Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Feedback, the Beauty and the Bane
Feedback, the Beauty and the Bane
by: Harriet Silkwood
I use the words: feedback, review and critique interchangeably to mean the same thing in this article.
I love getting critiques. It makes me feel acknowledged and important. Someone took the time to think about my work and give feedback. What a precious gift.
An online writing group is the place to learn how to take and use criticism in a supportive environment. Criticism is the bane of every writer, but a novice is much more vulnerable. An unthinking, harsh review can discourage so badly, the writer may give it up right then and there. The writing group you choose should be helpful and nurturing. Criticism should be honestly encouraging along with being honestly helpful. If you find no encouragement, find another group as quickly as you can.
Don’t be discouraged if you feel you received a negative critique. If your work were totally hopeless, you probably wouldn’t have gotten a critique at all. The reviewer cared enough to spend time on you - that’s a good sign. A review is not negative just because it contains a lot of suggestions and corrections. It is negative only when it contains no encouragement and doesn’t point out the good areas. There are always good areas, and they should be expounded upon too.
Before revising a second draft, take some time away from your work, then pull it out and think long and hard about each comment. Some things that you may have assumed were clear may not be. Other things may be awkward or incorrect. You are so close to your work and emotionally wrapped up in it that you will naturally miss things. Your reviewers have no such ties - they can help you view your work from a fresh perspective. Pay attention to recurring comments. If more than one person is noticing a potential weakness, you know you’ve more work to do.
Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification of a comment. And don’t think you are obligated to use the suggestions. Just be open to other solutions - they might not be appropriate for one story, but they might spark other ideas. This is your work, but think of what’s best for the story.
If you are constantly feeling under attack, perhaps you’re not ready for critiques. Is it what they said that upset you, or the way they said it? Are they using rude words to describe the flaws or are you just not interested in any negative comments? Or worse, are the reviews always positive and vague, giving you no useful information? Perhaps they don’t even tell you what you did right?
If you are looking for only praise from your readers, you may not be ready for reviews. There’s nothing wrong with this, we’re all at different stages in our writing confidence. As your desire to write grows, you will soon progress to that next stage, and welcome the feedback. In the meantime, reading and offering your help to others is the next best thing you can do for your own writing.
Giving and receiving feedback makes you aware of the basic rules of good English use. If you think you don't need to worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, rhythm, focus, syntax, and structure, think again. They are the key to clarity. Writers want to make sense. They want to take the reader into their fantasy world and make them believe. Learn the rules. Break ’em later.
The best rules can’t be taught or put into an easy list, but you can learn them by reading excellent writing. If you know what works, you’ll strive to emulate it. It’s also good to review bad writing. You’ll find that you’re learning and hopefully avoiding the same mistakes.
Reviewers use their time to carefully read an item and plan their review. They offer encouragement and helpful advice, but honest crits can sting. Before replying, think about what was said. A reviewer who has taken much time reading and writing isn't going to appreciate being told, "So and So read this, and his comments are completely opposite yours. I don't think you're qualified to comment on my work."
How a writer responds to the comments of reviewers will likely determine how he responds to prospective editors and agents. Editors aren't concerned too much with your feelings. They will rarely comment on submissions. If an editor doesn't understand a story he simply sends a rejection letter.
Think of the reviewer as your future editor, and listen closely to what they say. They aren't always right on their technical advice, you need to learn the rules yourself, but their views on the content are views of your future readers and buyers of your book. If they are your intended audience, pay attention.
Feedback provides the writer with something he or she cannot get for themselves: reaction to the piece by someone who doesn't have these characters and their world in their head, someone who doesn’t know this story inside-out. That’s the beauty of feedback.
by: Harriet Silkwood
I use the words: feedback, review and critique interchangeably to mean the same thing in this article.
I love getting critiques. It makes me feel acknowledged and important. Someone took the time to think about my work and give feedback. What a precious gift.
An online writing group is the place to learn how to take and use criticism in a supportive environment. Criticism is the bane of every writer, but a novice is much more vulnerable. An unthinking, harsh review can discourage so badly, the writer may give it up right then and there. The writing group you choose should be helpful and nurturing. Criticism should be honestly encouraging along with being honestly helpful. If you find no encouragement, find another group as quickly as you can.
Don’t be discouraged if you feel you received a negative critique. If your work were totally hopeless, you probably wouldn’t have gotten a critique at all. The reviewer cared enough to spend time on you - that’s a good sign. A review is not negative just because it contains a lot of suggestions and corrections. It is negative only when it contains no encouragement and doesn’t point out the good areas. There are always good areas, and they should be expounded upon too.
Before revising a second draft, take some time away from your work, then pull it out and think long and hard about each comment. Some things that you may have assumed were clear may not be. Other things may be awkward or incorrect. You are so close to your work and emotionally wrapped up in it that you will naturally miss things. Your reviewers have no such ties - they can help you view your work from a fresh perspective. Pay attention to recurring comments. If more than one person is noticing a potential weakness, you know you’ve more work to do.
Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification of a comment. And don’t think you are obligated to use the suggestions. Just be open to other solutions - they might not be appropriate for one story, but they might spark other ideas. This is your work, but think of what’s best for the story.
If you are constantly feeling under attack, perhaps you’re not ready for critiques. Is it what they said that upset you, or the way they said it? Are they using rude words to describe the flaws or are you just not interested in any negative comments? Or worse, are the reviews always positive and vague, giving you no useful information? Perhaps they don’t even tell you what you did right?
If you are looking for only praise from your readers, you may not be ready for reviews. There’s nothing wrong with this, we’re all at different stages in our writing confidence. As your desire to write grows, you will soon progress to that next stage, and welcome the feedback. In the meantime, reading and offering your help to others is the next best thing you can do for your own writing.
Giving and receiving feedback makes you aware of the basic rules of good English use. If you think you don't need to worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, rhythm, focus, syntax, and structure, think again. They are the key to clarity. Writers want to make sense. They want to take the reader into their fantasy world and make them believe. Learn the rules. Break ’em later.
The best rules can’t be taught or put into an easy list, but you can learn them by reading excellent writing. If you know what works, you’ll strive to emulate it. It’s also good to review bad writing. You’ll find that you’re learning and hopefully avoiding the same mistakes.
Reviewers use their time to carefully read an item and plan their review. They offer encouragement and helpful advice, but honest crits can sting. Before replying, think about what was said. A reviewer who has taken much time reading and writing isn't going to appreciate being told, "So and So read this, and his comments are completely opposite yours. I don't think you're qualified to comment on my work."
How a writer responds to the comments of reviewers will likely determine how he responds to prospective editors and agents. Editors aren't concerned too much with your feelings. They will rarely comment on submissions. If an editor doesn't understand a story he simply sends a rejection letter.
Think of the reviewer as your future editor, and listen closely to what they say. They aren't always right on their technical advice, you need to learn the rules yourself, but their views on the content are views of your future readers and buyers of your book. If they are your intended audience, pay attention.
Feedback provides the writer with something he or she cannot get for themselves: reaction to the piece by someone who doesn't have these characters and their world in their head, someone who doesn’t know this story inside-out. That’s the beauty of feedback.
THE COLDEST WINTERS OF OUR LIVES: Using The Changing Seasons in Our Writing
THE COLDEST WINTERS OF OUR LIVES: Using The Changing Seasons in Our Writing
by: Maxine Thompson
I had not seen snow in 21 years, that is, until I recently rode through a snowstorm in Cheyenne, Wyoming mountains. Nor did I clearly remember how the leaves change in autumn on the east coast, and how they resemble flames leaping towards the sky in shades of persimmon, cardamom, amber, burgundy and rust. But I recently witnessed all this and more by going to the Baltimore Book Festival the weekend of September 27, 2002. Although I could write about having an exquisite dinner at the Renaissance Hotel overlooking the harbor or the workshop I conducted on "Writing Compelling Fiction," it was the seasons that spoke to me.
These two incidents-the snow and the leaves changing-reminded me how much I have missed the pageantry of the seasons. As I took a slow leisurely trip across the states, I thought of how living in the Los Angeles area for the last 21 years has blinded me to the changing seasons. Even so, I don't know if this would have helped me to recognize another passing season in my life. I am facing the impending loss of my last living parent. My father, age 83, who has crippling arthritis, has deteriorated since I saw him last year. Surprisingly, I do not feel sadness, but a resignation, a sense that this is part of the life cycle. Like the song, "Everything must change."
This is a very different reaction from when I lost my mother. I was so totally unprepared when my mother died of a sudden heart attack on December 1, 1993 that I felt a rage, almost a railing against God. How could You? How dare You take this woman, who I was just realizing was my root, who carried me inside of her, whose very hand movements I saw mimicked in my own? This period was to become what I later saw as the darkest winter of my life. Looking back, I think my reaction was part of what often marks the loss of the first parent, particularly the mother.
These are the things, we, as writers, must mark in our writing--the changing seasons of our lives, of our characters, of their journeys and how our characters react to them.
After the Baltimore Book Festival, I stopped in Detroit. While there, I took my father out from his new residence-a nursing home-to get a milkshake at McDonald's, and while pushing him in his wheelchair, I felt like the parent. I was no longer angry about his being human, his frailties, his failings, (which have been more glaring since my mother's death.) I just wanted him to feel the sun on his tissue-like skin, through which you could see the blue veins.
I immersed myself totally in the moment. We were enjoying the sunshine. No matter all the calls I'd received from my hometown, Detroit, about how horrible it is about Daddy, "He's in this new crisis," or "that new crisis"-I was no longer upset. In the manner of a former social worker, I decided to reframe the issue. Instead of looking at my father's slow demise as, "Isn't it awful how we grow old and die?" let's look at it as how the seasons in life change. As a writer, we often write from the premise, "What if ..." So I say, what if we reframe some of the issues of being part of the sandwich generation-dealing with children/grandchildren/elderly parents? What if this is a celebration?
I saw my father's mood lift as I told him how fortunate he was to have four sons who have looked out for him, as well as three daughters. How blessed he is as a Black man, to have children who have made his life better, financially, when we all went to work. I saw the relief in my brothers' eyes as I commended them for the good care they've provided for my father over the past nine years, which includes putting him in a nursing home in the past month, even if it has been against my father's wishes, but was for his greater good.
Then it hit me. My siblings and I are now the older generation. Moreover, as a writer, I am now a teacher-the young come to me for advice. I am responsible to hand down the stories from past generations to the next generation as to how we, as a people, survived, which is why I feel it is important for us to write down our stories. Sadly, for African-Americans, much history was lost because, although there was the oral tradition, many people failed to write their stories down on paper.
As a writing technique, I saw a pattern. In writing, a symbolic spring and summer generally connote an upward spiral in our characters' lives. For instance, the characters fall in love, buy a home, have a baby, and get promotions. They are happy.
Paradoxically, a figurative fall and winter generally depict a downward spiral, which is often called the "inciting incident," in a story. Someone no longer loves you and leaves you. Someone dies suddenly. Or perhaps a loved one is the victim of senseless violence. The character becomes sad. Like a sudden blizzard upsetting one's orderly life, the character's world is thrown out of balance.
This is the heart of fiction. No one wants to hear about how great your character's life is. Fiction is about trouble. So even the perfect life needs to get upset to keep your reader turning pages. At the same time, though, I think that we should learn to see the good in these downward spirals and make use of them in our writing. Although these bad times are what compel the reader on, we should show the upside of this, too. It is generally during the "symbolic" winter that our character's mettle will be tested, and the reader will find out what they are made from. As a writer, you might ask, how does the character change and grow through this wintry season? Does he go from cynical to optimistic? Mistrustful to trusting? Stingy to altruistic (such as Scrooge)? The character can also go through the reverse of these cycles.
