corporate writer, I wrote because I had to, but that is not entirely true. I did, but I also created additional opportunities to write within my positions. Writing is a well-fed compulsion for me. I help with resumés and editing and proofreading because a lot of people have interesting experiences and ideas but stink at presentation. I write for parents because parenting is difficult, and sometimes we are drained of ideas and solutions, and need to know we are not alone in our struggles. I write for children because I love the optimism with which they approach life. I write poetry so I don’t implode. I write ten-page letters when my fingers are itching and I can’t think of anything else to write, just so I don’t waste the moment. I write because I love to write and it is what I do best. I write because my words are a legacy, and that is the closest I may ever get to fulfilling my delusions of grandeur.

--Brandy

Why: Writing is the skill I am best at but, more importantly, it is part of my heart and soul. I view words like a painter views paint. A painter creates a picture of beauty or heartbreak from paint while I do the same with words. Words, if used correctly and in the context of a situation, can provide a vision for people that will motivate the individual to take action. The best writing grows fine with age, just like wine.

When: I can write anyplace that provides inspiration. That may be at night, in the morning or in the afternoon. I prefer to write at night, however. Late at night I can think about what I have seen and can take the time to find the best words to say. Through experience, I have found that late at night is my best time for me to put in the right perspective what I have done, seen, or heard that day.

How: I use the old-fashioned method of paper and pencil for the first few drafts but then use a desktop PC for the final drafts.

Where: I can write in almost any setting but I am not a people person. I suppose you have to be to be a writer but when writing, prefer places with few people or a private hideway. My two favorite places are my home office with all my research books and my van. There is great inspiration in traveling to different places and writing about the different cultures you see.

--Mike

Why: I write because it has become a part of who I am. It’s like a mad addiction of which there is no escape. Writing is not just my job, it is something I truly love doing and I honestly believe that if I was ever into a position in which I couldn’t write, I would literally lose my mind!

How: Interestingly, and quite ironically, several years back I developed a repetitive motion injury. Yet, such an injury does not mean certain death to a writer. In fact, I use a speech recognition program to compose my works and such software allows me to avoid the constant strain of repetitious movement. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for modern technology!

When: I write professionally, so often times I have to write. Nonetheless, I also write because I love doing so and find that in the late night hours, when the entire house is quiet, I find my muse most active!

Where: I write wherever and whenever I can. For instance, sometimes I draft works in a journal or notebook and later convert them to text. Thus, I am free to write pretty much any where I want to. Sometimes I like writing outdoors, but most times I write in my home office. Finally, I always make sure that I either have a notebook or a mini tape recorder with me to document ideas; ideas can be slippery and I want to be sure that I get them as soon as they reveal themselves!

--Dayna

Why: I write because I have to. I see characters around me all day long, waiting to be used in stories. A few weeks ago there was a tiny old woman driving in front of me. She was going very slowly on the expressway, when a cop cut her off. Up ahead we both passed the cop, who had pulled someone over, on the side of the road. I watched as the old lady slowed down even more, and gave the cop the finger as she passed. She appeared to be quite a character in real life; imagine what you could do with her in a story.

When: I can write any time of day. I've gotten up at the crack of dawn to scribble down an idea I had, and I've stayed up late into the night, also.

How: I use my laptop to write. I also carry a small notebook with me to work so I can jot down ideas or snatches of conversations I overhear.

Where: I write best without a lot of people around me. This rules out coffee shops, even though I do go there sometimes. I usually end up people-watching. (But then I get some good characters out of that, so not all is lost.) I'm in my writing zone when I'm in my office with candles burning and music playing. The music can be anything from Enya to Metallica; whatever puts me in the mood.

--Lisa

Grammar Rules: Create First, Edit Second

2008-11-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

The best advise I can give regarding grammar is don't let it consume you. Sit down in front of your computer or pick up a pen and writing pad and start creating. Don't worry about grammar or where to stick commas, this isn't the stage to allow yourself to be distracted. Write whatever you want, let it flow from you to the page. Then, and only then, once you've finished put down that pen or save your Word document. Get up and go make a cup of tea, or dance around the house (don't laugh, I actually have done this). Allow fifteen minutes or so to clear your head. Return to your written piece and start editing it—check your grammar and punctuation. Look up any word you're unsure of in an approved good quality dictionary for your country. Once you think the piece is at its best, give it to someone you trust to proofread. It doesn't matter if it's a family member, friend, neighbor, work colleague or professional editor. Listen to their comments regarding the content and understand they're trying to help. They are giving their points of view, perhaps covering an area you haven't considered. Pay attention to what they question. Are they questioning it because they are having trouble understanding? Perhaps it's not clear enough; if so, then consider other ways of wording it. If they point out a word or punctuation mark that seems inappropriate—look it up!

If your goal is to have your work published, then you have to be professional—that means your attitude and your work. You've probably heard this many times, but it is important. If you were applying for a job, you'd make sure your résumé was impressive before sending it anywhere. Sending your piece to a publisher works the same way. You're competing against all those other writers. Don't give up; hard work and dedication will get you there, but be prepared for the long haul. Everybody wants their dreams to come today, but the most important dreams take time. And when those dreams start to turn into reality—you'll know you are on your way. So let's cover some of those pesky grammar and punctuation queries here over time to help make your pieces stand out and scream—I'm a professional, hire me!

Let’s start with the mighty full stop (or period, or dot, or whatever you like to call them). Such a small mark and it has an important role. It tells us when to stop and when to start. In a group of three it indicates an interruption in speech. And we’d be lost if we didn’t include them in web site and email addresses.

A single full stop ends a sentence and indicates a new sentence. One space follows the full stop. Back in the typewriting days, two spaces was considered the normal rule. Now with our speedy computers that can save and retrieve pages and pages at a click of the button, the need for two spaces no longer applies.

A series of three dots, or ellipsis points, shows a word or words are missing from a quote. Let’s imagine we are listening to a speaker try to emphasize the importance of drafting and editing a manuscript:

“After you write your story, you need to rewrite it and rewrite it, edit it and edit it and edit it for it to stand a chance of publication.”

The speaker does get the message across clearly, and could quite possibly scare the audience. But we might not want to use the entire quote, or scare anyone from writing, so we might end up with something like this:

“After you write your story, you need to rewrite it … and edit it for it to stand a chance of publication.”

The point is still clear, but a little less frightening and it reads better.

It can also indicate an unfinished sentence displayed as dialogue.

Example:

“But I told you, I never …”
“You told me nothing!”

The first person has more to say but has been interrupted by the second person cutting in. Notice how there are only three dots at the end of the first line. Never add another full stop even if it is at the end. The only punctuation marks that can precede or follow an ellipsis are question marks, exclamation marks, and as seen in the first line, quotation marks.

Should a space be left on either side of an ellipsis? That depends on where you are, and where the document is intended. For example, spaces on either side of the ellipsis are omitted for publications with space restrictions such as newspapers. Check the style manual for your area or the house style of the intended publication.

That’s enough theory for now, you’re probably anxious to get back to creating your next masterpiece. Happy writing!

Grammar Rules: Active and Passive Voice

2008-11-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, it's a fact that many new writers—and some experienced ones—drift into the passive voice. When I started writing, my teachers all said, “You’re writing in the passive voice. Use an active voice instead. It will make your writing more interesting.”

“Okay, explain the difference to me,” I always replied.

They all offered the same explanation: “With the active voice, the subject undertakes the action. With the passive voice, the subject is being acted upon,” (or words to that effect).

This did little to help me, but no one seemed able to describe it in any other terms, which led me to countless hours spent surrounded by open books. It was surprising how many books use the same phrasing that the teachers did. What I wanted was a way to detect when I have moved from active to passive. So, for all those writers who have trouble with this concept, I’m going to try to explain it in the simplest possible terms.

How can you tell if you have slipped into the passive voice? Look for the word “by.”

Here is an example of passive voice: “The trespasser was chased by a bull yesterday.”

It takes little work to rewrite the above sentence in the active voice, as the following sentence shows: “A bull chased the trespasser yesterday.”

Notably, there are also passive sentences that do not contain the word “by.” With such sentences we have to rely on the golden rule. I’m afraid I’m going to sound like one of those teachers I mentioned earlier, but once again, active voice is when the subject undertakes the action, and passive voice is when the subject is being acted upon.

Here is another example of a passive sentence: “The matter will be looked into further and a solution will be found.”

Notice that there is ambiguity with this example. Who is looking into the problem? The ambiguity gives a hint that the sentence is written in the passive voice.

Don’t be afraid to reword the sentence to transform it into the active voice, as in this example: “The mailroom personnel will check into the problem and rectify it immediately.”

Active voice can make a sentence more exciting by speeding up the pace, and it is especially useful when the writer wants the reader to feel anxiety or suspense. But the passive voice does have its place. It can help the reader to catch his or her breath after an exciting, fast-paced section. It is also extremely useful in corporate writing, and to soften the effects of blame on an individual or group.

Here is an example of useful passive voice: “The letter failed to be sent on time by the mailroom personnel.”

The example clearly blames a particular group, but is softened by the use of the passive voice.

The following sentence, which is written in active voice, shows a more brutal attack: “The mailroom personnel didn’t send the letter on time.”

Hopefully these hints will help alert you to the passive voice. You will probably find yourself writing more and more in the active voice. Good luck and happy writing.

Grammar Rules: Habits Of Speech To Avoid

2008-11-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

Habits of speech have a tendency to creep into our writing. Things that are accepted or ignore in everyday conversations should be avoided when writing. Have you ever said, or heard, something like this?

The movie starts at 7.30 pm at night.
Her dress was the colour of blue.
The final score was dismal at the end of the game.
I’m telling the truth, he was killed to death!
I ride my two-wheel bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

These are tautologies. A tautology is saying the same thing twice. Let’s look at those examples again.

The movie starts at 7.30 pm at night.

There is no need to indicate it’s at night as the ‘pm’ already tells us this.

The movie starts at 7.30 pm.

Her dress was the colour of blue.

Blue is a colour.

Her dress was blue.

The final score was dismal at the end of the game.

A final score indicates the end of the game.

The final score was dismal.

I’m telling the truth, he was killed to death!

Some times when we try to emphasis a point we can fall into the trap of over doing it. Dead is dead; there are no in-betweens.

I’m telling the truth, he was killed!

However, it is okay to say, ‘He was stabbed to death’, because people can survive a stabbing.

I ride my two-wheel bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

Bicycle means a two-wheeled bike.

I ride my bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

Some tautologies stand out, but some are used in everyday conversations so they can go unnoticed. Keep a look out for them, and then avoid them.

What do all of the following have in common?

Needle in a haystack.
Not over until it’s over.
Plenty of fish in the sea.
A hard slog.
Kicked the bucket.
Beat a dead horse, or flog a dead horse, or whatever variation of it.

They are clichés. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it’s amazing how often they still manage to slip in. Any phrase or expression which is overused is a cliché and shouldn’t be used. If you have a character that has a tendency to use such phrases when talking, then of course you’ll probably want to use a couple to enforce this character trait, but don’t over do it. Usually overdone expressions annoy people, especially when reading. There is nothing that can ruin a story faster for me then when I see cliché after cliché. I feel disappointed when they are in a published book by a professional author. It’s as if the author didn’t care enough about his or her readers to take an extra five minutes to think of another way of saying it.

A simple rule: if you’ve heard it before, and pretty sure most other people have then don’t use it. Be creative, and think how else you can say it or describe it.

Grammar Rules: Say Bye To Those Really, Really Nice Words

2008-11-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

We’ve already talked about tautologies; now, I would like to discuss other areas where certain words are used that should not make the final draft. Writing is a skill like any other skill that has to be learnt. And when we learn new skills, we have a tendency to fall into some bad habits. Knowing what these bad habits are will help make you aware so that you can avoid the slip-ups.

Follow me on this line of thought; you’re writing a story and want to describe a person’s height, so you think for a minute, and eventually you end up with a phrase such as this:

He was a very tall man.

What is the problem with this sentence? It weakens the writing. First of all, take out ‘very’ and all the other words like it (‘really,’ ‘nice,’ ‘pretty,’ and while you’re at it throw out ‘cute’ too) and don’t use them. They are over-used and do not strengthen your work.

Now we are left with:

He was a tall man.

That’s better, but how tall is he? Is he taller than average? Does he stoop to walk through doorways? Of course, we can state his height as in the following example:

He was a tall man – six feet and six inches.

Or we can use a bit of creative power; think about what it is you’re trying to say. In this instance, I see (in my mind, that is) a man in a crowd, but he’s a good foot taller than the rest, which makes him stand out easily. Once you have the image, play around with words until you find something you like that still gives a clear picture that this man is tall.

He was a tall man, standing a foot taller than the rest of the crowd.

His head bobbed above the sea of faceless heads.

Even though he was a head taller than the rest of the crowd, she didn’t hold out much hope for him to see her. She had been dubbed ‘Pixie’ for a reason.

Another overused word is ‘that.’ It doesn’t mean you can’t use it, but see if the sentence can stand without it. Imagine your sentence is a building and each word is supporting the roof. If a word doesn’t need to be there, or if it’s not supporting the roof from falling in, get rid of it.

That’s (chuckle) all, have fun writing.

Grammar Rules: The Power of Adjectives

2008-11-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

Adjectives carry a fascinating role; they describe a noun. (A noun is the name of a person, place or thing, hence the common reference ‘a naming word’.) Adjectives can give nouns shape, color, even feeling. Take a look at these examples:

It’s a cold day.

Tony is a tall boy.

He was a con man.

The dog was scared.

In one word these amazing adjectives have conjured up a picture. What happens when we take the adjective out?

It’s a day.

Tony is a boy.

He was a man.

The dog was.

It leaves us with sentences that are useless, either stating the obvious or showing no clarity.

Therefore adjectives are necessary in creative writing, right? WRONG! Adjectives are so powerful that they tell us, the reader. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, ‘show it, don’t tell it’. This is my round about way of saying the exact same thing.

Showing instead of telling helps the reader experience. It can pull the author’s words from the page and make the story come ‘alive’. Perhaps the reader has been in a similar situation before and can relate, or the scenario may be completely foreign to the reader but skilful wording creates understanding, and feelings. This is the writer’s goal, to create and allow readers to experience all the same things they are reading. It doesn’t matter how old we get; no one likes being told. So doesn’t it make sense when reading that we still don’t want to be told what is happening? We want to experience it right along with characters.

The commuters turned their coat collars up and repositioned scarves while the wind whipped around their reddening faces.

All the schoolboys in the back row except Tony had to stand on a crate for the class photos.

The salesman ignored my questions and continued his fast paced monologue.

The dog backed further into the kennel unable to peel his wide eyes from the explosion in the sky, his whimper drowned out by the New Year celebrations.

Adjectives are a great way to unblock your thoughts. Start off with a simple sentence, for instance: The star twinkled brightly.

Then play with it and watch it grow. It may, for a moment, turn into a single star fighting it’s way through a cloud to be seen, and then ‘hey, presto’, before you know it you’ve launched into a science fiction story, or a falling meteorite that threatens human existence, or another form of life, or whatever. Give it a shot, you may just surprise yourself.

Grammar Rules: Repetition

2008-11-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

It can be hard work to make a passage interesting enough for someone else to read it. There are so many things to remember … don’t do this … don’t do that … but, try to do this … It can be scary, especially for a new writer. These rules are not to scare; they are to help the newbie know what professionals already have learned through hard work, and many years of receiving rejections. That story about wallpapering your walls with rejection slips – it’s true. Unless, of course, you learn from those that have already made every mistake there is.

Which brings us to the next hint: repetition. Try to avoid repeating the same word too often. Please read this:

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! Jack was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. Jack then rushed through the shower so quickly that Jack wasn’t sure if the water actually touched his skin. Jack skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. Jack’s hand reached for the car keys as Jack always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases Jack hadn’t. Jack stared at the empty dish as the colour drained from his face. How was Jack going to get to work on time now?

Sick of reading the name ‘Jack’? Use your alternative pronouns instead of the character’s name to break it up a bit. But don’t overdo it like in this example:

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! He was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. He then rushed through the shower so quickly that he wasn’t sure if the water actually touched his skin. He skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. He reached for the car keys as he always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases he hadn’t. He stared at the empty dish as the colour drained from his face. How was he going to get to work on time now?

The overuse of ‘he’ has become annoying. Let’s do it right this time.

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! He was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. He rushed through the shower so quickly there was doubt if the water actually touched his skin. Jack skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. His hand reached for the car keys; he always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases he didn’t. He stared at the empty dish, the colour drained from his face. How was he going to get to work on time now?

‘And’ is one word that is over used. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great word and is handy, but let’s not get carried away.

And here we are, another beautiful day by the sea, just relaxing and watching the swimmers, and the children building sandcastles and the boats on the horizon. The perfect way to spend a day away from the office and let the hours drift by without a single thought about emails and missed calls and the files that are no doubt piling up.

A few paragraphs of this and you’ll be throwing it into the sea.

The best way to pick up if you’re using a word too often is to read it out aloud. This can be a little embarrassing at first, but you’ll get over it. I used to refuse to read my work aloud because I was embarrassed. Now, people tell me I don’t shut up. They even start thinking I’m on the phone because I’m rambling; actually I’m talking to my computer.

That it for now, keep writing and have fun with it.

Writing: Time to Exercise!

2008-11-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

It can probably be said that everyone is creative in some way, but that is especially true of writers. As writers we tend to pay more attention to the things around us than most people do. We like to ask questions and think about people’s reactions and responses in certain situations. I’ve noticed myself that I like to concoct elaborate “what ifs” and imagine what would happen. Each update will offer a new writing exercise. Let your imagination go with these and see where they take you.

Write down the titles of 5-10 novels, essays, articles, or short stories you have been thinking that you would like to write “someday.” Then pick one of the titles and write the first few pages or paragraphs of the piece that you chose. Write for fifteen to twenty minutes. Now you have a start to writing about something that really interests you, instead of having the idea swimming around in the back of your mind indefinitely.

Find an old coat of yours or purse/backpack with pockets. Search through the pocket and write down all of the items you found. Example: 65 cents, one stick of gum, old bus ticket, receipt to Burger King, free coffee card, etc. Now create a short story using the items from the pocket to help create a character and drive the plot. What type of character would have a free coffee card? Perhaps a university student who drinks a lot of coffee and takes the bus to school. Try to include every item you found in the pocket as part of the story or character.

Pick out someone at the grocery store, in traffic or somewhere else where you're stuck waiting. Take in the details of the person and try to memorize as many as you can. When you get home, freewrite all that you can remember about the person and then create a story about whom he/she truly is. That old granny in like with the dozen eggs? She's really a sky diving instructor! The man picking his nose in the red sedan next to you? He has a secret foot fetish and can't wait to get home to clean out his sniffer! Go crazy and be imaginative!

This week, write your own creation myth. In short story length, explain something fantastic or mundane, for example: Carrots are really the hair clippings of Ares that fall from Olympus...and make it believable!

Do you have a vivid emotional memory? Something sad, happy or even embarrassing? Go back to that moment/event in your mind and write it as a short scene in script/prose form, from an omniscient perspective. This is really good practice for when you need to convey your own character's emotions to your audience.

As a young writer, I enjoyed writing about flying horses, time travel, and men who wore tuxedos. This caused a small problem for me. Some people, mainly geniuses, can create convincing stories about things they don't understand, but I can't.

For years, I wrote terrible stories. And I bored every unlucky reader who was dumb enough to read my stuff. I knew they were bored, but I couldn't figure out why.

Then the answer struck me one day while I was “swiffering” under my bed. I don't know anything about tuxedos. But I do know about dust bunnies. It may not be glamorous, but I can describe the gray, fuzzy puff of a dust bunny in great detail. I can explain just how dust bunny colonies pop up behind my sofa. And, believe it or not, readers prefer dust bunnies over my flat and lifeless old way of writing.

Look around your room and make a list of five interesting objects. The list can include cracks in the wall, priceless oriental vases, or discarded Kit Kat wrappers. Describe each item, write about how the item makes you feel, and then try to write a story or poem incorporating these items.

The Art of Symbolism

2008-11-04T12:12:00.001-08:00

His palms were already moist. The movie hadn’t even started yet and the hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. The intimate thumping in his chest had started again and his lips seemed to be extraordinarily dry and parched.

And the sixty-four thousand dollar question: what is this guy feeling? Is he A) pissed off; B) nervous; C) content; or D) smug. If you guessed B, then ding ding, YOU’VE WON!

The guy in question is obviously dealing with some anxiety worthy of the first date. How do we know? Because we’ve all been there before. We’ve all
experienced it, or at the very least, watched it on television.

The senses have always been the hardest to describe because everyone endures them differently. What does a lemon taste like? Sour. What does sour taste
like? Hmm, good question! We know from experience what it tastes like, and that’s all we’ve got going for us. So we have to improvise by describing.
Being surprised by something sour might make you pinch your face, or make your tongue feel prickly.

The art of implying and showing, rather than stating is called symbolism and started in the late eighteen hundreds onwards. It was called symbolism because they wanted to present the elements that it created, but not the symbol itself. Some of the most famous authors that truly grasped its meaning are Stéphane Mallarme (who wrote the symphonic poem to Debussy’s ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn’) and Paul Verlaine, who were further influenced by Edgar Allan Poe.

Every once in a while, there will be those darn scenes that try to bail out on you, and try to go back to the easier way of stating things as they are. A simple trick is to list the senses and go through them one by one, imagining what it would be like, and not just assuming that the reader will get the same prickles of emotions when reading the facts. Facts aren’t nearly as fun to read.

All things considered, the more symbolic suggestions you make, the more your readers will relate to your situation. Anything to make the first date run smoother.

Plunge Into Complete Pretend and Don’t Panic

2008-11-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

I can easily look around my neighborhood and get ideas. The older couple on the corner, how he seems to spend endless time in the garage and she never gets our names straight. The younger couple on the other corner, how she seems to work tirelessly and he always has a beer in one hand. Then there’s our "crazy" next door neighbors.

I could easily write a short piece about any of them, a slice of real life. But if I want to do something more involved, I need to find a stronger reason for staying there. l also need to give the reader a reason to stay.

I could interview each of these neighbors and find out they actually are fascinating individuals all on their own. Then it’s not fiction, though. It’s a magazine article. Plus, the gig’s up—they’ll know I’m watching them.

So I have to make stuff up.

Our next door neighbors intrigue me the most. A husband and wife with two young children. The mother and the children never go outside on their own—they only accompany the father. They travel as a protected group (safety in numbers?), in darker hours. I want to write about her, about them, but lately, I’ve been stopping short of what I don’t know. My love of the ordinary and the real has bred an apprehension of the imagined. Because now I have to plunge into make believe and make it—well, believable. Harder work. I don’t want to get it wrong, as if there is a "wrong." Because sure there is reality, but my fiction is this story’s reality. I just want to make it the "right" reality.

Because it is fiction, I do normally bend the truth: a shift in time, a change of personality, a line that maybe wasn’t so funny in real life. But with a longer, more complex piece, I must plunge into complete pretend and not panic. I hang on to real bits along the way: the style of the home, her hair colour, a name I think I can safely use. Bits of bread crumbs dropped along the way, like I need to be able to remember my way back.

But most important, I need a character based on Me. That is my strongest foothold. If there is a Me character (a nosy neighbor, perhaps?), then if I feel I’ve gone too far into the make believe world, I can always come back to her.

Of course, she isn’t exactly like me. Maybe she’s taller, maybe she speaks her mind more. Me but not me. She watches on the periphery. This helps calm the anxiety of going places unknown.

I’m not alone.

Applesauce, Alligators and Alliteration

2008-11-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Are you writing a scene that is moving as slow as a sloth? Is your essay only earning you an earful of exasperation? If so, try spicing your writing with a dash of alliteration.

You may be thinking, “I don’t want to over do it.” There is good intention to be cautious in this area, because you don’t want your readers to feel like you’re doing back flips to get their attention.

The trick here is to start using alliteration like you would use salt on a tomato. You want a little salt and a whole lot of tomato.

As you can see from this essay, titles are good places for alliteration. Humorous works can also gain a wispy, song-like quality from this technique. Don't expect the alliteration alone to make people laugh. Try saying something that is silly, yet true. Make people snort! And then sprinkle your draft with sassy samples of alliteration.

Keep in mind that serious works can also benefit when words flow together like honey. Read your work out loud. Does it sing? If not, try a taste of alliteration. As with all writing techniques, if your work feels like it is being forced, then delete it.

So experiment with words and expand your mind at the same time. Expect to write things that exalt! And remember not to over-salt your tomato.

How To Freelance While Working Full-time

2008-11-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

If you are working full time and want to pursue freelance writing, the task can be quite a harrowing one. A fight ensues between Passion Vs Profession...one thinks of time management and the physical stress...whether its really worth it to sacrifice those few hours one gets to rest...The idea of being in command and turning my passion into a possible profession in the future came to me when I saw how disgruntled I was in a day job. I dreamt of the time when I would just be able to write at my pace and earn a living through it. Not all of us can take a decision to quit what we are doing and go ahead with what we want to do. So I decided to start small but maintain the consistency.

1. I began to keep a journal. Anything at all that popped into my mind translated into words and was penned down. Sometimes, they seemed silly and I began to doubt if it was a good idea after all...day-to-day happenings, frustrations, excitement, happiness, dullness—was scribbled regularly. What did this do? Apart from the usual venting out of emotions, it created a fluency with which I could write. No longer did I have to look up at the sky in want of better words. They just flowed in rhythm.

2. I subscribed to various sites that gave information on markets and contests. I especially liked the fact that most newsletters were written by freelancers who did it more out of a need for their own creative instinct rather than the pressure to make money through them. Now, I also had access to articles that gave me ideas on how to progress. I also joined a writing group with one small difference—all the other members were accomplished freelancers. What did I learn? I learned that some of them committed a few hours each day, whether they were tired mothers or desperate housewives! Commitment became my mantra.

3. I invested in a small notepad that I could extract immediately from the jungles of my handbag in time to catch that idea which chose to strike at ungainly hours. This meant that I began to observe things around me...when I traveled to work, during work, or even while doing household chores. When the time came, I simply expanded that idea into a story. This also earned me some curious stares in the bus as I would be seen writing vigorously as if to capture and bind a thought before it flew away.

4. Most importantly, I had what I call an excuser’s list—a list of reasons that one usually gives to procrastinate...to remind myself that time, money or tiredness was not a sufficient reason. Since I had chosen to do this dual role, I had better find the time and the energy to carry on with my passion.

5. Simultaneously, as I wrote a few pieces, I queried magazines and pitched to sell. Again, the newsletters and some of my own research came in handy. Success did not come in a month or two but I followed the above religiously. Dame Fortune had to smile and she did. At the risk of sounding preachy, my only words whether you are working on another job or not, would be: Be Committed.

Blog and Be Fruitful

2008-11-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

Few years ago, I didn’t know a blog from a – well, I just didn’t know what it meant. My spouse the computer expert had to explain it to me.

That was all I needed. I signed up on a site and started four blogs. If I wrote enough I could make money, and I did – a little – but that was, as they say, “mad money”. I really just did it to keep the juices flowing and get the blood circulating. I could do some of the entries to rant and complain, because if there is ever a widespread human concern we all share, it is the belief that nobody is listening. Other blogs allowed me to be creative, write fiction, write non-fiction or a little bit of both.

The politics of this particular site forced me to give it up after about six months, but it was time. I had a slew of blogs in files marked ‘journal’, ‘romance’ and ‘sports-related’. I had crude material that I could now work with, mix up, improve upon and eventually send out. It also gave me endless ideas just re-reading what I had written from day to day.

I recommend blogging to anyone. A friend of mine who never did it until recently is now heavily into her Buying a House blog and sends it to all of us so we can share in her agony (I suggested she leave me off the list when she starts her Looking for a Job blog). While she isn’t a writer, she is feeling the need to rant and to share, and this is helping her through a very painful process. She’s also inspired me; chances are, when I next write about a couple searching for a home, she might notice some of her own past experiences snuggled up against some of my own.

It’s the public domain, right? I rant and blog regularly on my own web site now. It feels good, makes me write every day, and always leads to other ideas.

