Writing | The Mighty Pen

Writing tips

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It has been said many times over, but it never hurts to repeat; successful writers read, a lot.

Here are a few writing tips to help improve the quality of the work.

I. Many mistakes are made when a writer waits until the last minute to do the work. One word; procrastination. There are countless steps that go into a quality piece of work. If too many of these steps are skipped it will affect the quality of the writing. The best advice is, be prepared, have a plan, and get started.

II. Each individual writer has their own pre-writing methods that help them to organize their thoughts and ideas. Some writers use basic outlines, while others use what is called a writers mind map. Whichever one is chosen, it is important to get a plan on paper so specific aspects donâ€™t get forgotten or lost in translation. These tools will also help to keep the writer on task.

III. Audiences thrive on being able to relate to an authors story. It helps to validate their thoughts and feelings as well. That being said, it is imperative not to get lost in an overload of facts and numbers, and not enough life examples and stories. Readers have to be able to relate or stay interested to keep them reading.

IV. Leave the editing for the end. If a writer tries to edit as they write, they lose focus, become frustrated, and the work suffers. Another piece of advice is to write without regard of the comma splices and spelling etc, because most writers edit at least 3-4 times before it is all said and done.

V. Unless the writer is writing a scholarly work, keep words that require a dictionary to a bare minimum. If the writer uses language that is overly sophisticated, they will lose readers due to confusion because of the inability to translate and understand the writing.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Blog, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Mailing Lists, Publishing, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing

Becoming a writer

Can anyone become a writer? Writing potential is in all of us, but what that branches into becomes very diverse. If it is an aspiration to write as a career, than dedication and practice will help meet that goal.

A few recommendations to those novices just starting out, below are some tips that will hopefully help kick start your writing.

One of the first things to do is to absorb all the activity around you going on. (Potential topics) Try to stop participating, and turn the focus on observing. It is recommending to somewhat detach yourself from the current surroundings. Take in first hand account on how people act and interact with each other in social situations.

Make a conscious effort to take in things you normally take for granted such as buildings, street shops and so on. Notice what is in front of you, beside you, underneath, and document it.

Write what you are thinking in that moment. If you are in a discussion with someone, take the first moment available and dictate it. Be vivid in describing everything from environment, to colors, textures, objects and so on.

Another idea is to take one of your most embarrassing moments and write it down. Don’t leave anything out. Once you are finished, put it out of sight for a few weeks, and than come back to it and see if your perspective has changed.

Don’t put restrictions on what you write. Try to write every form such as poems, fiction, dialogue, and even take a stab at writing songs. You never know when that practice in different arenas will benefit you in other writings.

The main point is to set goals you can achieve. We tend to set goals to a standard most normal people cannot attain. Start out small and move up.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Business, Communications, Publishing, Writers Resources, Writing, Writing and Editing, Writing Exercises

Getting published

Getting published can be a stressful time, but the sense of accomplishment at the end is well worth it. It cant be stressed enough about the importance of reading. If you are writing for a specific genre, it is crucial to read other books in the same arena. These books are your competition; by checking them out you are able to see what is succeeding and what is not.

Also read other genres for ideas. It may be helpful to read plays that will help with forming dialogue, thrillers for developing plots, and short stories for articulateness.

Another aspect is staying teachable. There are workshops, readings, and seminars available for longtime writers as well as those just starting out. This will help give you the opportunity to share writing struggles, ideas and so on with other writers who may be able to help guide you. This is also a good networking tool that is always a key thing to do in any business.

Enter your work into as many competitions as you can. There are numerous contests available via the web, and this not only gives you practice, but also give you the opportunity to see if your writing has the potential that you think it does.

Developing your voice as a writer is also a crucial piece to becoming a successful author. If you choose to go with a mainstream publishing house you will want to obtain the services of an agent. Most publishers wont even look at an authors work without going through an agent. This can be expensive, and most publishers, if they choose to publish your work, will likely own the rights to your book. It is important to have good representation so as not to lose your rights to the work you have spent so much time and energy on.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Author, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Publishing, Short story, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing

Beginning to Write

A good tool to use when brainstorming ideas for writing is the question, what if and why? Some authorâ€™s writings are based or have a piece of their life experiences incorporated in their work. Each writer will vary depending on where they feel comfortable writing.

Starting a new project can be an overwhelming process, but the best way to get past that is putting the pen to the paper and write until you canâ€™t anymore. The key is to not focus on spelling, grammar and adherence because those can be corrected when it comes to the multiple edits that are done before the piece is finished.

