To construct a house of ideas, writers must first create those ideas and make sure those ideas stick together. To streamline ideas and play around with organization and grouping, the writer must first build up a superfluous amount of extra ideas to work with. The process of Free Writing is a powerful tool for writers. The writer is instructed to write non-stop for a set time. During this exercise a person is allowed to write about anything, just as long as the pen does not stop moving during the allotted time. Just keep writing, even when you feel that there is nothing left to write.

The process of Free Writing serves as the basis of idea production. No idea should be omitted until all of it has been exhausted by the mind. After the period of free write is over, the writer is then left with a plethora of arguments, thoughts, and scribbling to work with. The products of Free Write should then be separated and thoroughly combed over, segregating and organizing everything into usable pieces of writing. After everything has been completed a writer should be left with neat components that are ready to be made into an essay.

When you write a persuasive paper, the objective of the paper was to pick an impossible topic and then argue it as best as we could. A great topic to argue was that German World War II doctors were not monsters who ran tests on their captives. Instead they were pioneers of their time whose research were at the forefront of the medical world for the next thirty years. Needless to say an argument such as this often afflicts massive amounts of writer’s block. In retrospect, this was a form of free writing and with the literary world; it usually takes writing to a new tangent and explore a different idea.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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How do you keep up with your submissions? What type of maintenance records do you have that allows you to examine the amount of submissions sent, the types of writing pieces you are sending and how editors are responding to your material? Bookkeeping is extremely vital for this segment of your writing development. You can’t expect success if you don’t keep track of basic record maintenance.

A writing submissions log is not difficult to maintain. The best way to benefit from it is to stay on top of logging in your entries every time you send a composition out. Here are 7 clerical items to use, when creating a writing log to keep track of your submissions:

1. Name/Title of Writing

2. Category of Writing (Poem, Short Story, Article, Query, etc.)

3. Place of Submissions (Where/to whom the writing was sent)

4. Method of Submissions (Email, postal mail, FedEx, UPS, DHL, courier, etc.)

5. Date of Submissions (Month, day and year your submission was sent)

6. Date of Response and Outcome (Date you heard from the Place of Submissions and their answer – rejection, acceptance, under consideration)

7. Estimated response time from the Place of Submissions, as reported in guidelines (if applicable)

Normally, when I get a response back from an editor, I put either a “smiley” face beside the Date of Response, if it is accepted or a “sad” face if it is rejected. The smiley characters are a lighthearted way to help me remain upbeat, even in the midst of a rejection. This also gives me an overview of the submissions I sent, who I sent it to and if they accepted or rejected the documentation.

With the Writing Submissions Log I am able to review the categories I’m sending out and see if they align with my short and long term writing goals, as oppose to just sending anything out. In an effort to increase my number of submissions for the upcoming year, I use these results to determine my plan of action (daily, weekly and monthly projections).

You can create and personalize your Writing Submissions Log by using the spreadsheet function on your word processing software. You can adjust the rows and columns to fit your clerical needs. If you prefer to manually use an office ledger, you can purchase one from any office supply store and achieve the same results. Keeping a writing log makes good business sense, as well as an excellent check and balance system for your writing submissions and publication goals.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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When writing a fiction novel, the author must craft a convincing, interesting story and create endearing or even dislikeable characters. However, creating a credible world backdrop for the characters and the story is just as crucial for writing a first-rate novel. Details are more important than one might think!

Pay attention to these three things to create a credible world, and your readers will return to visit again and again.

1) The world you craft must be believable. That means if you are writing historical fiction set in seventeenth century France, the historical details of the time period must be accurate and consistent. The author will need to research such details as significant historical events or personages, prevailing cultural attitudes and ideas, the political atmosphere and events, types of food eaten, types of clothes worn, manners of speech, and the list continues.

“Fast-paced music echoed through the hall. Violins, cellos, violas and a plethora of other stringed instruments. Heads turned as a new couple entered the festivities. He was tall, well toned, and darkly handsome. His partner was a tall blond beauty sporting a light blue dress with a somewhat fashionable d?collet?. It set off her skin tone and breathtaking figure perfectly, despite its relative simplicity. There were whispers about the pair as they joined the reel. Obviously nobles, but strangers still.”

The above passage from For Honor by Kat Jaske is the result of extensive research. What kind of music instruments did they play? What color and style of dress would a noble woman wear? What type of dances would they engage in?

