My advice of the week's to get a subscription to the Writer's Digest website. They send some pretty funky stuff, from time-to-time. A good example of their wares is in the link below:
http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/25-ways-to-improve-your-writing-in-30-minutes-a-day?et_mid=515765&rid=191148924
Anyone interested in subscribing can use the above link to do so. These 25 tips are actually worth considering.
Hope it's of use.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
WHEN'S THE BEST TIME TO WRITE?
When's the best time to write?
The short answer: any chance you get.
Me? I do my best thinking/writing in the morning. But my life's too jammed/chaotic to be picky. So I just write whenever I can. After all, you need raw clay mold into a polished masterpiece. If you wait to be at your best mindset to write a story/poem/book, it'll take years (or never) to get done.
Just start writing and don't stop. Write at least a few paragraphs per day and make sure you're thinking ahead, so you don't paint yourself in a corner. It's amazing what such incremental efforts can yield.
To assist you in your work, avail yourself of the classic secret weapons of the modern writer: music,
self-imposed deadlines, waking up an hour too early, and a notebook computer (which allows me to write
during breaks or whenever I hate writing at home).
The short answer: any chance you get.
Me? I do my best thinking/writing in the morning. But my life's too jammed/chaotic to be picky. So I just write whenever I can. After all, you need raw clay mold into a polished masterpiece. If you wait to be at your best mindset to write a story/poem/book, it'll take years (or never) to get done.
Just start writing and don't stop. Write at least a few paragraphs per day and make sure you're thinking ahead, so you don't paint yourself in a corner. It's amazing what such incremental efforts can yield.
Writing in short, exhausted bursts won't
yield me gems every time. But who
cares? In the morning I can polish/edit
it and figure out where to direct a plot.
Just remember: save everything you write. Even if it's a failed effort. It might be useful for something else down the road.
Just remember: save everything you write. Even if it's a failed effort. It might be useful for something else down the road.
Hope this was of use.
The main key is not to stop.
If you stop, even for a day, you could lose the flow, get bored, and
waste time. Hope this helps.
Friday, August 12, 2011
TIPS ON WRITING A NOVEL -
For those of you who hate "How-To Write A Novel" books, I found a lady on YouTube (Martha Alderson) who did a multi-part chat on how to put one together. Maybe someone out there will find it to be useful.
http://youtu.be/ESfT2Lh1cWo
http://youtu.be/ESfT2Lh1cWo
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
MY EULOGY TO BORDERS
It's like watching a good friend die a slow, painful death.
A bastion of knowledge, entertainment, and friggin' civilization is about to go the way of the T-Rex. In case you didn't know, Borders Books is going out of business. This past Saturday, I went to my nearby Borders store and indulged in one last book-buying spree. The books were getting fewer and fewer by the day, with no fresh ones to replace them. Their overpriced-coffee station had already been taken apart and closed. Even more depressing was that I found more interesting books than I could afford to buy.
It's depressing to get cut off from a such a useful source of entertainment and/or information. Yeah, there are libraries, e-readers, and Amazon.com . . . but who cares? There's something simple and relaxing about plunging into a jungle of book shelves to hunt for a worthy book or two. I've bought hundreds of books from Borders over the years and enjoyed doing so.
Guess I'll have to adapt. 'Cause Barnes & Noble can kiss my a$$. I might browse their shelves but I'll never shop there again. "Helping" a huge competitor (like Borders) out of business is one thing. But to let all of those branches shut down's just wrong. Borders didn't do it to Walden Books. And maybe it was just a matter of bottom-line profits and feasibility. But bookstores are like churches to me. And these literary "cathedrals" are all on fire as I type. What a waste.
But hey, that's life.
So, I'll hunt for sites that spout out new releases (bye-bye Borders' "New Releases" stack).
I'll go on-line and look for nice books I've never heard of (versus the triumph at finding something good in the horror aisle).
And I'll keep a positive attitude about this transitional nature of the publishing business (sniff).
The one silver lining to this nightmare's that it makes you appreciate what's around you. I could expand that to people, but I'm no stranger to that kind of loss. I am a stranger to seeing a cool institution/business just fade away. Imagine a world without Blockbusters stores and you'll . . . wait, never mind.
Ahem: imagine a world without movie theatres. Seems impossible. But with Netflix and the rising costs of movies/snacks, such a notion seems sadly plausible. I've seen a few theaters close or change hands multiple times.
Look around you and wonder . . . what could become obsolete some day? If it's something you like, something vulnerable to changing times, enjoy it while you can and don't take it for granted. It could be gone next month.
Adios, readers.
Adios, old Friend.
A bastion of knowledge, entertainment, and friggin' civilization is about to go the way of the T-Rex. In case you didn't know, Borders Books is going out of business. This past Saturday, I went to my nearby Borders store and indulged in one last book-buying spree. The books were getting fewer and fewer by the day, with no fresh ones to replace them. Their overpriced-coffee station had already been taken apart and closed. Even more depressing was that I found more interesting books than I could afford to buy.
It's depressing to get cut off from a such a useful source of entertainment and/or information. Yeah, there are libraries, e-readers, and Amazon.com . . . but who cares? There's something simple and relaxing about plunging into a jungle of book shelves to hunt for a worthy book or two. I've bought hundreds of books from Borders over the years and enjoyed doing so.
Guess I'll have to adapt. 'Cause Barnes & Noble can kiss my a$$. I might browse their shelves but I'll never shop there again. "Helping" a huge competitor (like Borders) out of business is one thing. But to let all of those branches shut down's just wrong. Borders didn't do it to Walden Books. And maybe it was just a matter of bottom-line profits and feasibility. But bookstores are like churches to me. And these literary "cathedrals" are all on fire as I type. What a waste.
But hey, that's life.
So, I'll hunt for sites that spout out new releases (bye-bye Borders' "New Releases" stack).
I'll go on-line and look for nice books I've never heard of (versus the triumph at finding something good in the horror aisle).
And I'll keep a positive attitude about this transitional nature of the publishing business (sniff).
The one silver lining to this nightmare's that it makes you appreciate what's around you. I could expand that to people, but I'm no stranger to that kind of loss. I am a stranger to seeing a cool institution/business just fade away. Imagine a world without Blockbusters stores and you'll . . . wait, never mind.
Ahem: imagine a world without movie theatres. Seems impossible. But with Netflix and the rising costs of movies/snacks, such a notion seems sadly plausible. I've seen a few theaters close or change hands multiple times.
Look around you and wonder . . . what could become obsolete some day? If it's something you like, something vulnerable to changing times, enjoy it while you can and don't take it for granted. It could be gone next month.
Adios, readers.
Adios, old Friend.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)