You could write under a pseudonym and not tell anybody about it, but if you do find the best site for yourself and decide to blog and let others know, you must let yourself go. Don’t spill your guts completely, but don’t self censor to the point of boredom.

There is something very comforting in knowing that others will read your sputtering, that you aren’t just yelling at four walls and having it bounce back at you. Get it out there, and you might end up with a gorgeous gem of an idea that you would not have considered by just staring at the blank page of a Word document.

Reach, Match, and Safety

2008-11-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

When I applied for colleges, counselors and admissions officers advised us to sort our prospective schools into three categories: the reach, the match, and the safety. The reach is a school that you would love to go to, but to which the odds of acceptance are somewhat low. The match is a school you’ll probably get accepted to, and the safety is a school for which you’re an absolute shoe-in. It’s not a bad system for publishing, either, except there are no minimum SAT scores or GPAs to guide you.

Consider the match first. Your match is the level at which you currently publish. You may get some rejection letters, but more often than not, your work receives acceptance. Don’t know where your match is? You’re not submitting enough. Experiment a little. Don’t take rejection personally at this stage; you’re trying to zero in on the level and type of publication you should submit to. Once you’ve got a decent feel for the match, you can consider the reach and the safety.

If you’re just starting out, your reach is probably not the New Yorker, not even close. When I began trying to publish, I sent poems off to TriQuarterly. They were rejected. I was devastated, but I shouldn’t have been. TriQuarterly was way beyond reach for me. Your reach is going to be a publication a couple notches up from the ones you currently write for. They may have a larger circulation, better pay, or higher reputation. They may be a small print publication when you’ve only been writing for websites so far, or a national magazine when you’ve been writing for regional ones.

Your safeties are the publications who love you. They’re pretty much a sure thing. If you’re just starting out, they may be non-paying gigs, publications you submit to in order to build clips. If you’re a little further along in your career, they’re your source of steady income – a regular magazine column, for instance.

As you build your writing career, you should probably regularly submit to all three categories – it’s a bit like diversifying an investment portfolio. As you gain skills, experience, and clips, your reach, match, and safety will change. Work on stepping up to the next level, reaching a little farther each time you write.

How to Make a Writing Schedule and Stick to it

2008-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

When my friends and I have our “what did you do this week?” conversation, they roll their eyes when they hear that I went shopping with my wife, I read a book, I had a nap. Oh, and somewhere in there, I wrote and sold articles.

Although I enjoy doing many things during the workday (that my friends cannot do at their “regular” jobs), I do have a schedule that helps me get the paid work done. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have the freedom to do those other things.

Schedules aren’t bad

Creative people often shun schedules as a regimented controller, preferring to let their whims help them complete their writing tasks. I’m a creative person, but I used to work in a highly structured sales environment, so I know what can get done with a well-thought-out schedule. When I became a full-time writer, I took with me the strict adherence to a schedule that helped me become a successful writer instead of a struggling one.

Making a schedule and sticking to it

If you want to make a living as a freelance writer, having a schedule and sticking to it is one of the keys to being successful. Without it, you end up defaulting to what is comfortable and easy to do. Here are some tips to help you make a schedule and stick to it:

Use a short-term/long-term planner combination. One of the best planner combination is a daily planner and a monthly calendar, or a weekly planner and a quarterly calendar. This way you can see what you need to do right now… and what deadlines are coming up.

Set goals. Rather than fill your calendar entries with “work on book” and other open-ended projects, fill your calendar with specific projects like “complete 2500 words in 2 hours” or “outline next chapter in half an hour.” If you fill your day with goals and add rewards to each goal, you’ll find your writing will improve and your jobs will increase. Set goals to send your resume to a certain number of companies in an hour. Set goals to research, outline, and finish an article in a specific amount of time. Then, strive to achieve and improve on those goals!

Make sure you have a due date. Writers will tell you that jobs without due dates don’t get done quickly. When you have a job from a client who says, “just send it whenever you’re done,” create a due date and stick to it.

Devote at least a quarter of your time to marketing. This often-overlooked tip will make or break freelance writers. Many professionals fail because they are strong marketers out of the gate but when work picks up, their marketing slacks off. Once the projects are done, there is nothing else to do. Having too much work is a risk that is easier to deal with than having too little work.

Break down assignments. When you get a job, break it down into the tiniest steps possible and assign due dates for each step. It’s easier to work ahead than to try and catch up.

Devote half an hour to improvement. Whether this means that you read the dictionary or head to the library to browse, you need to get better but you don’t have an HR department scheduling training sessions for you. You’ll get more jobs because of it.
Devote an hour to unpaid/low-paying jobs. There are two kinds of unpaid jobs you need to do: The kind you can do well already but should do to keep your name out there and to balance out the karma in the universe. The other kind of unpaid/low-paying writing is the kind that you don’t do well but would like to improve, since the experience will help generate a portfolio of clips.

Prioritize your jobs. When you are finishing up your writing for the day and you have your list of tasks to do tomorrow, pick the top 3 jobs. Then, the following day, make sure those get done before anything else.

Do the hard things when you’re at your best. Figure out when you are at your very best, and spend the first part of that time on a hard job you’re reluctant to do, and the rest of the time on something creative you enjoy doing.

Rewards. In the “real world,” people complete the tasks that make up their job in order to get paid… and to keep from getting fired! As a freelancer, it’s easy to put off the projects you don’t like, so get them done by giving yourself little rewards: a chocolate bar or a nap or getting off early and going to the mall.

One of the reasons you chose to become a freelance writer is the freedom it brings. But without a little structure, you have chaos, not freedom. A chaotic workday does not help you accomplish as much or enjoy your job as much. A workday with structure gives you the freedom to get the work done, get more work done, and maintain a lifestyle you want to live!

Re-Writing Tips

2008-11-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Even great writers can’t sit down and spill out a masterpiece on their first try.

That’s why writers use anywhere from one to three hundred drafts. Drafts are like a rehearsal for a play. You write everything down. You figure out what works and what doesn’t. And then you re-write until your piece sparkles.

Here are some of my re-writing tips:

First, read your rough draft out loud. If your writing sounds choppy, then fiddle with the words until the sentences roll off your tongue.

After your work sounds nice, put it away for a small amount of time. I would suggest twenty-four hours. When you look at your writing with fresh eyes, you are going to catch mistakes and you’ll be able to fix them.

My final editing technique is: cut about one third of your word count, no matter how long the piece is. When you force yourself to cut words, you realize how many extra words you used without knowing it. Those extra words act like fat on a nice piece of steak. You need more steak and less fat.

So here’s my challenge. Write your first draft from the heart, but don’t throw it away. Work on it for a few days. I promise your writing will improve in leaps and bounds with just a few drafts.

Writing Down the Funny Bones

2008-11-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, for the first time, I noticed that I really like other writers. I mean, really. Joining this website, reading about Julie’s potato gun and the Cajun dog (please see the Humor forum), and coming across blindingly funny quips in the novels I’m reading made me realize just how outrageously hilarious we are. It also got me thinking about why we’re so amusing. How is it that most writers have an unfailing, uncanny sense of humor?

The thought plagued me most of last night and today. This afternoon, in an attempt to abandon rational thought for a while, I decided to take a long bath. While I was trying to have an erotic date with Dean Koontz, courtesy of the showerhead, the lead to my latest (unrelated!) story suddenly came barging into my precious fantasy. Internally, I pled for it to leave, while capturing glimpses of Dean, but the mental editing continues and overtakes me. My lead drags its anecdotal ass so entirely into the picture that Dean gets frustrated and leaves. By the time I get rid of the damn thing (only after much cajoling and a final agreement that yes, I will use fewer adjectives), I’m stuck with images of my boyfriend again.

Then it hits me. This is why writers have an unflagging sense of humor. What other normal (read: sane) person would have a flow of words and sentences intruding upon her, um, private time? What other normal person would happily wear a ten-year-old, out-of-style sweater to family gatherings at the holidays and smile through abusive questions like, “So, darling. Have you found a real job yet, or are you still playing on the computer all the time?” Who in his right mind would receive hundreds of rejections, yet still plug away and do the same thing over and over and over? What healthy female fantasizes about Dean Koontz instead of Brad Pitt?

At the mere mention of a 9-to-5, our knobby knees, skinny from lack of food, start knocking and sweat breaks out on the upper lip. Friends tease us and say, “So how’s that book coming, Champ?” Significant others adopt an eye-rolling, nodding routine when we start spouting off how we will be the next Alice Sebold, or how Stephen King’s fame is just one draft away.

In order to persevere, we’ve adopted the most dependable and resourceful defense mechanism we possess. We learned that if we didn’t laugh at ourselves, we’d get sucked down into such a deep depression that Eeyore would seem like a Doodle Bop in comparison; so we started making funnies. We became likable. Some even called us witty or charming. People got used to our outrageous behavior and started calling us “eccentric,” as they smiled indulgently at us.

All the while, unbeknownst to them, we’re thinking. We’re plotting. The words flow almost unceasingly through our heads as we wait to grab hold of the perfect phrase or sentence. People haven’t a clue they’re being studied and used. The only difference now is that instead of villains, we might make them hookers on a street corner. If they call us “sweet” and “funny” just enough, they might get upgraded to selling newspapers or Frappucinos instead of poonany.

Maybe that’s the real reason we all walk around with smiles, ready for a good laugh. We have the freedom to create lives out of anything and anyone we see and to be as ridiculous as we want in the process. So while they’re sitting ‘round the Christmas table in their Roberto Cavalli dresses, sneering at our outdated sweater and more so at our careers, we’re secretly plotting revenge. We’re going to write about them…

“So, Aunt Mildred, what do you think of transvestite ballerinas with flatulence?”

Publishing: Print on Demand

2008-11-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

In the arduous world of publishing, there are so many players involved that if you haven’t developed the testicular fortitude to keep up, you’ll find yourself eating the scraps. For neophytes in the non-fiction world, things are somewhat less daunting. In this field, knowing your topic (either professionally or through tangible experience) and providing proof and examples of stellar research are the essential keys for success. The market also tolerates non-fiction titles more simply because the books created generally fit into a particular niche of society.

The unpublished new-be in fiction (regardless of the genre) gets the sore end of the deal. As opposed to non-fiction experts, fiction writers are essentially gods, as they construct, manipulate and kill the people and objects of their story. Fiction writers create what (hopefully) no one else has imagined or created. New genres, distant lands, complex and borderline-believable characters…these are the “soup for the soul” for fiction writers. So what’s the big deal? Agents and publishers want proof…lots of it. With fiction, every concept is a gamble. You’re bringing something fresh to the table, that’s a requirement. Yet with this, the demi-god must also prove how this work will be distinguishable from the thousands of new titles churned out by publishers every year.

Solutions? Yes, there are a few. Some would- be authors believe they can by-pass the Brita of publishing (agents) and go straight to the editors. Friends, unless you’ve developed an aptitude for patience, marketing and the 6-pack abs for taking many hits in the gut (although this happens with agents as well), I recommend you take the most beaten path…manuscript, agent, publisher. But some writers don’t enjoy losing up to 15% of their royalties to agents and only making 10% before that’s even an issue. Some don’t want to give up the rights to their work, only to be spat on later when their book goes out of print.

Enter POD’s, or Print on Demand. Print on Demand companies were actually the first in printing back in the days of writing when you never saw a dime (or fame) until you died. Folks like Poe, Dickenson and Ben Franklin printed their own materials with the help of family and investors. Big business, however, changed all of that with the induction of the publishing houses. These companies took the hit, so to speak, in the arena of investing and creating of books. The down side to this, of course, was that the author lost his rights to the work and more often than not, made minimal royalties and was ignored in the process.

POD’s, with their dramatic comeback in the mid 90’s, purposed to change all that. Most of these companies looked to formulate a structure that bordered between vanity press and traditional publishing. Thus Print on Demand was born. These companies based most of their sales on an online ordering basis, creating an online bookstore for book enthusiasts.

“If the primary way you want to sell your print book is through book stores we’re not the company for you. No POD is,” say Angela and Richard Hoy, owners of Booklocker.com. “If you don’t like marketing your book, we are definitely the wrong company for you.”

When taking this route, you are the publisher…and you assume all of the weight that goes with it. While you enjoy greater involvement in the books development, higher royalties and retention of rights, you also bear the brunt of marketing and sales. Although your book will be listed on the ordering website, it is up to you, the author, to make people aware of its existence. Whether for laziness in waiting on agents and publishers, or by virtue of the entrepreneurial spirit, for a fee of $100 to $1600, people are more and more taking the self-publishing road…some with large success. Many fiction writers in this category use this mode as a vehicle to later show agents and publishers physical evidence of their book’s digestible intrigue. As for the lazy, don’t hold your breath.

How to Quit Your Job and Write Full-Time

2008-11-04T11:53:00.002-08:00

Making the leap from hobby writer to part-time freelance writer is an exciting leap. You will always remember that first freelance job and the check you held in your hands. As you’re depositing that money in the bank, an idea flashes through your mind: “That job was fun. I should do it for a living.”

If the leap from hobby writer to part-time freelance writer is exciting, the leap from part-time freelance writer to full-time freelance writer is exhilarating… and scary! Here is a step-by-step process to help you make the transition painlessly and successfully:

12 weeks to go. Get buy-in. Make sure you have the support of your family and friends. And start saving! The first couple months could be rocky, alternating between dry spells and big checks.

11 weeks to go. Write for free. In your spare time, find free jobs that give you a byline and write for them. Give them your very best, since these writing clips will be part of your portfolio in the near future.

10 weeks to go. Contact city hall to find out any laws or regulations concerning a business name or business number requirements. Government bureaucracy is a long process so start early!

9 weeks to go. Count the cost. Create a business plan and budget, including financial goals for the first 12 months and how many jobs at what price will be needed to reach those goals. In the next few weeks, as you write your free articles, you’ll see what kind of workload is needed to sustain your goals.

8 weeks to go. Generalist or specialist? Decide if you are going to specialize or not. Some people find specialization very lucrative while other people prefer the wide range of opportunity of generalization. You may find the decision to specialize easier if your current career is highly specialized. If you choose to specialize, begin focusing your free writing in your area of specialty.

7 weeks to go. Get equipped. Make sure you have the tools necessary for the job: a computer, a fax machine, and a place to write. Doing this early makes sure the bugs are worked out of the system and that you are committed to spending money to succeed! You don’t want to send the computer back to the store to fix some problem while you are supposed to be earning an income off of it.

6 weeks to go. Enhance your portfolio. Get the contact information of your clients and vendors as well as copies of documents you created at your job. (First, though, make sure it is not illegal, as some jobs have a confidentiality factor that will bar you from doing this).

5 weeks to go. Start the hunt. Let your free writing gigs know that you are making the leap to fulltime and would like to give them the first opportunity to book your time. If they like your writing and are able to pay, keep them as clients. If not, graciously wish them the best of luck and move on, but keep up one or two jobs so your clips stay fresh.

4 weeks to go. Pull it all together. Decide on a slogan, logo, and a unifying theme or message you want to relate to the public. Get opinions on these ideas from people you trust to be honest.

3 weeks to go. Make yourself look good. Now that you have your logo, tagline, and theme, you need to design your web site, put together your portfolio of clips, and create a writer’s resume.

2 weeks to go. No turning back. Give your notice at work. Most places require two weeks.

1 week to go. Flip the switch. In television production, it is called “going live.” Sign up at job sites, guru.com, or elance.com to start getting the jobs and begin trolling the job boards for opportunities.

Day 1. Sit back and smile. You have gone farther than many people who simply dream of becoming full time writers.

Day 2. Get to work!

Tapping Into Your Daydreams

2008-11-04T11:53:00.001-08:00

If you want to write, first you need to relax. Flex your fingers. Pour a cup of hot chocolate. Let yourself daydream.

Okay, I know you want to get published. You want to make money. It’s a tough market out there. Shouldn’t we writers bust our behinds to crank out stories?

Yes and no. Yes, there’s a lot of work involved with writing. Yes, I make myself write everyday. And, yes, I make myself revise. But my first step is always to relax. I don’t believe the act of writing should be stressful. There are tons of stressful careers to follow: astronaut, FedEx delivery person, bear trainer. With writing, all you really need to do is sit and string words together, so why not have fun with it?

Your audience will know when you’re having fun. And they’ll be bored if you’re bored. So during your first draft, let yourself go. If you want to write about jeeps on the planet Jupiter, then do it. If you want to use words that only start with the letter V, well that would be hard, but do it because it makes you happy.

If you love to write, then give yourself those precious hours of joyful creation. Edit later. You need to write at the top of your game to get published, and you can’t do that if you sit at your desk biting your nails and worrying about the future.

So relax. Now go forth and create.

Unique Content? Gleaning Fresh Material from Forums

2008-11-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

We non-fiction writers are always looking for fresh new topics. Fortunately, there are places all over the Web where people gather to talk about what’s hot, tell what’s on their minds, and ask questions: forums.

Forums abound for every topic under the sun. Some are broad, others highly specialized. There are forums for growing heirloom tomatoes, raising kids, investing in the stock market, and choosing the latest, greatest PC hardware. The people on them are your audience, and they’re more than happy to talk about the things that really interest them. They also talk about what’s upcoming or what’s new, so a vigilant writer can scan for seasonal topics in subject areas like gardening or holiday planning, or for cutting edge topics like technology.

So how do you milk forums for all they’re worth?

Look for well-moderated boards. Moderators do part of the work for you by culling anything that is off-topic or offensive.
Try newsgroups. Google newsgroups are precursors to modern forums. Some are moderated and some are not. You can usually configure your mail client to deliver messages straight to you, and individual newsgroups often have excellent FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that cover the basics of the topic.
Consider interviews. Regulars on forums love to talk about their subjects, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. Lurk for a bit and get a feel for who is friendly and knowledgeable. Most forums allow some method of private contact, whether it’s private messaging or a profile containing contact information.
Give back. Being helpful to others keeps you in the good graces of the moderators and members.

Rejection Letters - A Sign of Recognition

2008-11-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Rejection, defined in the simplest of terms, is a negative response, resulting in denial, or a dismissal. In the writing world, however, a rejection should also be taken as a positive. Yes, you read correctly.

From beginning writers to seasoned professionals, we all have a fear of the infamous Rejection Letter. These letters of denial should not be feared, but on the contrary. They should be celebrated. They are, in essence, a certificate of acceptance from our writing peers.

As humans, from infancy to adulthood, we all strive to be recognized. Acknowledgment of our existence is a very important part of our growth experience. The same is true for writers. A negative response is better than no response at all. The feeling that your creative prose is being read, and responded too, is in itself acceptance. There are, in some instances, editors and publishers who are eager to offer explanations, and quick tips for future reference in their letters, which gives a writer the ability to learn and grow.

One of the first things we are taught as beginning writers is to always be professional and courteous. Sending a note of thanks to an editor or publisher, whether you received a denial or an acceptance, is proper etiquette. It shows maturity as well as respect for the trade. This also leaves the door open for future communication.

While it is true that there are some editors and publishers who choose to use a derogatory tone in their responses, do not fear. This is a very rare occurrence; but unfortunately, it does happen. Most responses you will receive, however, are mostly polite, and are occasionally informative.

Editors and publishers are very busy people, dealing with numerous amounts of submissions on a daily basis, which leads to long hours and tremendous amounts of stress. Therefore it is commonly stated in the submission guidelines that no response means a rejection. That is great. This information allows writers to move on, and pursue other possibilities. Unfortunately, other publishers do not offer this same professional courtesy, which leaves beginners feeling inadequate and wondering what they did or did not do.

Be wary, these unprofessional members of the craft are not implying you are a bad writer. Our inner critics do not need any more encouragement. Take a deep breath, and just know that most of us respect the craft, and all it has to teach and offer.

So, the next time you receive an infamous rejection letter, heed these words: be proud, learn from it, use its words as fuel for the creative fire, and walk away knowing that you have just been acknowledged as a writer.

Fiction writers know the secret: write as if.

2008-11-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

I’ve contemplated writing articles about organization, cleaning, and time management for us creative types. I have great ideas, fresh ways of looking at things. But then I look around the apartment.

Uh, maybe not.

I’ve thought about writing an article for a women’s magazine that I’ve been published in before. The next issue is about the body. I’ve trained in the martial arts off and on for years, and would like to write what I’ve learned. But then I look down.

Not with this belly.

There’s the old saing: “Write what you know.” A part of me translates that into “Write what you can document that you know.” It’s the perfectionist, the part of me that likes to cover my butt. If only I had this place all tidied up, stopped procrastinating, and turned into a minor Martha Stewart, then I could write about getting organized. If only I were in the shape I was in three years ago, I could write about loving my body.

Truth is, if I wrote my reality at this moment, there would be precious little to write and I’d bore myself and my readers. But fiction writers know the secret: write as if. It’s not the job of fiction writers to live their characters’ lives so they can write about them. In some genres, like fantasy and science fiction, it’s downright impossible. Likewise, it’s not our job as non-fiction writers to be model citizens, superheroes, and experts. Writing, at its best, is a discovery process. Write authentically and accurately by doing thorough research. Ask lots of dumb questions. Think things through. Run your piece by someone who does know the subject, if you must. Then, send it out. I dare you.

The Case for Writing Short

2008-11-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Like me, you probably dream of writing full-length feature articles...or even a book. Also like me, you’re probably also scared of the prospect. While short pieces rarely gain the fame longer works do, there are good reasons to write them.

The case for writing short works:

They’re less daunting than longer works. Most of us can even tolerate our internal critic for the length of a short piece.
If you lose interest in your subject, you only have to slog through a few hundred words.
They can be wedged into available time. I write them on my daily transit commute.
They must be tight; every word counts more. This makes short pieces excellent editing practice.
They build writing momentum, making us brave enough to tackle longer projects.

Best of all, short articles can be assembled into a longer work. Many newer books follow this format. The Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff series is a good example, as are Jennifer Lawler’s Dojo Wisdom books.

How to Get Writing Jobs When Starting Out

2008-11-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Just like any other job seeker, as writers start out, they are told to “send clips” of their previously published works, and to submit a resume. You have to have clips to get clips; it’s the famed catch-22. This is discouraging for a writer whose career is in its infancy. The good news is that there are several ways even a novice writer can begin to fill a portfolio, especially in non-fiction.

Take a look at your expertise.

What you know is an excellent reason to assign you an article, whether you have ever written on the subject matter before or not. Perhaps you lead poetry workshops, and want to write an article about iambic pentameter. Rich material written by an expert is needed at every publication, and a well-written query or thorough proposal will show a bit of your style, approach, and writing ability, giving an editor a favorable view of you before even seeing your manuscript.

What have you written at work over the years?

Newsletters, correspondence, brochures, promotional materials, instructional brochures, safety manuals, software guides, web copy… Many writers have been active in the corporate world for years. Start compiling your portfolio, and your writing resumé, based on the contributions you have made at work. Even if you do not want a career as a technical writer or copywriter, this experience shows that you are capable of producing quality items on a deadline. After all, would your employer(s) have continued to use your services if you were incapable?

What have you done for friends and classmates?

Have you proofread or copyedited academic essays? Created or reformatted resumés, cover letters, or their own publications? Have you perhaps designed slogans for your cousin’s business? Your contributions to friends, family, classmates, or colleague’s projects may be a starting point for your own professional portfolio.

Go pro – pro bono, that is.

Offer your articles or services for free at first to build up your portfolio, references, and referrals. Submit to low-paying or non-paying markets. While some writers would argue that this de-values your work, or that submitting work for free drives down industry-wide wages, I have not personally found this to be a problem.

Enter Contests.

You can not only earn money by entering contests by reputable journals, publishers, and foundations, but you gain recognition for your work from peers and publishers, awards are great additions to your writing resumé or CV.

Find a partner.

Perhaps you have a great idea, but still feel uncomfortable with the level of your personal knowledge on the subject, or your researching or interviewing capabilities, though you know you have the writing skills to tackle the job once the information has been gathered. Especially for non-fiction, co-authoring might be the best solution. An expert can handle the press and add legitimacy to your manuscript, while you concentrate on what you do best – writing.

The Self-Confident Writer

2008-11-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

We writers are an unconfident bunch. I love to write, and I think a lot of what I write is good. But sometimes as I get ready to send something out, it crosses my mind that it may not be good enough. Even though I wrote and rewrote it many times, I still have that nagging feeling of uncertainty.

Not being confident can lead to an unsuccessful writing career. Lack of confidence can also show itself in other forms. How about that novel you started and never finished? Or the idea for an article you had but didn’t think it would turn out well? All you need to start or finish a project is a little self-confidence and a lot of hard work. In this instance, the hard work is the easy part.

It’s easy to become unconfident as a writer, especially when rejection letters seem to outnumber the acceptance ones. It’s important to remember that everybody feels unsure of himself or herself at one time or another. Here are a few things you can do to rebuild your confidence and get back to writing:

Look back over other things you’ve written and feel good about. Try to remember how you felt when writing them.

Try using affirmations on a daily basis. It can be as simple as taping a note above your desk that reads, “I am a great writer.” Reminding yourself that you are a good writer through affirmations has been proven effective in changing attitudes and behavior.

Have a little faith in what you are writing. Whether it’s an assignment for a magazine, a novel, or just writing for yourself, believe in what you are doing. If it ends up being garbage and useless, remember that at least it got you writing. And don’t forget, many good ideas grow from things you’ve written and think are useless.

When I’m feeling low or unsure of myself, I call my closest writing friend and she reminds me of why I began writing in the first place. She helps me by boosting my self-confidence and I do the same for her when she needs a lift. Talking about what you’re going through with someone will benefit you. Sometimes the best advice will come from another writer. Chances are they’ve been through what you’re going through now.

Look to the mundane for inspiration.

2008-11-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

I used to live in the city and write about Marilyn Monroe, old boyfriends, JFK, capuchins for paraplegics, Bill Holden and solicited phone sex. Maybe I had to write about those things before I was able to find the really inspirational, the truly motivating.

The mundane.

Because then I moved to the suburbs.

There is a routine. Get up at 6:00 every morning, drink coffee, feed the kids, wash hair in the laundry room basin, make the beds, pick out clothes, etc, etc. There are moments it seems meaningless, or just boring. But then there are moments that make it worthwhile. It can be like reading Shakespeare and finally getting it. It can be like finding the blue jellybean that was hidden in April, except now it’s June.

It’s life, stripped bare. Plain and simple.

This doesn’t mean you can’t write about Marilyn Monroe or solicited phone sex or secret agent ninjas or whatever—just don’t forget the ordinary amidst the extraordinary. It breathes life into a story. It makes something real.

Today, my little girl had two of her friends over and I had to go upstairs to tell them to stop jumping on the bed. One of her friends looked up at me and said,

Why not?

And I thought right away,

What a great line.

Actually, the first thing I thought was,

I don’t know why not.

Which is what led me to think,

What a great line.

Look to the mundane for inspiration. It’s happening all around you. You just have to see it.

Today is the day you start calling yourself a writer.

2008-11-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

The first bit of advice I bring you today may very well be the most important advice you ever receive. Before you read any further, get out your notebook and write a letter to yourself. Ask yourself why you want to be a writer. Try this for a few minutes and then come back and we will chat.

Ah, so I see you've come back. Good! That is a start. So, how easy was it to write your letter? Did you stare at the empty page for a few astounding moments? Did the words flow freely from your mind onto the paper? Is your paper still blank?

Regardless, you now have it set in your mind why you want to be a writer. Or maybe just the opposite--did you discover along the way that writing isn’t for you? If so, that’s OK to, but today is the day. Today is the day you must decide if this is the road that will make you the happiest in life.

Writing is not going to be your normal 9-5 job that makes you wake in the morning with dread every day, which can be brushed off at the end of your dedicated eight hours, not if you’re a good writer anyway. Writing will consume much of your life, as it should! This should be a warm welcome to those of you who are still serious about being a writer. Every meal you take, every person you encounter, every breath of fresh morning air will be your pallet of inspiration.

Still sound like fun? To me and many others, yes, this is a blessing! But to some, they may cringe at the thought of having such a dedicated line of work.

Today is the day you must decide. If you decide this is the path you were meant to take then do it! Be consumed by it! If you do not really love to write and find it as mundane and backbreaking work, maybe you should reconsider your career. And that’s OK. Rejection letters, late nights, and blank, frustrating minds are all part of the writing game.