Ironically, just as winter signifies death, (eg. death of a relationship, death of our youth, death of our illusions,) there is a certain element of resurrection in this final eventuality. For it is generally after we go through a disaster, we are plopped flat on our backs, sometimes literally, and forced, (even if against our will,) to reflect. What comfort or sustenance does the character find then? For instance, to this day, I marvel at how my mother is reborn over and over again on a wintry day when I drink a hot cup of soup, which was one of her many ways of nurturing.
Now I wonder. What memories will my father's last winter bring me? Will it be his love of a good anecdote or his story-telling ability that he handed down to me? I don't know. But this I do know. In the midst of life, we are in death, so as writers we must embrace those special, magical moments that make up our humanity. After all, as John Irving ended his novel in The World According To Garp, " ... we are all terminal cases."
Copyright (c) 2006 Black Butterfly Press
by: Maxine Thompson
I had not seen snow in 21 years, that is, until I recently rode through a snowstorm in Cheyenne, Wyoming mountains. Nor did I clearly remember how the leaves change in autumn on the east coast, and how they resemble flames leaping towards the sky in shades of persimmon, cardamom, amber, burgundy and rust. But I recently witnessed all this and more by going to the Baltimore Book Festival the weekend of September 27, 2002. Although I could write about having an exquisite dinner at the Renaissance Hotel overlooking the harbor or the workshop I conducted on "Writing Compelling Fiction," it was the seasons that spoke to me.
These two incidents-the snow and the leaves changing-reminded me how much I have missed the pageantry of the seasons. As I took a slow leisurely trip across the states, I thought of how living in the Los Angeles area for the last 21 years has blinded me to the changing seasons. Even so, I don't know if this would have helped me to recognize another passing season in my life. I am facing the impending loss of my last living parent. My father, age 83, who has crippling arthritis, has deteriorated since I saw him last year. Surprisingly, I do not feel sadness, but a resignation, a sense that this is part of the life cycle. Like the song, "Everything must change."
This is a very different reaction from when I lost my mother. I was so totally unprepared when my mother died of a sudden heart attack on December 1, 1993 that I felt a rage, almost a railing against God. How could You? How dare You take this woman, who I was just realizing was my root, who carried me inside of her, whose very hand movements I saw mimicked in my own? This period was to become what I later saw as the darkest winter of my life. Looking back, I think my reaction was part of what often marks the loss of the first parent, particularly the mother.
These are the things, we, as writers, must mark in our writing--the changing seasons of our lives, of our characters, of their journeys and how our characters react to them.
After the Baltimore Book Festival, I stopped in Detroit. While there, I took my father out from his new residence-a nursing home-to get a milkshake at McDonald's, and while pushing him in his wheelchair, I felt like the parent. I was no longer angry about his being human, his frailties, his failings, (which have been more glaring since my mother's death.) I just wanted him to feel the sun on his tissue-like skin, through which you could see the blue veins.
I immersed myself totally in the moment. We were enjoying the sunshine. No matter all the calls I'd received from my hometown, Detroit, about how horrible it is about Daddy, "He's in this new crisis," or "that new crisis"-I was no longer upset. In the manner of a former social worker, I decided to reframe the issue. Instead of looking at my father's slow demise as, "Isn't it awful how we grow old and die?" let's look at it as how the seasons in life change. As a writer, we often write from the premise, "What if ..." So I say, what if we reframe some of the issues of being part of the sandwich generation-dealing with children/grandchildren/elderly parents? What if this is a celebration?
I saw my father's mood lift as I told him how fortunate he was to have four sons who have looked out for him, as well as three daughters. How blessed he is as a Black man, to have children who have made his life better, financially, when we all went to work. I saw the relief in my brothers' eyes as I commended them for the good care they've provided for my father over the past nine years, which includes putting him in a nursing home in the past month, even if it has been against my father's wishes, but was for his greater good.
Then it hit me. My siblings and I are now the older generation. Moreover, as a writer, I am now a teacher-the young come to me for advice. I am responsible to hand down the stories from past generations to the next generation as to how we, as a people, survived, which is why I feel it is important for us to write down our stories. Sadly, for African-Americans, much history was lost because, although there was the oral tradition, many people failed to write their stories down on paper.
As a writing technique, I saw a pattern. In writing, a symbolic spring and summer generally connote an upward spiral in our characters' lives. For instance, the characters fall in love, buy a home, have a baby, and get promotions. They are happy.
Paradoxically, a figurative fall and winter generally depict a downward spiral, which is often called the "inciting incident," in a story. Someone no longer loves you and leaves you. Someone dies suddenly. Or perhaps a loved one is the victim of senseless violence. The character becomes sad. Like a sudden blizzard upsetting one's orderly life, the character's world is thrown out of balance.
This is the heart of fiction. No one wants to hear about how great your character's life is. Fiction is about trouble. So even the perfect life needs to get upset to keep your reader turning pages. At the same time, though, I think that we should learn to see the good in these downward spirals and make use of them in our writing. Although these bad times are what compel the reader on, we should show the upside of this, too. It is generally during the "symbolic" winter that our character's mettle will be tested, and the reader will find out what they are made from. As a writer, you might ask, how does the character change and grow through this wintry season? Does he go from cynical to optimistic? Mistrustful to trusting? Stingy to altruistic (such as Scrooge)? The character can also go through the reverse of these cycles.
Ironically, just as winter signifies death, (eg. death of a relationship, death of our youth, death of our illusions,) there is a certain element of resurrection in this final eventuality. For it is generally after we go through a disaster, we are plopped flat on our backs, sometimes literally, and forced, (even if against our will,) to reflect. What comfort or sustenance does the character find then? For instance, to this day, I marvel at how my mother is reborn over and over again on a wintry day when I drink a hot cup of soup, which was one of her many ways of nurturing.
Now I wonder. What memories will my father's last winter bring me? Will it be his love of a good anecdote or his story-telling ability that he handed down to me? I don't know. But this I do know. In the midst of life, we are in death, so as writers we must embrace those special, magical moments that make up our humanity. After all, as John Irving ended his novel in The World According To Garp, " ... we are all terminal cases."
Copyright (c) 2006 Black Butterfly Press
Writing Copy for Online Auctions
Writing Copy for Online Auctions
by: Patricia Michaels
The phrase writing copy comes from the advertising world, and it means a type of writing used to sell anything, from ideas to goods or services.
Copy writing is both an art and a science. You are trying to persuade as many people as possible to bid on your items by using words and phrases. While the art of writing copy may take years to master, the science of writing copy is a bit easier.
In order to place bids on your items, potential customers need to be able to find your items. Generally speaking, they find your auction item in one of two ways. They can either browse through pages of items in a general category or they can do a search on a specific type or brand of item.
Far and away, search engines play the leading role in getting your auction items seen by potential customers. Therefore, writing copy for the search engines is the ideal approach to take for writing copy for online acutions.
Titles
Title tags serve as the initial item identification tool. Generally speaking, short, accurate descriptions are the keys to effective titles.
Keywords, the most common words or phrases used for a search, are the most important aspect of writing titles for search engines. Typically all items can be broken down into three types of keywords:
Item Brands
Items Types
Item Names
For example, if you have a Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug for sale, your title would say exactly that, Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug. By using the brand, type and name of the item, you maximize the number of times your item will show up in search results. Any customer searching on the specific phrase Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug, or Royal Daulton or toby jug would be able to find your listing.
By comparison, an inaccurate, incomplete or mispelled title such as, Royal Daulton Man or Royal Dalton Man, would decrease the number of potential customers because search engines are machines that match search terms with titles rather than interpreting titles to match search terms.
There are a variety of strategies employed to attract the browser to click through a listing. Some of the more prevalent, but often frowned upon strategies, are those titles that use innocuous phrases such as 'look' or 'must see'. Those phrases add nothing descriptive to the title and are generally considered nonprofessional.
Since the space allotted to titles is limited, descriptions that add only a few extra characters are always useful. For example, using dates, such as 1956 to describe a Knickerbocker Doll, or acronyms, such as LE (Limited Edition) and NIB (New in Box), at the end of titles are also effective ways to draw potential bidders to click through to your listing.
Finally, there may be times where bending these rules of title writing might be to your advantage. There are items whose names might be less salable than a substitute description. For example, a Norman Rockwell collector's plate called, "The Understudy", where the understudy is a picture of a clown, might not be as inviting a title as Norman Rockwell Clown.
As the folks on Madison Avenue continue to remind us, certain things, such as sex, puppies, kittens and clowns always sell. After some practice, you can get a feel for when using a description sells better than using the actual name.
Item Descriptions
A quick check of the search function in most online auction sites shows that they have an option for customers to search by both title and description. Therefore, many of the same rules of thumb that apply to writing titles equally apply to writing descriptions. The big difference between writing titles and writing descriptions is the amount of space provided for the tasks.
While there is limited space allocated for , there is almost an unlimited amount of space available to describe the item. Generally speaking though, a short paragraph is sufficient to provide accurate descriptions for the majority of items you will sell. All the items you write copy for should contain three basic elements
Item Identification
Item Measurement
Item Description
Just as in the title tag, the first part of your description should identify the item, again using the same key words that appear in the title.
Since pictures do not always provide a complete or even accurate representation of an item, measurements should be provided for all items. For example, a picture of a woman's wrist watch can show the basics of the watch. However, they can not show the length of the bracelet or the size of the watch face.
The most important aspect of describing the item is accuracy. To start, auction items can either be new, in their original box, or they can be used. All things being equal, used items have a higher potential of having a flaw that needs to be accurately presented to potential bidders. So, for example, on all the types of ceramic, porcelain, clay, crystal and glass items, there could be chips, cracks, scratches or crazing on the item.
Additionally, there are times when the flaws are apparent on the pictures you have posted. Do not assume that the customer sees the flaws on the picture. When you describe the item, you can add a phrase such as "see picture #1".
Finally, it's almost as important to know that the purpose of writing copy is to sell the item. Writing copy, just like any other type of writing, is intended for a specific type of audience. It's always a good idea to keep a series of questions in the back of your mind about the potential audience, as you plan on writing the description. Who is likely to purchase this item? For whom are they purchasing it? Is it for a collector? Is it for a family? Is it for an office worker? A sentence or two describing the item in a way that appeals to your audience is always a good idea. It takes time and practice to effectively integrate these types of sentences into your descriptions.
by: Patricia Michaels
The phrase writing copy comes from the advertising world, and it means a type of writing used to sell anything, from ideas to goods or services.
Copy writing is both an art and a science. You are trying to persuade as many people as possible to bid on your items by using words and phrases. While the art of writing copy may take years to master, the science of writing copy is a bit easier.
In order to place bids on your items, potential customers need to be able to find your items. Generally speaking, they find your auction item in one of two ways. They can either browse through pages of items in a general category or they can do a search on a specific type or brand of item.
Far and away, search engines play the leading role in getting your auction items seen by potential customers. Therefore, writing copy for the search engines is the ideal approach to take for writing copy for online acutions.
Titles
Title tags serve as the initial item identification tool. Generally speaking, short, accurate descriptions are the keys to effective titles.
Keywords, the most common words or phrases used for a search, are the most important aspect of writing titles for search engines. Typically all items can be broken down into three types of keywords:
Item Brands
Items Types
Item Names
For example, if you have a Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug for sale, your title would say exactly that, Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug. By using the brand, type and name of the item, you maximize the number of times your item will show up in search results. Any customer searching on the specific phrase Royal Daulton Mad Hatter Toby Jug, or Royal Daulton or toby jug would be able to find your listing.