“Finally she dropped in through the window of the second story, and snatched the gun from her mouth, panting for breath. Her hands were still shaking as she re-primed the gun and searched for the servants’ entrance to Athos’ room, hoping that he would not have thought to lock it. She had a bad feeling about this. Really bad.
As she opened the servants’ entrance she heard the tell-tale spanning of a wheel lock, and she propelled herself headlong into the chamber, yelling, “Athos,” at the top of her lungs.”

The above descriptions of a gun are just enough to be interesting and accurate. You must be sure your characters use a gun that would have existed in the time period; else, it will stick out like a sour note to the savvy reader who loves this genre of fiction.

2) Pay attention to the amount of detail in your descriptions. Use the details judiciously to enhance the reader’s experience of the story and to help him/her imagine the world in which he/she will be traveling. This means striking a delicate balance between too little description of the world and too much description. Either extreme is likely to alienate your reader.

Remember, readers love the historical tidbits that enhance the story, but when it turns into a tedious chore to keep everything straight, they may close your book forever. The way to learn proper balance is to do a lot a reading and see what other good fiction writers have done and also practice creating a lot of worlds. Then, get feedback from readers about what you have written.

3) Add in the elements that are fictional–those that come out of the author’s own imagination– in a way that these elements do not seem to clash with the established atmosphere for the story. Fictional aspects should mesh harmoniously with the realistic aspects of the story. There are times an author can take greater liberty with established facts, but a wise author, especially of historical fiction, will acknowledge that he or she has taken some liberties.

For a fantasy world, there will be more fiction involved and much more detail must be devoted to establishing the rules of the world, the races, the technology, the geography, the history of that world, etc. Be careful though. Characters should still follow “rules of human behavior” or no reader will wish to continue reading.

Remember, to have an outstanding creative fiction story, the world must support the cast and the storyline and not detract from either. So detail, detail, detail–within reason.

Kat Jaske ?2006 All rights reserved

Popularity: 10% [?]

Keep a small notebook of Interesting Names and Words

In the course of your daily life you run into streets, names, and places that you find interesting. Get in the habit of remembering them and writing them down. Looking through an art book the name of the artist Hieronymous Bosch struck me and the surname Bosch ended being the main characters in one of my novels. If you are familiar with the fantasy paintings of this artist you will get an instant feel for what this character is like. If you carry a PDA you should create a document where you can jot down interesting names as you come across them. Having this list is an invaluable tool because if during your writing you create a new character or place you don’t want to bring the writing to a stop because you don’t have a name. Having a list will help you find something that fits right in. When adding words to your notebook jot down a quick note as to what the word feels like. Does it give the feeling of strength or of softness? Does it evoke a feeling of mystery or of danger? These little notes will help you in finding the right word when you are in the process of writing.

Maps are an Excellent Resource

Break out the maps you have. I live in New England and it is filled with a multitude of old British names for cities and towns. Who can resist words like Braintree or Framingham? You should also use the online map services like Google Maps or Mapquest. Simply pick a country that you feel might have interesting words that would compliment the type of fantasy you write. Great Britain and Germany are two of my favorites and an endless source of material for me. Who can resist a little German town called “Hugelsheim”? It sounds like a place Hobbits would live!

Dictionaries and Encyclopedia

Random browsing through an English dictionary can reap many interesting words and phrases. With a random flipping through the pages you can find a lot of material and the larger dictionaries have extra resources such as a listing of geographical places or common foreign words and phrases.

Foreign Languages

This is my favorite method. I have a conversational ability with German which gives me a bit of an advantage because it offers a whole set of words and phrases with a very medieval sound which is perfect for my style and genre of writing. If you have a second language you should use it as a resource. If you don’t speak a second language you should pick up a translation dictionary. One of the pocket sized ones is an inexpensive option and I recommend you don’t get the English to Foreign language dictionary. You should get the foreign language to English version such as the German to English dictionary. Getting this type is much more helpful in that you can simply scan through the German words looking for attractive sounds. Then look up the English of it to see if it makes sense.

Add a Glossary to Your Novel

If you are writing a fantasy novel and you have quite a few creative, made-up or foreign language words you should add a glossary to the back of your novel. A glossary is something that can enrich your reader’s experience. It is like discovering and adventuring through a new part of your world. But do not make it excessively large. An overly large glossary can be more of a chore than a pleasure and it could be an indicator that your book is too difficult to read.