I probably will not be the first or last to tell you that it is not easy being a writer, but if this passion of yours has yet to dwindle away, you will be rewarded in a way you never thought possible. To see your story told, your first acceptance letter, the finished manuscript you poured sweat and tears into is a feeling unlike any other you will have ever experienced. But it will not have come easy. Today is the day you must decide how much it is worth to you. Today is the day you start calling yourself a writer.

Who Has the Time?

2008-11-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, you do, of course! One of the hardest aspects of being a writer, especially if you are still working a day job, is finding the time you need to do everything you need to do. This was one of my greatest downfalls in the beginning of my writing career. I would sit and think about writing a lot; I would even go so far as scribbling notes.

I thought the writing would magically appear before my eyes. I am still not sure what I was thinking.

Anyway, the point is that you have to schedule time for writing and research. The first thing you should do is buy a small notebook; if you can, splurge and get an actual daily planner.

At the beginning of the week or month, whichever is more realistic for you, take the time to sit down and make out a schedule for your self. Think about your days off and how you spend them or your time before and after work. Every hour is precious. So the one of two days you have off from work, schedule them down to the last minute. You should take at least an hour a day for your writing. For example, on Monday use your hour to search job boards, Tuesday use your hour to do research, Wednesday take this time to do some free writing or query letters and so forth. Scheduling will help you stay organized and feel less scatter-brained.

You will be amazed at the end of your first month how much you have accomplished. You should also try to make deadlines and goals for yourself as a way of staying on track and noting your accomplishments. You will feel much more rewarded this way. Schedule yourself for a month and then take a day off.

Besides, what good is a writer if they spend all his/her time behind a desk?

Use Microsoft Word to Punch up Your Prose

2008-11-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

From overused adverbs to overly complex tenses, many mistakes writers make are predictable and easy to fix. Your word processing program probably contains a tool that can help you find these errors and tighten your writing. In Microsoft Word®, that tool is Find, which is located under the Edit menu. This function searches your document for whole and partial words.

Do you use the word “would” too often?

“Each day, Tom would go to work. He would sit at his desk pretending to be busy. Then he would walk to lunch.”

Type “would” into the Find window. One by one, see if you can replace it with simple past tense:

“Each day, Tom went to work. He sat at his desk pretending to be busy. Then he walked to lunch.”

Another common mistake is the overuse of adverbs. A well-chosen verb is more efficient—“walked slowly” vs. “sauntered, “ “ambled”, “moseyed,” “crept.” Luckily, adverbs are easy to find; most end in “ly.” Use Find to look for instances of “ly” and eliminate the adverb wherever possible. Try this on other things. Look for “ing” endings. Ruthlessly seek and destroy “very,” “really,” and “extremely.” If possible, have a writer friend look over your prose and point out other common flaws. Think of ways to use Find to seek them out. Happy hunting!

What Your Teachers Never Taught You About Outlining

2008-11-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

I was one of those kids in school who wrote outlines after writing a report. You probably were too. The way they’re taught in school, they’re so static, so formal, that they become documents with lives of their own. No wonder they frighten even the best of students. But when I began working as a writing tutor, I revisited outlines. Many of my students were disorganized writers. All the thoughts were there, but jumbled. Sometimes there were enough thoughts for more than one paper, all mixed together. Outlining was just the tool they needed.

The trouble is that no one ever taught them or us there’s such a thing as a working outline—one that can change often and wants nothing to do with legions of Roman numerals. It can be as individual as you and the project you work on. If you write something short, you may be able to keep your outline in your head, but don’t skip a step and neglect it entirely. If you work on a novel, you can plot it out as a timeline on roll paper and tack it on the wall. In-between, there are all sorts of options, from mind mapping to sliding index cards around on the dining room table. I’ve even walked students through outlining midway through their writing, cutting up overly long papers into paragraphs, writing main ideas on the slips, and sorting them.

The key is to remember an outline’s true purpose. It’s meant for organizing your thoughts, seeing what fits with your purpose and what’s extraneous, where the gaps are and how to fill them. Later, circumstances might dictate a formal outline. Then and only then should you lock it down and line up your legions. By then, they should already be close to battle-ready.

To Love By Way of Cooking

2008-11-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

Tackling the abstract is never easy.

One day, a student came to the tutoring center for help writing about love. She didn’t know where to start. We chatted a bit and I learned that she lived with her daughter, mom, and grandma.

I had a hunch. Somebody had to feed all these women. “Who cooks in your family?”

“I do.”

“You enjoy cooking for them?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“You’d consider it an expression of love, then?”

She nodded, smiling. We had a place to start.

Natalie Goldberg, in Writing Down the Bones, gives similar advice on writing about sex—not an abstract subject, but still a tough one. If you feel sexy, she suggests, and you write about something else, like eating a melon, the reader will feel it too, even though you haven’t been explicit.

Any large, abstract, or dangerous subject can be tackled this way. Start with the small, the concrete, the safe as an entry point. Describe the lunch you ate or didn’t eat the day your parents told you they were getting a divorce. Your sudden distaste for bologna sandwiches can help your reader empathize without being hit over the head with your shock and sadness.

Defeating Writer's Block

2008-11-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Writer's Block... people cringe at those words, as if the words themselves were contagious. Most writer's block is anxiety based. We can literally talk ourselves out of writing for one reason or another. Every writer asks himself these questions from time to time: What if my plot is 'ordinary?' What if I can't make my characters sound real? What will my critique partners think of me after they read this? And the big one... Am I good enough to be a writer?

I don't suffer from writer's block, never have, never will. You too can avoid writer's block, and here's how:

1. Work on multiple projects at one time

Every project needs "down" time, so we can distance ourselves and literally let our brains rest. By having other projects to work on, we don't waste the time stressing over being stuck on one project, we simply move on, avoiding the stress of "not writing." And once we put the “troublesome” project aside to work on another, the answer will strike us when we least expect it.

2. Just start writing

If you're up against a deadline and don't have time to let the project "rest," then just start writing. Put your pen to the paper or your hands on the keyboard and write. It doesn't matter about what. It doesn't have to relate to your project, in fact it often works better if it doesn't relate to your project. The idea is to get your creative juices flowing.

Start writing about how weird or interesting your neighbor is, or why you can't stand that annoying advertisement on TV. Literally jot the first thought, or even word, which enters your head. And if nothing comes to mind, then starting writing about how nothing is coming to mind! But don't stop writing... that's the key. Don't stop for anything, until you've filled at least two pages. Don't stop to fix your grammar or spelling. Don't stop because you've accidentally shifted thoughts or POV midstream. Keep writing. Make it one long, run on sentence if you have to, but keep writing. Before you know it, you will find it hard to stop.

Now pick up that project which stumped you in the first place. If you find your mind wandering to every topic except this project, try this same free-writing approach again, only this time focus on the details of your project. Start writing about which character is your favorite or why the topic should have been discussed in every newspaper. Again, spelling, POV, jumping from idea to idea doesn't matter, as long as you're writing about your project in some form or another. Before you realize it, you'll be writing "The End" on the last page of your project.

Don’t Let a Poor Presentation Cast a Shadow Over Your Work!

2008-11-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Let’s face it, the occasional typo happens to the best of us, but if your writing is riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings, no editor will want to touch it! What’s worse is the fact that you cannot rely on the spell checker of any word processing program to do the work for you; even if spell check catches all of your spelling errors, it may not catch any misused words. In order to prove your professionalism as a writer and to present your work proficiently, you will need to brush up your overall presentation.

Check Your Spelling

First things first: when you have finished writing your manuscript, be sure to check it for misspelled words by reading it through slowly and thoroughly. The reason for this is that sometimes writers see what they expect to see, instead of what is actually in front of them. By reading over the document slowly, you can scan each and every sentence for errors.

Some writers even recommend reading the story out of sequence; begin your spelling and grammar check by starting with the last sentence at the end of your story and reading each sentence all the way through to the beginning. Although this system may work for some writers, it can create a headache for others so I recommend that you set the manuscript aside for a day or two. Once you have been away from the manuscript, you can return to it and look upon it with fresh eyes. You would be surprised how many errors you will be able to spot!

Another editing technique that I particularly like is listening to what has been written. You can do this by simply reading aloud or you can get a software program that will actually read the work to you! Many free software programs read text: all you need to do is download the program, install it, and cut and paste your information into the text reader. It is important to note however, that text readers do not pick up the emotional quality of words and they do not always read every word properly. Nevertheless, text readers can help writers “hear” the errors they may not necessarily be seeing in front of them.

Finally, if you really want to brush up on your grammar, you should study up on misspelled words. Many dictionaries and online Websites will provide you with a list of the most common misspelled words. An editor finds nothing more irritating than a great story that is poorly written, and misspelled words can cast a shadow over your work. So take up your pen and paper and begin studying the most commonly misspelled words in the English language.

Improper Word Usage

Spell checking may be a wonderful tool, but it has its pitfalls. It certainly does not catch all errors and it often overlooks improper word usage. Thus, the responsibility of correct word usage falls into the hands of the writer. If you are uncertain about how a word should be used, it is time to break out the trusty dictionary. Besides, dictionaries can actually be fun and there are some dictionaries on the market that offer a unique way to look up words. I own a “Descriptionary” that allows me to look up words and their associated descriptions. I also own and recommend a “Flip Dictionary,” a fantastic resource that allows writers to look something up even when they can’t remember what it is called.

Missing Words

When you proofread your manuscript, always make sure that every word you intend to present is accounted for. Sometimes the mind works faster than the writer. Check every sentence for missing or deleted words. In the end, it makes for a complete and polished copy of your work.

Use Your Words Sparingly

No one wants to read text that rambles on in an effort to fill up the page! If you are going to use words, do so sparingly. It is perfectly fine to be creative, but narrative that is too wordy tends to drown out the significance of what is being said. The best way to prevent your work from being too wordy is to limit your adverbs and adjectives.

If you use a lot of adverbs, or “ly” words, you are not using effective verbs. Use stronger verbs and fewer adverbs to tighten your writing. Effective verbs are powerful words that express what you want to get across to your reader in a compact form. Likewise, the overuse of adjectives makes writing seem muddled. When you used adjectives, be prudent about it.

Punctuation

While proofreading your work, be sure to review your punctuation. Does every sentence have a period? Does every question have a question mark? Did you capitalize the first word of every sentence and all proper nouns? When it comes to your finished copy, little things mean a lot! Be sure that every comma, semicolon, colon, quotation mark, and any other punctuation mark is in its proper place.

In short, you want your completed manuscript to shine and editors expect nothing less. If you want to show an editor, publisher or agent that you take pride in your work and that you are a true professional, take the time to polish your final manuscript. In doing so, you will be giving your work the chance it deserves.

Finding Time to Write

2008-11-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

Time—where can I find more of it to write? Let's face it, everyone is busy. Most people feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything. This is even more true for writers who have a day job. We can't make more hours in the day, so we have to use them more
wisely.

The best suggestion I can give to writers pressed for time is this—buy a tape recorder. That way you can "write" your articles, short stories or novel while commuting to work, cooking dinner or waiting for the kids to get out of school.

This often-unused time is valuable. A lot of people misuse this time by simply doing nothing, time when they are awake and focused. Then they stay up night after night trying to get their writing done, struggling to stay awake.

If you don’t want to type later on you have two routes to choose from.

1. Hire someone. College kids are often good sources of cheap typist labor. If you don’t want to pay you may be able to convince a helpful friend or family member to be your typist. (Just remember not to abuse the privilege if you choose this route.)

2. Buy a voice recognition program. Set up the tape to play directly into the microphone. Bear in mind this method requires a clear recording and a quiet room.

This method can be an adjustment, especially if you’re not used to being recorded, but the advantages are well worth it.

Enjoy!

Inspiration: Don’t Feel Guilty For Seeing The Story In The Suffering

2008-11-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

When my youngest was almost a year old, he fell into a table and split his bottom lip open and had to get three stitches.

I wrote a story about it.

My daughter has just mastered the two wheeler with no training wheels. Trying for a fancy curve the other night, she wiped out and split her bottom lip open.

I wrote a story about that too.

Sounds callous, I know. I was there to hug and reassure, to drive to the hospital, dab at the open sore. The split lip wasn’t really the story, anyway. It’s everything that happened because of the split lip. My boy was so little he couldn’t understand why it hurt, and I had to hold him still for the doctor and (unsuccessfully) try not to bawl my eyes out. During all this, my daughter pulled on my pant leg and asked if she could have her snack now.

I told her to sit down.

Then when she became the victim of gravity and the pavement, my youngest patted her on the back gently. Her screams could be heard down the block. But when we started to carry her inside, she started to scream louder.

“I want to keep riding my bike,” she wailed.

I’m not saying inspiration only comes in the form of blood and tears. But seize those moments when it does happen and don’t feel guilty for seeing the story in the suffering. It’s not really about the suffering anyway. It’s about those two beautiful matching scars my kids now sport. It’s about them, and me, and fate or luck, happenstance, whatever. It’s life.

The Writing Process

2008-11-04T10:29:00.001-08:00

Prewriting:

Begin by doing a free writing of a subject, any subject. Write as much as you can from what you already know of the subject, and if that is nothing, then start writing what you would like to know about your subject, and any questions that pop up. Research as much as you can, through books, the internet, interviews, movies, anything you can get your hands on pertaining to this subject, even if you’re not planning on using it in your writing. Here is the hard part. Closely examine your prewriting. Now ask yourself if you still have a solid interest in the subject. If not, throw it out and start over with something fresh. If it still tickles your fancy, then you need to think of an overall plan or design for organizing your writing, such as an outline or a list.

First draft:

Use your prewriting as a guideline for your first draft. Give your first paragraph something special to set the mood for your reader. Keep writing until you come to a natural stopping point. This isn’t the time to worry about provisions; work on developing your ideas. Keep in mind your first draft is your first of many of a developing idea—it isn’t set in stone.

Revising:

Now sit back with an open mind and read your first draft, but don’t be so quick to make changes yet. Just read it. Now re-read it: add, cut, swap, and rearrange your thoughts. Re-read it. Revise it. Now concentrate on your opening and closing paragraphs. Make sure the first tells your reader what they are getting into, and the last gives them a feeling of closure. Re-read it. Revise it.

Proofreading:

Now it is time to get your grammar books and dictionaries out. Review each sentence carefully for errors. Then read each sentence out loud. This will help you determine if your sentences are confusing or un- natural sounding.

Final copy:

Neatly type and print a few copies of your finished work according to the guidelines you are following, if any, or search for a market that is suitable for your writing.

Entering the World of Copywriting

2008-11-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

There are many would-be successful writers who miss out on great opportunities, and copywriting is just one of them. For freelance writers and even full-time job seekers, writing copy may be the perfect gig.

What is Copywriting?

Copywriting, or writing copy, is the art of marketing. Most copy is intended to sell a product or service, which can run the gamut from diet supplements to car insurance.

With the ever-growing presence of the web, however, the world of copywriting has expanded. Now, you can write copy for web sites to help boost readership or membership, create attractive web content, write ads, compile frequently–asked-questions (FAQ) pages, and develop complete marketing campaigns.

Copywriting can be a very rewarding profession, especially for the talented and, just like writing a novel or short story, is both challenging and exciting.

Understand Good Copy

Skilled masters of copywriting know the art of persuasion. As a copywriter, your job is to persuade and convince readers to buy a service or tangible good. How can you tell the difference, though, between good and bad copy?

Your copywriting career starts right in the heart of junk mail. Start by saving every piece of unsolicited mail and reading them. Everything from credit card deals to subscription offers will serve as part of your research.

As you read your mail, you will begin to understand the power of writing good copy. Pay close attention to copy that really catches your attention, especially ones that make you want to get what’s being offered. The bland and boring ones are also just as important. Ask yourself why it was ineffective and what your inner copywriter can do to make it better. Soon, you will know what makes good copy.

Just a word of caution – skip the ones you have zero interest in and save them for later. You might make the mistake of calling the copy bad, when, in fact, it is excellent.

Learning is Key

When you know the difference between good and bad copy, you are halfway there. You have a taste of what the business is like and you still want to shoot for it - this is a good place for anyone interested in copywriting to be.

Here comes the tough part. You already have the passion, so now is a great time to start learning. Read books and articles to hone your skills, and it’s a good idea to take courses in persuasive writing or copywriting.

If this isn’t an option for you, keep reading your junk mail and practice writing copy. Pick a company or a product, and pretend that you were asked to write copy for them. You want to know certain things about your fake audience. How old are they? What is their level of education? Where do they live? What is their average income?

Be tough on yourself – critique and evaluate everything you write. It’s nice to have an honest friend to give you their thoughts on your work. Writing pretend copy is a great way to enhance your writing skills and prepare you for the real thing.

Make sure you continue to educate yourself through courses, books, articles, journals and the Internet. There is always a way to learn, even with a limited amount of money or time.

Open For Business

When you feel confident in your skills, start your business today! Business cards are all you need to start, an expense of about $15. List yourself in free directories at Yahoo or Excite. A web site is also a must-have. Through a website, you can advertise all of your services and display writing examples. You can get free web hosting almost anywhere these days and many will provide templates to help build your site.

Market yourself to potential clients. It’s a good idea to perform free work for friends and family who own businesses or a web site of any sort. Have them spread the word about your new service. Don’t limit your potential – find every avenue for writing copy. Send e-mails and letters out to business owners marketing your services. These people may have never heard of copywriting, or perhaps they didn’t know how helpful it could be to them. Make suggestions in your marketing letter that are specific to their business.

Don’t stop there – the possibilities are endless. Here is just a short list of what you can offer as a professional:

Ad writing
Sales letters
Reminder notices
Debt and late payment letters
E-mail marketing
eBay and auction sales writing
Web content (to draw more readers / customers)
Opening pages for web sites and newsletters
Slogans
Brochures and pamphlets

Keep learning and improving every step of the way. Good luck!

Copyright Basics

2008-11-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

What is copyright?

Copyright is a legal protection provided for “original works of authorship.” You automatically own a copyright in your original written work as soon as you commit it to writing. Neither publication nor notification are required to secure copyright.

Copyright owners hold exclusive rights to copy their work and provide copies to others, to perform and/or display the work publicly, and to produce variations of the work. Variations are separate copyrighted entities. Copyright protects the words used to express ideas, not the ideas themselves.

How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?

Works by a single author – author’s lifetime plus 70 years
Works by two or more authors working for themselves – 70 years after the death of the last author
Works created for hire – the lesser of 95 years after publication or 120 years beyond the creation date

Copyright vs. Copyright Registration

Registering a copyright provides legal standing to sue another for infringing your rights. Most countries offer some type of copyright registration; this article covers U.S. law specific to written works.

Owners of registered copyrights may sue infringers for actual monetary losses, the infringer’s profits on their use of the infringed work, statutory damages up to $150,000 and attorney’s fees. Register your copyright within three months of publication to preserve all your rights. Register your copyright within five years of publication to maintain the right to sue for actual damages plus the infringer’s profits.

When and Why to Register A Copyright

Fiction writers generally need not register their works; publishers will obtain a copyright registration on your behalf as part of the publication process. If you write articles, poetry, nonfiction and the like, registering those that are published is generally a good idea.

A Grade of ©

Your unpublished work will not be stolen! While unpublished works can be registered, doing so may make you the target of vanity presses. See this chatty (but slightly dated) article to assuage your fears of theft - http://www.sfwa.org/writing/copyrite.htm. The symbol is legally unnecessary because the legal protections of registration are independent of the symbol. If you mark your submissions, do so inconspicuously and use the format “© Jane Jones, 2005.”

However, for works published only on the Internet include the ©, if only to deter readers who mistakenly believe that the Internet is a copyright-free zone.

How to Register?

Many organizations will register your copyright for a fee, but you can easily do it yourself through the Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov). The website is user-friendly and contains extensive FAQs, links, and downloadable application forms.

The basic fee for one registration is $30. To register a completely new, never published work that you wrote individually and not for hire, use Short Form TX. To save time and money and meet the three-month window mentioned above, complete one group application every four months using Form GR/CP.

A completed registration application contains the application form, a check, and a deposit copy (or copies) of the work. The copies are not returned to you. A cover letter listing the contents of your application and providing your contact information is usually a good idea. If your work is published in a magazine or newspaper, official guidelines insist you submit the entire magazine or paper. Include the phrase “please accept the enclosed tearsheets [or photocopies] as part of ongoing special relief from the deposit requirement” in your cover letter to skirt this requirement.

Carefully read the Copyright Office website regarding packaging guidelines and post 9/11/01 mail-screening procedures. The forms can be confusing. A good way to get help: contact a copyright attorney and ask his or her paralegal to assist you. If they charge you at all, the rates will be much cheaper.

Your registration is a stamped copy of your application and may take several weeks or months to arrive. It’s a good idea to keep the registration notice with other important papers such as financial and legal documents.

Copyright Questions Answered

2008-11-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

This article answers some basic questions about copyrights. For further information, go to http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html, and see Circular 1.

It is important to understand what copyright law does protect. Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work such as novels, poetry, movies, songs, computer software and architecture.

The key is that copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems or methods of operations in and of themselves, but can protect the way the aforementioned are expressed.

The original authorship appearing on a web site may be protected by a copyright. This can include the writings, artwork, photography and other forms of authorship appearing within it. In short, the elements of the web site may be protected by copyright. The procedures for registering the content on a web site may be found in Circular 66, Copyright Registration for Online Works.

Domain names, however, are not protected by copyright law. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization, has assumed the responsibility for domain name system management and administers the assignation of domain names through accredited registers.

A mere listing of ingredients in relation to a recipe is not protected under copyright law; however, if the recipe is accompanied by literary expression in relation to explanations or directions, there may be a basis for copyright protection. If the recipe is within the context of a collection of recipes in a book, there may also be a basis for copyright protection.

However, keep in mind that if you wish to keep the recipe ingredients secret, submitting your recipe for registration makes the recipe open to the public because applications and deposit copies are public records. See FL 122, Recipes.

Names are not protected by copyright law unless the name is a trademark. Contact U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at 800-786-9199 for further information.

Also, copyright law does not protect names, slogans, titles or short phrases. However, the aforementioned may be protected if used as trademarks. Contact the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at 800-786-9199 for further information. If a logo contains sufficient authorship, there may be a basis for protection or the artistic logo may be protected as a trademark.

Copyright does not protect ideas, concepts, systems or methods of doing something. The idea may be expressed through writings or drawings in describing the idea and claim copyright, but copyright law will not protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work.

Publication is not necessary for copyright protection.

When applying copyright to historical/personal items, like an old diary, you can register copyright only if you own the rights to the work by will or inheritance. Copyright is the right of the author of the work or the author’s heirs or assignees, not of the claimant who only owns or possesses the physical work itself. See circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Who Can Claim a Copyright.”

Copyright law does not protect sightings, but does protect the photograph of the sighting. Just send the photo with a Form VA to the copyright office along with a $30 fee. Then, no one can lawfully copy your photo of the sighting but may submit their own photo of their sighting. That is the key, because copyright law does not protect the subject of the photo, just the original photograph itself.

Should You Use a Pseudonym/Pen Name?

2008-11-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Pseudonyms, commonly known as pen names, are fictitious names that people use in place of their legal name. For writers, using a pen name is a personal decision. Each writer who uses a pen name has his or her reasons for doing so.

Love Thy Name

Some writers dislike there given name, whether it’s the surname, first name, or both. So they change it to what they like. Perhaps the writer thought their legal name was somewhat boring or not exciting enough. Or maybe the writer feels that she is a different person when she writes, so she names her persona and uses it as a pen name. Whatever the situation, writers sometimes change their name because they simply don’t like it.

Hide and Seek

There are very private writers in the world. These writers want to stay in the shadows for a short while or forever. The writer might be very shy and doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, or it could be that the writer wants to keep his past life private. Maybe the writer feels ashamed for writing a certain book and wants to keep things hush-hush. If a writer wants to hide his identity, what better way to do it than to change his name?

The author of the famous Harry Potter series used the pen name, J.K. Rowling. Her real name is Joanne Rowling. The “K” is for Kathleen, a deceased grandparent. It is said that the pen name J.K. Rowling was used so as not to lose male readers who probably wouldn’t have read her books, had they known she was female.

Pressure Medicine

In a British interview, J.K. Rowling hinted that after completing the Harry Potter series, she may use a different pen name to write other books.

Many writers decide to do this to lower the pressure. If you already authored a book, your fans may expect something similar, and just as magnificent as your previous work. Also, when a writer switches genre from one book to the next, there’s a true risk that your readers will dislike your new work. To relieve the stress, a pen name might be just what the doctor ordered.

And the Moral is…

You never need an excuse or reason to have a pen name. If you feel like using on, go ahead. It is not unusual for writers to have pseudonyms, and no one ever said it was a terrible thing to do. If your fans love your book, they won’t care if your name is Bugs Bunny, as long as you keep writing.

Nonfiction: Top 10 Reasons to Write Nonfiction

2008-11-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

1) Learn new subjects and expand your knowledge of familiar subjects.

You get to learn about so many different subjects when you write nonfiction. This week, I researched screenwriting books, Halloween safety, and spa treatments that can be made at home. Next week, I complete a curriculum for a poetry workshop and research my Cherokee heritage for a nonfiction children’s book. What do you know? What do you want to know? Your nonfiction book and article ideas lie within those two questions.

2) Meet fascinating people.

Interviewing experts on all the subjects you are learning is exciting. Writing nonfiction opens your eyes to different perspectives on everything from quilting to filmmaking to race relations. Writers get to touch greatness as a part of their life’s work. Talk about a perk! Sorry to talk about myself again, but, well…back to me. I am a slightly lumpy twenty-seven-year-old stay-at-home mother. In many people’s eyes, that is unremarkable. I don’t care what those people think, though, because I have met world-renowned playwrights, international opera stars, foundation heads, politicians, even Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who led the non-violent end to apartheid in South Africa. Not to mention the up-and-coming writers, musicians, and filmmakers who I blessedly count among my friends and family. All these people around you have knowledge and experiences they want to share, which will add depth and interest in your nonfiction. So look around at this “sphere of influence” you have, and let them have the spotlight provided by your pen.

3) Become an expert.

I was once told in a multi-level sales meeting that an expert is anyone from out of town with a briefcase. Anyone can become an “expert,” partially because of perceptions, and mainly because all you really need to be considered an expert is to know a little more about a subject than your readers.

You can also write your nonfiction manuscript with an expert partner, if you prefer to focus solely on your writing. Let the famous face with all her degrees partner with you on the book. She can do all the press and face time, and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor as a successful nonfiction writer.

4) If you can write and have worthy ideas, you can write nonfiction.

Writing is one career where you can be successful without a degree. You must be able to write. It seems obvious, and yet we have all read some horrible fiction and nonfiction. It helps if you have good ideas, although once you are writing regularly, you may even start receiving assignments from editors who appreciate your professionalism and creativity. If your idea is one that has been done time and again, but you have a brand new twist on approaching it, then you probably have a good future as a nonfiction writer.

5) The marketplace is large and constantly expanding.

There are many new markets, and market categories, all the time, for nonfiction writers. New magazines, new publishers, new journals…the list goes on. Revised editions of Writer’s Market and Literary Marketplace are a necessity because this industry is far from static. Start with the higher-paying markets to build up your bank account, or start with lower-paying or non-paying markets to build up your portfolio.

6) Non-fiction writing contributes to your career outside of writing, too, if you have one.

Publications are an impressive addition to a non-writing resumé. Show your in-depth knowledge of your field by writing non-fiction articles or books on subjects related to your line of work. This could mean career advancement, and the associated financial perks, if writing is not your chosen career. And if you are moonlighting, you can save for your writing sabbatical faster.

7) The money is good.

Nonfiction increases your cash flow. Nonfiction books hold just as many spots on most publishers’ lineups as fiction books do. Nonfiction books often stay in print longer. Even if yours doesn’t stay in print for an extended length of time, you only have to sell 50,000 to 60,000 copies to grab a six-figure income potential. Flat fee rates for small nonfiction books, a nonfiction series, or articles, are not bad either. Nonfiction is not inferior to fiction monetarily, as it was in the past.

8) You can compile articles into a full-length book.

