You must be prepared to work always without applause. – Ernest Hemingway

Much of the wisdom available from established authors may be surprising in it’s honesty and straightforward nature. The reason this is likely true is the authors in question have had enough success that there is no need to candy coat the truths they have discovered in their experience. This is the final article in this series.

On Learning the Art of Writing

I learned to write by listening to people talk. I still feel that the best of my writing comes from having heard rather than having read. – Gayl Jones

You have to protect your writing time. You have to protect it to the death. – William Goldman

By writing much, one learns to write well. – Robert Southey

To produce a mighty work, you must choose a mighty theme. – Herman Melville

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. – Robert Frost

A writer’s job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories. – John Irving

Plot springs from character…. I’ve always sort of believed that these people inside me — these characters — know who they are and what they’re about and what happens, and they need me to help get it down on paper because they don’t type. – Anne Lamott

In your writing, be strong, defiant, forbearing. Have a point to make and write to it. Dare to say what you want most to say, and say it as plainly as you can. Whether or not you write well, write bravely. – Bill Stout

Whenever you write, whatever you write, never make the mistake of assuming the audience is any less intelligent than you are. – Rod Serling

If the stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. – Barry Lopez

Write about it by day, and dream about it by night. – E. B. White

Any writer overwhelmingly honest about pleasing himself is almost sure to please others. – Marianne Moore

On Humor

When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand. – Raymond Chandler

The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it. – Mark Twain

On Naming Your Work

A good title should be like a good metaphor. It should intrigue without being too baffling or too obvious. – Walker Percy

The title to a work of writing is like a house’s front porch…. It should invite you to come on in. – Angela Giles Klocke

I hope you catch the sense that successful authors draw from the real stuff of life, keep things simple and well told. If you look closely, these authors keep a sense of humor about them and remain personable. These are admirable lessons to consider in your writing journey.

Technorati Tags: Children's Writing, writing

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One of the ways many writers can successfully add credentials to their portfolio if to participate in a variety of literary contests. This type of contest encourages writers to put their best foot forward in both creativity and attention to detail.

It is true that there are some contests that provide a cash award for their top finishers, but there are also publishing scams that will accept your work regardless of quality. When you receive notice that your work has been accepted for publication it can be a real boost, however, a quick look at many writer’s websites can help you define the contests that are essentially vanity publishers willing to print just about anything if they believe you will purchase copies of the book for friends and family.

Many cash award writing contests cover the cost of prize awards by charging an entry fee. This factor often discourages many writers who may not feel confident enough in their writing to pay a fee to submit. This allows those who do enter a better chance at placing.

There are also writing contests that present the opportunity to have their work published online, in a magazine or in an anthology. As a rule this type of contest does not require a purchase of the publication the work will appear in nor will they assume full rights of your work. The best writing contests only require a one time non-exclusive print right. This is important because it allows you the opportunity to sell or place the work in other venues.

Beware of forfeiting full (exclusive) rights in any writing contest. When this right is given the ownership of the work is no longer yours. You will have no right to use the material in any form without permission from the publisher. It is possible to pay to enter a contest, forfeit the rights to your work and allow a publisher to gain long-term financial benefit from your work.

Quality writing contests have the bonus feature of allowing you to fine tune your skills by reading the work of others. Reading can make a good writer even better. If you pay attention you can learn what works and what doesn’t while using writing contests as a means of gaining valuable insight into unique styles and structure.

On a positive note, there have been numerous incidents in which individuals who entered a submission for a writing contest were able to use that same work for publishing in other book anthologies and magazines. The key is making sure to participate in writing contests that preserve your right to control the reuse of the piece.

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Grief is not always sad and depressing, but can be inspiring and encouraging. Everyone deals with grief differently. Writing is an avenue through which healing begins. Something inside is unleashed, as a creative literary embryo develops and is born. This newborn combines tear jerking memories and a dash of optimism to turn melancholy into joy and productivity.

After tragic events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Hiroshima, The Tsunami of 2004, The Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion of 1986 and The Vietnam War, many novels and documentaries were born. Despite these single disasters, so many eclectic, emotionally charged voices were heard through the written word.

Your “best seller” doesn’t have to be a novel, but can be an essay, article, poem or a piece of writing so compelling, that others are sold by your sheer poetics. Some of the positive attributes that therapeutic writing invokes, but are not limited to, includes:

1. Creating documented history with frequent and better journaling

2. Unleashing your creative juices by writing personal unedited emotions

3. Your story can help others get through their grief period.

4. Writing will make you sit down and slow down

5. Helping you realize the importance of spending quality time with those you love

6. Never take a person or situation for granted, including you.

7. Bringing closure to a grief stricken circumstance

Prior to my mother’s death, the joy of personal, developmental writing took a back seat to the writing projects for my career. After my mother was buried and everyone returned home, I dove back into my job thinking that staying busy was the best remedy for me. How very wrong I was. As I began journaling about the pain of loosing my mother, the quality and quantity of my writing increased. You have the ability to turn an apparently debilitating situation around, after experiencing some form of loss and grief, such as:

? A divorce or major breakup of a relationship

? Loosing someone you love through death, disappearance or abandonment

? Finding out that you or someone very close to you has been diagnosed with a terminal illness

? Surviving a natural disaster or an unexpected occurrence

? Loosing a job after years of dedicated work

Journaling or simply picking up a notebook and pen, then candidly begin writing down your struggles, memories, anger, joys, the pain of your loss, or any epiphany, can evoke the healing process. Writing out your emotionally charged grief, may not be shared respectfully by many, but there will be a considerable amount of your reading audience who will applaud your willingness to share something so personal that probably inspired them to do the same.