By comparison, an inaccurate, incomplete or mispelled title such as, Royal Daulton Man or Royal Dalton Man, would decrease the number of potential customers because search engines are machines that match search terms with titles rather than interpreting titles to match search terms.
There are a variety of strategies employed to attract the browser to click through a listing. Some of the more prevalent, but often frowned upon strategies, are those titles that use innocuous phrases such as 'look' or 'must see'. Those phrases add nothing descriptive to the title and are generally considered nonprofessional.
Since the space allotted to titles is limited, descriptions that add only a few extra characters are always useful. For example, using dates, such as 1956 to describe a Knickerbocker Doll, or acronyms, such as LE (Limited Edition) and NIB (New in Box), at the end of titles are also effective ways to draw potential bidders to click through to your listing.
Finally, there may be times where bending these rules of title writing might be to your advantage. There are items whose names might be less salable than a substitute description. For example, a Norman Rockwell collector's plate called, "The Understudy", where the understudy is a picture of a clown, might not be as inviting a title as Norman Rockwell Clown.
As the folks on Madison Avenue continue to remind us, certain things, such as sex, puppies, kittens and clowns always sell. After some practice, you can get a feel for when using a description sells better than using the actual name.
Item Descriptions
A quick check of the search function in most online auction sites shows that they have an option for customers to search by both title and description. Therefore, many of the same rules of thumb that apply to writing titles equally apply to writing descriptions. The big difference between writing titles and writing descriptions is the amount of space provided for the tasks.
While there is limited space allocated for , there is almost an unlimited amount of space available to describe the item. Generally speaking though, a short paragraph is sufficient to provide accurate descriptions for the majority of items you will sell. All the items you write copy for should contain three basic elements
Item Identification
Item Measurement
Item Description
Just as in the title tag, the first part of your description should identify the item, again using the same key words that appear in the title.
Since pictures do not always provide a complete or even accurate representation of an item, measurements should be provided for all items. For example, a picture of a woman's wrist watch can show the basics of the watch. However, they can not show the length of the bracelet or the size of the watch face.
The most important aspect of describing the item is accuracy. To start, auction items can either be new, in their original box, or they can be used. All things being equal, used items have a higher potential of having a flaw that needs to be accurately presented to potential bidders. So, for example, on all the types of ceramic, porcelain, clay, crystal and glass items, there could be chips, cracks, scratches or crazing on the item.
Additionally, there are times when the flaws are apparent on the pictures you have posted. Do not assume that the customer sees the flaws on the picture. When you describe the item, you can add a phrase such as "see picture #1".
Finally, it's almost as important to know that the purpose of writing copy is to sell the item. Writing copy, just like any other type of writing, is intended for a specific type of audience. It's always a good idea to keep a series of questions in the back of your mind about the potential audience, as you plan on writing the description. Who is likely to purchase this item? For whom are they purchasing it? Is it for a collector? Is it for a family? Is it for an office worker? A sentence or two describing the item in a way that appeals to your audience is always a good idea. It takes time and practice to effectively integrate these types of sentences into your descriptions.
The Storyteller
The Storyteller
by: Martha Whittington
New Book Offers Supernatural Tales Involving Everyday People
Martha Whittington invites readers to take a break from the doldrums of daily routine and delve into a world where ordinary lives are blindsided by the bizarre. The Storyteller: Volume I (now available through AuthorHouse) provides a feast of paranormal delights that satisfy the imagination.
Comprised of six intriguing tales, The Storyteller delves into the lives of a colorful variety of people who suddenly find themselves in unsettling situations. In “The Fennigan Case,” two news reporters step across the threshold of a creepy house and into another dimension. “A Unique Team” follows another investigative journalist as he plunges into international intrigue. Readers explore the mind of a psychic teenager in “The Hidden Knowledge” and meet a wicked woman who holds an entire town hostage with her dark magic in “The Witch”. Two brothers endure tragedy in a remote corner of the world in “Sand,” and a couple experiences any parent’s worst nightmare in “The Gifted Child”.
Throughout The Storyteller, Whittington weaves a macabre tapestry of drama, suspense and fast-paced action. From the dangers of the Egyptian desert to the cold streets of New York, she takes readers on a thrilling journey along the knife-edge between this world and the unknown. A captivating read for fans of the disturbingly weird. The Storyteller delivers thrills and chills at each turn of the page.
For further review on this book, please go to: http://storytellersbookclub.com or e-mail us at: thestorytellers2121@yahoo.com.
by: Martha Whittington
New Book Offers Supernatural Tales Involving Everyday People
Martha Whittington invites readers to take a break from the doldrums of daily routine and delve into a world where ordinary lives are blindsided by the bizarre. The Storyteller: Volume I (now available through AuthorHouse) provides a feast of paranormal delights that satisfy the imagination.
Comprised of six intriguing tales, The Storyteller delves into the lives of a colorful variety of people who suddenly find themselves in unsettling situations. In “The Fennigan Case,” two news reporters step across the threshold of a creepy house and into another dimension. “A Unique Team” follows another investigative journalist as he plunges into international intrigue. Readers explore the mind of a psychic teenager in “The Hidden Knowledge” and meet a wicked woman who holds an entire town hostage with her dark magic in “The Witch”. Two brothers endure tragedy in a remote corner of the world in “Sand,” and a couple experiences any parent’s worst nightmare in “The Gifted Child”.
Throughout The Storyteller, Whittington weaves a macabre tapestry of drama, suspense and fast-paced action. From the dangers of the Egyptian desert to the cold streets of New York, she takes readers on a thrilling journey along the knife-edge between this world and the unknown. A captivating read for fans of the disturbingly weird. The Storyteller delivers thrills and chills at each turn of the page.
For further review on this book, please go to: http://storytellersbookclub.com or e-mail us at: thestorytellers2121@yahoo.com.
Writing A Book - Tips From An Author #7
Writing A Book - Tips From An Author #7
by: www.GetPlotted.com
Secrets of the Plot
The one overriding principle you have to remember when creating a blockbuster of a plot is to avoid randomness. A good story is a chain of events, and each link in the chain is bound to other links (otherwise it isn't a chain!). This is worth repeating - whether it is an event, a character or place name, or a motivation, think it through and create it for a reason, not randomly. Keep asking yourself 'why'. Your readers will certainly be doing the same, and if you have created it with a logical reason behind it, they will accept it, no matter how implausible it may actually be. Done correctly, this way of plotting will also steer the reader firmly towards the climax, and this, of course, is important if you want to write a 'page turner' bestseller novel.
Most plots are based on the idea of the character under pressure. Your hero has a problem, and how he/she solves it IS the story. You must always be careful to keep the character 'in character'. For example, if your hero is a violent vigilante, he probably doesn't solve the ultimate puzzle using his flower-arranging skills. Unless, of course, you have already prepped the reader by explaining, for example, that the hero's zen teacher helped him control his violent temper with Japanese flower-rituals... You can automatically create consistent character outlines at www.GetPlotted.com with just 1 click of a button. And you can keep on clicking till the character is perfect for your purposes!
You want your audience to empathize with your character. If you can't achieve this, you at least want them to understand the character. In the example above, revealing a traumatic childhood event may help the reader understand why the hero is a violent vigilante, even if they still don't truly empathize with him). The character's motivations, therefore, are prime. If the reader doesn't believe or accept the motivations you expose, they won't believe the character either, and you are wasting your time. No real motivation turns your drama into melodrama.
There is even a case for claiming that the plot of a top novel is the sum of the subplots of all the characters in it. The interplay between the individual existences of the characters is what moves plot forward. In terms of starting a plot, the rule of thumb is to begin as close to the climax as possible. In other words, there can be lots of 'history' before the story begins that can be revealed to the reader as the actual plot unfolds. The Lord Of The Rings is a classic example - the history of the story extends several thousand years before the opening scene. You also want to begin on an 'inciting incident'. A 'big bang' if you will, from which the plot stems. Bilbo giving Frodo the Ring in LOTR is such an inciting incident. This 'foreshadowing' is vitally important when writing a good plot. Anything important MUST be foreshadowed, be it a character, an event or location. Some writers go so far as to claim that the entire first half of a book is foreshadowing - a prophecy of what is to come in the second half of the book. The second half, of course, is the fulfillment of the prophecy. If you randomly introduce 'solutions' without foreshadowing simply to solve problems you have created, you will lose your audience fast.
Having said that, you must be subtle. If you give too much warning of what's coming, the reader will get bored. The standard way of doing this is to de-stress the importance of what you are foreshadowing so that when the surprise comes, the reader isn't totally 'gob-smacked'. And by the way, if the characters in the story can't see it coming, but your readers can, you may lose them.
That word - surprise - is important in good plotting. You should keep your reader guessing to some extent until you reveal a solution, and then the reader should be left with a 'doh' moment - an understanding that you gave him all the clues he needed and he STILL didn't see it coming. The '6th Sense' movie is a classic example of this. By the end, and final twist, everyone in the cinema had a 'doh' moment, because with HINDSIGHT it was obvious what was going on. Roughing out the plot with the unique Plot Cards (tm) system at www.GetPlotted.com will help you get the speed of the action right, as well as easily organize your idea into a consistent logical and readable structure. Setting the right pace will also help keep your readers in a mild sense of info-overload, so that surprises are easier to spring on them even though you have foreshadowed properly.
The role of the hero in your plot develops over time. At some stage, the hero must assert control (even in, for example, a tragedy, where the hero dies, the very death should be an act of control - the ending of 'Leon' is a prime example of this). Generally, the hero must be 'roused' i.e. he/she is subject to events at first but then is roused to take charge and asset control over events. The moment when the hero starts to take control is known as a 'counterthrust', and there may be many of them in a good plot as hero and villain struggle for control. A good scene will present some problem or obstacle for the hero, and how he solves it determines whether your reader goes on to read the next chapter. The solving of these challenges is the counterthrust. Often, a good plot features a problem, a counterthrust which fails, and then a new attempt to resolve the issues using the lessons learned.
Plots also server an ancillary purpose. The events that unfold should express some aspect of the character's personality, they should reveal something about our heros and villains to us. By putting your character under stress with plot, your characters come alive, with the opportunity to show bravery, resourcefulness, and all the other human traits. And this final tip is worth re-reading - if you give your characters characteristics without expressing them through plot, it is as meaningless to your reader as some braggart in a bar claiming to be a 'kung fu expert'. Believability is the condensation of characterization via plot consistency. Ignore that at your peril!
by: www.GetPlotted.com
Secrets of the Plot
The one overriding principle you have to remember when creating a blockbuster of a plot is to avoid randomness. A good story is a chain of events, and each link in the chain is bound to other links (otherwise it isn't a chain!). This is worth repeating - whether it is an event, a character or place name, or a motivation, think it through and create it for a reason, not randomly. Keep asking yourself 'why'. Your readers will certainly be doing the same, and if you have created it with a logical reason behind it, they will accept it, no matter how implausible it may actually be. Done correctly, this way of plotting will also steer the reader firmly towards the climax, and this, of course, is important if you want to write a 'page turner' bestseller novel.