Can you count the number of journalists or columnists who were able to take their past articles and compile them into full-length non-fiction manuscripts? Me neither. There is also the alternative of taking your successful career as a nonfiction writer, and segueing it into sales for a novel, a la Mitch Albom. He was a successful sports writer, and now he is the best-selling author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

9) Stretch your creativity.

Yes – contrary to popular belief, non-fiction does require a level of creativity. Granted, when I am not feeling so creative, I do tend to turn to my nonfiction projects. This does not mean, however, that I don’t have to put on my creative hat anyway. Almost every subject under the sun has been covered in print somewhere The key is that it has not been covered by me, and it has not been covered by you. You will still need to pull from that creative well of yours to find a new slant on an old subject or a unique slant on a new subject. If you can keep your creativity while performing research, you have excellent potential as a non-fiction writer.

10) Writing nonfiction is fun.

Okay, so this is more like a summary of the last nine points. You expand your knowledge base, meet amazing people, earn respect for your skills, expertise, and professionalism, receive assignments from editors who favor you, make more money, and work that creative muscle into a set of eight-pack literary abs. What could be more fun?

Nonfiction: Ghostwriting

2008-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

The definition of ghostwriting is as follows: the act of using your God-given talent and abilities to create and then hand over to a lazy, unqualified person to claim as their own! Okay, so that really isn’t the definition, but it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the term.

I cannot speak from personal experience about this matter, as I never really felt like it was my calling – but it may be yours. It is undoubtedly a way to make a substantial income – while putting your ego aside, of course.

If you are considering ghostwriting as a way to make some money, here are a few tips I for you. The easiest way to get started is to find a legitimate company that will sell your work for you. You write articles for them and they advertise them in a catalog, and then potential clients will purchase pre-written articles from which you receive a commission.

Another route is to just advertise your ghostwriting services on online forums or classified ads. You may also want to personally market yourself to companies whom you think may benefit from your abilities. There are A LOT of businesses out there who seek good, high-quality work, but do not know where to look. Wouldn’t it be convenient to pop up on their doorstep with an article in hand? You’ll be surprised at the response you will receive, especially once they hear they can claim the credit for your undoubtedly remarkable work.

Nonfiction: Writing a Query Letter

2008-11-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

A query letter is a summarization that represents an article in a concise and appealing way. The length of a query usually runs to a page or less. What a query will ask for is, if the writer can submit the full manuscript for review by the editor. Magazine listings or guidelines do offer the choices of submitting either a manuscript or a query, but a query is usually the best method to determine whether the editor is interested in your work.

Some of the reasons are as follows:

The response to queries from editors is faster.
A query quickly gets the main points across in relation to the slant, writing style, depth of research and whether the piece is appropriate to the magazine's needs.
The chance for a sale and writing efficiency are both enhanced because the editor can supply suggestions, if interested, which will tailor your piece to the magazine's preferences.
The editor's input can help you direct and focus what to research and what to write.

Brief, Specific and Polished

It must be remembered that the query is the sales pitch and is an example of your writing style and voice, so every word counts. The attention of the editor must be grabbed with the first sentence. To keep the editor interested, your query should be crisp and clear, with well-summarized ideas.

A review of a magazine's guidelines and samples of articles should be reviewed if you are targeting a specific magazine. Studying the magazine's guidelines, contents and requirements can bring refinement to your idea. For example, if you are writing an article on the Civil War and the magazine favors firsthand accounts or minute-by-minute battle narratives, then the battle will have to be covered in minute-by-minute segments. Be sure to include quotes from diaries, battle reports, etc.

What a strong and effective query does is summarize what exactly makes a particular topic so worthy of attention and why exactly the topic is appropriate for the targeted magazine. The query also demonstrates how you will approach the subject and what the article will contain. It is worthwhile to specify the length, whether photos are available, supplementary material and also some background experience.

The inclusion or exclusion of the steps below will depend on your specific magazine query.

The guidelines from the magazine and sample issues should be read, so you can become familiar with the magazine.
Check to see if a query is requested before submitting, because it may not be.
The query should be addressed to a specific editor by name. Spelling must be double checked, particularly proper nouns.
The lead paragraph should be strong. It will help you capture the editor's interest, convey the angle that you are pursuing and reflect what you know most of the topic.
A one-or two-line description should be included with your article.
The demonstration of how the idea meets the magazine's editorial goals will be critical and if the piece is aimed at a particular section or department.
Length indication.
The proposed content should be detailed, including quotes, anecdotal material, case histories etc.
The citation of sources, research resources and interview sources that you plan to include.
Number and type of photos or illustrations that are available.
A completion date, if possible.
Your publishing credentials should be included briefly and enclosed clips or writing samples should be referred. Any background information that qualifies you in a special degree in addressing the subject should be noted.
A ‘thank-you’ should be included at the ending and it should be noted if the query is a simultaneous submission.
Your full contact information should also be included.
Proofreading is a must to ensure the query does not contain typographical, spelling or grammatical errors. Editing must be done to delete unnecessary words that repeat or are redundant.

In summary, your query is the first impression an editor has of you. The better your query, will better your chances of having the editor contact you. The editor’s goal is to sell the magazine; it is imperative to have articles written accurately, concise and informative.

Nonfiction: Top 10 Reasons for Writing Nonfiction

2008-11-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

One way to look at what writing non-fiction is the value of the book or article you’re authoring. One key of non-fiction, especially when writing about subjects that have already been written about, is to set your creating apart from the rest. The value may be educational or of entertainment value. The author may find it easy to define the value of the book or article, and sometimes the value may not be so easily defined.

I now present to you the top ten reasons writing non-fiction can be of value to the author and audience:

The piece you are writing is unique in its approach and style. There is no other book or article like it, and that uniqueness can be a selling point.
The topic has been covered in bits and pieces by other authors, but no book or article covers the subject comprehensively.
The research you have done may not have answered your own questions, motivating you to write an article or book in the first place. Those questions you are answering in your piece, thus, are those that cannot be found anywhere else.
The book or article answers questions that people ask you about the topic. For example, the book you write may answer questions about Civil War artillery that you’ve taken from your own inquiries andm in the case of a historical event, there are always new discoveries to be made no matter how much something is already written about and recent evidence may give a different interpretation of the past. When writing non-fiction, little-known research may uncover forgotten or lost information.
Some topics are difficult for the average reader to understand. You may be able to make technical or scientific knowledge accessible and understandable to the general audience by writing about it in the simplest language possible while still keeping the points in place.
In some fields, such as medicine or computers, change is constant. The book or article you write will be current with the most up-to-date information available.
While keeping in mind that accuracy must be proven, the level of accuracy of your book might be better than others of the same topic.
When writing about trends, keep in mind that the longevity of the book may be in question because of its topic. Trends come and go, so a book written about a trend may be outdated in a year or two. However, if you can convince a publisher the book will indeed still be timely two years from now, that can be a selling point. Ideally, the book should be timely or timeless.
Your expertise will be recognized and the reputation developed from your expertise can be a selling point in itself.
Unlike fiction, non-fiction works do not need audiences of millions in order to sell. The topic can help you focus your writing on the market segment you wish to reach, be it Civil War buffs, old-time radio fans or hunters.

Essentially, your book will fill a market. The market that the book fills is often the result of a writer who attempts to find that needed answer to a question where a gap in available resources has been found.

Fiction: Character Profile

2008-11-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Each character in your story has a physical appearance and background. Listed below are some questions you can ask your character (or yourself) to find out more about him or her.

Title of Novel:

Character in story:

Nickname:

Reason for nickname:

Age:

Birth date:

Sex:

Height:

Weight:

Hair color:

Eyes: Glasses?

Skin tone:

Face shape:

Predominant features:

What does character consider his/her best physical feature? Worst?

Single/Married?

Spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends name:

How long together?

Children?

Names, Ages:

Sexual Orientation:

Race: Nationality:

Economic status:

Favorite color:

Favorite music: Least favorite music:

Favorite food:

Favorite reading material:

Favorite swear word(s):

Favorite type of automobile:

How does he/she drive?

Smoker? How often & how much?

Drinker? How often & how much?

Favorite drink?

Favorite sports:

Hobbies:

Hometown:

Type of childhood:

Education:

Religion:

Mother: Relationship:

Father: Relationship:

Siblings: Relationship:

Children of siblings:

Extended family:

Most at ease when:

Something he/she’s embarrassed about:

Greatest strength:

Greatest weakness:

Biggest regret:

Minor regret:

Biggest accomplishment:

Minor accomplishment:

Darkest secret:

Does anyone know?

Mannerisms:

Favorite clothing: Least favorite:

Spending habits:

Most prized possession:

Person he/she most admires: Why?

Misc.

Fiction: The First Chapter Crisis

2008-11-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

First chapters - those tricky first scenes where everything is touch and go. The only real significance they have is that they’re number one. The last scene gets the honour of being the last scene, even though it’s everything in between that makes the difference. Why should being number one be special?

Television shows, especially ones like CSI, are notorious for first showing some edgy, important scene that drastically affects the outcome. But with an audience that can’t tell the difference between the victim and villain at first glance, that first scene doesn’t have the same amount of punch as it would, say, halfway through the show. The same theory applies for writing. Authors know their characters better then they know themselves. The first chapter might seem to be the perfect time to add in a surprise twist, but it will go over the reader’s head.

Sometimes, the best beginnings begin in the middle. Once you establish characters, a mindset, a setting, or a mood, your readers will be more intrigued with twists and plotlines, and they’ll make more sense too. Laurell K. Hamilton’s books, best known for the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, are infamous for beginning with a droll punch line in the middle of an average day. A funny one-liner can motivate readers to keep the TV off and the book open.

Another thing to know: don’t spend your first chapter getting up to date on things just because you want to start in the middle. Making the beginning go forward to a certain point in one chapter will make things seem rushed. Starting from that certain point and having a vague recollection of the past will work better.

And whoever said that first chapters have to be written first? Plenty of authors begin a book with a scene they are certain will happen, with characters that they have already mapped out, and then work from there. Eventually, they’ll get struck with an idea, phrase, or setting that would captivate an audience from the start and can go back and write the beginning.

Lemony Snicket, author of the Series of Unfortunate Events, once wrote half of the first chapter about the importance of the first line. Being conventional is peachy, but being unconventional and writing original never-seen-before’s are what gets a reader hooked.

Note to self: you can’t fool your readers at the beginning. First chapters need to be real. You might be able to forge around with a scene halfway through your story, if you’re not sure how it’s going to end or who is going to be the bad guy, but the first chapter has to be solid and set a level for the rest of the story to hover around. Consider it the first impression of you to an in-law.

Nearly anything goes in a first chapter as long as it’s fresh material that will keep a reader going like the Energizer bunny. There are, of course, a few things to avoid. Phrases that probably wouldn’t be said in day to day conversations, like ones that “remind” you of what’s already happened (“Remember when we went to the restaurant and the waitress kept flirting with you?”), aren’t a good start. An easier way to work it is to let the readers figure it out for themselves. Drop some hints (“I’m never going back to that restaurant again, not after what that waitress did!”) and work around it.

All in all, first chapters need to hold a teensy bit more significance than just the fact that they’re number one. You know, to keep up appearances.

Fiction: Responsibility of Fiction

2008-11-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Fiction, as Webster’s New World Dictionary states, is (1) “an imaginary statement, story, etc.” and (2) “any literary work with imaginative characters and events.” As official and intellectual as it may sound, this is bare, unexciting and dry. Perhaps a more livid definition is in good order for those of us who need some ants in their literary pants to get excited about writing.

“Writing fiction is the singular way to both lie and be socially acceptable and brash and receive accolades from the guilty.”

But wait, isn’t “brash” indicative of “truth”? And since fiction is, well, fictitious, that doesn’t make much sense now, does it? Wrong. Fiction is the tactful way in which a savvy author can seduce the world into thinking his or her own way or thinking just about anything, to hone the truth through deceiving scenarios of twists and turns that hauntingly resembles his or her own. Our pens are truly mightier than the sword. This is what we laugh about in the dark.

I’ll be honest here- *clears throat* Are you ready? Fiction writers are gods. Now, before developing a wall here, allow me to explain. There is a reason we have chosen this genre, a common denominator as to why we stare (candidly I hope) at people no matter what they are doing. Some of us daydream with seamless plots twisting in and out of our heads, driving us mad until we find a form of paper and some medium of writing tool to ebb it down with and…then we create, maim, destroy, beget love, friendships, birth, topple, teach, rape, reprieve and kill everything we place upon the canvas.

Sound like anyone you know? Depending on your views, it could be a few folks you know. Now does this mean we should be venerated? Mmm, no, but thus are the traits of those creation stories. Fiction, if you get my drift, isn’t simply a craft, it’s a responsibility to the characters and the audience that you have either made to hate or fall in love with.

Kill them if you don’t like them (or keep them for dramatic effect), have them linger if they are fighters, disgrace them if they deserve it…and remain humble to the real world of the mundane that provides muse to us all. The mundane is what drives us gods to make something spectacular, to birth what could be. That’s what people purchase a book for, that’s why they read when they are alone, because they are worshiping your words, perishing for that last moment when the world you created will finally come to an end as all things must. Why do people cry at the end sometimes? Because they know deep down within their souls how hard it must have been for that god to create such a lovely hero, only to have him/her die bravely in the end. Such is the communion of our parish; such is the curse and blessing of the gods of fiction.

Fiction: How Not to Bore Your Readers – Write Better Dialogue!

2008-11-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Some writers believe that dialogue is all about the characters – what they say, how they say it, and what they’re doing as they speak. If you’re one of those writers, you are almost correct. Yes, dialogue is about your characters. But more importantly, dialogue is the voice of your entire book.

Let’s look at it this way. You will lose huge readership potential if you only use dialogue to make your characters speak during scenes. A brilliant plot may be worthless without good dialogue.

The Purpose of Dialogue

“What are you doing here?” said Sally. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

What is going on here? You might follow up with some narration that describes Sally’s situation. Maybe she’s upset that this person is not working, or perhaps she is happy or surprised.

“What are you doing here?” said Sally, frowning slightly. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

A smile spread across Sally’s face. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at work.”

Sally’s eyes grew very wide. “What are you doing here?” she said, choking on her iced tea. “You’re supposed to be at work.”

Without narration, we know how Sally feels in each of the three scenarios. In each case, the dialogue serves the purpose of making the character speak, informing the reader as to what is going on, and the feeling and emotions involved in the situation.

Most writers know the power of dialogue, but it’s easy to forget in the heat of a powerful plot. Remember, too much narration is boring. Instead of pages and pages of narration describing what’s going on, make your characters act it out instead. When narrating, you have to lay everything out on the table – what happened, how it happened, what the characters are thinking, and how the characters feel. Use the perfect blend of dialogue and narration to create an effective story.

Don’t Tell Them – Let the Characters Speak

You might feel compelled to describe scenery and image through narration. You can certainly do so, but don’t go over the top. Painting pictures with words is a true art, but ten pages of image descriptions will have your readers yawning. You can incorporate narration and dialogue to paint the perfect image.

There’s a huge difference between telling the story through narration, and the characters telling the story through dialogue and thoughts. When your characters are interacting, the story is always more interesting. How many times have you told a funny incident to your friends and they didn’t find it funny? Many times, you just have to be there to get the joke. It’s the same for your book. Let your characters act it out. Even in narration, always include your characters’ thoughts and emotions.

Who Said It?

“I apologize I could not hear a thing. She closed the door so that I was unable to hear their conversation.”

“What would you like me to do?”

Just imagine an average 10-year-old American boy saying the above phrases. It hardly fits at all! Our 10-year-old Johnny would say it more like this:

“Sorry, didn’t hear anything. She closed the door so I didn’t hear what they said.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Similarly so, a macho-man would never use the words “mauve”, “cashmere”, “baby blue”, or “bunny rabbit”. When it comes to speech, gender matters. Determine whether your characters are male or female, then decide whether they will be masculine male, feminine female, or vice versa. Perhaps you have a masculine female character to portray her life with her father and five brothers. You decide, but make sure their speech fits the part.

Your characters’ way of speaking should fit their age, sex, class, level of intelligence and location. Use regional slang for your character who grew up in the mean streets of New York. If your character was born and raised in England, perhaps words such as “loo” or “lift” naturally belong in her vocabulary. Your character’s education is also important. For someone who has no formal education, grammar and vocabulary may not be perfect. Whatever situation your characters are in, their way of speaking should be a natural fit.

As a word of caution, use regional slang wisely. It should work well with the time period your story is set in. And it has to be used correctly, and in the right context or your book may not please certain readers. It might pay to study or even visit the area where your story will take place, if it exists. Research everything about your character to see how he or she should speak.

Play it by Ear

After your dialogue is written, read it out loud. You’ll see that saying it and writing it will produce a different effect. What sounds good on paper might not sound so great when said out loud.

Watch out for awkward dialogue. If it doesn’t sound right, you don’t want to use it in your book unless it happens to fit your character. A tape recorder may help you in the process. Record each piece of dialogue you aren’t sure about and listen to it a few times. When you finally find the right words, record and listen to your new dialogue. And in any given scene, make sure the dialogue flows well together.

Take note that you might end up changing your dialogue two, three, or 100 times. It’s this kind of attention to detail that matters to your publisher. All in all, your dialogue should sound great. Your readers will love and appreciate it.

Fiction: How to Start Writing Your First Novel

2008-11-04T09:43:00.001-08:00

If your dream is to create a bestselling novel, join the club of millions. Writing fiction can be one of the most rewarding things you may do as a writer. You’re here because you want to begin writing fiction. Many of you are confused as to where to begin. Use this guide to clear up the confusion and anxiety that many new writers face.

The First Step is All About the Mindset

You already took a baby step – you decided to write a novel. If you feel the urge to start writing your story right away, hold back for just a second.

First, let’s try to understand the world of fiction. Not every writer survives. Everyday, thousands of writers decide to write a novel. Some begin to write the first pages of their story. A precious few end up finishing their novels.

What accounts for the failure of so many would-be fiction writers? Perhaps it’s a busy schedule or a lack of motivation. Each writer has his or her own reasons for not finishing their novels.

With that said, here’s lesson #1:

99 out of 100 reasons are actually excuses. For the purpose of becoming a successful writer, use the word, “excuse” whenever you have a bad reason for not writing. Remember, reasons are excuses, and excuses are lies. Ultimately, reasons are lies that you tell yourself, and these lies will come between you and success. Start with a clean slate – make a promise to ignore the excuses that enter your mind. This may be the most important thing you will ever learn as a writer.

Technical Information – Let’s get this out of the way

A novel consists of about 100,000 words, which comes out to about 400 double-spaced, typed pages. Sounds like a huge amount of work, doesn’t it? Yes, it’s a lot of work, not to mention dedication and drive. If you feel discouraged at this point, go back and read the previous paragraph.

Reflect back on your favorite novel. It may contain anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words, give or take a few. Nowadays, some novels go over by up to 50,000 words. If you think that your fiction novel will go longer than 100,000 words, consider breaking it up into several books. For example, if you have 400,000 words, you should create a series of four books. On the other hand, if the idea of 100,000 words or more sounds frightening, perhaps you should consider writing a short story. A short story may contain up to 40,000 words.

The Name of the Game

The first thing any fiction writer should do is choose a genre – a category or style, so to speak. The genre will determine where or how it will be classified in a bookstore. Examples of genres include mystery, romance, horror, science fiction, fantasy and mainstream. These are not the only genres out there – many more exist and there are sub-genres for each category, not to mention mixed genres such as science fiction mystery. Do your homework and read up on various genres.

Dealing with the Creative Process

If you have even the smallest idea for a story, that’s enough juice to get you through. Even for those of you who have no clue what to write about, you can still get the creative process started.

Understand the creative process. I consider the creative process to be a time where you think, create, and write. It is the ultimate tool to finish your novel. Call it anything you want – some writers call it “quiet time”. It’s a bad term, however, because there are writers who talk out loud to make sense of what’s going on in their minds.

Gather your ideas. Don’t lose them.

Ideas come and go throughout the day. You may think that great writers have this rare gift of coming up with wonderful ideas for their stories. The truth is anyone can come up with a knock-you-socks-off idea. The trick is to gather those ideas in one place, whether in a notebook or in an index card box.

You never know when a fabulous idea will come to you. Keep a small notebook in your pocket or purse, and one by your bed. I know several people who pop up at 3 am to write down an idea.

Some of your ideas may seem “stupid”. Write them down anyway. It could become the best idea yet, once you play around with it. Too many writers “throw away” their ideas by not writing them down. A lost idea is just that – lost. You can always go back to a “stupid” idea, but you can’t do that with a lost one.

Make a schedule. Keep to it.

Include time in your daily schedule to work on your novel. It could be 15 minutes in the morning before your family wakes up, or a half hour during your lunch break. You don’t necessarily have to write during the creative process. You could use the time to think over your ideas or create new ones. Remember, a great novel can take two weeks or two years. Don’t restrict yourself – the quality of your novel will suffer.

Improve yourself and your novel will follow.

Make sure your facts are straight. Use the internet and other resources to help you find the correct information. Unless you meant it to be so, always use the correct info or your book may lose steam with some readers.

There are many great books at your local library or bookstore that can aid you in developing your plot, characters, and your overall story. Consider taking a workshop or course in creative writing if your story doesn’t excite you. Grammar, spelling, and sentence structure are also important to your book, so always get help in this area when you need it.

Revise, revise, revise.

If your story isn’t perfect in your eyes, correct it. It could mean erasing fifty pages of text, or changing a scene. Some writers get half way through their books and realize that something doesn’t make sense, so they rewrite the whole thing. Constantly reread, edit, and revise for a well-written, polished novel.

Here’s to Your Success

This guide will not be the only thing you need to succeed. You will go on and read many more books, articles, and magazines. Fiction writing is very multifaceted and the art of fiction writing will come to you in its own way. Never wrap yourself up in following an exact method – it won’t work. You can follow directions and take the advice of others, but your story will only unfold with your imagination. Word hard and stay motivated!

Fiction: A Villain to Remember

2008-11-04T09:42:00.002-08:00

The antagonists, or villains, are the manna of a story’s power. Without them, our oh so noble heroes (protagonists) would still be stamping out their secret I.D.s as newspaper journalists, photographers and kings of Ithaca. We all know a few. In fact, I’ll wager you could name more of the scary guys than the good guys…the following is why.

Way back in the good ol’ days of the Roman Marius Event, phalanx formation and the nursing of democracy in Athens, the die of our modern conception of hero and villain was cast. Priests and poets declared tales of exploits upon Mt. Olympus, whether it be one of Zeus’ many affairs (which led to the birth of many heroes) or the gods’ defiance against human creations. The Greeks, Romans and much of the civilized Mediterranean world thus set into action the snowball effect of our modern literature. Take, for example, Heracles and his twelve tasks to purge himself of killing his own children or Perseus accepting the wager to slay the Gorgan and Aeneas while facing his hated destiny as the founder of the Roman race, tales of this caliber are what distinguish a memorable work of literature.

Now what made tales such as these, or of the ilk of “Moby Dick,” “Silence of the Lambs,” or even the “Trial of Socrates” so memorable? The answer is the villain. Antagonists, the immortal ones of our mind, are of the same consistency as your bleakest nightmare. We all still have them, and they should be recorded! Wake up sweating, grasping at your chest to ensure your heart doesn’t burst from your bosom? Write down what you saw. Villains are what our parents always warned us to avoid.

That dark corner, the stranger without a name, the vacant house at the edge of town, our secret wishes that would tear our social lives upside down! Harness this.

Villains that are memorable offer a similarity, even so slight, with their audience. There is something congenially sinister in all of us. This is why we love the carnage, the suspense and the rage of their fury. Take Hannibal Lector, we all know him, but why? Is it because he cooked people and ate them? What about because he’s a genius? No, it’s because of his lauded compassion for style and wit. The reason he ate people was because they were rude, now imagine that! How many times did you line up ways to dispose of that annoying, pitiless employee at the DMV? That is what makes Dr. Lector and all in his company so, well, loveable. They perform the atrocities of society so that we don’t have to. Admit it. We watch, read and fear them because we all think the same. Create villains to be believable, bearable and loveable, for the villain of imagination is the only mode the sane and moderate possess to commit one standing ovation of a crime.

Fiction: Creating Believable 3-D Characters

2008-11-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Characters are the most important part of stories – they can make or break it. They need to be realistic; if they’re not real to you, how can they be real
to your readers?

Keep these following points in mind when creating your next characters.

Sketch out what they look like in your mind’s eye.

Describe their hair, body, clothes, etc. in detail. Does this seem realistic?

Then, create families and relationships with family members. What was their childhood like?

What was their favorite color, pet, school subject, movie, book, actor and singer?
What will they be like in 5-10 years?

Also, create realistic attitudes, personalities and lifestyles.
How would they speak?

What would they say?

What is their occupation, and does their job fit with their personality?
Does their name fit them?

Does this work?

Juliet

19 years old
Hourglass figure
5’2”-5’4”
Sallow face/eyes
Smeared, mangy lips
Nicotine-stained nails
Prostitute
Short, black hair, dyed
Left home at 16
Drug addiction
Steals
Working the streets since 17
High heels
Miniskirt
Plunge style bra/vest
High school dropout (age 15)
Quiet, lanky kid (age 12-14)
Greasy hair
No father
Mother abused by string of boyfriends

Fiction: 5 Ways To Improve Your Fiction Writing

2008-11-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

The five ways to improve your fiction writing skills I present here are by no means comprehensive. The very nature of the sentence former is a case in point. No one is the same and, the gods willing, no one’s writing or collective acumen is the same either. So, let’s get started.

(1) Style:

A conspicuous little word that every creative writing teacher and “inspired” coffee house junkie loves to use. However my friends, for every 15% of stylistic BS there is 85% of truth. In short, style is very important, yet one must take caution, as with eating too much of one thing.

Imagine for a moment you are writing a brilliant piece, you see the dollar signs, the juicy advance check and fan website… all of this swimming in your brain starting around page 43. I would bet the bottom dollar, I wish I had, that if you read from page 41 and back you would notice your writing style had changed. Why? Because your style changed from raw love and emotion for writing to a commercialized, insatiable appetite for fame and riches. Neither intentions are bad, but this goes to show that while writing fictitiously your emotions influence your style, so be mindful and train your thoughts. Recognize your voice and embrace it.

(2) Read:

If you’ve ever read/heard anyone say that they don’t like to read for risk it will taint their style, grab a voodoo doll and wish that they fall in a pot hole (ok…perhaps not that far). Omit yourself from the conversation immediately and cling to a police officer because to claim “writing” as a pastime or profession implies, and demands, that you read avidly. It would be the idealistic equivalent to say that you are a body builder but you don’t lift weights because you might end up with 20 inch biceps like that guy over there. Reading trains you, inspires you, and racks at your intuition. How can you build an empire of novels or poems if you don’t know how to read a blueprint?

(3) Be humble:

Be prepared to admit to yourself that you simply aren’t the best and won’t be until 100% of the world says you are. A king never ruled anything without citizens. Aristotle said that a man will never be wise until he accepts that he is a fool. Ask questions, ask for advice, and force yourself to be a sponge everyday you wake.

(4) Grow a set of scriptor testicles (writer balls):

Prepare yourself if you are serious about fiction. The road is hard, impious and throttling. If you perform the art correctly, you’ll discover things about this world and your own that will keep you up sweating. What torments do you think Poe, Stephen King or Dante endured? Nightmares perhaps or creeping revelations...who knows?

We often come to love what we fear because of that rush, the rush of self discovery or if that editor will, *gasp,* accept your work. Suck it up and face it like you’ve got dignity to burn and I promise, the world will lap up you and your “ballsy” writing like sweet wine.

(5) Find a soul mate:

In every endeavor, my friends, we need a soul mate for support. This soul mate of course doesn’t have to be a cuddly photo of a wife, husband or the lesser levels of the two. The item of this description is your backbone or trampoline that creates a cushion and a motivator, (the rougher the better) for you to continue your craft.

You’ve thrown a pity party for yourself before, yes you have don’t shake your head because you’re in good company. All of use need to whine and gripe about how rough it is to sit on our tails all day and basically lie for a hobby, (frustrating I know). Thus the need for our soul mates, perhaps it’s your Literature-loving father, a cat that warms the room’s ambiance, or a wife, such as mine, who threatens to pull my leg hair if I don’t keep on with my dream. Of all the advice in the world that writers can receive, support of morale and faith is paramount. Hold this dear, for with no allies war will bare you no victory.

