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Dozens of ways on how to become a better writer

No Comments »20th December, 2007; Category: Writing Hints

Over the life of this blog I have shared many writing hints in the articles I have written.

From time to time I also link to or refer to other blogs that contain writing hints and other ways to improve your writing. Daniel on the blog called Daily Writing Tips has a post called 34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer.

These tips have come in from readers and are short, to the point and easy to read. Even better, most of them are very easy to put into practice.

Good writing.

Further reading:

Life is just not smooth sailing

2 Comments »19th December, 2007; Category: Blogging, Blogs, Writing Hints

Life is not just smooth sailing.

The road of life can twist and turn and get a little bumpy at times.

Life is not easy – there are often hurdles in the way and mazes to negotiate.

Sometimes life jumps off the tracks and you head in the wrong direction.

And then at times life just sucks.

Have you got the point I am trying to make? The journey of life can throw up some interesting and challenging obstacles from time to time. These challenges can distract us seriously from our prime activity, whether that is writing or blogging or a combination. How to deal with it and still keep the momentum of your blog is the challenge.

Emergency posts

A very valuable strategy for bloggers is to write emergency posts. These are articles you have written but not yet published. They are not time sensitive articles so that they can be published at any time. If you have three or four of this type of post written, you can use them when the family dog takes ill, or Grandma dies, or you need a short rest or whatever the emergency is in your life. If you have such posts ready to publish you can relax and deal with that curve ball and later come back to blogging afresh when the trauma is over.

Writing ahead:

A variation on the emergency posts is to write articles ahead of when they will be published. I set the timestamp to the date and time I want the post to be published – set and forget (except I do keep a chart listing the dates they are to appear). I do this all the time but note that all three of my blogs are not time sensitive. When I know I will be away from the computer for a length of time – such as on holiday or travelling – I can relax knowing I have articles all lined up ready to appear on my blogs each day for the duration. This strategy is particularly useful when writing a series of articles on the same theme. When I get into the groove writing a series I can churn out five to ten articles in a day, sometimes more.

Holidays

With Christmas and New Year just around the corner, using the methods outlined above can help you to really relax over the holiday period. You can take a break from blogging every day and give yourself a few days to recharge the batteries. You can then come back to writing and blogging with new enthusiasm in the New Year.

Further reading:

Setting goals for your writing – where did the year go?

3 Comments »18th December, 2007; Category: Goal setting, The Writer's Life, Writing Hints

2007 Goals

Only two weeks left of this year. Where did that year go?

How are you doing with your goals for 2007? In fact, have you looked at your goals for this year recently? Did you actually write them down?

It is usually about now that people who are goal oriented sit down and start analyzing how they’ve travelled this year in the goal achieving department. With only a few days left it is still time to achieve a few minor goals, but as we near Christmas most people’s busy lives tend to take over. The demands of work, family, relaxation, shopping and many other things tends to dominate a little – or a lot if you let them.

Nothing magical

There is nothing magical about a new year. New Year’s day is just another day after all. On the other hand, a brand new year is a chance for all of us to have a new beginning, a new start with new projects, ideas and perhaps for some even a new job. It is a chance to evaluate our lives, looking back at the old year and assessing how we’ve been doing.

A personal reflection

In some of my goals I have been quite successful this year.

  • I’ve managed to maintain the flow of posts reasonably regularly on my three blogs.
  • I will fall just a little short of my target for the number of posts, but I am quite pleased with my output despite the many interruptions I have had.
  • I will fall a little short of the number of hours of writing I set myself at the beginning of the year, but not by much. Again, I have achieved a lot in the light of the many enforced breaks in my writing time.
  • Although I have written a large number of words this year, I am also a little short on the target I set myself.
  • As for submitting to print publishers I must admit that my face is a very bright red. Lots of talk, great goals and good intentions but not much of a practical nature happening there. Time to get tough with myself and follow my own advice so freely dished out on this blog. It might also stop the family nagging me too.