Most plots are based on the idea of the character under pressure. Your hero has a problem, and how he/she solves it IS the story. You must always be careful to keep the character 'in character'. For example, if your hero is a violent vigilante, he probably doesn't solve the ultimate puzzle using his flower-arranging skills. Unless, of course, you have already prepped the reader by explaining, for example, that the hero's zen teacher helped him control his violent temper with Japanese flower-rituals... You can automatically create consistent character outlines at www.GetPlotted.com with just 1 click of a button. And you can keep on clicking till the character is perfect for your purposes!
You want your audience to empathize with your character. If you can't achieve this, you at least want them to understand the character. In the example above, revealing a traumatic childhood event may help the reader understand why the hero is a violent vigilante, even if they still don't truly empathize with him). The character's motivations, therefore, are prime. If the reader doesn't believe or accept the motivations you expose, they won't believe the character either, and you are wasting your time. No real motivation turns your drama into melodrama.
There is even a case for claiming that the plot of a top novel is the sum of the subplots of all the characters in it. The interplay between the individual existences of the characters is what moves plot forward. In terms of starting a plot, the rule of thumb is to begin as close to the climax as possible. In other words, there can be lots of 'history' before the story begins that can be revealed to the reader as the actual plot unfolds. The Lord Of The Rings is a classic example - the history of the story extends several thousand years before the opening scene. You also want to begin on an 'inciting incident'. A 'big bang' if you will, from which the plot stems. Bilbo giving Frodo the Ring in LOTR is such an inciting incident. This 'foreshadowing' is vitally important when writing a good plot. Anything important MUST be foreshadowed, be it a character, an event or location. Some writers go so far as to claim that the entire first half of a book is foreshadowing - a prophecy of what is to come in the second half of the book. The second half, of course, is the fulfillment of the prophecy. If you randomly introduce 'solutions' without foreshadowing simply to solve problems you have created, you will lose your audience fast.
Having said that, you must be subtle. If you give too much warning of what's coming, the reader will get bored. The standard way of doing this is to de-stress the importance of what you are foreshadowing so that when the surprise comes, the reader isn't totally 'gob-smacked'. And by the way, if the characters in the story can't see it coming, but your readers can, you may lose them.
That word - surprise - is important in good plotting. You should keep your reader guessing to some extent until you reveal a solution, and then the reader should be left with a 'doh' moment - an understanding that you gave him all the clues he needed and he STILL didn't see it coming. The '6th Sense' movie is a classic example of this. By the end, and final twist, everyone in the cinema had a 'doh' moment, because with HINDSIGHT it was obvious what was going on. Roughing out the plot with the unique Plot Cards (tm) system at www.GetPlotted.com will help you get the speed of the action right, as well as easily organize your idea into a consistent logical and readable structure. Setting the right pace will also help keep your readers in a mild sense of info-overload, so that surprises are easier to spring on them even though you have foreshadowed properly.
The role of the hero in your plot develops over time. At some stage, the hero must assert control (even in, for example, a tragedy, where the hero dies, the very death should be an act of control - the ending of 'Leon' is a prime example of this). Generally, the hero must be 'roused' i.e. he/she is subject to events at first but then is roused to take charge and asset control over events. The moment when the hero starts to take control is known as a 'counterthrust', and there may be many of them in a good plot as hero and villain struggle for control. A good scene will present some problem or obstacle for the hero, and how he solves it determines whether your reader goes on to read the next chapter. The solving of these challenges is the counterthrust. Often, a good plot features a problem, a counterthrust which fails, and then a new attempt to resolve the issues using the lessons learned.
Plots also server an ancillary purpose. The events that unfold should express some aspect of the character's personality, they should reveal something about our heros and villains to us. By putting your character under stress with plot, your characters come alive, with the opportunity to show bravery, resourcefulness, and all the other human traits. And this final tip is worth re-reading - if you give your characters characteristics without expressing them through plot, it is as meaningless to your reader as some braggart in a bar claiming to be a 'kung fu expert'. Believability is the condensation of characterization via plot consistency. Ignore that at your peril!
Imprints: Research Your Book’s Market as You Write
Imprints: Research Your Book’s Market as You Write
by: Lisa Silverman
If you’re serious about getting your manuscript published, whether it’s a literary novel, a true-crime book, or a genre romance, it’s a good idea to find out who exactly might publish it. “But that’s my agent’s job,” you might say. True. But it’s also your job, and your responsibility to your career as an author, to be well-informed about publishing houses. Gather any knowledge you can about who’s publishing what—whether you have an agent or not.
Most publishing houses, especially big ones, are divided into “imprints,” which publish under a separate name, often in a specific genre. They usually have their own set of editors, though some editors acquire manuscripts for multiple imprints. Some are much more narrow than others—for example, books published under the imprint that shares the name of the house (Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc.) usually cut a wide swath: fiction and nonfiction; literary and commercial. But each publishing house also has more specific imprints, and creates new ones on a regular basis. Random House, the world’s biggest publisher, lists no fewer than fifty-five different U.S. imprints on its website. And that doesn’t count those that produce audiobooks, large-print texts, etc.
Visit Random House’s website, and the websites of as many publishers as possible. Even if you think it’s not the place for your genre, you may be surprised. Most publishers list their imprints, along with brief descriptions, and often a specific imprint doesn’t fit the overall image of that publishing house. Houses create new imprints to follow book industry trends: for example, following the success of such authors as Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter, several new politically conservative imprints appeared, including Crown Forum at Random House, Sentinel at Penguin, and Threshold at Simon & Schuster. Also, imprints are popping up all over the place to cater to the fast-growing market of Latin-American readers, such as Rayo at HarperCollins.
After you consult the publishers’ own lists, bypass their marketing lingo and look at their products, in bookstores. Browse Amazon, or go into your local Barnes & Noble, and head for the section where you think your book belongs. If you’re writing a commercial mystery series, it will most likely be published as a mass-market paperback (until you become a household name and graduate to the hardcover ranks). Browse the shelves, or scroll down the Amazon pages of books similar to yours, and make a list of the imprints you see. Most likely a few will appear over and over—the major publishers—and you’ll see a few others, perhaps smaller houses or new imprints. If you’re in the mystery section, about one-fourth of the books’ spines will say “Berkley Prime Crime”—Penguin’s mass-market mystery imprint.
Once you have an agent, if they’re at all competent, they’ll know to submit your genre mystery series to an editor at Berkley who acquires for their Prime Crime imprint. But let’s back up: if you see a particular type of mystery filling the shelves (or missing from them), keep that in mind when devising your own series idea. But don’t follow trends blindly: remember that the books now on the shelves were acquired as long ago as two years, and the trend you see may already have passed.
An even more helpful goal is to be able to ask a prospective agent the reasonable question, “What are some imprints you might submit my manuscript to?” If you’ve written a commercial mystery series, and they don’t mention Berkley (or the other major mystery imprints), perhaps that agent isn’t savvy enough, or simply isn’t the right one for your manuscript. If you’ve done your homework, you’re better equipped to make in informed decision.
The same holds true after you’ve signed on with an agent. Refrain from sending them a list of places you want your manuscript submitted. That’s like saying, “I don’t trust you to do your job.” Few things annoyed me more when I was an agent. And please, I beg you, don’t contact an editor who received your manuscript through an agent, unless you know the editor personally. Following up is part of the agent’s job. However, it is (or should be) perfectly acceptable to ask where your book has been submitted and why a particular imprint isn’t on the list.
There’s one terrific reference book for info about both publishers and agents: Jeff Herman’s Guide, which is updated every year. It needs to be, since its long list of book agents and book publishers is ever-changing. It provides company contact info, names, submission policies, and genre preferences of both agents and publishers. If your agent mentions a publisher/imprint to you that you haven’t heard of, look them up in the guide, search for them on Amazon, and Google them.
In short, it’s always best to be as knowledgeable as you can about the industry. It can help you focus your manuscript, especially if it’s in a commercial genre. It’ll help you find an agent. It’ll help you work with your agent to market your book to the right places, and identify whether your agent is doing the best he or she can with your manuscript. You don’t need to have insider contacts or shell out the dough for a subscription to Publishers Weekly. Just do a little browsing of the Internet or the bookstore, and reap the benefits of your homework!
by: Lisa Silverman
If you’re serious about getting your manuscript published, whether it’s a literary novel, a true-crime book, or a genre romance, it’s a good idea to find out who exactly might publish it. “But that’s my agent’s job,” you might say. True. But it’s also your job, and your responsibility to your career as an author, to be well-informed about publishing houses. Gather any knowledge you can about who’s publishing what—whether you have an agent or not.
Most publishing houses, especially big ones, are divided into “imprints,” which publish under a separate name, often in a specific genre. They usually have their own set of editors, though some editors acquire manuscripts for multiple imprints. Some are much more narrow than others—for example, books published under the imprint that shares the name of the house (Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc.) usually cut a wide swath: fiction and nonfiction; literary and commercial. But each publishing house also has more specific imprints, and creates new ones on a regular basis. Random House, the world’s biggest publisher, lists no fewer than fifty-five different U.S. imprints on its website. And that doesn’t count those that produce audiobooks, large-print texts, etc.
Visit Random House’s website, and the websites of as many publishers as possible. Even if you think it’s not the place for your genre, you may be surprised. Most publishers list their imprints, along with brief descriptions, and often a specific imprint doesn’t fit the overall image of that publishing house. Houses create new imprints to follow book industry trends: for example, following the success of such authors as Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter, several new politically conservative imprints appeared, including Crown Forum at Random House, Sentinel at Penguin, and Threshold at Simon & Schuster. Also, imprints are popping up all over the place to cater to the fast-growing market of Latin-American readers, such as Rayo at HarperCollins.
After you consult the publishers’ own lists, bypass their marketing lingo and look at their products, in bookstores. Browse Amazon, or go into your local Barnes & Noble, and head for the section where you think your book belongs. If you’re writing a commercial mystery series, it will most likely be published as a mass-market paperback (until you become a household name and graduate to the hardcover ranks). Browse the shelves, or scroll down the Amazon pages of books similar to yours, and make a list of the imprints you see. Most likely a few will appear over and over—the major publishers—and you’ll see a few others, perhaps smaller houses or new imprints. If you’re in the mystery section, about one-fourth of the books’ spines will say “Berkley Prime Crime”—Penguin’s mass-market mystery imprint.
Once you have an agent, if they’re at all competent, they’ll know to submit your genre mystery series to an editor at Berkley who acquires for their Prime Crime imprint. But let’s back up: if you see a particular type of mystery filling the shelves (or missing from them), keep that in mind when devising your own series idea. But don’t follow trends blindly: remember that the books now on the shelves were acquired as long ago as two years, and the trend you see may already have passed.
An even more helpful goal is to be able to ask a prospective agent the reasonable question, “What are some imprints you might submit my manuscript to?” If you’ve written a commercial mystery series, and they don’t mention Berkley (or the other major mystery imprints), perhaps that agent isn’t savvy enough, or simply isn’t the right one for your manuscript. If you’ve done your homework, you’re better equipped to make in informed decision.
The same holds true after you’ve signed on with an agent. Refrain from sending them a list of places you want your manuscript submitted. That’s like saying, “I don’t trust you to do your job.” Few things annoyed me more when I was an agent. And please, I beg you, don’t contact an editor who received your manuscript through an agent, unless you know the editor personally. Following up is part of the agent’s job. However, it is (or should be) perfectly acceptable to ask where your book has been submitted and why a particular imprint isn’t on the list.
There’s one terrific reference book for info about both publishers and agents: Jeff Herman’s Guide, which is updated every year. It needs to be, since its long list of book agents and book publishers is ever-changing. It provides company contact info, names, submission policies, and genre preferences of both agents and publishers. If your agent mentions a publisher/imprint to you that you haven’t heard of, look them up in the guide, search for them on Amazon, and Google them.
