Archive for the 'Writing Hints' Category

Writing Hint #22: Strategies to keep you writing

2 Comments »7th March, 2007; Category: The Writer's Life, Writing Hints

Some days the words just seem to flow from my mind down to my fingertips and on to the keyboard without any effort at all. Some days I have to really work at my writing, crafting every word. And some days it is like trying to make a living out of being a Fowl Dentist.

I like the quote I came across recently and I can’t remember the exact words or who said it, but this person said something like this:

Writing is easy. All you have to do is stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood appear on your forehead.

Procrastination and writer’s block are very real problems for some writers. Discipline is the key but we each demonstrate that in different ways. Some writers have a natural inbuilt discipline to sustain them each day; to them it’s not a problem. Others are so motivated they wonder what the fuss is all about. But many writers struggle.

If you are struggling with procrastination or writer’s block you might get some good ideas from this article:

50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work by Jerry Oltion.

Some of the ideas are odd, some are downright kooky, but there is enough there for everyone to get at least a handful of techniques that they can use to great effect.

Related articles:

Writing hints – over 20 articles I’ve written with many writing hints.

Writing hints archives – articles on writing from my archives.

The writer’s life – many articles about the life of a writer.

Submitting poetry or fiction to magazines

2 Comments »1st March, 2007; Category: Fiction, Magazines, Poetry, Short Stories, Writing Hints

Yesterday I wrote about the huge number of poetry and fiction e-zines on the internet. These now number in the thousands and more are being added daily. Before this trend on the internet began there were already many thousands of print magazines that accepted poetry and fiction for possible publication. This creates a dilemma for the writer just starting out.

Where do I send my work?

For the inexperienced this can be daunting task indeed. There is so much to chose from. How do I go about it and how do I decide where to send my precious writing? Let me suggest some simple steps to follow. I acknowledge Graham Catt’s article (click here) for many of these ideas.

How to Submit to E-Zines

Research: do your research first. Find or make a list of e-zines and study the list for potential markets for your writing. Make a short list.
Read: read several issues of the e-zines which interest you. This is relatively easy as most are available free on-line.
Check: the credentials of the editors; are they qualified to be editing a magazine or are they just enthusiasts doing this as a hobby?
Analyse: be really objective about the style of the e-zine. Would you feel comfortable having your writing in that magazine? Does the style match your style of writing? Does it have a particular theme or aim? As a silly example, it is useless sending your lovely poem about a cat to a SF magazine (unless the cat is from an alien world).
Frequency: how often does the magazine appear? It may be hard to have your work accepted if there is only one issue per year.
Guidelines: Before sending off your wonderful writing (which you’ve spent many hours rewriting, editing and checking) the last step is to check the Submission Guidelines. These vary from magazine to magazine. If you can’t find the guidelines on the web site, send an email to the editor requesting a copy. Follow the guidelines carefully; ignoring them is a sure way to have your writing rejected.

Submitting to print magazines:

The process outlined above is largely applicable to print magazines as well. It is harder to find back copies of these online so you may have to raid your local library to read them or even subscribe to a few to get a feel for their style. My local Writers’ Centre also has back copies of a wide range of magazines.

It has been said that if everyone who submits their writing to magazines in Australia subscribed to just three magazines, most editors would be able to pay their contributors. I subscribe to nine that are directly related to writing.

How I keep track of my blogging schedule

No Comments »24th February, 2007; Category: Blogging, Blogs, The Writer's Life, Writing Hints

I am trying to keep alive the juggling act of writing three blogs simultaneously. I try to post a new article on each blog every day. I don’t always succeed but I’m getting better. Regular posting like this hopefully keeps the readers returning regularly and this repeat traffic is important.

Forward Planning:

Most of the time I plan my topics and posts well in advance. Many articles are also written days or even weeks ahead of when they are published on the web. This helps to even out the workload and allows for emergencies. Knowing that I have a new article coming on every day for the next three days, for example, eases the mind if something unexpected occurs.

Record Chart:

Keeping track of these posts and plans is the key to forward planning. I’ve devised a simple way that works for me. I have a chart drawn up in MSWord. This chart has four columns. The first column is for the date. The other three columns are for the three blogs I publish, one column for each blog. As I write each article, I type its title in a bold font next to the date it will be published. At a glance then I can see upcoming posts and when they will appear. I can also see dates with no upcoming posts and I can then work on writing articles for them.

Other ideas:

For ideas for posts I use two parts of the chart. Where there are spaces I type in ideas ahead of time. These are not in a bold font and act as prompts for future writing. For example, I might plan to write a series of writing hints and publish them every Monday over the next four weeks. So on the chart I type “writing hint” every Monday for four weeks.

Virtual scribbling Pad:

I also have a space under the chart that I use as a virtual scribbling pad. It used to be on a pad alongside my computer, but other things kept on being put on top. On this scribbling pad I jot down ideas for future posts. Some I use, some just sit there for another day, or week or month; some may never be used but they are there so I don’t forget my ideas. You never know when you might be scratching for an idea.

Writing Tips from George Orwell

No Comments »22nd February, 2007; Category: Authors, Writing Hints

Countless books and articles and blog posts have been and continue to be written about how to write. Around the world thousands of writers and would-be writers attend workshops and seminars and conferences about how to write. The advice can be a little overwhelming at times. Where to start?

Sometimes a writer will state something very succinctly that makes an enormous impact upon other writers. George Orwell is one such writer. In the summary of his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell give 12 tips on how to write effectively. Here are the tips:

When writing a sentence you should always ask yourself those questions:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
5. Could I put it more shortly?
6. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

When choosing words, follow those rules:

7. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
8. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
9. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
10. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
11. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
12. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Simple, concise and very user friendly.

My thanks to Daniel on Daily Blog Tips for this list.

Emergency posting of blog articles

5 Comments »20th February, 2007; Category: Blogging, Blogs, Writing Hints

I try to post at least one new article on each of my three blogs every day. In this I’m not always successful but most of time I keep up this schedule.

When I know I’m going to be away from my computer for a time or very busy I write articles ahead of time and queue them up to appear during the busy time. I can do this as most of my articles are not time sensitive.

I don’t regard this strategy as emergency posting but rather a case of planning ahead. But when an emergency does occur it’s great to know you’ve got several posts ready to go. Writing a series of articles in another excellent strategy in this regard.

For another perspective on this concept check out the idea written by Daniel in Brazil on his blog called Daily Blog Tips. The comments section of this article is also worth reading as other bloggers have shared their ideas.