How have you been going with your goal setting? Leave a comment in the comments section below.
Further reading:

Just a thought – about being a writer

2 Comments »17th December, 2007; Category: Just a Thought, The Writer's Life

I have always dreamed of being a writer. From about age seven or eight I wanted to be a writer. Over the years I have achieved a significant body of work, some of it published, much of it languishing in books, folders or on the hard drive of my computer.

Sidelined

At an early age I also realised – I’m not sure how – that writing was not a terribly lucrative career choice unless one was very talented or knew the right people. I didn’t fit into either category, and so I was sidetracked for 35 years in a classroom. While I achieved a great deal as a teacher, there was always the deep seated desire to do more writing than just setting aside an hour or two here and there, and a few days in the holidays. At times it was frustrating, because teaching is such an exhausting vocation it left little energy for the creative demands of writing. I still do not know how I managed to average over a hour of writing per day over the last decade of my teaching career. Discipline I guess, mixed with a dollop of passion.

A huge chasm

Now that I’ve retired I can write more or less full time. I have now discovered an interesting fact about being a writer. There is a huge chasm between the dream (call it a fantasy if you wish) of being a writer and the reality of being a writer. Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley series, says that “Lots of people want to have written: they don’t want to write. In other words, they want to see their name on the front cover of a book with their grinning picture on the back.” They are not prepared to give what it takes to finish a novel, for example. They are in love with the “idea” of being a writer. They want the kudos without the hard work that goes with achieving that recognition.

An image problem

I guess I still have an image problem. I think I might still harbour an idealised image of what a writer’s life is like. Day by day, week after week and as each month goes by I am beginning to have that image modified, clarified. Being a writer is hard work. The head aches, the neck is stiff, the backside gets numb and sometimes the words will just not come. All in a day’s work. And yes – it is hard work. My idealised version is far from the reality I am now experiencing.

Despite the dawning of reality I am still going to write. To me, it is like breathing. It is just something I have to do to stay alive.

Good writing.

The art of writing

No Comments »16th December, 2007; Category: Writers, Writing Hints

“The art of writing is what you get to do once you become familiar with the craft” [of writing]. Elizabeth George in her book “Write Away.”

Learning the craft of writing is like developing any skill: get someone to show you how to do it and then start doing it yourself.

For example, when my wife and I first started blogging our very tech savvy son sat us at our laptops and stood behind us taking us step by step through the various elements of WordPress. He showed us all the things we needed to know to get started. As we progressed in our learning he refined the process, teaching us new skills, correcting us when we erred and praising us as we developed in confidence. Now we rarely have to ask for any advice for we have learned what we need to know about the craft of blogging.

Likewise, the craft of writing can be taught. I remember teaching my seven and eight year old students step by step through the process of writing in different genres. Writing a letter, for example, is far removed from writing a haiku poem. Writing an entry in a journal about one’s family experiences requires a different set of skills when compared with writing a report about a class visit to the zoo (though I can see obvious links between these two events – poor example).

Learn the craft of writing

If you want to be a writer, learn the craft.

Here are some useful hints:

  • Read voraciously.
  • Practise writing daily.
  • Read books that teach you about the craft of writing.
  • Buy and read magazines about the craft of writing.
  • Join a writers’ group and listen to the advice of other writers.
  • Practise writing daily – no omissions.
  • Join writers’ organisations in your area and attend their meetings.
  • Attend writing seminars and listen to practising writers explain the craft.
  • Practise writing daily – no excuses.
  • Attend writers’ conferences and talk to other writers.
  • And last, but by no means least, practise writing daily.

Your apprenticeship

The above list of things that you can do to learn the craft of writing is your apprenticeship. Learning the craft can take many years, as it all depends on how passionate you are about learning the skills needed. In fact, I would go as far as to say you should always be learning the craft. Eventually you will develop the skills needed to enjoy the art of writing.

The art of writing is all about the inspiration of the moment and the excitement of riding the wave of an idea. The art of writing is what you get to do once you become familiar with the craft. Elizabeth George in her book “Write Away.”

Further reading:

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