Fiction: Character With a Zing

2008-11-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Bob has to be great; he has to snatch your readers’ attention (and keep it) almost immediately. It’s essential for good fiction, and a must for great, memorable fiction.

But getting Bob to be all you want him to be isn’t the easiest task, is it? In fact, it’s one of the most difficult you’ll have to accomplish in writing your story. You may have a terrific plot, excellent writing style and know how to write incredible descriptions...BUT, if Bob doesn’t entertain, stir the emotions, or tickle your readers’ fancies, your book or short story won’t do nearly as well.

I say this as a writer, and an avid reader: there have been many books that I really enjoyed at first—the plot line was original, and the descriptions beautiful—but I couldn’t sympathize with, enjoy, or sometimes, even understand Bob, because he was flat, boring and uninteresting. Trust me, Bob will make, or break, your story. Making Bob life-like and original is the key to attracting readers, so GET HIM RIGHT!!

And the way to do that is: to determine who Bob is as a person.

Yes, this is the most difficult, yet critical step to getting your book off the ground. I know from experience that if you can’t anticipate Bob’s next move, it will often be a hindrance, and even a severe problem, (though there are exceptions), even if you have a specific plotline to follow. I can’t over emphasize it enough: KNOW BOB!

Now, having said that, I don’t mean that you have to scrutinize every single tiny detail about him, unless it helps you. Knowing how many centimeters tall Bob is isn’t going to help you figure out what he’ll say to the bad guy (well, in most cases!) Don’t over-do it; it shouldn’t be a burden for you to write about him. I personally, have NOT over-scrutinized my character, and it allows freedom for him to flower and develop in my mind, without causing panic because he said or did something different than I expected.

a) Give him a history.

You are going to know Bob better than anyone else; readers won’t know anything about him until you tell them, so know his back-story. You’ll need to know the details of things like: a death in the family, a football accident he had, or whatever life situations you give him in order to make him alive, and to keep your readers’ interest up. Know how life has affected him, and how he dealt with it, which will also affect the next point.

b) Know his motivations and emotional status.

Ok, we have to admit it. There’s a common misconception out there that male characters are supposed to lack emotion and be big, tough and controlling. But, we in real life know this is not the case. We’re all human, and we all have emotions, whether we like it or not.

SO, even if Bob is not normally the emotional type, you as the author still need to know what he is thinking and feeling during different scenes. You may not want or need to tell your readers what he’s feeling, but you need to know his motivation, or he’ll go_________________--flat as the Sahara.

c) Know how he interacts with people around him.

This coincides with the above as well; determine whether Bob is outgoing, a wallflower, generous, quick-tempered, studious, creative, dull, hard working, cowardly, whatever you want, but figure out his general attitude towards things and people. Again, don’t overdo it; leave him some breathing room to grow and mature in your mind, but have a general idea of his personal feelings toward life. Don’t suffocate him, but have some expectations as to what he’ll do next.

So, there are a few little tips on how to make your characters more life-like and sympathetic to your readers. I hope it helps you out, and that your Bob, Mark, Kate, Liz, whoever, turns out just the way you want them!

Fiction: Creating Suspense

2008-11-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Hands down, the most superb suspense authors are fishermen, especially the ones with the cool bumper stickers. Try this one, lean back in your chair, close your eyes and think about all the epic ichthyological tales of the attempt to pull in the “one that got away”. Astounding enough, not one is the same. You may ask, “But why Scott?” It is because savants of suspense are the masters of our tall tale art of fiction.

The act of creating suspense is the bullet-riddled attempt to create a feeling of relative anxiety, panic or excitement in a reader/audience. Basically, we are creating a copy of a copy. And since all things second hand are naturally a little Panglossian (sort of like second hand smoke or your best friend’s attempts at hooking up with your ex) this requires a degree of creativity and effort. To recapture the feeling of unequivocal fear, pain, savagery or love…to leave the reader as breathless as you were or your characters is a feat of great pursuit rivaling that of the stream of consciousness.

We are responsible as professional liars to dig into our guts and face not only our fears, but also the collective nightmare of the planet. If suspense is a meal, then its medium of preparation is the crock-pot. Yeah, I’m getting somewhere just hold on. This element of fiction cannot under any circumstances be half-baked or thrown together. Suspense takes its time, like a dull knife sliding into the character’s ribs, initially fracturing the bone, then cracking the marrow out and restraining the victim’s screams. The style is slow, deliberate and potent enough to fog a room. For purposes of lesson, discriminate against your reader and imagine they are def, mute, blind and disabled from the eyes down. Suspense requires that you carry the reader through every detail and then suddenly without warning, as their hearts are preparing to explode, launch them into the climax of the story and gracefully allow them to breathe.

Suspense is the orgasm of literature. No one wants an imitation.

Fiction: Sweetening the Finale

2008-11-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

“The tall, blonde man turned, leaned against the railing and stared up at Harold. He jabbed his companion with his elbow and laughed. Then he raised his right hand, pointed two fingers like he would a pistol, and pretended to shoot.”

Delicious foreshadowing, isn’t it? That’s a quote from W.D. Valgardson’s A Matter of Balance. The entire short story is bloated with suspense – it’s tense, constantly in a jumbled motion, and gives readers that jittery “monster in the closet is coming to get you” feeling...and that’s why it’s so darn good.

Suspense can come in trillions of unique or traditional forms that can each leave lasting affects, and usually are what the reader will remember afterwards.

Some of the best examples of suspense are those that are done subtly, with a few hints or clues given but nothing more. Everything else comes naturally. Paranoia can be extraordinarily helpful because it immediately sets the mood.

In The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, another short story with a different take of suspense, the protagonists have a designated fear that is unrealistic to us because it does not exist in our world – not yet, that is. An incredible amount of foreshadowing is used so that every reader gets that eerie sixth sense that something bad is going to happen. That foreshadowing then comes true.

Everything is set up to twist and become one with the sharp intakes (because gasps are so unmanly!). The foreshadowing leads us to think...it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, or is it? — and then it happens.

The second form of suspense in The Veldt prays on our own fear. It focuses on how the protagonists are uneasy about one thing — but it’s the mentioning of something much scarier to any reader that leaves an impact because it’s always a secret worry – that our children will love something else more than us – and adds to the already augmenting suspense because it’s praying on our own fears and worries on the side. Then the question arises: if that’s a side plot, then what could possibly be the main one?

The best way to set up suspense is to feel the suspense as you’re writing it. Whether a short story, which usually involve more in-depth emotions, or a chapter or two in a novel, the suspense has to be heartfelt to the point where you can taste it even as your hand dashes across the keyboard or the paper. You know exactly what’s going to happen, but it’s each moment leading up to the climax — the anticipation of it all — that sweetens the finale that much more.

Fiction: When The Beginning Comes Last

2008-11-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Do you find yourself questioning if the first chapters of your novel are good? Should you go back and revise them? My advice is simple - DON'T - at least not until you've reached the end of your novel. Even if you've outlined extensively and think you know the ending of your novel, most likely you don't. As you write, your characters will come alive, taking on nuances and goals you never imagined. Your understanding of them will deepen, beyond any character sketches you made during your planning phase. At some point, your characters may take over, twisting your plot in new, wondrous ways. Let your characters run with their story. Become an observer, and then, when you do reach the end of the novel, you will finally understand what your characters and your novel are truly about. And only then will you be able to write the beginning that is perfect for your novel.

Screenwriting: 6 Points to Ponder When Writing Your Screenplay

2008-11-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Writing a screenplay from scratch, or converting a previously published novel into a screenplay, may seem like particularly daunting undertakings. Of course, the task ahead is not easy, but concentrating on the most important factors while writing your screenplay may increase your focus, and eventually, the likelihood of a sale.

According to Albert Lopez, a filmmaker based in San Francisco, there are six main things every aspiring screenwriter must keep in mind while working on a screenplay. They are the most important points because they are the most basic elements of any script. In no particular order, these are:

1) Know where you’re going.

2) Don’t use dialogue as a crutch.

3) Give characters playable actions.

4) Maintain structure/format.

5) Create obstacles for your main characters.

6) Second acts are hard to write.

Know Where You’re Going.

You need to know where you plan to go with your story. Knowing your denouement before you begin writing your screenplay will give you direction to complete the arduous task that lies before you. Having this focus helps propel your screenplay toward your goal – getting your characters to the place you always intended them to reach in your glorious final scene(s).

Don’t Use Dialogue as a Crutch.

Do not use dialogue to tell your story. Dialogue is used to build characterization – to establish your characters. “On-the-nose” dialogue should be avoided. Take, for example, a married couple arguing in their kitchen. The wife should not say, “I hate you. I am so mad at you. You never help me out around here. You make me feel invisible.” Instead, she enters the kitchen, tight-lipped, approaches the sink, starts rinsing dishes, and says, “Did you take out the trash today?” She full well knows the answer to that question!

Give Characters Playable Actions.

Provide your characters with something to do while they are talking. Let’s look at the husband and wife in our dialogue example. Through the subtext of the wife’s actions, we understand she is mad. It is also possible, with playable actions, to see that her husband truly does behave in a way that makes her feel invisible. How? Is he sipping juice at the breakfast bar while reading The Wall Street Journal, flipping pages as she enters the room, not even bothering to look up as she enters? Or is he unshaven, lounging on a futon in front of the television, surrounded by half-empty chip bags, failing to acknowledge his wife as she returns, haggard, from her job? The characters actions help drive the plot and establish the back story.

Maintain Structure/Format.

One cannot stress enough the importance of structure and format when writing a screenplay. These factors can be the life or death of your script. Structure is important because a screenwriter must know a basic outline of the script in order to get characters where they need to go by the end of the script. What is the destination? At what physical place or emotional state is your main character to arrive? Your screenplay must have structure to get her there.

Formatting your screenplay properly is vitally important. Many studios and producers will not even read a script that is not formatted correctly. If you need help getting started, Mr. Lopez recommends the book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Sid Field. This book details the “how” of the technical aspects of writing your screenplay: structure, format, plot points, scene headings, and much more. For example, did you know your screenplay needs to be in Courier font, or that preparing it in Word is one flag of an amateur? If you have a budget of a few hundred dollars or more, there is an excellent selection of screenwriting software on the market, including Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, and Sophocles.

Create Obstacles for Your Main Characters.

Give your main characters goals, and place obstacles in their way. Your main character(s) must be opposed by a strong force in order to gather the empathy of readers and, if all goes as planned, moviegoers. A period of testing is imperative for your protagonist. Most of this testing that stands between him and his ultimate goal will occur during the second act. This is part of why it is vital that a screenwriter knows her ending upfront. You can put obstacles in front of a goal only if you know the location of the goal.

Second Acts are Hard to Write.

Death, taxes, and the second act slump…trite but true. Act Two is the most difficult one for any screenwriter. This is the act where the most events are happening, and hitting a “slump” is natural and quite normal at this stage. Work through it, and try not to torture small animals or loved ones at this stage. (No husbands were harmed in the making of this film…I digress.) Your heroes are still dealing with the same problems set up in Act One. In Act Two, however, the journey is more difficult. Adversaries and obstacles arise in full force during Act Two. The tension is mounting throughout the second act, and it is up to you to sustain it. No pressure.

You know the basics. You have the talent. Now go write that screenplay!

Screenwriting: 10 Top Tips for Writing your Screenplay

2008-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

If you want to learn how to write a script, there are a variety of books and programs to teach you. Reading top books will give you a ton of useful information to help you take your story from simple idea to full-fledged screenplay.

Perhaps, you want something a little simpler than that. Rather than a whole book packed with ideas, you want a concise list, a limited number of things that you can keep in mind whenever you are writing. I present: 10 Top Tips for Writing your Screenplay.”

Any top ten list is likely to be fairly arbitrary, and this one is no different. However, I will bet that if you were to ask a hundred good screenwriters for their top ten, most of these on the list would be their first priority.

So whether you are a first timer looking at a blank screen and wondering how to get started, or have already written several screenplays, taking heed to these fundamentals tips can help you produce better work.

Film is a visual medium
Writing a screenplay is fundamentally different to any other form of writing. Why, you ask? Answer: Film is a visual medium.

For the past year or so I’ve been part of an online writing community. This has given me the opportunity to read a lot of other people’s work. One item that stands out in many otherwise decent screenplays is that they are not written in a primarily visual way.

Too much dialogue – many screenplays are plagued by a surfeit of talking head scenes, where there is nothing visual happening, nothing for the audience to watch.
The description is too detailed, too dense – a screenplay is not a novel. Keep descriptions short and sharp, giving just the essence of person or place.
Show your story, don’t tell it – if we can’t see it, then don’t bother writing it. Thoughts and feelings can only be conveyed by what a character says or does.

Keep it short and sweet
There are clear parameters for what constitutes a screenplay. If your manuscript runs over 120 pages, most editors won’t hassle reading your masterpiece. So be succinct and cut the unnecessary words. Eliminate the fat! Point made?

Come in late, leave early:
One way to keep your screenplay to a good length is to come into a scene late and leave early. What that means is that the audience joins the action when it’s already running, and leaves the moment the relevant action is over.

For example – if your hero is attending a job interview, you can join the scene with the interview already underway, and leave while your hero is still in the interview – you don’t need to show her coming in, saying hello, being introduced, etc, etc.

Write what you believe in
This is something so obvious it’s amazing how many people fall foul of it. Try to write a story that you are passionate about – do not predict what the market wants.

The film that is playing at your multiplex today was probably shot 12 months ago and written four years ago. Trying to catch the wave based on what you think Hollywood wants is a waste of your time and effort.

Format like a professional
There are two ways to format – right and wrong. Either use screenwriting software (e.g. Final Draft) or buy a good book on formatting, and learn it inside and out.

Strong opening and big finish
Many editors or producers read just the first ten pages of a screenplay. If you haven’t hooked them by page ten, your chance of being accepted is slim.

This means, your opening has to be so good, that they will want to read the rest of the screenplay to see what happens next.

After a strong opening, the next important part to cap is the ending. If a reader is still interested after the first ten pages, they will often skip straight to the end to see how the story finishes.

The best description I’ve heard of what constitutes a “good ending” is to give the audience what they expect, in a way they don’t expect. People want a happy ending, where the hero triumphs, but they want to be surprised by the way the hero achieves it.

Conflict, conflict, conflict
One thing every good script needs is conflict. Conflict is the engine that drives a story forwards. The more the various characters are in conflict with one another, the more a chance that something interesting will happen.

Send your hero to hell
We want the hero to triumph, but we also want their triumph to be against the odds. You do that by throwing everything at them. How do you achieve that? Simple! In any given situation, think of the worst thing that could happen to your hero, and then do it to them.

Give an audience a reason to care
Strong characters are essential if you are to take the audience along. Nowhere is this more crucial than in your main character. Your main character needs to be:

Sympathetic
Vulnerable
Believable
Interesting
Multi-dimensional

Too many stories fall flat because the main character is either unsympathetic (so we don’t care what happens to them), or less interesting than a subsidiary character.

Outline or die
There are several of ways in figuring out where your story is going. Some people write each scene on an index card, others use sheets of paper; some just type the different scenes out. Then there are those who write the screenplay based on a half page of notes.

My own recommendation is to outline as much as possible. Why? Just ask yourself – which would you rather re-write when you discover your story isn’t working? A 10-page scene outline, or a 120-page screenplay?

While paying attention to the above will not guarantee that you become a great writer, ignore them at your peril. The more you write, the more you’ll find what works for you – but paying attention to the basics will shorten your learning curve.

Inject Some Passion Into Your Writing

2008-11-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ask any number of writers and most will tell you they struggle with writer?s block regularly. Some can afford the luxury of waiting for the muse, but if you?re a freelance writer who lives or dies by how many words you produce daily, you need a sure-fire weapon to blow writer?s block out of the water.

I have heard of many techniques - and used quite a few myself - but I keep coming back to a common-sense technique that is often overlooked: Passion.

That?s right. The key to writing about anything is finding the passion. Getting excited about the topic and letting your imagination and creativity take it from there.

Now, if you write for various companies, as I do, you may think it?s hard to get excited about mundane products or dry business services.

Not so.

I have been writing commercially for more than 20 years. And in that time, I have written copy for everything from shampoo (I?m bald), alcohol (I don?t drink) and baby?s clothes (I haven?t got any kids) to Windows PC solutions (I use Macs), plumbing products (OK, I hired one once) and trucks (have you seen my car?).

Can you see what I am getting at?

I don?t use any of those products, but that doesn?t stop me from getting truly excited about them.

So, how do you get excited?

Think about the benefits - that?s ultimately what you?ll be selling in your copy anyhow - think about how, what you are writing about, can enhance and change people?s lives. Put yourself in your reader?s position. Let your mind explore how your life would be better if you had a certain product or service (even if it doesn't apply directly to you).

It may sound simple, but that?s what works for me. I get passionate about my writing, when I know the benefits, when I FEEL the benefits.

You can apply this same principle to virtually any kind of writing, not just commercial copy.

This is a great way to not only kick-start your creativity but beat writer?s block.

Freelance Writing: How to transform a Prospect into a Client

2008-11-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

For many freelance writers, the hardest step is getting your foot in the door of a new corporate client's office. But, in reality, keeping your foot in the door - that is, transforming a prospect into a client - is a far bigger challenge, especially when you're starting out.

Generally, your first instinct is to tell your prospect anything and everything about yourself and what you can offer. I think it's smarter to balance this with a number of questions that are aimed at not only gathering information but also demonstrating your expertise as well as your interest in the client's affairs.

Here's a handful of questions you can ask potential clients:

What are your products and services?
What are your target markets (ie industries which require your services)?
Who are your target audiences (ie Managing Director/CEO level or technical staff etc)?
Who are your major competitors?
What is your USP (Unique Selling proposition or competitive advantage - why should someone buy from your client rather than the competition)?
Do you have a sales force or resellers (this can determine what kinds of marketing communications you can offer your client - ie internal/external newsletter, direct mail letters, sales presentations, videos etc)?
How do you market your products (what kinds of communications do you currently use - eg advertising, PR, DM etc)?
Are they conducted internally or through an agency (you can offer a solution to fit ? eg you can provide overload or consulting services for internal staff and co-ordinate projects with their agency)?

As you can see, these questions can provide you with a lot of information about your client's business, their marketing strategies as well as identify opportunities for your literary services. Now, you are in a far better position to develop and sell literary solutions that meet your new client's needs.

That's the key - developing solutions that meet their needs.

Let's face it, there is no shortage of writers out there. But there is a shortage of writers who are prepared to tailor their services to suit specific requirements and market themselves accordingly.

You are a Great Writer ~ But do you believe it?.. Here's how you can!

2008-11-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you told yourself "I am a great writer" and believed it?

If you're like most, probably never. But, sadly, the same writers are all too quick to utter or think something negative at the first sign of writer's block or even before they begin a new project.

It's no wonder many writers are stopped dead in their creative tracks when trying something new.

That's why it's vital for you to not only think positive but to act positive in every area of your life. Since much of our job as a writer is thinking, it's important to have positive input to ensure positive output.

That's why I produced 'Writers on Writing', a compilation of literary quotations from the masters of our craft as well as150 positive affirmations I have written specifically for today's writers.

As I said, it's not enough to think positive, you have to act positive. And the ideal way to start this is by "programming" your mind.

Here's how you can get started:

1. Create your own positive affirmations.

It's best to begin with short, positive statements in the present tense, such as "I love writing".

2. Recite daily.

Recite one or more affirmations each and every day. I find the best results come from saying affirmations around a dozen times. And don't just say the words, MEAN what you say. Recite them aloud ~ with conviction in your voice.

3. Visualize your affirmations.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing. You can add a great deal of impact to your words, if you combine them with a strong positive image.

Imagine in your mind's eye, writing better than ever before. Feel the words flow easily. Picture how wonderful it is to produce a great work. See yourself accepting a writer's award or being interviewed on TV about your new book. Revel in the feeling of achievement.

4. Practice, practice, practice.

For best results, I suggest saying the affirmation and performing the visualization each morning when you awake, so that you set yourself up for a good day of writing. And also perform this ritual every night as you are about to go to sleep, so that you program your subconscious mind for action the next day.

This is not a magic wand approach to writing, but it will help you if you stick with it. I have been using meditation and visualization techniques, like this, in my work for the best part of 20 years.

By reciting one or more each day, by believing what you are saying, by visualizing the results ~ you are building a belief within you. And by building a belief, you are moving one step closer to manifesting the desire.

Affirmations work best when you use your imagination.

See yourself writing easier and better than ever before . . .
Feel the sense of accomplishment at completing an important work or gaining acceptance from a publisher . . .
Enjoy the acclaim that comes with success . . .
Know that you have already achieved the desired outcome . . .

Do this and you will be one step closer to realizing that you are a great writer.

The Second Secret to Writing Blogs that are Read

2008-11-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you read an blog that was flat, uninteresting and not even relevant to your needs?

If you're like most people, probably yesterday, today, and no doubt there will be another one tomorrow ~ until you decide to unsubscribe.

That's the problem. Most smart businesses publish a regular blog, and sadly so do many wannabes. The difference is in the content and the way it is presented.

Recently, we discussed the first secret to writing blogs that get read. That is to think of the reader first.

There is now so much competition out there that for blogs to survive and thrive, they need to address issues of interest to the reader, rather than continually promote the publisher's products and services.

But it's not enough to simply think of your reader, you need to write as if you are addressing each reader personally. Consider these four steps to writing personally:

1. Write for an audience of one

We all know that the best way to communicate with someone is on a one-to-one basis. And that's the way you should write your blog. Picture in your mind your "typical reader" and write just for that person.

Your blog may be distributed to 10, 100 or several thousand subscribers, but you will have the greatest impact on them personally, if you write personally.

2. Be personal

Many autoresponding systems, like GetResponse.com which I use, allow you to also include the first name of the person in your communications. Like all tools, $firstname, this should not be overused. You may wish to address your reader personally a couple of times in each blog.

3. Be respectful

Remember, your blog may be competing with a dozen others on any one day, so be respectful of your reader's time. Write short, sharp and insightful articles that address your reader's needs. That's not to say you cannot include product promotions. Just make sure your ads are written in a customer-focused manner ~ you'll find your readers won't mind and your sales will reflect it.

4. Keep Spam in the can

A final point on respecting your reader. Never, ever spam readers. That means never send unsolicited communications those who have not subscribed or requested it. In some parts of the world this is against the law. But in all parts of the cyberworld, this is frowned upon, and it's a sure way to lose respect and business.

Writing for an audience of one is not just a powerful way to be read, it's also a great way to write. When you focus on your 'ideal reader', you'll find the words flow easier, your message is clearer and the impact . . . well, just ask your readers ~ every one of them ~ they'll tell you how they feel.

It's Never Too Late to become a New You

2008-11-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

"I haven't got the time" . . . "I haven't got the ability". . . "I'm too old".

Think about the excuses you use in your life. Then think about what you're missing in your life.

Consider what you could do, if you were more creative with making things happen rather than finding excuses for not achieving your life's dream.

I thought about this just yesterday.

My day started like most others. A flurry of activity, with one eye on a deadline and another eye on the ringing phone.No matter how busy you are, there's always time for procrastination, if you allow for it, right?

Well, yesterday of all days, I didn't have the time to waste. I had to finish a piece of writing I promised to a client, and I had to plan several other activities that were also pending. The last thing I should have been doing was going through an archive of work I had laid to rest six years earlier. But that's where my mouse wandered and that's what I found myself reading when I should have been writing.

It was an old novel I had started in haste and never finished. It had been on my mind a lot lately, having spoken about it to a friend recently. I knew I had to write this book. It was one of those works that was dear to my heart. But I had used the same excuses for the past six years. "I haven't got the time". It's well used but still works for most of people.

Sure, there are more "important" priorities in my working life. I have two offline businesses to run as well as two Web sites to maintain. Sure, I enjoy working on all of them, but there's not the same passion I have for my book. It's aching to be born into the world.

And that's what I have decided to do. Give it life.

It's not going to be easy, but it is going to happen, simply by scheduling time for it, like I would any other regular activity.

I have a few major projects to undertake and complete, but I now have planned to begin work on the book at a specific time later this year. And it will happen. It's in the diary ~ in pen, not pencil ~ so there's no turning back.

There's an interesting thing that happens every time I draw a line in the sand and commit myself. I find that after the initial struggle, life somehow gets easier for me. I find that the more time I think about my goal, the more things just fall into place.

In my case, I have discovered a lot of 'coincidences' relating to my novel. Mine is a political thriller set in recent history. And interestingly there have been a number of media reports lately that have given me fresh ideas and information. And also there's a new rash of movies and books which address recent events. While they may not relate to my era in history, they do give me inspiration on how I can blend fact with fiction.

It's 'funny' how these things just pop up now, isn't it?

Well, not really.

It's all a matter of awareness. Now that I am thinking about the book, it is as though I have raised an antenna and I am now tuned into ideas and opportunities relating to my new project.

Likewise, I am finding that I am now attracting people into my life who can add value to my project ~ researchers, journalists and new writer friends who are nudging me in the right direction.

You can do the same thing with your dream.

Once you have established a goal, thinking about it will keep it top of mind throughout the day, and that will enable your conscious mind to raise your attenna while working out ways of helping you achieve your goal.

But the best results come when you work with both of your minds. When you visualize your goal every night before going to sleep, your subconscious mind will work overtime, helping find solutions for you.

There's an old French axiom ~ "Night brings counsel" ~ and it's true for writers too.

Enlightened writers will tell you that 'sleeping on it' can produce incredible results. Your subconscious is a veritable well of information, inspiration and motivation ~ and all of this can be used to help you achieve your goal.

But, like everything, the first step must come from you. Take the leap today. Commit yourself to something you want to do, rather than something you have to do.

You'll find the moment you are truly serious about it, your life will change. If you are half-hearted about your goal, you'll get half-hearted results from life.

Forget the excuses, ignore the muse and set your dreams in motion.

You'll never be the same.

Mastering the Art of Writing PR

2008-11-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Here's three ways you can ensure your PR words will get noticed and printed.

What makes good PR copy?

For most practitioners, good copy means getting the corporate message across effectively and promoting products and services in the best way possible.

For journalists and editors ~ the publicity gatekeepers ~ good PR copy is good news copy.

And for enterprising writers with PR clients, good copy means promoting your clients in a newsworthy fashion. It must be news to make the news. If it's 'fluff' it will be trashed. Pure and simple.

Here's three ways you can ensure your PR words will get noticed and printed:

1. Think like a reporter

As a PR writer, you need to wear two hats – as journalist delivering a strong news-worthy story and as PR/marketing consultant ensuring your client gains good publicity and value for money.

The key is wearing both hats simultaneously, so that you can please both audiences – the journalist and your client. And, that’s why a large proportion of media releases fail, because the PR writer has failed to cater to both audiences.

You must understand that a busy journalist on a daily newspaper may receive anything from 20 to 50 releases a day. They haven’t got all day to read them, so you have to attract their interest with your headline or lead, otherwise your release will be filed in the trash. It’s also important to remember that any journalist who has been in the business more than a few months has become jaded by teaser campaigns, cagey copy, flattery, bribery or any other tricks you or your client can think up.

The best ~ no ~ the only technique that will work with a journalist worth their salt is to deliver clean, clear, straight copy. Anything else and you are wasting your time, their time and your client’s money.

2. Write like a journalist

Adopt the 'inverted pyramid' style of writing. This style essentially presents information in order of importance. It has a dual purpose of instantly capturing the reader’s attention and enabling the editor to cut the story from the bottom-up to suit space requirements.

When writing stories for the media, ensure your introductory sentence – or lead – summarizes the major points. All of the 'who, what, when, where and how' of the story should be contained within the first two or three sentences of your release.

To get a better idea, read the first few sentences of stories in your newspaper. You’ll discover that you know all of the essential information. The following paragraphs merely build on the framework.

As you are fleshing out the body of the story, add relevant quotations. Quotes contain active language and, because they are people-oriented, we are drawn to them. They also add an extra layer of credibility to whomever is being quoted.