In short, it’s always best to be as knowledgeable as you can about the industry. It can help you focus your manuscript, especially if it’s in a commercial genre. It’ll help you find an agent. It’ll help you work with your agent to market your book to the right places, and identify whether your agent is doing the best he or she can with your manuscript. You don’t need to have insider contacts or shell out the dough for a subscription to Publishers Weekly. Just do a little browsing of the Internet or the bookstore, and reap the benefits of your homework!
The Billionaire Writer's Secret
The Billionaire Writer's Secret
by: Steven Barnes
During a career spanning twenty-five years of novel, film, and television work, I've two major tools most valuable: the yogic “chakras” for characterization, and Joseph Campbell’s model of the Hero’s Journey for plot structure.
These are not random choices, nor were they selected because of the many intelligent and thoughtful essays on their relationship to successful film or world myth.
Rather, they are important because they create a connection between the inner world of the writer, and the external world of the finished work—and the reader.
A plot structure is nothing more than a tool for organizing events in temporal sequence. While there are more such structures than there are professional writers, few of them meet what thousands of students consider a critical test: are they actually easy to use and apply? A simple tool, however limited, can be of greater use than a complicated tool that requires years to master. Remember: you will achieve real quality in your writing only by mastering your basics.
The Hero’s Journey, extracted from thousands of years of world mythology, has the advantage of actually mimicking the path of life itself. The “three act structure” does not. After all…life isn’t divided into three, or five, or eight acts. Such divisions can be useful tools, but they should never be mistaken for some kind of “truth” about existence. In comparison, note this interpretation (there are others) of the steps of the Hero’s Journey, and to explain them, we’ll look at the first Star Wars movie, “Episode IV, A New Hope”:
1) Hero Confronted With A Challenge. “Come with me, Luke, learn the ways of the Force.” This is pretty clear, right? There has to be a challenge, or a beckoning, or the character won’t begin to change—and all great writing is about change.
2) Hero Initially rejects the challenge, :I promised Uncle Owen I’d work on the moisture evaporators.” A real challenge, one that can provoke real change, will be frightening and exciting. A character will usually have some reservations.
3) Hero accepts the challenge. Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed, freeing him from his oath. If your character doesn’t accept the challenge, there is no story—unless the story is about the consequences of not accepting responsibility.
4) The Road of trials. Traveling to the desert town and cantina, getting on Han Solo’s spaceship, traveling to other planets, etc. This is the section where locations and sequence interact. The character travels, learns, commits actions that force inter-action with the environment, and the environment responds positively or negatively, with greater and greater stakes as the story proceeds.
5) Gaining Allies and Powers. Luke meets Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan, and Princess Leia. He learns of the Force, and the use of Light Sabers, and how to fly and fight and rescue princesses. If your character doesn’t have to grow in order to resolve the problem, you may have chosen the wrong problem or character!
6) Initial Confrontation with Evil, and defeat. Obi-Wan’s death. Or possibly the disastrous attack on the Death Star. One is private and emotional, the other spectacular and physical.
7) Dark Night of the Soul. The moment of greatest weakness. Luke begins to believe he cannot win, and everything he loves will die.
8) Leap of Faith. “Trust your Feelings, Luke.” The leap of Faith is always faith in one of three things: faith in self, faith in your companions, or faith in a higher power. In “Star Wars” it is all three! This may be the only time in the history of cinema that this was true, and helps to explain why George Lucas is a billionaire.
9) Confront Evil—victorious. The Death Star blows up.
10) Student Becomes the Teacher. Luke is presented with medals, which establish him as a role model.
###
The above ten steps are not some cookie-cutter pattern. They are the combined world wisdom about the path of life itself, the process we go through in achieving any worthwhile goal. There will be fear. There will be defeat. We will need to gain new skills and friends and partners. We must be clear on our acceptance of goals and responsibility. We must have faith. And ultimately, if we have struggled, and learned, and sacrificed, and moved through our fear…we learn and grow and succeed. And then we teach others. This is the pattern of life, and any time you organize information and events into a pattern even vaguely reminiscent of this, the human nervous system, worldwide, will recognize it as story.
It is NOT some kind of cure-all for bad story tellers. What these ten steps are is something analogous to the eighty-eight keys of a piano. Understand the emotional and life significance of each step, and then “play them” as your developed instincts dictate. Make your own kind of music. The pattern has worked for about thirty thousand years. It will work for you, too.
by: Steven Barnes
During a career spanning twenty-five years of novel, film, and television work, I've two major tools most valuable: the yogic “chakras” for characterization, and Joseph Campbell’s model of the Hero’s Journey for plot structure.
These are not random choices, nor were they selected because of the many intelligent and thoughtful essays on their relationship to successful film or world myth.
Rather, they are important because they create a connection between the inner world of the writer, and the external world of the finished work—and the reader.
A plot structure is nothing more than a tool for organizing events in temporal sequence. While there are more such structures than there are professional writers, few of them meet what thousands of students consider a critical test: are they actually easy to use and apply? A simple tool, however limited, can be of greater use than a complicated tool that requires years to master. Remember: you will achieve real quality in your writing only by mastering your basics.
The Hero’s Journey, extracted from thousands of years of world mythology, has the advantage of actually mimicking the path of life itself. The “three act structure” does not. After all…life isn’t divided into three, or five, or eight acts. Such divisions can be useful tools, but they should never be mistaken for some kind of “truth” about existence. In comparison, note this interpretation (there are others) of the steps of the Hero’s Journey, and to explain them, we’ll look at the first Star Wars movie, “Episode IV, A New Hope”:
1) Hero Confronted With A Challenge. “Come with me, Luke, learn the ways of the Force.” This is pretty clear, right? There has to be a challenge, or a beckoning, or the character won’t begin to change—and all great writing is about change.
2) Hero Initially rejects the challenge, :I promised Uncle Owen I’d work on the moisture evaporators.” A real challenge, one that can provoke real change, will be frightening and exciting. A character will usually have some reservations.
3) Hero accepts the challenge. Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed, freeing him from his oath. If your character doesn’t accept the challenge, there is no story—unless the story is about the consequences of not accepting responsibility.
4) The Road of trials. Traveling to the desert town and cantina, getting on Han Solo’s spaceship, traveling to other planets, etc. This is the section where locations and sequence interact. The character travels, learns, commits actions that force inter-action with the environment, and the environment responds positively or negatively, with greater and greater stakes as the story proceeds.
5) Gaining Allies and Powers. Luke meets Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan, and Princess Leia. He learns of the Force, and the use of Light Sabers, and how to fly and fight and rescue princesses. If your character doesn’t have to grow in order to resolve the problem, you may have chosen the wrong problem or character!
6) Initial Confrontation with Evil, and defeat. Obi-Wan’s death. Or possibly the disastrous attack on the Death Star. One is private and emotional, the other spectacular and physical.
7) Dark Night of the Soul. The moment of greatest weakness. Luke begins to believe he cannot win, and everything he loves will die.
8) Leap of Faith. “Trust your Feelings, Luke.” The leap of Faith is always faith in one of three things: faith in self, faith in your companions, or faith in a higher power. In “Star Wars” it is all three! This may be the only time in the history of cinema that this was true, and helps to explain why George Lucas is a billionaire.
9) Confront Evil—victorious. The Death Star blows up.
10) Student Becomes the Teacher. Luke is presented with medals, which establish him as a role model.
###
The above ten steps are not some cookie-cutter pattern. They are the combined world wisdom about the path of life itself, the process we go through in achieving any worthwhile goal. There will be fear. There will be defeat. We will need to gain new skills and friends and partners. We must be clear on our acceptance of goals and responsibility. We must have faith. And ultimately, if we have struggled, and learned, and sacrificed, and moved through our fear…we learn and grow and succeed. And then we teach others. This is the pattern of life, and any time you organize information and events into a pattern even vaguely reminiscent of this, the human nervous system, worldwide, will recognize it as story.
It is NOT some kind of cure-all for bad story tellers. What these ten steps are is something analogous to the eighty-eight keys of a piano. Understand the emotional and life significance of each step, and then “play them” as your developed instincts dictate. Make your own kind of music. The pattern has worked for about thirty thousand years. It will work for you, too.
The Great, Okay and the Ugly of E-Publishing
The Great, Okay and the Ugly of E-Publishing
by: Shalla de Guzman
SHALLA CHATS with author Tina Gerow about: “The Great, Okay and the Ugly of E-Publishing”
Who’s Tina? Tina Gerow has great passion for romance and anything paranormal. She writes “the weird stuff” with sarcasm. Her debut novel, Into a Dangerous Mind, published by Triskelion, comes out this May.
Shalla: Hi Tina.
Tina: Hi. It’s great to be able to talk with you.
Shalla: So you’re getting e-published. That’s interesting. We’ve heard the great, the okay and the ugly about e-publishing and we like to ask you about your experiences with it.
First of all, what made you decide to go the e-publishing route?
Tina: I heard all of the bad stories too, so as a fresh newbie, I only queried print publishers. I got lots of ‘good’ rejections – the ones that say send more! – the same with agents, but no one offered a contract.
In the meanwhile, I was getting to know authors in my local chapters who are published with Ellora’s Cave and Triskelion and who are all big advocates for e-publishing.
So, since my book wasn’t erotica, I submitted it to Triskelion just to see what would happen. (That’s before Cerridwen Press was well-known.) And within a few weeks, they requested the full.
A month later, they sent me an email offering a contract. I accepted and have had nothing but wonderful, positive experiences with them. My book comes out in May and they have been extremely supportive and helpful in every aspect.
Triskelion is also actively seeking RWA recognition and I’ll be surprised if they don’t make it by the end of 2005. I still tell people to check out e-pubs thoroughly, because I have some friends who are with some e-pubs who are NOT giving them very positive experiences. I keep telling them to come on over to Triskelion.
I’m still going to actively pursue print publishing as well as future e-published books. If you get with the right e-publisher, then the differences are just semantics – especially since some e-pubs now offer your books in print when they sell well in e format.
Shalla: I have lots of respect for e-pubbed authors. It’s still quite a new format. By the way, how are books formatted? Is it a Word File? A PDF?
Tina: It really depends on the individual e-publisher. Triskelion offers PDF, MobiPocket, HTML and LIT. Ellora’s Cave offers Adobe PDF, HTML, MS Reader, Palm PDF, MobiPocket and RocketBook, which is the .rb files that Rocket reader’s accept. So, they really are quite versatile.
Shalla: Since, e-publishing's only electronic, if they publish your novel, can you still sell that manuscript to print publishers? And/or audio downloads?
Tina: Most of the e-publishing contracts I’ve seen cover e rights as well as print rights because if your ebook sells well, some of the houses will print it. Again, it depends on the house.
Shalla: Since the cost of e-publishing is significantly lower than print, do you get higher royalties?
Tina: Yes, most of the e-publishers I know of offer 37% on e-downloads and slightly lower on print, although still better than the single digit percentage offered by most print pubs.
There is no advance for e-pubs, but you get paid monthly. It’s a bit of a trade off, because for e-pubs, you do a lot of your own publicity. Some people think that puts them at a disadvantage, but I’ve found that many people overseas really like the e-books because they are cheaper for them to get than US print books because of shipping etc.
I’ve had emails from people in China, Taiwan, Russia and Germany asking when my book is coming out because they saw me on the Triskelion book loops and liked my excerpt. There is definitely a market for e-publishing out there.
Shalla: When e-querying, what’s the response time like?
