Writing Tips
July
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Writing Prompt
Writing Activity of the Month:
Here’s another idea to unjam those creative blockages on days you “just don’t know what to write.”
Write at least a page about your earliest memory. What were you feeling? Describe your surroundings. Tell us about the smells and sounds. Who were you with? Any memorable dialogue? You can write about this memory as yourself looking back or a bystander. If you choose the latter, what do you think s/he was thinking watching you in the scene?
Writer’s Digest has a list of many great writing ideas. Check them out at http://www.writersdigest.com/writingprompts.asp
June
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Novel/Short Story Layout
Writing Activity of the Month:
The next time you are stuck on the mechanics of a chapter or scene, reread an author you admire and one whose work resembles yours (in theme, structure, etc.). Use a highlighter or pencil to mark what s/he did to make the scene work and then try to emulate it with a sample scene. Do not use your own story or characters so you can feel free to dabble without worrying if the scene is working in your book. When you think you have an idea of what the necessary components should be, use the knowledge to craft a scene or chapter for your work.
May
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Fact Searches
Writing Activity of the Month:
Something of difficulty for new freelancers, especially those who did not grow up in the Internet age, is research. Encyclopedias will not give you up-to-date info you can place in pitches or articles, and many writers have told me the Internet does not have what they are looking for. But, I believe it does. It is just a question of doing the right search.
Pick a few days where you are not scrambling to complete an assignment and play with the World Wide Web. Choose random topics and see if you can find studies about them. Search on Google, Yahoo, and other sites of interest and determine which ones are best for you. A quick way to find studies is to type in your subject of interest followed by AND followed by study or statistics. With Google, you don’t need the AND. Look for experts in this field at www.profnet.com. By researching when you are not on deadline, you will be that much more relaxed and prepared when it counts.
April
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Generating New Pitches
Writing Activity of the Month:
Here is another tip for you article writers. Sometimes ideas come easily, and you cannot write them down fast enough. Other times, you rack your brain for something - anything - that would make a good article topic. Here is what you can do for the times your brain is in the latter mode.
The goal is to find new angles on an old topic. What I would like you to do is pick three favorite article ideas (they can be those you have pitched, are planning to pitch, or that have already been made into articles) and create at least three new ways to spin each one. For example, if you just did a piece on a woman who climbed out of poverty to become a CEO of a known company, your next pitch might be tips from CEOs or entrepreneurs on getting ahead. A pitch on healthy fast-food options can be turned into a pitch about someone who lost weight by only eating fast-food. Keep thinking this way, and you will have dozens of pitches at your fingertips!
March
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Article Tip
Writing Activity of the Month:
Most of the writing tips I have given thus far, apply to fiction writing. For those of you breaking into non-fiction writing, I have some ideas as well. This tip will be the first in more to come.
Once you get a writing assignment, it is very tempting to schedule interviews back-to-back so you can complete the article. But, often you will write the article and realize you are missing some key quotes that could really make the piece. The solution is to call a source back which is time consuming for both of you or to do a major revise of your article—also time consuming. To avoid this, do most of your interviews, and leave one or two people to interview toward the end of your deadline. Once most of your interviews are complete, write the first draft of the piece. As you’re writing, you will see which topics you need more information on and which additional questions you should ask. Now when you talk to your last sources, you can direct the conversation so they can expand on the information you need. Try this with your next assignment!
February
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Images as Writing Prompts
Writing Activity of the Month:
The next time you can’t think of a story idea, scan magazines
and picture books. Choose an image that piques your interest and imagine how the people in the picture or photograph got there.
To start you off, check out this link about a recent archaeological excavation of a couple once in love. Sorry for
being sappy, but what a great tie in to Valentine’s Day!
January
2007
Writing Focus of the Month:
Getting to Know Your Character
Writing Activity of the Month:
Pick a character and create a back story. Write about her seventh birthday party or momentous event in the past. It will help you get to know her better, even if you don’t end up using the scene.
December
2006
Writing Focus of the Month:
Gaining Inspiration
Writing Activity of the Month:
Yes, this is another tip to beat writer’s block. But, if you’re like me, the more the better! Here is something else that works for my writer friends and me.