3. Use your PR license to sell

One of the distinctions between journalism and PR copy is a little thing called ‘license’. Your goal is to satisfy three audiences: your client, since they’re paying your bills; the journalist, since they’re the gatekeeper to publication; and their readers, since they’re everyone’s reason for living.

To achieve this, you may need to add some PR license to the stories you are writing.

If, for example, your client gives you a one-line brief regarding a new widget being released. And your task is to gather information from the product manager and quote the CEO (this is not unusual), then you can have some license with the quotes.

Conversely, if you have interviewed a client’s customer and some of the quotes are a little uninspiring, you can apply some license in enhancing words, as long as they remain true to the spirit of the interview and that you gain formal approval from the customer.

In fact, every PR story, brochure or project you undertake should be formally approved by all relevant parties before it is syndicated to the media or sent off to the printers.

That means sending off the finished draft and including an approval form, so that corrections can be made and the form signed. This will not only ensure quality but it will also protect you from any legal issues, if you have misquoted someone.

PR has gained a bad rap from journalists over the years. The mean reason is that some PR practitioners forget the first rule of marketing. Know your target audience. And, when it comes to PR, your audience is more than the readership of the publications ~ it's also the gatekeepers of that publication.

If you can learn to satisfy the needs of journalists and editors, you will find your PR releases making news and companies making inroads for your office.

Six Ways To Make Your Web Copy Click

2008-11-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

Writing for the Web can be both an exciting and lucrative art form, but it is just that. There is a certain art to writing successful online communications, and that's evidenced by the fact that only five per cent of Web sites are considered successful.

Here's six things you can do to ensure your Web words are read.

1. Clear and simple copy

Adopt an inviting, informal writing style. Even though people go online to gather information, they still view the Internet as a form of entertainment. Make sure your writing style engenders confidence, friendliness and trust.

2. Keep it short

People don’t like reading long, scrolling text on screen. Write tight and punchy copy. Get your point across fast, keeping pages to two screen lengths or less. While this may mean more pages (you can provide hypertext links to related topics or more pages in an article), it will reduce the need to scroll.

3. A touch of humor

Humor can be an effective tool for maintaining a reader’s interest, but it should be used sparingly and appropriately. Your brand of wit will not amuse every reader.

Remember, Web visitors are an unknown quantity. Your site may attract people from all over the world, from different cultural and educational backgrounds as well as different age groups. So when in doubt, play it straight.

4. Information that's readable and scanable

Speed is the name of the game online.

People want information fast, otherwise they'll click somewhere else. Employ elements to enhance your content's usability, such as headings, pull quotes, bullet points, highlighted text (bold or a different color). Use elements sparingly for effect.

5. A 'newsy' style

The 'inverted pyramid' style of writing, adopted by journalists, also suits the Web.

Write as if you only have a few minutes to make a point (with some visitors, that's all you've got anyway). Present all of the facts and conclusions in the first few paragraphs. Then, once you have your reader's attention, you can flesh out the piece with more details and background.

6. Links to more info

The advantage of the Web is that you can insert links from one article or Web site to another. So, readers have the choice of reading one article or several, simply by clicking on hypertext. This is also beneficial for the business behind the Web site.

Links also give your client the ability to easily guide visitors to further product information or sales.

As you can see, there's a lot to consider when writing for the Web ~ and we've just touched the surface here ~ but the good news is that if you get it right, you can virtually write your own ticket.

Six Easy Habits For Improving Writing Efficiency

2008-11-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Writing . . . we all love it ~ but how hard is it for you to start a project or finish it? If you're like most writers, that's the biggest challenge in your career ~ but it doesn't have to be.

Here’s some helpful hints on how to take the headaches and heartaches out of writing professionally each and every day.

1. Keep it clean

If your office or desk is in a mess, you're most probably in a mess too. Get into the habit of clearing and cleaning your desktop at the end of each day, and your office at the end of each week. By keeping your work place free of clutter, you'll start the day and the new task quicker and fresher.

2. Plan each task and each day

Often projects can appear insurmountable until you break them down into individual tasks and prioritize them. Thesame applies for your day. There’s always so much to do, but what do you do first?

Start each day with a 'to do' list. Prioritize the most important tasks for the day and, if they are not completed, transfer them to the next day's list with an appropriate priority rating.

In addition to a daily plan, keep weekly and monthly plans for longer term or larger projects. Each week, review the list and transfer tasks to your daily lists, as required.

3. Keep a shopping list

When you're running low on supplies, add them to your shopping list to ensure you have them when you need them.

4. Get into a routine

Discover when you are working at peak efficiency ~ is it first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon.

Allocate your most intensive tasks for these peak periods, and choose to do other tasks, such as filing, research and administration at other times.

5. Do tasks in batches

Variety may be the spice of life, but you can often improve productivity by doing a number of the same tasks in batches, such as responding to correspondence, emails and phone messages.

6. When you’re hot, don't stop

When you’re hitting those keys at a blistering pace, the last thing you want to do is stop ~ so avoid the temptation by placing the answering machine on, so that you can keep up the pace. Make sure, however, that you return calls before the end of that day.

Eight Steps To Simplifying Technical Writing

2008-11-03T13:51:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you picked up an instruction booklet or a technical manual, and wondered what the author was trying to communicate?

There is a real skill to technical writing and, if you can master it, this could become one of the most financially-rewarding forms of writing available to you.

Here's eight ways you can prepare yourself for the task:

1. Understand your objective

If you've ever written PR or marketing materials, you'll know that before you type a word, you must understand the objective of the communication. The same applies to technical writing. This will help guide what you need to communicate and the way you do it.

2. Know and understand your reader

Another rule of marketing is to know your target audience. When you know specifically who you’re targeting, you can better understand their needs. And that allows you to tailor the communication to match their working knowledge, education, prejudices, preferences and any other relevant criteria.

3. Before you start

The first thing you need to do is to establish ground rules with your clients.

Start by meeting the developers of the product or service as well as management to establish internal objectives, deadlines and a format for the document. Determine the size and style of the document, the audience, and the list of people who will be involved with the project.

4. Laying the foundation

Once you know your audience and your objective, you can begin gathering, structuring and drafting the information so that it can be presented in a logical, easy-to-understand manner.

5. The first draft

Here are my three golden rules for solid gold technical writing:

Write to impress: Just because you’re writing about a technical subject doesn't mean you should always write like a technician. Present information in an interesting, clear and warm manner.

Use some discretion in your delivery. Employ a more conversational style when writing a software manual for the consumer market, as opposed to a specifications sheet on an air-conditioning system for engineers.

Write for clarity: Modify the KISS axiom to 'keep it succinct and simple'. That means using active language rather than passive, substituting every-day words for jargon and eliminating verbose phrases.

Be specific: Whether you are writing for management, an industry specialist or the general public, technical writing requires technical information, such as facts, figures and recommendations. Wherever possible, be specific ~ support your claims with hard data.

6. Test it

If you've written an instruction booklet on how to operate a piece of machinery, it’s now time to put it to the test. Select someone who fits your audience profile and have them follow your instructions to determine the validity of the communication.

This procedure will help iron out any bugs in your system and also help you hone your communication.

7. Technical review

Once you've incorporated the necessary revisions into the second draft, your manual is now ready to be validated by a company technician and any other relevant personnel to ensure it covers all aspects.

8. The final test and the final draft

Following the third draft incorporating any technical, legal or corporate changes, the final phase is to test the document to ensure it continues to meet the readers' requirements. This can be done through focus groups, surveys and questionnaires.

Your technical communication has now gone full circle, and is ready to go out to the real world.

If you've applied the above principles, you shouldn't have any readers scratching their heads, trying to figure out what you're saying and what they're supposed to be doing.

The First Secret to Writing Blogs that are Read (Think of the Reader)

2008-11-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

In just a few short years, the blogs have become one of the most popular and effective marketing tools used online. There are hundreds of thousands of blogs published every week on literally any and every topic imaginable. That means there's a lot of competition for readers' eyeballs. Here's how you can ensure your blog makes the cut.

In just a few short years, the blog has become one of the most popular and effective marketing tools used online. There are hundreds of thousands of blogs published every week on literally any and every topic imaginable.

blogs are a great way to stay in touch with your customers and to sell your products. But mismanaged, they're a good way to anger your visitors and lose potential sales.

The challenge facing blog publishers today is competition. It's not uncommon to receive a dozen or more electronic newsletters in your In Box each day. That's the first problem ~ cutting through the clutter. The second problem is that it's all too easy to dispose of an blog without even reading it. Your blog is one mouse click away from acceptance or the trash can. But the good news is that you ~ and only you ~ control the fate of your publication.

Here's the first secret to improving your blog.

Think of your reader, not yourself

Marketing is marketing. Whether you are writing a sales letter, a brochure or an blog, to make it interesting and beneficial to your reader, you must think of them first, not yourself.

Get inside your reader's mind. What problems do they have (relating to your area of expertise)? How can your blog solve their problems?

Depending on what area you are focusing on, you can present helpful hints and tips on how to save or add value their lives. This could be general topics, such as:

- how to improve their productivity - how to save time - how to make more money - how to enhance their lifestyle

These four areas alone could be adapted to suit any number of topics you choose to target in your blog.

Let's say that you are publishing an blog for writers, as I do. You could write a series of articles designed to improve writers' productivity, kickstart their creativity and demolish writers block. You could also write some articles on how writers can save time by organizing their life more effectively, by planning before commencing projects and by employing time-saving tools in their business, such as a Palm handheld for noting ideas on the run.

These are just a few ideas that spring to mind. You could think of a lot more which relate to your area of expertise. And your readers will thank you by reading your blogs, looking forward to your communications and buying your products.

Keep in mind. It's in their best interest to do so. By thinking of your reader first, you are demonstrating to them that you not only care but you can also provide worthwhile solutions to their lives.

This is common sense, but it's not common online.

Take a look at the blogs that you read regularly. You'll find that you read them because they add value to your life.

Web experts tell us that content rules online. Writing experts will tell you that copy is the key to content.

What I am saying is that your blog will live or die by the words you use.

If each issue is interesting, entertaining and beneficial to your readers' lives, it can only succeed and grow.

Here's a number of things you can include in your blog to keep it fresh and focused:

Prescriptive how-to articles
Interviews with experts in your field
Links to relevant Web sites
Product giveaways
Quick tips and techniques
Reviews

Ask your readers what they want

The best way to know what your readers want (and if your blog delivers it) is to ask them.

Whether your blog has been running for one month or several years, it pays to stay in touch with your readers' needs. If your blog is like most others, it will be winning and losing readers each month. That means people are leaving because it no longer fulfills their needs, while others are coming on board, eager to see if you can help them. How will you know what to offer, if you don't ask?

You can send a separate email to your subscriber base asking for feedback. This could be as simple as asking readers to comment on what they like and dislike in your blog, or it could be more sophisticated, where you invite them to rate each of your segments and offer any suggestions.

Obviously not everyone will respond. But those who feel strongly about your blog will generally take a few minutes to let you know why.

To improve your strike rate, you could offer readers an incentive to respond. You could offer one or more readers a free product or a special report or some other enticement.

This is a small price to pay for invaluable information. And, if used properly, you will be rewarded handsomely by your readers and your customers.

How to Avoid the 'Free' in Freelance Writing

2008-11-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you were asked to write for free? It may be to help out a charity, to kick off a new enterprise or to assist an ezine that promised publication in lieu of payment. Here's three ways to ensure your writing isn't taken for granted and for free.

Writing for free is an issue that faces every freelancer at some time in their career. Generally at the beginning. Often, that's the only way newcomers feel they can launch their career or business.

Let's face it. Most writers are hired on their track record ~ successful projects they have worked on or articles they have written ~ but how do you get started without a track record?

For some, it's a matter of persistence, playing the numbers game. For others, the answer is to write for free. When you're starting out, you can write your first few articles for free or for a reduced fee. It gives newbies a chance to develop their skills, hone the craft, and the 'employer' gets the benefit of their effort. In this case, it's a win-win for both parties.

The problem with continuing this approach when you are a profesional is that it devalues not only the writer's work but also the industry as a whole. You only have to look as close as the Internet to see what value is placed on the writing process.

Many Web sites and ezines offer to publish your work but do not offer to pay for it. Their 'payment' is publication. Many content providers expect writers to produce copy for next to nothing. Their mentality ~ and that of a large proportion of the online community ~ is that information is free, and so why should they pay for it to be presented professionally.

So how do you convince businesses to pay for something that they can get for free elsewhere?

You need to demonstrate the benefits of working with a professional. Here's three simple ways you can help change your next client's thinking:

1. Promote yourself.

Promote the sites you've worked on, the clips you have amassed and the satisfied customers you have worked with, both online and offline. Success breeds success. I have worked with a number of large and well-known clients, and I make sure that new clients know that, and they know the results I have gained for them.

2. Develop a profile.

Contribute to online forums, publish a regular ezine, write an ebook. Make a name for yourself. Your opinion will be worth more if you do. 'Celebrities' and 'authorities' don't come cheap, and they never come free. This is a good way to attract new business and to command an attractive rate.

3. Think benefits.

Whether you are hiring a writer, buying a new car or even going out for dinner -- you're not thinking about the provider, you're thinking about yourself. What I am saying is that you -- as the consumer -- are thinking about 'what's in it for me'. People are not interested in products and services, they are interested in solutions. And the same applies to your prospective client. He's thinking about what's in it for him. So it's your job to not promote so much who you are but what you can do for him . . . by lifting the product's market share, improving the company's presence, or improving customer service through good copywriting.

And the best way you can convince him is by showing rather than telling him. Make sure that all of your communications are professional and punctual. Offer case studies of work you have done which clearly shows the benefits of working with you.

Smart business people will realize that while they have to pay for your work, they will benefit by saving time and/or making money. Either way you slice it, your job as a professional is to convince another professionals that investing in you is investing in the future success of their business.

Writing: Where Do You Begin?

2008-11-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

Do you throw down words the moment you have a thought or do you structure what you'd like to write before committing yourself? Whatever your approach, here's some common sense tips that are not commonly used.

It's been said that writing is hardest for writers.

The first time I heard that, I laughed. The second time, I winced.

It's true, when you consider that we write for pleasure, for purpose and for a living. Others, may pick up a pen to write a friend or maybe dash off an email in between meetings, but they rarely consider the language, the inference, the beauty of the written word as we do.

So why is writing so hard sometimes? And, more importantly, how can we improve the process ~ and save our sanity?

I think it all gets back to how you begin.

As Susan Shaughnessy says: "The only thing harder than writing is starting to write". James Russell Lowell agrees: "In creating, the only hard thing is to begin: a grass blade's no easier to make than an oak".

And so it is with our labor of love.

How do you begin writing?

Do you throw down words the moment you have a thought or do you structure what you'd like to write before committing yourself to paper or pixels?

For me, it depends on the piece and my mood.

I use one or the other method or a combination. Let me explain.

When I have a strong idea for an article, I generally go with the urge and write until there's nothing left to write. Then I will structure the piece and fill in the blanks, edit and polish. This is basically the style I adopted when I was a young journalist. There was never time to really 'think' about a story. I just needed to file the story to make the fast-approaching deadline.

On other occasions, particularly if it's a longer piece or more complex, I will begin by outlining the points I want to cover, organizing them and then writing, followed by the editing process.

But, often, I use a combination. Essentially, my outline turns into free writing. I generally find myself doing this when I am writing a chapter for a book, be it fiction or non-fiction. I begin including the major points as you would in an outline, then I break into 'free writing' and, before you know it, the work is well on the way to being finished.

When it comes to writing media releases, which involve an interview with one or more people, I take a slightly different approach again. I transcribe my hand-written notes and quotes on screen, then organize them and then begin fleshing them out. I was never very good at shorthand as a young journalist, so I have never been confident to rely on my notes for too long (hieroglyphics were never my strong point).

I think there's no right or wrong way of getting the job done. We are all individuals, and we will all find an individual solution to fit our needs.

Whichever approach you take to writing, here's a few final points that may help:

1. Outlining and organizing your writing can either save or waste time.

It will save time, if you act on what you have prepared. It will waste time if you continue to outline or add to your notes. Take a leaf out of Nike's book, and just do it. Often writers will get caught up in the outlining phase and, before long, writer's block will set in.

2. Take time out.

How often have you written something, proofed it and found no errors, only to find a day or week later, it's littered with mistakes or even needs a total rewrite? This happens to the best of writers. If you have the time, put your words aside, take a mental break from them and return refreshed several hours or days later. You'll see it with new eyes and your work will be better for it.

3. Talk it out.

Sometimes when you are outlining, you may reach 'information overload' and the whole writing process grinds to a halt. This used to happen to me sometimes, back in those early days as rookie reporter. My Editor would sit me down and ask me one simple question: "What happened?" That's all he had to say, then I knew how to write the story. You see, it's sometimes easier to tell someone what happened than to put it down on paper. We have an in-built organizer that sifts through the facts and puts things in order. When you get blocked, use it with a friend or maybe just a tape recorder. (Often I can be found on the streets of my neighbourhood, walking and talking into a little black box. It lets me get out of the house but still stay in my mind.)

Oh, and if you're wondering which way I wrote this ~ I used the first approach!

How to Write for Business (and write your own ticket)

2008-11-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

Six easy ways you can get noticed by businesses and launch your commercial writing career.

When you tell someone you are a 'writer', what is their first perception of you? A novelist, a screenwriter, a freelance magazine writer or maybe a journalist. Right?

What about you? When someone tells you they are a 'writer', what's your first thought?

Probably the same.

And yet, the vast majority of people who call themselves writers today are unable to make a sustainable living from their craft.

This is not only sad, it is also avoidable.

I have been earning a living as a writer since I was 17. Over the past 20 years, I have written several fiction and non-fiction books, a play, a bunch of short stories, and countless magazine and newspaper articles. And yet I have earned the best income and the most sustainable income during this time as a commercial writer ~ writing for business.

That means writing everything from PR releases, speeches, direct mail letters and newsletters to ad copy, brochures, video scripts and Web copy for small businesses through to large corporations.

And the best thing about writing for business is that it enables me to enjoy my craft, broaden my knowledge and, most importantly, take time off to enjoy other pursuits, such as work on the two novels I have on the go at the moment.

So, how about you? How is your writing career progressing? Are you making a real living or just getting by? Are you getting by or waiting for the phone to ring with an assignment?

If you're like many of the writers I talk with, the first question they ask is . . . "I would like to write for business, but I haven't got any experience. How can I get started?"

Well, we all have to start somewhere and some time, so here's six steps to get you moving in the right direction:

1. Develop a folio of work and prove your worth.

This is chicken-and-egg stuff. You need samples of your work, known as a folio, to gain work ~ and you need work to begin building a folio. So to get started, approach people you know in business. These can be family or friends. Offer your services at a low cost or, if you have to, at no cost. I am not suggesting you make a career out of working for free. I am only suggesting this approach if you cannot find paid work. If you don't know of anyone in business, try various volunteer organizations, churches and social groups. It's important to remind yourself that you are in a training phase, and that usually comes at a cost. In this case, the cost could be working for a reduced rate.

2. Collect testimonials ~ let clients tell others how good you are.

Once you have completed one or more jobs, seek testimonials from your clients. This will help support your growing folio and give potential clients confidence in your work. Once you have been in business for a while, you may find that you receive referrals and testimonials without even asking for them. That's what happens to me. This is generally far more powerful than asking for them, and it's a great vote of confidence in your abilities.

3. Check out the job classifieds.

No doubt you are already doing this ~ but don't limit yourself to jobs for journalists, freelancers, PR or marketing writers ~ check out sales and marketing roles. If a company is expanding its sales force it will more than likely need marketing collateral, an ongoing PR program or maybe just some overload communications services. Be proactive, write to the Marketing Manager, CEO, Managing Director or Sales Manager (whoever is more appropriate), offering your services. But don't wait by the phone, call them within a few days of mailing the letter.

4. Keep up with the news.

When you see news of a company launching a new product, branching out into a new region or field, put them on your prospect list for the same reason as above. They may need your help.

5. Turn a negative into a positive.

Recession? What recession. All this talk about a soft or hard landing spells doom for full-time employees. Often, marketing departments are the first hit when times get tough. But recessions mean companies have to work harder to maintain market share ~ so there's plenty of opportunities for freelancers. I started my PR and marketing business at the height of a recession, and it went from strength to strength.

6. Publicize yourself.

You know how to write, you're learning how to conduct PR and marketing for others, but what about promoting yourself? Develop a company brochure, detailing the features and benefits of working with you. Include a list of services (these could be news releases, direct mail letters, advertising copywriting, speeches, events, newsletters and brochures ~ or all of them).

Here's six ways to get your commercial writing career moving in the right direction. Now all you need to decide is WHEN you are ready to write for business. Then you'll be on your way to writing your own ticket.

Five Simple Steps to Writing an Ebook

2008-11-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Writing an ebook does not need to be a daunting task. This simple step-by-step procedure will help kick-start your creativity and keep you on track.

Writing the book.

It's the dream of every writer.

But how do you turn it into a reality?

Do you start writing the moment you have 'the idea'? Do you test the concept with others? Do you produce an outline first?

Whichever approach works for you, the best way to start and ensure you finish the book is by having a developing a strategy that works, and sticking to it.

Best-selling author Stephen King in his recent 'On Writing' autobiography suggests the same thing. He says that a writer should commit six days a week to their craft, and set a daily target of 1000 words.

Like me, no doubt you need to earn an income while you're writing an ebook, so I'd suggest the following adaptation which served me well:

1. Commit yourself to a routine.

Write in your spare time (eg five nights a week). Make it a regular time (eg 7:30 - 9:30 pm). You'll find that as soon as you get serious about this routine, it will take you no time to switch off from your day job and turn on to your writing job. Forget about waiting for the muse to give you the inspiration. This is a luxury no professional writer can afford.

2. Set yourself a daily target.

Start with a low target of maybe 100 or 500 words. These must be 'quality' words, so allow for time to edit what you have written in the one session. But, once you've edited them once, don't continue to rework existing words from previous sessions. You should be dedicating the bulk of your time now to creating not editing.

3. Get tough with yourself.

If you can't get motivated, whatever word target you set and didn't reach, should be added to the next session and so on. If you keep on your own back, you'll make sure the book is written on time and the content remains on target. Remember, your ebook isn't a labor of love, it's a commercial enterprise. Treat it like a business.

4. Raise the bar.

Within a short period of time, you will find that you can easily reach the initial word target. That's when it's time to raise the bar. Lift it to 500 words a day or whatever figure is just a little out of your grasp. Again, as in the beginning, you may find it difficult to reach this new goal. But don't let yourself off the hook. It won't be long before this new level is easily attainable and then, guess what, it's time to raise the bar once more.

5. Set a date for completion.

Once you're into the process, you should set deadlines for completion of the writing, editing, epublishing and Web site development.

I used this simple process to write my first ebook. I started with a daily target of 500 words, struggled for a little while, but toward the end of the project, I was knocking out up to 4000 words a day.

You will find that, as you progress with your ebook, it will build momentum. You will also find that even though you are writing twice as fast as when you started, the finished product will probably be twice as good.

Remember one last thing ~ enjoy the moment ~ writing ebooks is supposed to be exciting, fun and fulfilling.

How to Write Business with Pleasure

2008-11-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Writing for businesses can profitable and pleasurable if you approach it correctly. Here's how you can put more zing into your writing life.

What is the single greatest reason for failure for a professional writer?

I don't think it's poor cashflow or changing market conditions ~ not when writing is your business ~ I think it's failing to realize that you ARE in business.

Writers are creative. We love to dream, to imagine, to present ideas. We may love writing books but not necessarily working on the financial books in our business.

I know, I'm no different.

But I realize that for me to remain a success in business, I need to continually remind myself why I am here, what I should be doing, and get on with it.

It's too easy to let the muse take over, and write when you feel like it, when the inspiration takes you or when the phone rings.

While you're waiting for that time, who's paying the bills? Who's planning, making contacts ~ ensuring you will have a business tomorrow?

To be an Enterprising Writer, you need to be proactive in business.

Whether you're new to business, an old hand, or ready to take it to a new level, here's one simple question you should ask to ensure you're on the right path and moving in the right direction. Think about it carefully, do a little soul-searching and you'll be that much closer to finding the niche in your writing life:

What field holds the key to your success?

There's a wealth of writing fields you can try or specialize in. Many writers are content to freelance for newspapers and magazines, and settle for poor rates. But have you tried the corporate sector?

Commercial writing is the most lucrative field I know, and it's an area I have invested the bulk of my time for the past 12 years. That is writing everything from media releases, direct mail and advertising copy to speeches, newsletters and brochures for small businesses and major organizations.

So if you are considering the commercial writing field (and I urge that you do), think about the various disciplines available.

You could focus on public relations and offer news releases, newsletters and speeches to clients. You could concentrate on mainstream advertising and provide copywriting services or maybe direct marketing and handle newsletters, brochures and sales programs.

Think about the certain types of writing you have done and like. If there's a natural reporter inside of you, maybe PR is the best place to start. If you have an off-beat imagination, maybe you could try your hand at ad copywriting. Or, if you're a born sales person, DM could be the best place to couple your marketing and literary skills.

While you're thinking about that, consider this . . .

If you have areas of interest or expertise, you could offer any or all of these writing services to specific industries.

I have, for example, been interested in computers since I got a Commodore 64 for my 21st birthday. Yes, it's a museum piece now, but it was good enough for me to write my first novel. I have come a long way since then, and so has technology, but I have maintained my interest in computers. So much so that since 1988, when I went full-time into commercial writing, I have always had one or more information technology accounts.

Today, many PR practitioners will tell you that IT is one of the best industries for PR ~ and they're right. But that's not the reason I targeted this market so long ago, and it's not the reason I have stuck with it ever since. I enjoy writing about new innovations. I like cutting through the jargon to present true business benefits to people.

The challenge with IT, like many industries, is that the technology changes so quickly, it's easy to fall behind. I certainly don't profess to be any kind of expert when it comes to using technology, but I have become an expert in writing about it. My true expertise lies in asking the right questions of industry marketers, commentators and technicians, and being able to write what people need to know.

Why am I telling you this?

I am showing you that you do not need to be an expert in any field to be a good commercial writer. It helps if you have a genuine interest, although I have found it easy to get enthusiastic about any and every client I handle. If you're not 'born' with this ability, you can develop it over time.

So, once you've answered that all-important question ~ what field holds the key to your success ~ you're on the right road to fulfilling your potential.

This is a little like setting goals.

First you need to identify the goal, then work out how you are going to achieve. Set the prize as the top rung of a ladder, with a number of steps below it. Those steps are smaller objectives you need to accomplish first.

The same applies when you begin working on your writing business. Put simply, you need to:

1. Identify which writing disciplines best suit you.

2. Determine which fields or industries you like.

3. Target suitable clients within these industries.

4. Sell yourself to them by using any or all of the writing disciplines we've just discussed.

That's the great irony about being a writer in business. Many have trouble making it because they think like a writer instead of as a business person. But, if you think like a business person and apply your writing skills, you will have a winning combination.

Unlike other business people, you don't need to hire a writer to produce news releases, draft prospecting letters or publish a newsletter. You can do it all yourself ~ saving time and money ~ and, best of all, who else knows your business and your abilities like you?

Now all you need to do is convince others.

Go to it ... I think I hear your phone ringing.

Is Writing your Passion, Hobby or Profession? (Hint: To be successful, it should be all three)

2008-11-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Learn how to what you write, when you like ~ and profit from it.

That's the best way I have found to make a make a success of my work ~ to not view it as work, but something enjoyable ~ and, I am told, it shows in my words.

One of the first rules writers learn is "write what you know". That's great, but not always practical, especially if you are a freelance journalist or copywriter. I think a more appropriate rule should be "write what you like".

I recall my early days on a daily newspaper on the Gold Coast, Australia's answer to Miami. I liked movies, music and books ~ who doesn't, you say ~ well, I did something about it. I became the paper's resident critic for all three. My Editor told me he couldn't afford a full-time critic, so he jumped at my offer of 'researching' and writing reviews in my spare time. Not only was it something I loved to do, it also gave me a new avenue for my work. And it wasn't long before I was writing reviews for a wide range of newspapers and magazines throughout the country ~ and getting paid for it.