Tina: Pretty quick compared to what I’ve experienced with print pubs and even agents. I sent an email query letter and two weeks later got a request for a full. Then a month later, I received an email offering me a contract.
Shalla: How are negotiations conducted? In person? By phone? By email?
Tina: Everything I’ve done with them has been through email.
Shalla: What’s the time line like from sending that manuscript to getting an acceptance then a contract? Then from signing that contract to getting the book out?
Tina: I received an email offering a contract a month after I sent in the full. Then from the time I accepted, it took another three weeks before I received the contract. I took a week to look it over, sign it and get it back to them.
The edits and when the book comes out after that depends on when your book is slated. My book comes out in May, so my edits will start in April. But I know some other authors in other lines whose books came out two months after their contract was signed – it all depends on when it’s slated to come out.
Shalla: Who’s responsible for promotions? You or your e-publisher? Are you doing promotions? Like what?
Tina: My contract states that I’m responsible for promotions, but Triskelion actually helps.
One of our editors sends out our books to a list of review sites and they helped coordinate a group ad in RT magazine for authors writing in the same line – we all chipped in to split the cost.
So, other than the RT ad, I’ve printed up bookmarks to take to RT and RWA Nationals, I’ve signed up for a radio interview on Jewel’s Way weekly radio show, and I signed partials of my book that I had printed up at the Glendale Chocolate Affair.
Shalla: So how long is your book staying on inventory? And where do we find it? Where do we get it?
Tina: I have a two year contract with Triskelion and as long as one sells now and then off the site, it will stay on for the full two years.
I’ve also agreed to let my book be listed on Fictionwise.com if they offer, which would be for five years. Once my book is released in May, it will be available on www.triskelionpublishing.com and I’ll have a link to the Triskelion page from my website.
Shalla: Thanks! For more on Tina Gerow, visit her website www.tinagerow.com Congrats and cyber champagne Tina, we all love that time our work gets out to the world.
We at Shalla Chats send our highest wishes for success and blessings to you and your writing career. Thanks so much for taking this time to talk with us. We look forward to your future books.
by: Shalla de Guzman
SHALLA CHATS with author Tina Gerow about: “The Great, Okay and the Ugly of E-Publishing”
Who’s Tina? Tina Gerow has great passion for romance and anything paranormal. She writes “the weird stuff” with sarcasm. Her debut novel, Into a Dangerous Mind, published by Triskelion, comes out this May.
Shalla: Hi Tina.
Tina: Hi. It’s great to be able to talk with you.
Shalla: So you’re getting e-published. That’s interesting. We’ve heard the great, the okay and the ugly about e-publishing and we like to ask you about your experiences with it.
First of all, what made you decide to go the e-publishing route?
Tina: I heard all of the bad stories too, so as a fresh newbie, I only queried print publishers. I got lots of ‘good’ rejections – the ones that say send more! – the same with agents, but no one offered a contract.
In the meanwhile, I was getting to know authors in my local chapters who are published with Ellora’s Cave and Triskelion and who are all big advocates for e-publishing.
So, since my book wasn’t erotica, I submitted it to Triskelion just to see what would happen. (That’s before Cerridwen Press was well-known.) And within a few weeks, they requested the full.
A month later, they sent me an email offering a contract. I accepted and have had nothing but wonderful, positive experiences with them. My book comes out in May and they have been extremely supportive and helpful in every aspect.
Triskelion is also actively seeking RWA recognition and I’ll be surprised if they don’t make it by the end of 2005. I still tell people to check out e-pubs thoroughly, because I have some friends who are with some e-pubs who are NOT giving them very positive experiences. I keep telling them to come on over to Triskelion.
I’m still going to actively pursue print publishing as well as future e-published books. If you get with the right e-publisher, then the differences are just semantics – especially since some e-pubs now offer your books in print when they sell well in e format.
Shalla: I have lots of respect for e-pubbed authors. It’s still quite a new format. By the way, how are books formatted? Is it a Word File? A PDF?
Tina: It really depends on the individual e-publisher. Triskelion offers PDF, MobiPocket, HTML and LIT. Ellora’s Cave offers Adobe PDF, HTML, MS Reader, Palm PDF, MobiPocket and RocketBook, which is the .rb files that Rocket reader’s accept. So, they really are quite versatile.
Shalla: Since, e-publishing's only electronic, if they publish your novel, can you still sell that manuscript to print publishers? And/or audio downloads?
Tina: Most of the e-publishing contracts I’ve seen cover e rights as well as print rights because if your ebook sells well, some of the houses will print it. Again, it depends on the house.
Shalla: Since the cost of e-publishing is significantly lower than print, do you get higher royalties?
Tina: Yes, most of the e-publishers I know of offer 37% on e-downloads and slightly lower on print, although still better than the single digit percentage offered by most print pubs.
There is no advance for e-pubs, but you get paid monthly. It’s a bit of a trade off, because for e-pubs, you do a lot of your own publicity. Some people think that puts them at a disadvantage, but I’ve found that many people overseas really like the e-books because they are cheaper for them to get than US print books because of shipping etc.
I’ve had emails from people in China, Taiwan, Russia and Germany asking when my book is coming out because they saw me on the Triskelion book loops and liked my excerpt. There is definitely a market for e-publishing out there.
Shalla: When e-querying, what’s the response time like?
Tina: Pretty quick compared to what I’ve experienced with print pubs and even agents. I sent an email query letter and two weeks later got a request for a full. Then a month later, I received an email offering me a contract.
Shalla: How are negotiations conducted? In person? By phone? By email?
Tina: Everything I’ve done with them has been through email.
Shalla: What’s the time line like from sending that manuscript to getting an acceptance then a contract? Then from signing that contract to getting the book out?
Tina: I received an email offering a contract a month after I sent in the full. Then from the time I accepted, it took another three weeks before I received the contract. I took a week to look it over, sign it and get it back to them.
The edits and when the book comes out after that depends on when your book is slated. My book comes out in May, so my edits will start in April. But I know some other authors in other lines whose books came out two months after their contract was signed – it all depends on when it’s slated to come out.
Shalla: Who’s responsible for promotions? You or your e-publisher? Are you doing promotions? Like what?
Tina: My contract states that I’m responsible for promotions, but Triskelion actually helps.
One of our editors sends out our books to a list of review sites and they helped coordinate a group ad in RT magazine for authors writing in the same line – we all chipped in to split the cost.
So, other than the RT ad, I’ve printed up bookmarks to take to RT and RWA Nationals, I’ve signed up for a radio interview on Jewel’s Way weekly radio show, and I signed partials of my book that I had printed up at the Glendale Chocolate Affair.
Shalla: So how long is your book staying on inventory? And where do we find it? Where do we get it?
Tina: I have a two year contract with Triskelion and as long as one sells now and then off the site, it will stay on for the full two years.
I’ve also agreed to let my book be listed on Fictionwise.com if they offer, which would be for five years. Once my book is released in May, it will be available on www.triskelionpublishing.com and I’ll have a link to the Triskelion page from my website.
Shalla: Thanks! For more on Tina Gerow, visit her website www.tinagerow.com Congrats and cyber champagne Tina, we all love that time our work gets out to the world.
We at Shalla Chats send our highest wishes for success and blessings to you and your writing career. Thanks so much for taking this time to talk with us. We look forward to your future books.
Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending?
Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
By now you should have an idea that your theme has to reach its conclusion just as your story does. But our theme has to do more than reach its conclusion – it has to be reinforced in the end and by doing this, it will strengthen all that we have said in our story.
So if we took a theme…
‘Persist and in the end you will succeed’
And I showed my character working hard to achieve his goals, persisting, even if at times those goals seemed unreachable, then I would’ve showed that all his hard work did pay off in the end. By having him succeed, it would reinforce the theme that had been running throughout the story.
Let me further illustrate this point by giving you a more detailed example.
The theme is…
‘Persistence pays off’
The story is about a writer, who has been writing short stories for years, but has not succeeded in getting published yet.
In your story you will show his persistence with…
How he makes time to write, even when his day is already full by his full time job and other responsibilities
How his every thought is consumed by his writing
Showing him sending story after story to publishers
How he doesn’t let the fact that his family believe he’s wasting his time, distract him from his purpose
Simultaneously I will place him in win and lose situations - Losing when his stories are rejected - Winning when he receives encouraging notes from publishers.
And in those instances where he is winning, I will show gradually that resistance is starting to pay off, till I reach the end of my story where I will have one of his stories accepted for publication and thus bring my theme of ‘Persistence pays off’ to its conclusion.
By showing the reader how persistence is paying off, I would have reinforced the theme in my ending.
Is your theme reinforced in the end of your story?
by: Nick Vernon
Creative Writing Tips –
By now you should have an idea that your theme has to reach its conclusion just as your story does. But our theme has to do more than reach its conclusion – it has to be reinforced in the end and by doing this, it will strengthen all that we have said in our story.
So if we took a theme…
‘Persist and in the end you will succeed’
And I showed my character working hard to achieve his goals, persisting, even if at times those goals seemed unreachable, then I would’ve showed that all his hard work did pay off in the end. By having him succeed, it would reinforce the theme that had been running throughout the story.
Let me further illustrate this point by giving you a more detailed example.
The theme is…
‘Persistence pays off’
The story is about a writer, who has been writing short stories for years, but has not succeeded in getting published yet.
In your story you will show his persistence with…
How he makes time to write, even when his day is already full by his full time job and other responsibilities
How his every thought is consumed by his writing
Showing him sending story after story to publishers
How he doesn’t let the fact that his family believe he’s wasting his time, distract him from his purpose
Simultaneously I will place him in win and lose situations - Losing when his stories are rejected - Winning when he receives encouraging notes from publishers.
And in those instances where he is winning, I will show gradually that resistance is starting to pay off, till I reach the end of my story where I will have one of his stories accepted for publication and thus bring my theme of ‘Persistence pays off’ to its conclusion.
By showing the reader how persistence is paying off, I would have reinforced the theme in my ending.
Is your theme reinforced in the end of your story?
Ten Tips on Writing and Creativity
Ten Tips on Writing and Creativity
by: Emily Hanlon
1. Don’t think. Creating a story or book has little to do with the intellect or language when we first begin. Our best ideas will emerge as a spark or image. Like dreams, they will make little sense. Followed, they will hold the key to the creative unconscious.
2. Creativity is cyclical. You cannot and will not be creative all the time. What is full must empty and what is empty will fill. Creativity has its own internal rhythms. Learn to listen to yours.
3. Nothing kills creativity faster than criticism. Don’t share your work-in-progress with people who are critical or those whose opinions leave you vulnerable, no matter how much you love them. Good critiquing should leave you inspired, not deflated.
4. Spend time listening to your inner critic. He or she is not comfortable with the risks demanded by a creative endeavor. By becoming aware of the foul jabber of your inner critic, you can see how your own mind puts up roadblocks to your creativity.
5. Being a creator is risky business. Don’t underestimate the tremendous emotional and psychic risks the journey demands. Learn to push ahead even when you are afraid. Learn to love the risk.
6. Don’t be afraid to fail. Every successful creator has failed hundreds of times. Failure is an integral part of creativity. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong or stupid. It only means you’ve uncovered a path or technique that does not work.
7. Don’t be afraid to write garbage. Every successful writer writes mounds of garbage. Give your work time to percolate. Play the What If game. For example, if you’re writing fiction and a characters is sweet and loving and you’re stuck, have the character mean and hateful. In the world of the imagination, anything can happen.