Another idea is to create a timeline for tracking the progress of your writing. It gives the writer a tangible thing to keep moving forward, and keep them on task. It could be as little as writing a page a day, but at least it gives the writer a goal to work towards getting to the final product.

If the writer is just starting out, here are a few ideas that may help in getting the process moving:

1) Generally a good writer likes to read and needs to read. It helps to envision the story, and also helps expand the writerâ€™s vocabulary. TV and movies are fine, but they should be used as last resort.
2) Once you have finished reading or watching a story, mull it over. What did you like about it? What did you not like? How would you have written it?
3) Finding your niche. It takes trial and error when a writer begins to write. Some writers excel at short stories, some fairy tales, poems and so on. A successful writer writes about something they are passionate about or have a good understanding about. Doing this, the passion and feeling will come through to the reader, and keep them reading.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: art, Communications, Fiction, Short story, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing, Writing and Editing

Forms of poetry

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Poetry is typically a work of emotions and expressions put into a writing technique that flows smoothly. Metaphors and similes are also used through various works. There is an emphasis on rhyme, meter, and repetition that sets apart poetry from prose. Poetry shares the imaginative awareness of experience expressed through the poets work.
Prose can be defined as basic speech or a form of writing without any form of metrical structure. What that means in generalized terms is that it is writing without any form of using rhyme or a specific order of set meters.
When poetry is written effectively the reader is able to fully imagine the emotion of the writer. Other types of rhyming poetry can be limericks. The other various techniques that poets will use are: assonance, alliteration, consonance, and euphony. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are similar to each other. Alliteration is the use of the same consonant sounds. The sound in alliteration poems is more important than the letter. Consonance is the effect of similar speech sounds. Now with euphony, it is considered to be an agreeable sound reflected in phonetic quality.
Another part of poetry structure is whether it is couplet, line, strophe, or stanza. A couplet is a form of poetry type that Shakespeare used frequently at the end of his sonnets. In a couplet only two lines usually will rhyme and form a complete thought.
A stanza is a fixed number of lines of verses that develop a cohesive unit of a poem. Along those same lines is the strophe, which is basically a stanza containing irregular lines. There are a decent amount of formats that poetry can consist of. From acrostic, this is poetry that contains specific letters that form words that read in a sequence to ballads, which follow a pattern similar to folk tales and legends.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Alliteration, Arts, Couplet, Literature, Online Writing, Poetry, Rhyme, Writing

The Benefit Of Using Research Tools To Enhance The Writing Process

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As any writer knows well, usually the easiest and most enjoyable topics to write about are those that they know well. For example, a music lover may gravitate towards writing album reviews or detailing the latest concerts, while a florist may find that they are best suited to writing about how to make the most attractive flower arrangements for a bride’s special wedding day.

However, the reality is that most professional writers do not have the luxury of only writing about topics that they know well, especially if they are just getting started in the field. Therefore, to compensate, the best thing to do is to learn how to be effective at the fine art of researching. Writers should learn how to use Internet search engines such as Google to their advantage by using search term operators to filter out certain portions of search results to make them most applicable to the topic that is being written about.

Although much of the required research material can often be found on the Internet, it is wise for writers to also learn their way around a physical library, so that they will not feel overwhelmed if it becomes evident that the best research material is located there. This scenario is especially common when writing about highly scientific topics such as articles about the medical field. Writers should not be afraid to call upon the librarian if they need extra assistance with locating information. Librarians are well trained to help their patrons wade through the wealth of material to focus on only that which is most relevant.

Although it can be very difficult at times for writers to discuss topics that they do not know well, the task will seem less intimidating if writers take it upon themselves to use the research tools available to them.

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Fine art, Google, Librarian, Web search engine, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing

Inspirational writings

People love to be inspired and encouraged. The stories written for inspirational purposes can come from survivors stories such as: cancer survivor, child abuse survivor, war veteran and so on. These stories make wonderful reads, but have to be written in a way that the reader can see, feel, and smell how the writer walked through the pain and events to get to the other side in healing.

As you begin to decide what you want to write on, make sure to narrow it down, and be specific. When writing a personal story it is not uncommon to veer off topic into other events that dont pertain to the main subject, and will confuse the reader. It is imperative to write about what you know or you take the chance of coming across the pages as unnatural. It may be helpful to do a timeline involving the timeframe you are going to write about.

Description is a very important and powerful piece in writing any story. Again, you need to use the five senses when writing the details. Try not to overload your reader on too many excess facts and wording that will detract from main points.

The audience should be able to empathize with the main character going through the trauma. This will help them to connect and relate to the writer. Being able to empathize with the character will not only keep them reading, but it will in time, be a good word of mouth for others to want to read your story. A goal to achieve is establishing a persona that the readers can understand.