So how about you? Think about your hobbies, consider what you enjoy doing. Can you write about it?

Yes! With more than six billion people on the planet, there's more than enough readers who enjoy what you enjoy and would love to read about it.

Do you like sports? What do you do on the weekends? Are you a member of any clubs? Where do you holiday ~ do you enjoy travelling?

Then write about it.

My wife and I love to travel and, when I get time, I put together an article on our adventures and sell it to newspapers and magazines. For me, it's the best of all worlds. I love to write. I write about things I enjoy doing. I discover new things about the subject in the process, and I appreciate it even more. And I get paid for it. But best of all ~ I can claim some of the expenses as a legitimate tax deduction. How about that!

Becoming an Enterprising Writer means thinking outside of the square.

It means going with your heart and enjoying what you do, but also using your head to maximize opportunities. It means taking a chance. Taking a chance on you, on your abilities, stretching yourself.

Why not try the following exercise:

1. Make a list of things that interest you.

As we've discussed earlier, your hobbies, sports, whatever you enjoy doing.

2. Think about ways you can write about them.

This could be as grandiose as a how-to book or novel or maybe a magazine article or regular column. You could even develop an entire Web site or regular e-zine dedicated to your interest.

3. Research the market.

If you're writing a book, be it non-fiction or fiction, read the 'competition', and gain an insight into what titles are popular and why. If you're writing a magazine article or a regular column, read what others have written on the subject. Check out relevant publications and understand their guidelines. If you're going to launch a Web site or e-zine, take the same approach. See what other people are doing, finding a niche to fill.

You can research your idea further by posting queries to relevant online forums, talking to people in the industry and many other ways.

4. Believe in yourself and your work.

Now it's time to get to work. Sometimes writers get stuck on point three and spend the bulk of their time researching a subject to death, only to find there's no room for what they want to say. That's not the case. There's always room, you've just got to find out where and you've just got to find the right way of expressing yourself.

Keep in mind that, as was said years ago, "there's nothing new under the sun", and that applies to writing as well. Every subject we write about has been said countless times before. The only difference is that this time YOU are writing about it. You can make a difference by injecting your personality, your viewpoint, your spin on a subject.

That's something I found with the reviews and travel stories I wrote. Someone had always been there before me, and many after me. My opinion was just as valid as the next person's ~ and the same applies to you.

So, go ahead, write what you know, but make sure you write what you like as well. You'll be happier, healthier and almost always, wealthier for it.

How to turn a Writer's Dreams into Reality

2008-11-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

All writers have dreams of becoming best-sellers or full-timers. Here's a simple four-step plan to make your dreams come true.

Writers are many things but, above all else, they are dreamers. We spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about issues, creating characters and developing ideas.

But what about the dream ~ the writing dream?

Whether you dream of being a bestselling novelist, an in-demand freelancer or making a full-time living from the written word ~ the first step to achieving it is to conceive it.

Now, think about the last time you resolved to do something. Maybe it was at midnight on December 30 with the traditional New Year's Eve resolution.

Can you still remember what you resolved to do? More importantly, have you turned that dream into a reality?

For most people, their New Year's resolution is either forgotten or broken by the end of the first month.

It's a shame ~ it happens every year ~ but it's a good example of what does and will happen to other resolutions you have, if you don't back them up with action.

The second step in achieving your dream is to develop a road map. That is, setting goals and deadlines that work toward you achieving your desire.

Here's a simple strategy to get you moving in the right direction:

1. Define your goal

Get specific. What do you really want to achieve? Where do you want to be in one month, or in one year? Yes, you could write this in one sentence but try for a page or more. How will it make you feel? Sell yourself the features and benefits of achieving this goal. The more detail you have, the better.

2. Outline what you need to do

If your goal is to go pro this year as a writer, what do you need to do to make it happen? Break your goal down into stepping stones or mini goals which are easy, achievable and will bring you closer to attaining your dream. This may mean setting mini goals, such as study to prepare yourself for business; developing a business plan; identifying markets for your work or making important business contacts.

Make sure that each of your mini goals directs you ultimately to achieving your overall goal. Be aware of your overall goal, but don’t focus on achieving it. Keep your mind on one mini goal at a time, working toward its completion.

3. Attach deadlines

A goal is merely a dream unless you attach a deadline to its achievement. When you have a deadline, you become serious about your goal. By continually being aware of your goals and their deadlines, you generate a sense of urgency within you. You need a target otherwise it is too easy to drift off course.

4. Live your goal

Now we’re making progress. You have a goal, you have broken it into bite-sized goals with reasonable deadlines for achievement. Now, think about your overall goal, picture it in your mind, dream about it ~ 'see' it already in your life. 'Enjoy' the benefits it brings in your imagination.

Visualization is an integral part of meditation, and an important tool for achieving goals.

I have made this a part of my every day life, and you can too.

Get used to 'day dreaming' about your goal. Imagine that it's already a part of your life and, by methodically working on your mini goals, it will be sooner than you think.

There's no magic wand to setting and achieving goals. It takes a small investment of time up front and a commitment to its achievement.

Think about all of the things you have already achieved in your life ~ they all came at a cost ~ a commitment from you. But each was worth it, right? Well, the same applies here.

Here's what four other writers had to say about dreams . . .

"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." ~ Harvey Mackay

"Most people never run far enough on their first wind, to find if they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got, and you'll be amazes at the energy that comes out of you." ~William James

"You see things and say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were and I say 'Why not?'" ~ George Bernard Shaw

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born." ~ Dale E. Turner

Remember, it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. And, there's no better time than right NOW.

Paying the Bills: A Preacher's Son Writes Porn Scripts

2008-10-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Like a runaway at the Greyhound station, Alex Bracker was greeted by a pornography insider the day he arrived in L.A. Unlike a runaway, Alex is a 30-year-old married man who moved to L.A. to write a comic novel, and the greeter was his old friend. Stu has gone to great lengths to avoid wearing a suit and tie. In Chicago, he donated sperm for a living. After moving to L.A., Stu made the leap from masturbating in fertility clinics to writing films that men use to masturbate in fertility clinics. The U-Haul was only half-empty when Stu asked Alex if he wanted to write porn. Alex reflects, "I'm not sure if he just wanted me to feel welcome in L.A., or if he sensed that I'd been considering finding a real job while I finished my novel." After helping Stu brainstorm a parody of the "Blair Witch Project" called "The Bare Ass Project," Alex was sold.

Stu made the introductions and Alex was quickly signed to write a "gonzo" script. There are two types of porn scripts -- features and gonzos. Features bring a writer $2,000 to $3,000 for 80-plus pages and some semblance of plot. Gonzos are quickies. Writers get $200 to $500 for a short and uninvolved script that provides dialogue between sex scenes. ("Pizza delivery. No money? Let's get it on.") Most new writers cut their teeth on gonzos. Not a lot of dough, but not a lot of time, either. "It's been remarkably easy. If I spend more than two hours on a gonzo, I'm giving it too much thought." Two hours comes to $100 to $250 an hour.

Like box-car racing, prom night and emergency room medicine, writing porn is less glamorous than it sounds. The first disappointment is that porn writers are not paid to bring their own sexual fantasies to life, they just write the dialogue between the sex scenes. All that's needed is shorthand, which looks something like this: SS#1, B/G.

Alex explains: "The director only needs to know are how many sex scenes there are ("SS"), how many men and/or women are needed for each scene ("B/G"), and if any anal sex is taking place." A script needs at least one lesbian scene and one anal scene, but other than that, it's up to the writer. "I've been told that I can include as many men as I want, because men are cheap and there is no shortage of guys in Hollywood looking to get into porn. But actresses are expensive and more difficult to find." In other words, a B/B/B/B/B/G scene is no problem, but a G/G/G scene may break the budget.

The second disappointment, at least for a comedy writer, is that porn is seldom funny. Intentionally funny, that is. "I'm doing my damnedest to include some comic sensibilities in the script I'm developing, but it's been difficult. For one thing, most porn stars are terrible actors, with little or no understanding of how comedy works. The producers of porn are well aware of this, and they try to discourage their writers from doing comedy. More often than not, it just turns into a huge embarrassment for all involved."

Disappointment number three is that watching live sex isn't all that exciting. Alex has watched porn shoots in backyards, studio apartments, and basements ripe with the stench of urine and battery acid. "There is absolutely nothing erotic about the experience, despite all the live sex taking place. On my first shoot, I watched a woman who was no more than five foot two, maybe one hundred pounds, try to mount a man with elephantiasis of the genitals. The scene took three agonizing hours to complete, and it was an exercise in revulsion. I can only hope the poor woman went directly to a gynecologist."

"The more offensive and abhorrent these merchants of filth prove themselves to be, the more giddy I become that I've somehow convinced them to invite me to their hootenanny of the damned."

Alex's family has been oddly supportive of his new rent job. In fact, Alex's uncle wants Alex to use his name as a pseudonym. "He figures that at this stage in his life it isn't going to hurt his career prospects, and it'd give him bragging rights in Florida among his friends."

Alex's father, a minister (isn't that always the case?) and therapist, thinks Alex's foray into porn is hysterical. "We've joked about him visiting the set when he comes to L.A., where he will proudly proclaim, 'My boy wrote this!'"

Alex's mother, on the other hand, is a little nervous. "She worries that I might get 'sucked into their world,' following the logic, I suppose, of the 'pot leads to heroin' theorem." Alex's wife Molly, a fellow comedy writer, wholly approves of Alex's new writing gig, and "has no problem with me going on the set, though she has no interest in visiting one herself."

The only person in Alex's immediate circle who is upset is his literary agent (who insisted that Alex's real name not be used for this story). "With my novel currently being considered by publishers, he's fearful of word getting around about my day job."

Alex's agent is right to worry. Writing porn is risky business for a serious writer. If a moonlighting writer delivers a porn script that's too good, he is in danger of winning a career-destroying award. For example, Stu's pride in his work has come back to haunt him in the form of a possible nomination for an AVN (Adult Video News) Award, the porn equivalent of an Oscar. If he gets nominated, he'll appear at the awards ceremony, and if he wins, his photo will likely appear in magazines like Hustler and Penthouse. This could have serious financial consequences.

"If that happens, Stu will go from being an unknown entity to a visible presence in porn," Alex says. Even with the winking acceptance of movies like Boogie Nights, Hollywood may blush at accepting ideas from someone known for his work in blue movies. Stu may have accidentally traded his shot at big bucks in Hollywood for a fast buck in porn.

None of Alex's gonzo scripts have been produced yet, and if Alex's agent has his way, you won't know they're Alex's when they are. According to the producers, they still need to determine their budget for the next year before green-lighting any new films. According to Stu, the producers prefer to wait until the holidays, when fresh batches of teenage runaways make the pilgrimage to L.A. But seeing the guts of the business has not turned Alex off porn altogether. "Any illusions I had that porn was a glamorous profession have long since disappeared. But strangely, I've grown fonder of my mentors with each new experience. The more offensive and abhorrent these merchants of filth prove themselves to be, the more giddy I become that I've somehow convinced them to invite me to their hootenanny of the damned."

The Writing Process: Purity of Heart

2008-09-24T19:32:00.002-07:00

Is this off topic? You might say it is, but then, if we are to write the best we can, then surely a pure heart is a necessity. At least, if what we wish to produce is to speak to others, warm them and inspire them, then we have to move beyond the voices in our head that censor us and limit us. We also have to toss aside our prejudices and our preconceived ideas about others, so that we can get to the root of what really matters in the world. We need to find our deepest connection with the world, our love of humanity, and let our creation grow from that connection, that empathy.

In articles 3 and 4 I emphasised repeatedly this need for empathy and courage. In the light of the recent attacks on America, I have chosen to publish this article, taken from a press release of N.D. Walsches, which will again stress the need to live in a state of love.

This need to live in a state of love is necessary for living a good life, but also, in my opinion at least, the spring board for creative writing that is worth sharing with others. Love breeds respect and honesty. In order to write your best you need to feel that love, of self if nothing else. Writing is inevitably going to confront us with our demons, is always going to ask us to rise to the challenge of securing our honesty and purity. There is no way to avoid this. The very second you lose this connection with self, it will scream back at you from the page in the form of mediocre, emotionless, bland writing.

Without this sense of purity, we will write irresponsibly, and the joy that creativity ought to give us, will be hard to find.

Neal Donald Walsches words, applied to the recent American tragedy in this case, apply to all facets of our lives, and especially our creative lives. Forgive my divergence, and in the next articles I will return to a more defined approach.

"If we could love even those who have attacked us, and seek to understand why they have done so, what then would be our response? Yet if we meet negativity with negativity, rage with rage, attack with attack, what then will be the outcome? These are the questions that are placed before the human race today. They are questions that we have failed to answer for thousands of years. Failure to answer them now could eliminate the need to answer them at all. We should make no mistake about this. The human race has the power to annihilate itself. We can end life as we know it on this planet in one afternoon. This is the first time in human history that we have been able to say this. And so now we must direct our attention to the questions that such power places before us. And we must answer these questions from a spiritual perspective, not a political perspective, and not a economic perspective. We must have our conversation with God, for only the grandest wisdom and the grandest truth can address the greatest problems and the greatest challenges in the history of our species. It is not as if we have not seen this coming. Every spiritual, political, and philosophical writer of the past 50 years has predicted it. So long as we continue to treat each other as we have done on this planet, the circumstance that we face on this day will continue to present itself. The difference is that now our technology makes our anger much more dangerous. In the early days of our civilization, we were able to inflict hurt upon each other using sticks and rocks and primitive weapons. Then, as our technology grew, it became possible for clans to war against clans, ultimately, for nations to war against nations. But even then, until most recent times, it was not possible for us to annihilate each other completely. We could destroy a village, or a town, or a major city, or even an entire nation, but only now is it possible for us to destroy our whole world so fast nothing can stop it once the process has begun. That is what makes this point in our history different from any other. And that is what makes this call for each of us to have our own conversation with God so appropriate and important."

The Writing Process: Plotting

2008-09-24T19:32:00.001-07:00

The plot is the beating heart of a novel. And despite character outlines and being aware of the conflicts and motivations of those characters, it can be as complicated and as delicate as open heart surgery to get the heart beating. One beat is not enough. The heart has to find its rhythm, and its continuity. The plot must be steady, reliable, strong enough to guide you through the writing process until it is completed.

I think the element that comes to mind here is courage. Courage to follow the voices in your head that tell you what your characters need or want to do in order to resolve or work out the elements of conflict that drive the novel forward. Courage, too, to say whatever needs to be said. Is this confusing? If someone had said this to me before I had written a novel myself I might not have understood it. But, believe me, to write the novel you will need courage.

The moment you start to write the plot, many conflicting voices will start to sound in your head. There’s the voice telling you that your idea is unrealistic. There’s another telling you it’s silly, superficial, unnecessary, boring. There’s yet another telling you that you’re not the one to write this novel. And another one, maybe the most powerful, telling you to quit having delusions of grandeur and to go back to your mundane existence. These are the voices of your fear and your resistance. These are the voices that will prevent many from ever putting pen to paper. These are the voices of your imagined, external world, a critical, unfriendly world.

These are not reality. They are just your imagination. And, in order to overcome them, you must make the decision that you are writing this book for yourself, in the first instance, and for a wider public, maybe. This book is for you; this is your growth, your development. This book is your way of making sense of the experiences you have and the events you have seen, and the people who have crossed your path.

So, if fear and embarrassment and a feeling of inadequacy prevent your literary heart from beating, then a certain selfishness, and a need to make sense of your world, and moreover an acceptance that you are writing initially for yourself, should be the jolt it needs to start it up.

You will be surprised, but even at the plotting stage you will feel the momentum gather, and the story take shape, once you have overcome this initial, paralysing fear. You know your characters, and what you want them to overcome and achieve. You also know, have decided where these conflicts take place, in terms of geography, history, and society. And once you blend these elements into a story, secondary characters, events, new conflicts needing to be resolved, will present themselves.

At this stage the plot can be written into a synopsis. How long a synopsis is, is purely personal. I prefer to keep a synopsis short, letting the secondary characters present themselves. I then return to my character sketches and write a rough outline of those characters to add to my initial sketches.

In the case of The Cloths of Heaven, when I had written about one A4 for the plot, I had added mothers, fathers, friends, etc to my three main characters. What also came to light at this point was my need to literally draw a map of a fictitious street in Limerick City, which was to be the common setting for the entire book. This street was the base for everything that happened in the book. The characters might move on, but the link, the core, would be this one street. I called it James’ Street, and set about drawing the map. I needed it to incorporate a Church, a shop, a pub, and schools. I also wanted it to be close the banks of the River Shannon, and yet not too far away from the city centre. And more importantly, it had to cease to exist once my story was completed. So it had to be an area that would be included in any inner city development plans which were taking place in Limerick at that time. I wanted these people to come together, create something together, deal with issues together, and once they had moved on, I wanted even the evidence that they had ever been together, to be no more than a story. I wanted the entire novel to have a mythological quality, to emphasise the very Irishness of it.

I drew the map, placed Michael at the Church, Sheila in one of the terraced houses with her mother and father, and decided that Maud would live in a caravan with her mother, who, with her gypsy-like wildness, might just become a more important character than even I had planned. Maud’s mother, Kitty, might just be the electricity that would keep this novel alive.

Being methodical and needing clarity, the next stage for me has to be the chapter breakdown. Not all writers need this much preparation – D.H. Lawrence preferred to let the book take him on a journey of discovery so he did very little preparation. John Irving and Minette Walters do a lot of research and planning. I fall somewhere in the middle. But I need a chapter breakdown if only to see if there’s enough muscle to the plot

The Writing Process: Characterisation

2008-09-24T19:31:00.001-07:00

The process has just begun. Having gathered together the pieces that will form the backbone to the story, several things have to happen before these ideas can grow into a novel.

I have my main characters and I have established their motivations. I know the time and place in history in which I want the story to take place, and I am aware that I need conflict to drive my characters. But that is not a novel.

I will, at this stage, write a very brief outline. I wouldn’t even call it a synopsis, but rather a gathering of the elements I have established. It can be no more than a couple of sentences, something to kick start me into ‘living the novel’, of getting that mental film up and running.

At this point, almost at the very beginning of a novel, it is imperative to have patience. Let your mind dwell on the elements you have, without forcing their growth. It is not necessary at this stage to write CHAPTER 1 and to dive in. What is necessary is to think about the characters, know how old they are, what colour hair they have. Are they tall, short? Can you base them on anyone you know? And also, and this is more important than you might initially think – what are their names?

I like to write a character sketch for my main characters, at least an A4 per character. Knowing the character, finding his foibles and passions, will help fatten out the plot too. Also, and this is a pivotal point for me, each of the characters has to illustrate some particular trait, and that trait must be emphasised. Although in real life, a person may display many facets, if we were to have fictional characters incorporating too many traits, it will make the story confusing, and believe it or not, unbelievable. Readers need, to a certain extent, to rely on a character behaving consistently. More so than we see in real life.

I will state though it might sound clich鬠that it is imperative to relate to the main characters. I might want to step into the shoes of the one I have chosen to be the narrator, and this is all too easy to do, but if the novel is to be credible, then I must feel the same rapport with the others. In the case of The Cloths of Heaven, I had to feel Maud and Michael (the priest) just as strongly as I felt Sheila (my narrator with CP). And this is where the advantage of limiting the character traits per character comes in. I could find aspects of my own character, and times in life when I had been in conflict either with myself, or my environment, remember how it felt to be in that place in time. I can remember sadness, I can remember anger, and I can remember frustration. I can also remember sheer joy, contentment, feeling a sense of achievement. And they all feel different. So even if one of my characters is less likeable than the others, or is farther removed from my own set of values, I can plug into the sensation by using my own life experiences. And for me, being able to plug in to ALL characters is a must. At no stage in a novel do I want the reader to detect that I might be TAKING SIDES in any issue that might arise. I am a chronicler; it is not my intention to become a didactic.

I recently read House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. A magnificent novel displaying great literary skill. But more than that, it is a perfect example of the point I am making above. Andre Dubus III makes it even more complicated by using not one, but two narrators, alternating chapter by chapter from an unstable female to a dogmatic, disagreeable Iranian husband and father. Dubus speaks through both characters with equal conviction. But what he also does, and this to me shows his craft, he illustrates each one’s flaws and weaknesses and less palatable traits, by what each says himself! This gives the reader complete freedom to form his own opinion about each character. Not once in the entire novel do we hear a whisper of Dubus himself. Never do we feel nudged in a particular direction. We never find out what Dubus himself thought of the actions of his characters. And that, to my mind, is a feat of genius, and characterisation.

In The Cloths of Heaven, I had only one narrator and two other main characters but the impartiality (or complete partiality) that Dubus illustrates was no less important. I had to like all the characters. I to find an empathy that would endure, whatever the plot had them do. That is why I choose to establish the characters, and acquaint myself with them BEFORE I know exactly where the plot is going.

It is possible however, to have a character with a particular trait grow and develop and become more than we would have initially expected. (And this is where plotting comes in). Through the conflicts he endures he might be changed, either for the better or the worse, but he cannot JUST change in order to fit the plot – then the plot has not been properly thought out. A good example of this type of development is Scrooge, from Dickens’ Christmas Carol. He is enticed into becoming more giving and generous by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, that he has seen. His changes, though a surprise to the other characters in the book, are not unexpected to the readers.

And if the characters are the arms and legs, then the plot is the beating heart of a novel.

The Writing Process: On Inspiration?

2008-09-24T19:30:00.001-07:00

So there it was. My ideas were as good as anyone else’s, and it was OK for my inspiration to shoot out of everyday, dare I say, mundane events. And once that notion took root, it was as though the universe decided to work with me. Events came together; information reached me through gossip, television, chats over dinner, and an anthology of poetry.

I should count myself blessed to be Irish, even though I haven’t lived there for over sixteen years. Ireland is the land of storytellers. There is an atmosphere in Ireland that is found nowhere else I’ve been. The air trills with a suppressed passion. And because of the restraints of the church there is always the hint that one day people will stand up and scream that they are going to break free, and hang the consequences. I feel it immediately I step off the plane, and time and again I feel driven to write about it.

After a four-year absence, I decided to go home to Ireland and spend some time with my family, especially my brother, who has CP. Since his birth I have felt a special bond with him; at times I think I can feel what he feels. And on this occasion, I felt his frustration and his longing to be heard, to be understood and moreover, to be taken seriously. That was my motivation – to give him a voice. And I wanted that voice to be heard, and to capture the hearts’ of eventual readers, and the only way to do that was to wrap his existence into a page turning piece of fiction. That was the driving force behind this novel.

But knowing that I wanted to give my brother a voice, and knowing that the best way to do that was through fiction, was not a plot, was not a story. But it was a great motivator. It was the reason my mind ‘tuned in’ to my surroundings. All I had to do have faith and trust that the snippets of information I picked up would, if given the chance, fit together like a jig zaw puzzle. As it happens I didn’t have to wait long for the first thread of a plot to present itself.

We were sitting around the dinner table one evening chatting, and the topic that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue was the recent scandal involving the Catholic Church, in particular the less than honourable behaviour displayed by some priests. I was all ears. The butterflies in my stomach told me that this would be an important element in my plot development.

But there needed to be more. I needed a protagonist, someone to link the disabled and the able worlds. I wanted a totally contrasting figure to the narrator, someone to link all the characters, someone large and exciting enough to carry the desires and dreams of the disabled narrator. And at that moment, I was given a copy of Yeats’ poetry anthology, with a short bio, wherein Maud Gonne was introduced.

Maud Gonne - who was the inspiration for the exquisite love poem – He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven. Immediately, I had a name for this protagonist, and a title for the book.

The Cloths of Heaven was taking shape. The sources of inspiration were normal and nothing spectacular of themselves. They did not come to me in a vision (though if this happens, great!). I did not have to visit an exotic location, or be exposed to extraordinary events. I was inspired, because I believed that EVERYTHING is potentially inspiring. My source of inspiration and the method I employ to use what happens around me, is unique to me, just as Anne Rice and Maeve Binchy each has her own source and method.

Okay, the inspiration was there. I had three characters, the pivot to the plot. I had the situation, and the environment, and I had the setting. Remembering what I had learned from reading How-to books on writing. I decided I wanted a character-based book, letting their psychological development steer the plot. I knew too, that for a book to come to life there is one element that cannot be omitted – the element of conflict. But there are several types of conflict. Inner conflict. Conflict between individuals. But, there is also the universal conflict of man against his surroundings. I was determined to incorporate all three.

And that would be the arms and legs, and the beating heart of this story.

The Writing Process: Digging Deep

2008-09-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

In the previous article I took the liberty of using the words of N.D. Walsch to take a slightly off topic step. In this one I am back on track.

In article 4 I talked about plotting and touched briefly on the concept of the chapter breakdown - for me this is an important step in the process.

It’s all too easy to want to hasten the process and just get on with the actual novel, and I am sure there are plenty of novelists who are capable of doing so, but I would strongly recommend that a novice novelist take the time to do a chapter breakdown. The chapter breakdown will serve more than one purpose. Not only will it give more clarity to your initial inspiration, but it will also be a valuable aid in letting your characters evolve. And even more importantly, by going through the mechanics of a chapter breakdown, you will be able to see if there’s enough ‘meat on the bones’ of your plot. If at this stage the plot cannot be padded out into about fifteen chapters, then there’s not enough story to grow into a novel.

Given that you do have a fifteen-chapter story, then the breakdown will be an invaluable aid in your writing of the novel-in-progress. On those dull days when you feel overwhelmed by this project the chapter breakdown will do just that – break it down into manageable parts. It will also be your guide, and keep your mind clear and your thoughts directed. It will serve as a map and hold your focus. If you have chosen a less traditional novel form, one without the constraints of chronology, geography or historical context, then using the chapter breakdown will be your structure. I don’t know whether Michael Ondaatje used a chapter breakdown when writing "The English Patient," but I do know that were I to write such a complex novel, then I would definitely take the time to map out the story in this form.

There are novelists who shy away from a chapter breakdown, believing it will take the spontaneity out of their writing, and prevent the plot from developing and the characters to unfold naturally. And certainly I would agree with this opinion, if you choose to stick to the initial chapter breakdown as though it was written in blood. But if you give yourself the freedom to change and adapt, or swap chapters around, or re-write a whole section, then no, this need not be the case. Then the advantages then outweigh the disadvantages.

And now, with the chapter breakdown completed the first hurdle to your novel presents itself in the form of the OPENING SENTENCE. I have a rather simplistic solution to this – just write whatever comes into your head in order to get the story going. You can always change it at a later stage, even when the first draft is completed. At that stage the story will have grown into its own style and tone and chances are that even if you’d struggled for weeks on that elusive first sentence, you’d want to change it now, anyway! So spare yourself the headache.

I mentioned the word momentum earlier in the article. Now that you’ve written that first word, put that first, virgin idea onto paper (or your word processor), make an appointment with yourself in the same way you would with a colleague, friend or family member, that you will sit in your writing chair at a certain time every day or week. Inspired or not, you will write something. By making this appointment you are creating momentum.

Eventually writing will become as much a part of your daily routine as brushing your teeth. The novel will inhabit your thoughts. The plot will unfold; the characters will talk to you. The novel will live, become real, tangible almost. And who cares if you fail to get it word perfect first time. Just go with the flow. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is a first draft, and it can always be adapted and improved. A blank page is just a blank page!

When you reach a point where you miss the writing if you break that appointment, when you feel restless when not writing, when you don’t break that appointment because ‘something else’ comes up, you know you are a true writer. You know you have committed to this project.

And on those days when, despite your dedication you sit in your writing chair, and the characters do not speak to you, then do as Ann Lamott suggests in her inspirational writing guide “Bird by Bird” and take a pen and a note pad and write. Journalise, scribble, write the first thing that comes into your head. Just write. And don’t stop until you’ve written 300 words.

This is mental aerobics. And it works for several reasons, some of which will be dealt with in subsequent articles.