Try to establish a schedule. If you carve a spot for writing—an hour or even 30 minutes—at the same time each day, this will become something you look forward to. The writing you do at this time doesn’t have to be for a specific project. It can simply be creative, so there is no pressure. Use it to write in your journal, to record observations about your surroundings, to vent about your day. Any of these things can get your brain working. If you don’t feel like writing, write about why you’re feeling this way. This exercise can help you discover something new about yourself.
November
2006
Writing Focus of the Month:
Showing and Not Telling
Writing Activity of the Month:
To ensure that our readers clearly understand what we're trying to say, it is
our tendency to overexplain. You might write gems like these, "I hate you," Sasha
said angrily as she slammed down her book, or "I can't believe she broke
up with me," said Doug in disbelief. Overkill. Obviously, the quoted words
alone would be enough in these sentences. Better yet, just show an action. If
someone slams down a book, s/he is not slamming it down with joy.
Your task is to create a scene where actions drive the emotions (that means
no adverbs). How would someone behave if s/he was happy, excited, angry,
surprised,
etc.? What might this person say (no, he may not say, "I am angry")
to convey this?
October 2006
Writing Focus of the Month:Writer's Block
Writing Activity of the Month:
A teacher once told me that when you're stuck, to write anyway. But, be forewarned, "It will be crap," she said. The hard thing for us writers to do is to embrace the crap. We want our words to come out beautiful and perfect right away. Yet, in striving for this, we are stuck in front of our computers staring at blank screens. So, the next time you think you have nothing to write, put those fingers to the keyboard, and type anyway. Write a scene that's horrible, write about a fight you had, write about your last shopping trip. The goal is to get your brain moving. And, most of all, embrace the crap before you. You never know when it may lead to something great.
September 2006
Writing Focus
of the Month:
Dialogue (Part II)
Writing Activity of the Month:
Write a scene composed entirely of dialogue. Then, go back and determine which parts of the dialogue moves the scene along. Omit the the parts that don't (e.g. "Hi," says John. "Hey," answered Gretchen.) Do the "hi" and "hey" reveal anything about the characters' lives or personalities or move the plot forward? If not, replace these lines with language that sparkles and lets us know why we're reading the work.
August 2006
Writing Focus
of the Month:
Dialogue
Writing Activity of the Month:
Read the paragraph below then write the scene, with lots of internal thoughts
and outer dialogue, from the daughter's point of view. When you're done, set
it aside for a few hours or a day. When you come back to it, write the same
scene from the father's point of view (complete with thoughts and dialogue).
You'll see how different the same moment can look and how well you can write
dialogue. Be sure to show what the character's are doing as they're talking.
Just like in our own lives, we don't just stand there when we talk to people.
Our movements (fidgeting, avoiding the other person's eyes, playing with the
radio, etc.) reveal our emotions too.
I'm not Katherine. I know you wanted me to be her, ever since I asked you to
paint with me rather than kick the soccer ball, but I'm not her. I can't do
it all--look pretty, play sports, get As in math--but I'm giving you what I
can. "Can't you just love me for what I am? So I designed my own prom
dress and you think it looks like something my old rag doll would wear, but
isn't it more important that I'm happy?" I asked my father in my head.
If I dared to speak aloud, I'd be told I was arguing with him, and children
were not supposed to contradict their parents. Not in my house anyway.
July 2006
Writing Focus
of the Month:
Reading to Write
Writing Activity of the Month:
Read a paragraph in a short story or novel. Put the book down, then spend 3-5
minutes writing down everything you remember about the paragraph (what happened,
images, the point of view, what it tells you about the narrator, what it makes
you think about, any questions it raises, what you like/don’t like).
Then read the paragraph again. (Though this is about reading, it helps you
read closer and then think more carefully when you write.)
June 2006
Writing Focus of the Month:
Description
Writing Activity of the Month:
Write a sentence about a place you know very well. Make the sentence
as beautiful as you can. When you finish it, change the period to a comma
and write another phrase. Do this until you’ve exhausted the description/sentence.
May 2006
Writing Focus of the Month:
Plot
Writing Activity of the Month:
Choose a significant moment in your life, and write a three page short story depicting the moment. Keep your focus on story development but heighten the emotional impact of the moment as well.