This form of writing can also serve to be extremely cathartic. For some writers this is healing, and helps them to move past the experience. The hope with telling their stories is the hope of helping others to heal, and to know that they are not alone in their experience.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Child abuse, Protagonist, Sexual abuse, Violence and Abuse, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing

Short Story tips

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What are the central components of a short story? One part is maintaining brevity, that can be a key element to follow in a short story, because otherwise the writer will aimlessly ramble, and the reader will lose focus and interest.

Another point to keep in mind in a short story is to make sure you have the ability and word count to get to the point quickly and effectively, with minimal characters involved.

Short stories can also study one specific character or a certain philosophical idea, and not just plot, conflict and resolution. There is no one set of rules or guidelines when composing a short story. It is an art form where some writers have the skill to do it with ease, while others struggle to develop the story. The main point is to at least try to find out, and to not get discouraged too quickly.

Elements of a good short story are writing with your own uniqueness, perspective, and your own life experiences. Practice is one of the only must dos when it comes to writing. This is how most writers will hone their craft of writing successfully. Most writers re-write their work multiple times seeing places in their writing that should be re-worded, and ways to improve their vocabulary and so on.

Some other recommendations are once you have completed the story, before you edit, to put it to the side for a few days. This will help to refresh you from staring at the story for so long that you will in turn overlook errors while proofreading. Also, it could help to send copies to trusted friends or family for revisions, edits and suggestions.

Like many other areas of life, sometimes you will get a few sour lemons before you get to the sweet lemonade. Be patient and consistent to work towards your goals.

Filed Under: Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Literature, Online Writing, Short Stories, Short story, Word count, Writers Resources, Writing

Tips for Improving Your Writing Skills

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Your writing makes an impression about what kind of person you are. Always strive to write clear, direct messages that will be of interest to your readers. If you are responding to someone’s correspondence, make sure you respond promptly. All of these will put you in a positive light whenever you attempt to persuade the reader.
Always start with the main idea. This is the purpose of writing your document. Whether a short story or a business letter, the main idea should be the first sentence of the first paragraph.
Make your writing interesting by changing your sentence length. Write your ideas in clear concise sentences. Use shorter sentences for emphasis of the main through.
Use key words at the beginning of the sentence and at the end of the sentence. Placing main ideas in the middle of the sentence will bury your main parts of the document.
Avoid using the same sentence style throughout. The occasional question will break up the monotony of the writing. Use a variety of compound, simple and complex sentences.
Select active verbs and avoid the passive voice. If you write in forms of “to be” you are using passive voice.
Avoid being vague. Use nouns and verbs with clarity. Make the readers become engaged in the story with concrete words that show rather than tell what you mean.
Be concise and eliminate words that are not necessary to your story. If it doesn’t move your main idea along, take it out.
Read the revision out loud. It is often easier to hear the tone and emphasis of your word choices when than it is to read them.
Never look over your work for a final draft. Read it well and look for common pitfalls.
No matter how many words you know, always consult a dictionary. Never trust the spell checker entirely. It can only identify a misspelled word, not a wrongly used word.

Filed Under: Formats, Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Spell checker, Voice (grammar), Writing

Tips for Writing Epic Novels

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Several people have ideas about writing a novel but never take the plunge. Getting started and sticking with it just seems to overwhelm most writers. There is no hard definition for an epic novel but many work under the assumption that an epic novel is much longer than the basic novel. The epic novel generally has more elements such as subplots and characters. Quit putting it off and get started on your epic novel with these tips.

Determine what you need the length of the epic novel will be. A good story can be told in less than 400 pages. If your story will require about 600 pages, it may be the right story for your epic.

Start the creative process by succinctly stating your novel into a few sentences. Write these down. These sentences will keep you focused on the message as you create the epic. Writing the epic takes a large commitment and a large amount of energy. Never take on a project of this magnitude that does not have a significant message.
Take the time to write an outline. Creative geniuses typically like to jump in with both feet. However, taking a few hours to prepare and set your stage now will save valuable creative time later. Don’t be intimidated by the outline process. Because an epic novel will be so long and there will be many characters to manipulate, an outline is a necessity.
Start writing your epic novel and work within milestones and goals. An epic will take about 6 months to a year to complete. You will need to set milestones to reach in order to stay motivated. A good goal is to write at least 600 words a day for one year. That will give you a more manageable goal than looking at a daunting task of another 200,000 words.
Most importantly record details for your epic on a voice recorder throughout the day.

Filed Under: Formats, Inspirations, Publishing Tagged With: Arts, Creativity, Writing