The Writing Process: Mental aerobics

2008-09-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

Sportsmen and women will all tell you that when they are exercising, there comes a moment when a new level of consciousness kicks in. A moment when that voice inside their head stops telling them to give up, that they cannot go on a moment longer, or worse still, that they never should have started in the first place. When that moment comes the body and mind unite and they develop a rhythm, not too fast, not too slow. Their breathing settles, and there is no doubt in their mind that they will reach that finish line, or see the clock hit the top of the hour, or that they will keep pumping till the music stops.

With writing it’s the same process. As was mentioned in previous articles, the hardest part about writing is learning to override those voices in you head that tell you to stop. The voices of ridicule that make you feel like an impostor. The voices of criticism that belittle your efforts, laugh at your plots and characters, and in short suggest, not too gently that you ‘get real’ and leave the writing to those with talent.

What’s needed here is mental aerobics. And that’s where a journal comes in handy. Keeping a journal will help you still those voices. It will bring you to that moment of unity, when hand and mind and inspiration harmonise.

The moment before harmony is attained, you will, just like an athlete, have a moment of excruciating anguish, and that is the moment of truth. By journalising, you bring to the surface your insecurities, mistaken beliefs and prejudices about yourself, that you internalised and that have become your (de)motivators. Write them down; read them over and over again until they lose their power over you. Then write some new ones, ones that are in tune with your desire to write. These are all you need, for it is my belief that if you have a desire to write, then you will also find the talent to do it. Take your desire seriously – it is there for a reason. And remember, if you listen to the (de) motivators, then you will become one of those people who say ‘if only’ in the future and hang your head in disappointment. If you get beyond the voice of the (de) motivator and write that novel, or short story, or poem, then you will carry a sense of achievement with you for the rest of your life. You will be that marathon runner whose feet have crossed the finish line.

The only regrets in this life are for things NOT done.

Feel free to compare yourself to famous people, those you see fulfilling their dreams and daring to stand in the limelight. Catch a serious dose of hero worship and wallow in it. Take your favourite person (who doesn’t have to be a writer) and decide just what characteristics in them it is you admire so much. Then realise that you have those characteristics too. What you see in the other person, is often a reflection of what you have but have not yet owned or internalised. Remember that you have been filled with all those other ‘unproductive’ ideas and there has been no room for self-admiration. So, with the journal you have cleared the decks, so to speak. You have literally had a spring clean, and now you can start building some new ideas.

My favourite people are usually pop stars, and I have been laughed at or ridiculed for having the audacity or the stupidity to mention my own name in the same sentence as theirs (more of the voices that will paralyse when left to fester). My heroes were Sting, James Hetfield (of Metallica fame) and Freddie Mercury. And when I investigated my admiration, the common denominator was their courage. All three were prepared to break the mould in their chosen field and in their upbringing. Sting, initially associated with the Punk movement, dared to be intelligent. James Hetfield, a thrash metal guitarist and singer, displayed a tender, emotional side to his character, and wrote ‘meaningful’ lyrics. Freddie Mercury, of Persian descent, and brought up in a strict, religious environment, had the courage to be flamboyant, gay and utterly ‘over the top’. I wanted some of their audacity, their tenacity, and their courage.

But more than this, by identifying with these heroes, and by humanising them, my own ambitions to become a novelist did not seem so ridiculous any more. We are all born naked, and have to learn to make our way in the world. ALL of us, without exception eat and sleep and laugh and cry.

So, my becoming a novelist is no more ridiculous than Sting becoming a performer. All I need is the same determination. All I must do is switch off those voices in my head.

The Writing Process: Sensuality

2008-09-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

This article will be more difficult for me to write than were the other articles. This article will consider the aspect that I myself have had the most difficulty in understanding. The mechanisms I will try to describe here are ones that require strength of spirit to come to terms with. Dealing with these mechanisms and digging even deeper in the search for your best creative self demands that you take on board all aspects of your emotional self. Also, when you have read this article and absorbed what I have attempted to say, then please do add your own opinions on this process. If I have left out anything significant or if I have said something that you do not agree with, then please say so. In this area, I don’t think we are ever done learning and improving and growing as creative beings.

Writing is a sensual activity. It engages the higher senses - the five basic emotions: joy, sorrow, anger, fear, and sexual feeling. In order to write the best we can, we must face ALL of these emotions. In our society, mistakenly, we have labelled some emotions ‘good’ and others ‘bad’. We are prepared to admit to the ‘good’ emotions but spend a lot of time and energy denying the 'bad’, resulting in poor writing, non-authentic writing, or worse still, in writer’s block.

The usually accepted ‘good’ emotions are joy, sexual feelings (sometimes) and sorrow (though this must be borne stoically). The bad feelings are anger, fear, and again sexual feelings (when judged to be inappropriate). But unless we own all of these we can hardly be expected to create three dimensional, believable characters or to empathise. We cannot put them into conflict situations that test their strengths and their weaknesses.

But more importantly, if we are in the business of denial, it will seep into our work, and have the same paralysing effect as those other, internalised voices that live in our head. Paradoxically, if we were not ‘emotional’ ‘sensual’ people, we would probably not even have the urge to write fiction. We would not be curious enough, or restless enough, or passionate enough. Living in denial would wear us out.

Consider this: it is the spirit fighting to break through the conscious denial that drives us to become writers. It is the need to peel away layer after protective layer of non-authentic behaviour and the hunger for the truth that motivates us to put pen to paper. It is the unwillingness to accept that ‘this is all there is’ that awakens our curiosity and passion.

Yet, if we are unaware of this process and imagine ourselves to be able to write meaningful fiction while living superficially, the anger, fear, and all the other ‘bad’ feelings will creep into the writing, making it heavy and laborious. And as long as we are unable to own those feelings, as long as we fail to recognise them as part of ourselves, then we cannot contain them. We will not be able to take a step back from them, dilute them if necessary, and reproduce them in an appropriate manner; one that enhances instead of diminishes the quality of the writing.

A friend of mine once said to me, after reading The Cloths of Heaven, that I failed to have Sheila say a ‘proper’ goodbye on any of the occasions when she had to leave her family, and that I had the tendency to have people die a lot. She also said that by not having proper ‘goodbyes’ – even those who died did so alone – I missed out on an opportunity to empathise with the sad and lonely. Yet because I was not empathising with the bereaved, I, almost obsessively, repeatedly gave myself an opportunity to do so. She also pointed out that I, in my own life, had been forced to say ‘goodbye’ more often than I would have liked. In her opinion, I tended to be hard on myself in those situations, and not allow myself to experience real grief and loneliness. Obviously I needed to recognise this aspect of my own life so that I could learn to say goodbye appropriately, and my spirit, through my writing, was telling me so. But, as I had not yet owned it, I was not able to deal with it adequately in my writing. She said it stuck out like a sore thumb because it lacked authenticity. It was hard to take this on board, but I did. Then I was able to return to The Cloths of Heaven, and recognise how hard it must have been for Sheila to constantly have to say ‘goodbye’ and how distraught she would have been when those she loved died. I was then able to write about these feelings in a way that engaged the reader and kept them bound to the story.

In my case I had trouble with grief, and my writing gave me the opportunity to come to terms with it.

More commonly, anger is seen as the least attractive emotion to own. I think that anger, when not owned and out of control, creates the type of fiction that slaps you in the face. When anger is owned it can be the driver for courage, and acts of bravery and valour. When denied and overly controlled it creates depressive, lethargic fiction.

But in order for anger to be used effectively in fiction it has to be an emotion that you are familiar with not one that engulfs you, and enslaves you. Anger needs to be worked out, outside of your fiction, so that when you need it in your stories, you are in charge of it, and not the other way around.

Anger can be worked out in journals, in letters written (not necessarily dispatched), and more physically through sport. You can also retreat to a private place and pummel a pillow, or bury your head in it and just yell! Just feel it! Go through it, overcome your trepidation and be angry. Experience its rise and its subsequent fall and in the process master it.

The last emotion we need to face is fear. The previous article about the voices in our head that need to be stilled is where our fear comes from. Fear comes in many forms, and all of them stem from what others have told us about the world, and about ourselves. We fear rejection, criticism, and ridicule. All of these things come from others. If we learn to accept ourselves (sometimes called self-love) then we have nothing to fear. Only when we do not accept ourselves and are dependent on the approval of others, is there room for fear to creep in.

As a supplement to this article I would recommend you read Debbie Ford – The Dark Side of the Light Chasers. This non fiction work talks about denied emotions, not-owned emotions and the various mechanisms the human psyche has created in order to bring these to the surface.

The Writing Process: More emotion and motivation

2008-09-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

I just love how this whole topic is developing! It has become a deeper, more spiritual approach to the whole writing process. And all of you who are following it are spurring me on with your discussions and comments.
In the last article I brought up the subject of emotions, which led to a discussion on 'love', which I had not specifically mentioned in my list of basic emotions. That is because I see love as a verb rather than an emotion. 'Love' is something we do, and it is the result of needing to fulfill an emotion. It can be driven by fear, need for sex, joy, or a combination of any of the five emotions. I think when writing, this is a very important distinction to make. Also, love in any of its forms, will appear in a piece of writing - always if we consider that this is usually the underlying motivation of the characters. They will either be driven by their need to gain love and approval, or they will be motivated by the need to pamper themselves (self love).

The opposite of love, would be hate, you imagine. Well, consider this. The opposite of love, or absense of love is fear.

Those who seek love in order to banish fear, are responding to their need to eradicate the fear rather than their desire to give love (love as a verb or an action). The love so gained is transitory, and weak and not everlasting and pure.

And, in my own humble opinion, these themes can be traced to the fundament of any story. These are the most basic motivators. Here we find the internal conflicts within each individual. Here we find the reasons why characters act in a particular way. More importantly, here we find the way of emphathising with our characters.

Even if we choose to write about an axe murderer or a child abuser, or allow one to appear in our story, if we can find his fear, his absence of love, then we can stir up some compassion and give ourselves permission to write him or her without being blocked by prejudice or hate.

In The Cloths of Heaven, I have included characters whose behaviour is socially unacceptable, immoral, but I have moved beyond my own personal opinion of their behaviour and dug into their 'souls' and found their motivator. Then, though I do not condone their actions, I can continue to 'write' them and experience them as whole human beings, caught up in their own inner conflict.

I recognise their search for love. I recognise their need to diminish fear.

A wonderful example of this ability to empathise with a distasteful character can be found in Nabokov's 'Lolita'. Here, Nabokov creeps into the skin of a pedofile and manages to humanise him. Somehow, Nabokov has moved beyond the act of abuse and the abuser, and written, with wonderful skill I might add, this man's story of survival and need and loneliness. At times Humbert, the main character, can be pitied. It is not the abuse that is emphasised, but the loneliness and fear and insecurity that have caused it.

I have emphasised here the need to move beyond personal prejudice or pre-conceived notions when dealing with fictional characters. I have deliberately used distasteful examples because I do believe that only when we can connect with the negative as well as the positive can we truly write brilliant fiction. When we ourselves allow fear to censor us (remember those voices in our own heads) then what we write will be weak, two dimensional, and unappealing to a reader.

The Writing Process: Doing the Work

2008-09-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

By doing the work, I mean now physically getting on with putting the words onto paper, or into a document on your word processor.

We have discussed motivation, emotion (our own and the characters), we have recognised the voices in our head, criticising us, and hindering our progress. We have also looked at plot, chapter breakdown, opening sentences, characterization and a host of other aspects of the writing process.

Before I delve deeper into the less concrete aspects of writing, I feel the time is ripe to 'get mechanical'. And by that I mean, simply, the actual process of writing itself.

Take yourself seriously. Without this key commitment, very little in the way of novel progression is likely to happen. Having cleared the way emotionally, and having recognized your own talent, and inspiration, your next commitment is to your writing time.

Whether you feel connected to your higher inspiration or not, whether you feel you could look Dickens in the eye or not, whether you can envision yourself writing the magic words 'The End' or not, you will still have to WRITE.

Make a simple promise to yourself to sit at your desk, switch on the computer, or pick up a pen, and write. Word follows word, sentence follows sentence, and paragraph follows paragraph. And that's the truth. There is no other way.

It is not enough to live in the future and keep telling yourself and those around you that you have a brilliant idea, and that one day, when you have the time, you might write that novel. Today is yesterday's future, and tomorrow's past. So today is the day. Finding the time is your gift to yourself. Finding the time is proving to yourself that you know how to prioritize and categorize and choose. Today you will, instead of switching on your TV, write.

Write even when you don't feel inspired and take refuge in all the tricks and tools we have discussed in earlier articles.

At this stage of your process, the quality takes a back seat to consistency. And by consistency I mean, becoming the kind of writer you can rely on - one that writes!

Learning to be a writer is no different from learning to play the piano. It is no different from deciding to sport on a regular basis. It all takes practice and it takes the commitment to building new habits. Healthy habits.

The Writing Process: Turning Point

2008-09-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Article 11 – Turning Point
The ‘writing’ habit has formed. We still the unwanted voices in our head with journalising; we have our synopsis, character sketches, chapter breakdown; we plan our writing day into our diary, just like any other appointments. On a therapeutic level, we are recognising our own driving emotions, and those that get in our way, and we are dealing with them. As writers our empathic capabilities are growing, and our characters are deepening, their motivations becoming more complex, and yet paradoxically more logical.

Before long we will have reached the middle of the novel, and BLANK, it all dries up. The next chapter just doesn’t make sense any more. It is at this point, (for me at around chapter 3 or 4) that many writers will, after struggling and failing to write that next chapter, just toss the unfinished manuscript aside. Others will by some feat of willpower, manage to write the next chapter, as laid out in their chapter breakdown, and continue writing this novel, but with an ever diminishing sense of achievement, only to finish the novel, knowing that it is only mediocre. It has turned out to be a much blander story than that original, brilliant vision. The characters, initially so full of potential have faded into two dimensional banality, carrying out their assigned tasks with little vitality or originality.

What has happened? Quite simply, at a point in the novel where the characters are on the verge of truly coming to life, the writer has imposed his will upon these unfolding individuals, and denied them their authenticity. The writer, afraid himself of taking the plunge, chooses to box his characters in and try to tame them. These futile attempts will either kill the story, or make it at the very least superficial. The characters will lose their credibility. Because we as writers hold on to the belief that we are in charge and that the characters, invented by us, brought to life by us, can do only that which we tell them to do, we rob ourselves of the greatest gift of all. We rob ourselves of an opportunity to truly create.

Despite journalising and owning our emotions we can still sabotage our writing. By not wholly believing in the organic growth process that our writing can go through we will never move on from the mediocre to the original and maybe even genial.

A truly wonderful writer, one that inspires and touches his reader, must first trust the power of creation. He must, figuratively, hold the pen in his hand and let the muse take over.

So there you are, at chapter three, your literary crossroads. Whether you are truly conscious of it or not, three choices await you. Do you give in to the despair and the frustration and just quit? Do you, ignoring all the previous steps, force your will upon the story and the characters, and mechanically ‘get this story over and done with’? Or do you take a huge leap of faith, and accept the greatest gift that writing can offer you and allow your characters to come to life?

When I was finally able to go for the last of these, it was as if all the lights went on. Being able to let go of my original notions of who my characters were, and how they would react in any given situation, was exhilarating. What had until then been an unnameable driver in my writing, now became clear. I too wanted and needed to learn more about human nature. I too wanted and needed to understand behaviour. My initial driver – my need to tell others what I had already discovered – was now strengthened by my desire to take the journey with my reader.

But as I discussed in detail in my other articles, I am not going to be able to ‘let go’ and enjoy the characters I have created unless I have owned the wide spectrum of emotions that make up my own personality, unless I am comfortable with these emotions. My fear will prevent me.

You might think that this is all far removed from what we think are the difficulties and challenges we will encounter when we choose to write, but I truly believe that great writing comes, not from knowing the grammatical constructions, and having the vocabulary to tell a story. For me, great writing comes from the heart, the soul even.

Fiction cannot exist without ‘characterisation’. Not true you might think, but have you ever read a book where there is no characterisation? Great writing dares to take the plunge into the depths of human nature. Or as in Watership Down or Animal Farm, into the depths of animal nature. And I am sure there are stories with inanimate objects as focal point. But they are still driven by characterisation. We either use people in our stories, or we assign human characteristics to whatever we choose as focal point in our fiction.

The only course of action, when you reach this ‘turning point’ in your story, is to be patient and courageous. Continue to dig deep into your own emotional makeup using the tools we mentioned in earlier articles. Now it is more important to wait for the truth of the character to emerge, rather than forcing it to fit into a preconceived mould.

It is not the plot that is in danger at this stage. It is not even the closing sentence or the concluding scene. It is how you get there. And the first hurdle (or opportunity for new vision) to getting there is whether or not you allow your characters to truly come to life.

Don’t now jump in and try to rewrite all the subsequent chapters in the light of your new discoveries. Choose now to ‘go with the flow’ for a couple of chapters. Use them as a ‘loose’ guideline, but enjoy the journey. Enjoy the discovery.

The Writing Process: The Journey

2008-09-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

By now you’ve moved on from the struggle of those early chapters and bravely allowed yourself to be taken on the writing journey. Your synopsis, and your original novel idea, as well as your carefully constructed chapter summary and breakdown, though still generally relevant, have had to move over and take second place to something else. You, too, have had to realise that if this novel, this piece of fiction is going to have any relevance and significance, that you will have to open your mind and your heart to the voices of the characters that you initially created and named. To build on the metaphores of the earlier articles, the embryo, has grown into a living being, and even before it is born, is beginning to show signs of individuality. Any pregnant woman will tell you how unpredictable the baby she is carrying is. That baby kicks when it chooses, turns when it chooses, causes discomfort when it chooses. More than that, it will not be dictated to, or be forced into doing what it doesn’t want. How many times did I want my baby to kick for the benefit of an enthusiastic observer? How often did I, and my companion, stare in vain at my protruding stomach, waiting for a sign of life? Even prenatal, the baby had a mind of its own.

And so it is with this novel you are writing. Having decided that the characters have minds of their own, and motivations that are deeper than you initially expected, you cannot force them to act or speak in ways that just don’t suit. And the beauty of it all is, that once you truly accept this, and surrender to the characters you named and put onto paper, the deeper joy of writing fiction can really begin.

When I embark upon a new project, I do so because I am drawn by the subject matter and the effect I suppose it has on people or groups of people. But having written several novels, I am now conscious of my own need to learn, and to better understand the mechanisms of behaviour and society.

In the first section of the novel, we built the foundations; we used our structure to get our story off the ground. This, the journey, is the middle section of the novel; this is the place where the novel is a journey of discovery, not only for the reader, but for the writer too. This is where the plot unfolds, the characters, deepen, and where we, as writers are lifted into a higher level of consciousness, that at times is exciting, and at times, frightening. This is the place where writers talk about ‘the guidance of the muse’. This is about surrendering the ego, being humble enough to know you don’t know everything. This is about trusting the process.

The Writing Process: Starting my next novel

2008-09-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

I wrote: "Right now I am struggling within myself about starting my next novel. The idea has been in my mind and heart for some time. I have even done some research on the subject through the Internet, but getting the synopsis down on the word processor is like pulling teeth, let alone expanding to a chapter breakdown."

Julie wrote: "Would it help?

To begin to write a small short story, Just to please the child within.

Let go of the struggle. And just Play.

Write anything that wants to dribble onto the page.

Ask the child within to come out and play, and ask the adult fearful to stand aside.

Take some deep breaths, smile, feel how well your fingers itch to dance the keyboards and reveal the secret outpourings of the Childs whim.

Let the warmth and relaxation of self-creative flow flood your being and feel the joy of not standing in the creative –self’s way.

You stop all mind chatter. Picture a beautiful part of yourself being free, exploring a world your expression pours out in play to the delight of your child self.

Let the writing happen and be completely at ease. Stand away from wanting to be in control, leave this for the more dutiful times you are away from the wonder of writing and being in the worlds of your own creation.

Watch the picture form within and just let the words make your fingers happy. Be Very happy. Stay relaxed and enjoy the freedom of non-thinking and surf with content on the waves of your inner expression.

Make it a magical and most trusting moment of play without a worry about what is being written.

Take heart, smile and begin the fun. You can do it!!!

I always find the task of doing, the bigger thing that lives within, either an adventure or a stalemate.

The adventure because what I am creating is fresh and fuelled by beginning something I am doing for me. Doing for me is easy, as it is not going out there for others to see, others to think about, read or take long ums over. When I am doing for me I am surrounded by the warm cocooning flow of self-creativity. I play the game and enjoy the spilling out of all thoughts and create with ease. I don’t judge myself I just have fun.

The Writing Process: The Home Run

2008-09-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a long distance race, this novel of yours. In the early stages you took well defined, planned out steps, steps that would warm up the muscles but that would at the same time conserve energy and prepare you for the long haul.

In the first section of the novel the characters deepened and became autonomous and to some degree less familiar than you had expected. It followed that the plot too would not follow exactly the lines laid out in the synopsis.

And so, taking a deep breath you moved into the middle section of the story, where, though referring to the chapter breakdown, you allow yourself to be drawn along by the characters.

In this section of the book, though never losing control, you must relinquish the notion that you are omniscient, (in the context of this novel) and that not just possible readers, but you too, are on a journey of discovery. Fiction comes to life when the writer succumbs to this fact, and lets his heart speak. This is not to say that the pen (or the word processor) takes over completely; you the writer will use your instincts and your intelligence to guide the novel along, but there must be some degree of surrender to this organic process.

And then two thirds of the way into the novel you pause for reflection. The characters have grown and deepened; the plot has at particular stages meandered, at others charged along exhaustingly. You find yourself with a lot of loose ends to be tied up. If you find yourself at a loss, the original synopsis and chapter breakdown can be an enormous help now. You see, you had already taught yourself how to complete and conclude a novel in this original scheme and even though the plot may have diverged from your basic idea, you still have enough material to adapt or re-write. And even if you need to re-write the chapter breakdown for the last section, you know you can do it, because you did it before!

In my opinion it doesn’t matter what type of novel you have written, whether it be a thriller, a romance, a psychological drama. It doesn’t matter whether the plot, or the characterisation has ultimately taken the upper hand. In every case, a rounding off of all the elements and a satisfactory last paragraph, or sentence, preceding the words ‘The End’ will make or break the novel. Think back to novels you have read, even ones captivatingly written, ones that have drawn you in and kept you reading till dawn. If that last section, or worse still that last paragraph or sentence has disappointed, then it would have coloured your memory of the entire novel. So, reach a satisfactory conclusion, one that leaves no unwanted loose ends. I say, unwanted, because a deliberate loose end, one that forces you to continue thinking about the story after you have closed the book, is not a ‘loose end’ in the sense of a badly finished novel.

In contrast, I recently read Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. This initially clever book has us intrigued even before we read the first chapter, as Dave Eggers has slyly used the acknowledgements and foreword to illustrate his ability to break the rules and intrigue us. My respect for his daring lasted until about chapter 5, at which point I had the dreaded suspicion that, despite his clever entree, he really had no idea what he wanted to do with this novel. It was rapidly turning into a badly planned, not very profound, chronicle of his life immediately after the death of his parents, and his parenting of his younger brother. The promise he had shown by breaking a few rules initially, fell into superficiality. Dave Eggers was just not ready to dig deep enough to hold my interest. His characterisation (even though he wrote about real people) was marginal and two dimensional, and by the time he actually visits his parents graves and sheds a tear, I find myself saying ‘so what’. I cannot even remember exactly how he concluded this novel, and clearly any conclusion was not enough to save this novel, that was potentially a work of staggering genius, but turned out to be heartbreakingly disappointing.

Tracy Chevalier’s ‘Falling Angels’ on the other hand, is not particularly fast-paced, but it is set in a time of great social change in England, and this Chevalier uses to her full advantage. Her characters are well thought out, and fit perfectly into the situation of two royal deaths and the suffragette movement in England. I think the consistency of these different elements woven into a novel are underestimated. In Falling Angels we take it for granted because it is so well done. But if it were badly done, we would feel it immediately and come away from the novel feeling vaguely dissatisfied. Chevalier does what everyone wants to do: she makes it all seem easy. Her plot flows; the pace accelerating and decelerating exactly when it must. And the characters evolve and deepen without us even really noticing it. The conclusion is gentle, soothing, satisfying and completely in keeping with the calibre of the novel.

Our aim is to write just such a novel. One where the ending is like a deep, languorous breath.

Now, as a final thought, and one I will ponder for the next article: how do you say goodbye, emotionally put it to bed, and distance yourself enough to critically examine the manuscript?

The Writing Process: The Promise

2008-09-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to a lecture. Barbara Kingsolver of The Bean Trees fame was the guest speaker. Her opening remark was a general one, applicable to all her novels. She says that when she begins a new novel, she makes a promise, to herself and to the reader. The novel is successful in her eyes if she has, at its conclusion fulfilled that promise.

So, since in article 14 we discussed conclusions, I thought that now would be a good time to ask that question and to discuss it further.

Now, as we prepare to re-read our first draft, and where necessary, edit it, I think it is of utmost importance to answer the question: Have I kept my promise in this novel? Have I come through, completed the task?

After the lecture I thought about The Cloths of Heaven, the basis for this topic, and asked that question and had to smile, because I had neatly packed the novel between a Prologue and an Epilogue, both incorporating some of the same sentences and scenes. In the Prologue I had asked the question: Was James’ Street secret to be buried forever? And in the Prologue I have uncovered the secrets, given an answer to the question, and tied up the loose ends. What was my promise then, in this novel? The promise was to give an answer to that question and I did. The circle is complete, no loose ends, and a feeling of satisfaction at the novel’s conclusion.

Making a promise when you set out, or asking that question that sparks off the novel, will give the novel its direction, will help you to filter the elements and utilise them fully. So that’s what you do first, when it comes to revising your novel. Ensure you have fulfilled your promise or answered that all-important question.

Once you have established that, you can begin reading and revising. Other elements can now be considered simultaneously with that first question. You will find that there are passages that do not add to the fulfilment of the promise or pivotal question, and at these points you need to ask yourself what they add to the novel, if anything. Maybe they are descriptive of character or place. They might add an extra dimension in perception or be useful in adding clarity to the setting. If they do none of these things, it might in fact be better for the novel as a whole to scrap them. And be ruthless. Pieces of banality will weaken a potentially strong story.

There may be passages where the pace lags, or where you seem to skim over issues. Here you can either trim down or expand. Sometimes the sequence of events needs to be reconsidered in order to maintain the suspense or to heighten the emotional power of a chapter. Sometimes even whole chapters ought to be switched around. Remember, before you decided to write fiction you were widely read, so trust your gut on these matters. When does foreshadowing (hinting at an incident in the future) add to the novel, and when does it spoil the suspense? This is an individual issue, and the answer will vary from novel to novel.

In some psychological thrillers, the victim and the murderer may be revealed in the first chapter, and the purpose of the novel will be to have the investigator discover what we already know. In other novels, the power of the novel lies in keeping the reader in the dark until the last moment, and laying clues that will have the reader constantly guessing ‘whodunnit’. Both forms are equally valid, but once the promise is made, the novel must adhere to that one route. To swap and change within the novel will in fact, break the promise to the reader, and weaken the novel. As a reader you know this, so as a writer, you will ‘feel’ it when you’ve got it right.

In The Cloths of Heaven, one of the characters dies. In my first draft I actually foreshadowed that event with a rogue sentence which simply stated ‘he died’ about two chapters before it in fact, happened. Instead of strengthening this event, I had weakened it, made it banal, and almost made the following chapters, redundant. I took out that one statement, (no more than three words) and brought the power back into the prose.

I would recommend that when you are reading that first draft, every time you feel your energy sapping away, just put a mark in the margin, even if you don’t know what’s wrong with the paragraph or sentence or whatever. On a second or third reading, when you’ve trimmed and enhanced other, more obvious faux pas, take the time to examine these again. Chances are, it might just be a badly constructed sentence, or paragraph that is difficult to read. Simplify it. Is it too long? Then split it into two sentences. Does it add to the story or could you do without it? Then scrap it.

Sometimes it’s hard to erase a part of your creation. Sometimes there’s that one, beautiful sentence, the one you fear you may never write again. And yet, it doesn’t fit in. So you have to take it out.

In order to reduce the pain of this process, I have a reserve document, just for these sentences and paragraphs, a place where I put them out to pasture, instead of killing them off completely. I may never look at them again, but just knowing they are there, in case….., makes editing more bearable.