8. Nurture your creativity. It is as fragile as a budding flower. Open to the dance. Listen to music that makes you feel like flying. Go for a walk. Laugh with a friend, child or lover. Creativity is about feeling.
9. Be passionate. Creativity is passionate. Passion is always creative.
10. Learn your craft. And write, write, write! The more you write, the better you will get. Discipline yourself. Successful writers are disciplined writers.
by: Emily Hanlon
1. Don’t think. Creating a story or book has little to do with the intellect or language when we first begin. Our best ideas will emerge as a spark or image. Like dreams, they will make little sense. Followed, they will hold the key to the creative unconscious.
2. Creativity is cyclical. You cannot and will not be creative all the time. What is full must empty and what is empty will fill. Creativity has its own internal rhythms. Learn to listen to yours.
3. Nothing kills creativity faster than criticism. Don’t share your work-in-progress with people who are critical or those whose opinions leave you vulnerable, no matter how much you love them. Good critiquing should leave you inspired, not deflated.
4. Spend time listening to your inner critic. He or she is not comfortable with the risks demanded by a creative endeavor. By becoming aware of the foul jabber of your inner critic, you can see how your own mind puts up roadblocks to your creativity.
5. Being a creator is risky business. Don’t underestimate the tremendous emotional and psychic risks the journey demands. Learn to push ahead even when you are afraid. Learn to love the risk.
6. Don’t be afraid to fail. Every successful creator has failed hundreds of times. Failure is an integral part of creativity. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong or stupid. It only means you’ve uncovered a path or technique that does not work.
7. Don’t be afraid to write garbage. Every successful writer writes mounds of garbage. Give your work time to percolate. Play the What If game. For example, if you’re writing fiction and a characters is sweet and loving and you’re stuck, have the character mean and hateful. In the world of the imagination, anything can happen.
8. Nurture your creativity. It is as fragile as a budding flower. Open to the dance. Listen to music that makes you feel like flying. Go for a walk. Laugh with a friend, child or lover. Creativity is about feeling.
9. Be passionate. Creativity is passionate. Passion is always creative.
10. Learn your craft. And write, write, write! The more you write, the better you will get. Discipline yourself. Successful writers are disciplined writers.
Those Deadly Deadlines
Those Deadly Deadlines
by: Pamela White
My back hurts and head throbs. The lights are too bright; the temperature too cold. Is it the flu? Some as-yet unnamed dread disease? No, it’s just that it’s already 8 p.m. on a Sunday and I have a deadline for my weekly column in a short twelve hours.
I have asked writers I’ve met over the years how they feel about the bane of my existence: deadlines.
“I love deadlines. They keep me motivated,” one giddy writer told me.
Another squealed, “I love writing so much that I’m always turning in assignments two weeks before they are due!”
Sheer insanity, I think, as I flip through the television channels. Who can be happy at the thought of a looming deadline? I look at the clock; 8:30 p.m. Still time to have a snack and maybe read a chapter in that new mystery. By 9 o’clock, with full tummy and unable to find that novel, I pick up a notepad.
“Duck confit, mixed berry coulis, a side of mixed greens wilted with a bacon fat and vinegar dressing, and roasted parsnips.” The meal was eaten two nights ago, but I’m just now forcing myself to write the notes I’ll use to weave my restaurant review.
Week in, week out, who can blame me for stalling? A seven course meal here, a take-out lunch there - each week I have to pen 1000 words about some meal eaten at some restaurant, week after week, year after year. And each Sunday evening I sit quaking in fear that the words won’t flow.
Hmm, writing about the duck has made me hungry again. I wander into the kitchen, wash up some dishes, open the fridge, close it again, and try to decide what I want. A cup of tea? A chocolate something? Cheese and crackers? I fix all three and head back to the living room where I’ve decided to write my review.
I take a few minutes to make myself comfortable on the couch before I realize my laptop is in the other room. Sighing, I flip through the channels and find a movie with Humphrey Bogart. I’ve seen it before, of course, but feel it will inspire my writing. Yes, I think as I lean back, munching my way through Jarlsburg and crackers, some black and white inspiration will turn my scattered thoughts and incomplete notes into a column for the ages.
Soon, too soon, I go find my laptop and start writing. An introductory paragraph stalls so I dive straight into the appetizers - pan seared scallops, cold lobster salad, carpaccio. Closing my eyes I see the table as it was spread before us on Friday night. I relive the tastes and inhale the scents of the evening. Ah, I’m in heaven.
I open one eye to peer at the clock. If I go to bed now, I can wake at 5 and finish it before deadline.
My husband, a newspaper editor, has a joke,“ A deadline is what you hear when an editor hangs up on you.“ For me deadlines are more deadly than that. I agonize, I moan out loud waking my snoring dog. My chest is tight, my throat dry.
“Give yourself a false deadline of two days before the article is due.”
“Rejoice over deadlines for they mean you have paying work.”
None of that works for me. I breathe deeply. The appetizers and entrees are done. I just need to write up the desserts and slap on a conclusion, rate the restaurant and give a snappy farewell. I take a deep breath and dive in, racing through the molten chocolate cake and the three star rating. It’s not even midnight!
I pour myself a glass of wine with congratulations for a job well done.
Now, that deadline wasn’t so bad, was it?
by: Pamela White
My back hurts and head throbs. The lights are too bright; the temperature too cold. Is it the flu? Some as-yet unnamed dread disease? No, it’s just that it’s already 8 p.m. on a Sunday and I have a deadline for my weekly column in a short twelve hours.
I have asked writers I’ve met over the years how they feel about the bane of my existence: deadlines.
“I love deadlines. They keep me motivated,” one giddy writer told me.
Another squealed, “I love writing so much that I’m always turning in assignments two weeks before they are due!”
Sheer insanity, I think, as I flip through the television channels. Who can be happy at the thought of a looming deadline? I look at the clock; 8:30 p.m. Still time to have a snack and maybe read a chapter in that new mystery. By 9 o’clock, with full tummy and unable to find that novel, I pick up a notepad.
“Duck confit, mixed berry coulis, a side of mixed greens wilted with a bacon fat and vinegar dressing, and roasted parsnips.” The meal was eaten two nights ago, but I’m just now forcing myself to write the notes I’ll use to weave my restaurant review.
Week in, week out, who can blame me for stalling? A seven course meal here, a take-out lunch there - each week I have to pen 1000 words about some meal eaten at some restaurant, week after week, year after year. And each Sunday evening I sit quaking in fear that the words won’t flow.
Hmm, writing about the duck has made me hungry again. I wander into the kitchen, wash up some dishes, open the fridge, close it again, and try to decide what I want. A cup of tea? A chocolate something? Cheese and crackers? I fix all three and head back to the living room where I’ve decided to write my review.
I take a few minutes to make myself comfortable on the couch before I realize my laptop is in the other room. Sighing, I flip through the channels and find a movie with Humphrey Bogart. I’ve seen it before, of course, but feel it will inspire my writing. Yes, I think as I lean back, munching my way through Jarlsburg and crackers, some black and white inspiration will turn my scattered thoughts and incomplete notes into a column for the ages.
Soon, too soon, I go find my laptop and start writing. An introductory paragraph stalls so I dive straight into the appetizers - pan seared scallops, cold lobster salad, carpaccio. Closing my eyes I see the table as it was spread before us on Friday night. I relive the tastes and inhale the scents of the evening. Ah, I’m in heaven.
I open one eye to peer at the clock. If I go to bed now, I can wake at 5 and finish it before deadline.
My husband, a newspaper editor, has a joke,“ A deadline is what you hear when an editor hangs up on you.“ For me deadlines are more deadly than that. I agonize, I moan out loud waking my snoring dog. My chest is tight, my throat dry.
“Give yourself a false deadline of two days before the article is due.”
“Rejoice over deadlines for they mean you have paying work.”
None of that works for me. I breathe deeply. The appetizers and entrees are done. I just need to write up the desserts and slap on a conclusion, rate the restaurant and give a snappy farewell. I take a deep breath and dive in, racing through the molten chocolate cake and the three star rating. It’s not even midnight!
I pour myself a glass of wine with congratulations for a job well done.
Now, that deadline wasn’t so bad, was it?
Top Ways To Create Ideas For Your Next Highly Read Article
Top Ways To Create Ideas For Your Next Highly Read Article
by: Nial Robbins
If you want to make money online a good strategy that won't cost you a dime is to write articles that relate to your product or service.
Search Engines are constantly on the "look out" for freshly written content that has been submitted online. So how do you come up with ideas for your next article? Here are several suggestions that may help...
* Hang out in online forums. Watch what people are talking about. Look at the questions they are asking. The topics that are bringing the greatest number of visitors would make for an excellent article.
* Take a look at what information is being broadcast on TV, radio, newspapers, and online. This information is usually a hot topic.
* Read blogs. What are people posting about? What kind of comments are they leaving? What questions do they have? Blogs are the hot internet marketing medium right now and you can literally find them everywhere on any topic. This is an excellent source for your next article idea.
* Survey your current customers or website visitors. Ask them what kind of article they would like to see in your next ezine or published on your website.
* Check bookstores online. What are the top sellers? This can be a good way to come up with an article that catches the attention of what people are reading.
* Be seasonal. Write about what is going on that time of year. Holidays, festivals, sports, graduations, etc. all make for an article that someone will want to read.
* Write an article about a current fad. There is always something that is hot at the time and could make for interesting reading from you.
* Keep track of what your customers and prospects are asking you. If you get an email or phone call with a question this may make for a good article. Others may have the same question, but are afraid to ask it.
* Start a swipe file on what others are writing about. If it is of interest to you it will probably be of interest to others. Never plagiarize the work of others, but you can certainly get good ideas this way. The biggest benefit of a swipe file is having it handy to refer back to over and over whenever you are ready to write your article and are not sure what you want to write about.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas on how to come up with your next article. The internet marketer who can write interesting articles has a huge leg up on their competition. If you can master this strategy there is no limit to how much money you can make online.
NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-
by: Nial Robbins
If you want to make money online a good strategy that won't cost you a dime is to write articles that relate to your product or service.
Search Engines are constantly on the "look out" for freshly written content that has been submitted online. So how do you come up with ideas for your next article? Here are several suggestions that may help...
* Hang out in online forums. Watch what people are talking about. Look at the questions they are asking. The topics that are bringing the greatest number of visitors would make for an excellent article.
* Take a look at what information is being broadcast on TV, radio, newspapers, and online. This information is usually a hot topic.
* Read blogs. What are people posting about? What kind of comments are they leaving? What questions do they have? Blogs are the hot internet marketing medium right now and you can literally find them everywhere on any topic. This is an excellent source for your next article idea.
* Survey your current customers or website visitors. Ask them what kind of article they would like to see in your next ezine or published on your website.
* Check bookstores online. What are the top sellers? This can be a good way to come up with an article that catches the attention of what people are reading.
* Be seasonal. Write about what is going on that time of year. Holidays, festivals, sports, graduations, etc. all make for an article that someone will want to read.
* Write an article about a current fad. There is always something that is hot at the time and could make for interesting reading from you.
* Keep track of what your customers and prospects are asking you. If you get an email or phone call with a question this may make for a good article. Others may have the same question, but are afraid to ask it.
* Start a swipe file on what others are writing about. If it is of interest to you it will probably be of interest to others. Never plagiarize the work of others, but you can certainly get good ideas this way. The biggest benefit of a swipe file is having it handy to refer back to over and over whenever you are ready to write your article and are not sure what you want to write about.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas on how to come up with your next article. The internet marketer who can write interesting articles has a huge leg up on their competition. If you can master this strategy there is no limit to how much money you can make online.
NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-
Will This Be Your First 'How-To' Report?
Will This Be Your First 'How-To' Report?
by: Ed Bellamy
You've got to start somewhere, but once you've created your very first How-To report and learnt to develop your own research tactics - life will never be the same again. You can write a report on almost any topic you like, providing you have knowledge of the subject through personal experience or research.
There are loads of subjects to choose from. How about; solving household problems, hobbies, leisure activities, social activities, science, psychology, computer problems, mon~ey-making/saving, gardening - the list is endless. Simple, basic, informative reports.
Writing your report can be very easy. However, it does take longer for some than it does for others, even if they are equally intelligent and knowledgeable. These reports are written guidelines that give the reader more information on a subject he/she wants to know more about. You'll find that the better selling reports are well researched, authoritative, factual and helpful to the reader in the achievement of his/her goals. Your report can be 2 or a 20 page document - it doesn't matter, so long as it contains the information they want.
Picking a subject to write about, one that has sales appeal, is not as hard as it sounds. Just go to any search engine and type-in your chosen subject and you'll soon see if it's popular or not. You will also find less popular niche subjects to exploit, as well. However, you will need to attract the right customers. Though, choosing the right keywords to attract your targeted prospects is for another report and not this one.
If you don't want to spend months researching your subject, pick something that has a particular interest to you, something you already know a great deal about. Your knowledge and enthusiasm will show through, causing your reader to over look any technical writing weaknesses you may have.
Be factual and clear and don't pad out the report just for fill. Try to outline the report before you start writing the main body. That way, you know exactly what you're going to write about before you get too deep into the subject and end up doing loads of re-writes.
Everything that's written should have a natural beginning, a body and an ending. When writing your report, make it sound as though you are talking to someone on a one-to-one basis. Keep it warm and friendly with a hint of humor, because when analysed, writing is no more than a written conversation.
Ok, now it's time to 'brain storm' - sounds painful doesn't it? Well it's not. Begin by writing down all the subjects you know something about, no matter how small. Start with any we've already mentioned above and include subjects like: horticultural, carpentry, glass cutting, painting, needle patch work, collecting memorabilia, golf, darts, pet training, astrology, astronomy, sleep walking, giving-up bad habits, smoking etc etc. Possible 'How-To' reports can be created from almost any subject.
Once you've made your list, go through the topic's one at a time and keep going through them until you find one subject that you're really comfortable with, even if it's not the one you originally knew most about. You see, that's the one you'll put your heart and soul into, and that's the one you'll be most passionate about.
Now you've decided on the subject, the next step is thorough research. The library, magazines, books, newspapers, search engines - anything that will give you information on your chosen subject. Gather this information based on your outlines we talked about earlier. However, don't get bogged down with a fixed set of outlines, they're just a guide to the way you want to list or discuss each aspect of your subject.
When you've finished with your first draft, be proud of yourself and take a break. Go back to it a few days later, rejuvenated. Scrutinize it with a sharp pencil. Polish each paragraph for clarity, accuracy and flow. Make sure it's easy to read, easy to understand and each sentence follows the one before it. The smoother the writing of the report, the easier it will be to read and the easier it will be to sell.
And finally, place your report in a .PDF file or a .EXE file for easy down-loading by your customers. Now go and make a cup of tea and nimble-up your research cells and writing fingers.
by: Ed Bellamy
You've got to start somewhere, but once you've created your very first How-To report and learnt to develop your own research tactics - life will never be the same again. You can write a report on almost any topic you like, providing you have knowledge of the subject through personal experience or research.
There are loads of subjects to choose from. How about; solving household problems, hobbies, leisure activities, social activities, science, psychology, computer problems, mon~ey-making/saving, gardening - the list is endless. Simple, basic, informative reports.
Writing your report can be very easy. However, it does take longer for some than it does for others, even if they are equally intelligent and knowledgeable. These reports are written guidelines that give the reader more information on a subject he/she wants to know more about. You'll find that the better selling reports are well researched, authoritative, factual and helpful to the reader in the achievement of his/her goals. Your report can be 2 or a 20 page document - it doesn't matter, so long as it contains the information they want.
Picking a subject to write about, one that has sales appeal, is not as hard as it sounds. Just go to any search engine and type-in your chosen subject and you'll soon see if it's popular or not. You will also find less popular niche subjects to exploit, as well. However, you will need to attract the right customers. Though, choosing the right keywords to attract your targeted prospects is for another report and not this one.
If you don't want to spend months researching your subject, pick something that has a particular interest to you, something you already know a great deal about. Your knowledge and enthusiasm will show through, causing your reader to over look any technical writing weaknesses you may have.
Be factual and clear and don't pad out the report just for fill. Try to outline the report before you start writing the main body. That way, you know exactly what you're going to write about before you get too deep into the subject and end up doing loads of re-writes.
Everything that's written should have a natural beginning, a body and an ending. When writing your report, make it sound as though you are talking to someone on a one-to-one basis. Keep it warm and friendly with a hint of humor, because when analysed, writing is no more than a written conversation.
Ok, now it's time to 'brain storm' - sounds painful doesn't it? Well it's not. Begin by writing down all the subjects you know something about, no matter how small. Start with any we've already mentioned above and include subjects like: horticultural, carpentry, glass cutting, painting, needle patch work, collecting memorabilia, golf, darts, pet training, astrology, astronomy, sleep walking, giving-up bad habits, smoking etc etc. Possible 'How-To' reports can be created from almost any subject.
Once you've made your list, go through the topic's one at a time and keep going through them until you find one subject that you're really comfortable with, even if it's not the one you originally knew most about. You see, that's the one you'll put your heart and soul into, and that's the one you'll be most passionate about.
Now you've decided on the subject, the next step is thorough research. The library, magazines, books, newspapers, search engines - anything that will give you information on your chosen subject. Gather this information based on your outlines we talked about earlier. However, don't get bogged down with a fixed set of outlines, they're just a guide to the way you want to list or discuss each aspect of your subject.
When you've finished with your first draft, be proud of yourself and take a break. Go back to it a few days later, rejuvenated. Scrutinize it with a sharp pencil. Polish each paragraph for clarity, accuracy and flow. Make sure it's easy to read, easy to understand and each sentence follows the one before it. The smoother the writing of the report, the easier it will be to read and the easier it will be to sell.
And finally, place your report in a .PDF file or a .EXE file for easy down-loading by your customers. Now go and make a cup of tea and nimble-up your research cells and writing fingers.
Prose vs. Poetry
Prose vs. Poetry
by: Terry J. Coyier
Prose - a simple word that confuses so many people. What is it exactly? According to dictionary.com:
1.the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
2.matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc.
Prose encompasses most of the writing and speaking we engage in today, including what I am writing here. It is everything from novels to blog entries to television/films and everything in between. Prose is simply a fancy literary term used to separate general writing from poetry or verse. (Though, just to confuse you, we do have prose poetry, the halibun and free verse which can muddy any clear distinction.) Prose is typically written in plain language, follows the standard rules of grammar and punctuation and is arranged in paragraphs. It often reflects ordinary speech patterns. In fiction, writers do develop different styles of writing and employ various techniques to add interest for readers, but the writing is still considered prose.
Now that you understand a little about prose, let’s discuss poetry. Most people recognize poetry if they see a traditional poem. For instance, writing that has lines similar in length (each starting with a capital letter, of course), is arranged in stanzas, and has rhyme at the end of the lines. Most of us were taught about this type of poetry around the third or fourth grade. But poetry is so much more complex and varied than that simple example. In fact, those few things don’t necessarily define poetry at all.
Poetry is much more than just a few basics such as the form in which it is written, some general meter and rhyme. Modern poetry often deviates from traditional poetic form and rules. Poetry presentation has, once again, become somewhat artistic for some poets who write in everything from couplets to verse paragraphs. These lines can also be arranged on a page to enhance the visual appeal of the poem (as in shape poems), to aid in the rhythm of the poem (adding space between words to create longer pauses while reading aloud, for instance) or to add to the meaning or irony of a poem by causing words to appear in specific places. Standard punctuation and capitalization practices are falling by the wayside, as well, for many contemporary poets.
This still has little to do with poetry itself. So, how do we define poetry? I think Iowan, Paul Engle, had the right idea with is explanation: “Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.” That, to me, is what poetry is, but I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t break it down somewhat. I am not providing definitions, they are easy enough to come by.
Basic Poetic Devices
Diction
Meter
Caesura
Enjambment
Rhyme
Repetition
Alliteration
Assonance
Consonance
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Irony
Imagery
Symbol
Metonymy
Simile
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Oxymoron
A quick internet search will provide you with reading material on each of these devices. Some are easier to hone than others, but all are useful if you wish to write interesting poetry verses writing simple poems.
Hopefully the lines between prose and poetry are now a bit clearer than before. Sometime in the future, I will have to address those other pesky fellows I mentioned that muddy the waters between the two. For now, whether you chose to write prose or poetry or both, I wish you the utmost success.
by: Terry J. Coyier
Prose - a simple word that confuses so many people. What is it exactly? According to dictionary.com:
1.the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
2.matter-of-fact, commonplace, or dull expression, quality, discourse, etc.
Prose encompasses most of the writing and speaking we engage in today, including what I am writing here. It is everything from novels to blog entries to television/films and everything in between. Prose is simply a fancy literary term used to separate general writing from poetry or verse. (Though, just to confuse you, we do have prose poetry, the halibun and free verse which can muddy any clear distinction.) Prose is typically written in plain language, follows the standard rules of grammar and punctuation and is arranged in paragraphs. It often reflects ordinary speech patterns. In fiction, writers do develop different styles of writing and employ various techniques to add interest for readers, but the writing is still considered prose.
Now that you understand a little about prose, let’s discuss poetry. Most people recognize poetry if they see a traditional poem. For instance, writing that has lines similar in length (each starting with a capital letter, of course), is arranged in stanzas, and has rhyme at the end of the lines. Most of us were taught about this type of poetry around the third or fourth grade. But poetry is so much more complex and varied than that simple example. In fact, those few things don’t necessarily define poetry at all.
Poetry is much more than just a few basics such as the form in which it is written, some general meter and rhyme. Modern poetry often deviates from traditional poetic form and rules. Poetry presentation has, once again, become somewhat artistic for some poets who write in everything from couplets to verse paragraphs. These lines can also be arranged on a page to enhance the visual appeal of the poem (as in shape poems), to aid in the rhythm of the poem (adding space between words to create longer pauses while reading aloud, for instance) or to add to the meaning or irony of a poem by causing words to appear in specific places. Standard punctuation and capitalization practices are falling by the wayside, as well, for many contemporary poets.
This still has little to do with poetry itself. So, how do we define poetry? I think Iowan, Paul Engle, had the right idea with is explanation: “Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.” That, to me, is what poetry is, but I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t break it down somewhat. I am not providing definitions, they are easy enough to come by.
Basic Poetic Devices
Diction
Meter
Caesura
Enjambment
Rhyme
Repetition
Alliteration
Assonance
Consonance
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Irony
Imagery
Symbol
Metonymy
Simile
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Oxymoron
A quick internet search will provide you with reading material on each of these devices. Some are easier to hone than others, but all are useful if you wish to write interesting poetry verses writing simple poems.
Hopefully the lines between prose and poetry are now a bit clearer than before. Sometime in the future, I will have to address those other pesky fellows I mentioned that muddy the waters between the two. For now, whether you chose to write prose or poetry or both, I wish you the utmost success.
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