Hearing the Words

Creative names and words that are not commonly found in the English language can be confusing to a reader. You want to exhibit a sense of fantasy and a unique feel to your worlds but you don’t want to alienate the reader with difficult pronunciation and poor comprehension. The words you choose should accentuate the reading experience and not cause the reader to pause in order to understand the new word. You and your reader think and hear in English sounds so the words will be pronounced using a pre-determined set of distinctly English sounds. You should always say your new words out loud to get a feel for what they sound like. And if you are drawing on a foreign language for your words you shouldn’t assume that your reader knows the language and the correct pronunciation. You should assume that your reader will read in an English manner and pronounce the word accordingly. Pronounce the words out loud as an English word and see if it still sounds attractive.

Enhance Your Readers Experience

The very nature of a fantasy novel is to whisk the reader into a new world and the only tool you have to do this is words. Choose the names of places and characters carefully and you will enhance the reader’s experience and convey a sense of your world. But always maintain a balance in your word choice. Excessive use of creative words can distract from the readers experience. You don’t want to force you reader to frequently stop and re-read sections because the names don’t make sense.

Popularity: 9% [?]

No student has ever had to go through school without having had to write at least one term paper. But how to go about it? This article will give you the basics of Term Paper Writing.

Selecting A Topic

To select a topic, you must read the primary text with an eye to choosing interesting elements in it that will help you in selecting a topic.

It helps to have a reading journal when selecting a topic. A reading journal acts as a chronicle of your on-the-spot reactions to a literary piece.

It helps to ask questions during the selection process. These questions help you by:

- Who, what, when, where, how – indicating a search for knowledge.

- Showing an awareness of how a literary product is organized, as well as pertinent facts and ideas incorporated into it. This emphasizes comprehension.

- Chopping up the whole piece of work into its parts. This gives an analysis of the parts.

- Merging the broken-down parts into a meaningful whole. This is a process known as synthesis.

- Producing judgements, criticisms, opinions or decisions during a process of evaluation.

- Relying on insights, opinions, ideas and data to produce a research product that may give vibrant and personally satisfying knowledge.

It helps to look through reference works (including periodical articles, critical essays, books and encyclopedias) to narrow down your search for a topic. This in turn may help you produce a hypothesis which evolves into a thesis.

Developing a Thesis

Frequently, the topic you have first chosen is too broad to fit into focused research. Keep revising until you form a working hypothesis. A working hypothesis states an idea or approach in relation to the primary source which may act as the basis for your thesis.

You must test your working hypothesis to guarantee that it is:

- Broad enough to accommodate different resources

- Narrow enough to permit in-depth research

- Original enough to provide interest for both you and your reader

- Worthwhile enough to supply significant data and insights

You may now opt to state your thesis in writing.

Evaluating Your Thesis and Sources

Bear in mind that your hypothesis may still be revised continuously during the research process.

After you have defined your thesis, you may either opt to start work on the paper itself or need to do some more work before you begin.

- Organize your ideas and start work on your first draft.

- Once you have produced the first draft, look for authorities on the subject who can provide support for your ideas. Cite such sources accordingly but do not forget to document them.

- Use such secondary sources as may be necessary to determine the position and direction of your term paper

- Write down your bibliography as you go along. You need to keep a record so you will find it easy to discard the unnecessary sources later on.

- Produce a working outline throughout the process. This outline will be amended as you plow through the subject more thoroughly.

Parenthetical Documentation

You need to use parenthetical documentation within the body of your paper as a way to document the opinions, facts, and ideas you have gleaned from primary and secondary sources.

References to the text must definitely show specific sources in your list of works cited

It is, however, preferable to cite the author’s name within the text rather than rely on parenthetical documentation.

Prepare a Works Cited Page

A Works Cited Page showcases the works which you indicated in the body of your paper. It is also known as a Bibliography though modern research may also take into account such diverse works as films and periodicals.

Drafting then Revising Your Term Paper

You may opt to freewrite your first draft. In freewriting, a writer creates a first draft tha
t fully employs his creative powers.

If you suddenly remember material you did research on, include it then place a quick citation so you easily return to it later on.

Follow the guidelines outlined here and you will produce a research paper that is strong, interesting, and clearly written.

Popularity: 9% [?]