Although writing can possibly bring closure to a grief stricken situation, this doesn’t mean that you will forget. The words won’t let you. As the final chapter of a novel brings closure to the book, you certainly won’t forget the story. Once you close the book and put it on the shelf with other classics, you move on to the next book with a new set of chapters yet to be lived. Where there is no closure, the wound remains open. This metaphor compares to the scenario of the last few pages of a novel being ripped out, leaving you to wonder what the end would be.

Read some classical literary compositions and notice how they were written with life experiencing emotion, good and bad, drawing you into the story. Whether the author’s sentiment was personal or one they lived through someone else, you travel with them to a time and place where the journey meanders through an unpredictable path.

If you’re writing fiction, changing real character names to protect the innocent, relocating a venue or placing the time in another era, can still allow reality and emotion to permeate through your pages. Who knows where therapeutic writing can take you? So many wonderful and positive projects, as well as healing, can bloom from just one grieving experience.

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper pattern at the right moment. – Hart Crane

Some of the best advice for writers in the 21st century comes from those who have seen their successes and offer advice from their own experience. Let’s draw from that brain trust.

On Writing Well

Show don’t tell. – Henry James

Don’t say the old lady screamed — bring her on and let her scream. – Mark Twain

Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke. – F. Scott Fitzgerald

First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. – Bernard Malamud

Usually, when people get to the end of a chapter, they close the book and go to sleep. I deliberately write a book so when the reader gets to the end of the chapter, he or she must turn one more page. When people tell me I’ve kept them up all night, I feel like I’ve succeeded. – Sidney Sheldon

Don’t mistake a good setup for a satisfying conclusion — many beginning writers end their stories when the real story is just ready to begin. – Stanley Schmidt

On Inspiration

Nighttime is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep. – Catherine O’Hara

I know writers who write only when inspiration comes. How would Isaac Stern play if he played the violin only when he felt like it? He would be lousy. – Madeleine L’Engle

If you wait for inspiration, you’re not a writer, but a waiter. – Anonymous

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London

The best way to become a successful writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from. – Gene Fowler

Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. – William Faulkner

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. – Agatha Christie

So this is always the key: you have to write the book you love, the book that’s alive in your heart. That’s the one you have to write. – Lurleen McDaniel

In the second part in this series we will look at a few words of wisdom from authors regarding writer’s Block, motivation and editing skills.

The most valuable of talents is never using two words when one will do. – Thomas Jefferson

There are many books that provide tips and guidance for publishing success. This series of articles takes you directly to a trusted source of wisdom – established authors. The hope is the experiences they have encountered will assist you in your writing objectives.

On Editing

There is but one art, to omit! – Robert Louis Stevenson

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. – William Strunk, Jr., from The Elements of Style

My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip. – Elmore Leonard

The great art of writing is knowing when to stop. – Josh Billings

As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out. — Mark Twain

When rewriting, move quickly. It’s a little like cutting your own hair. – Robert Stone

Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. – Joseph Pulitzer

On Writer’s Block

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it an hour when it isn’t expecting it. – H. G. Wells

On Motivation

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. – Cyril Connolly

The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also the most difficult task. – Robertson Davies

If you wish to be a writer, write. – Epictetus

Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential. – Jessamyn West

You write about the thing that sank its teeth into you and wouldn’t let go. – Paul West

On Humility

Young writers should be encouraged to write, and discouraged from thinking they are writers. – Wallace Stegner

In the third and final part in this series we will look at a few words of wisdom from authors on the naming of your work, learning from the success and failure of other writers and the inner struggles authors often face.

[From our deconstruction of hundreds of Hollywood blockbusters and sitcoms (see below for the URL of our Home Page) and our isolation and identification of more than 188 stages of the Hero's Journey that you need to know about...]

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharsis).

d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story.

and more…

Big Budget, Sitcom or Thriller?

I just got an email asking how one should apply the Hero’s Journey to a thriller. The writer saw how it could be applied to a big budget action script, but not a low budget story.

The budget is unimportant. Whether it is a Holywood blockbuster, a thriller or a sitcom, we’re still talking story.

And the process of telling a story – pushing the Hero through a transformation using the process of the Hero’s Journey is the same.

Learn more?

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

It is a rare thing to find someone capable of writing tight copy. The primary reason is tight writing falls is more dependant on your editing skills than your ?first draft’ writing skills.

What is tight writing?

When you write in compact sentences using simple words without redundancies you are writing a ?tight’ article.

The excess words are sometimes called ?fluff’ and should be avoided.

An example of fluff

Brenda rode her bicycle all the way to the park. Her bike was one of these old style banana seat bikes that her mother rode when she was girl and had a whip antenna on the back with an orange triangle at the top. She had made the decision to right to the park after watching a program at school on the benefits of exercise, which of course was something that Brenda found herself very concerned about since she learned about the health risks of being a couch potato.

An example of tight writing

Brenda made the decision to ride her bike to the park. She made a firm promise to become healthy and fit after watching a program at school.

This may not be a perfect example, but the idea behind tight writing is to cut the fat. This involves the removal of redundant and nonessential language. In the above example the description of the bike had nothing to do with Brenda’s commitment to good health so it was easy to cut.

If you read through your writing with a laser-beam focus you will find words and phrases that are unacceptable. These words have little to do with the advancement of your story or the point you are trying to make.

Many writers add fluff to their work to enhance word count, but an editor will recognize fluff and may ask for a copy revision. They may also lay your work aside looking for something a bit leaner.

Tight Writing Pinpoints

? One of the most successful pre-writing tools is the use of an outline to identify where the story is headed.

? You shouldn’t worry about tight writing while working through your first draft.

? In editing nothing is sacred, every word and phrase should be tested and reduced or removed as needed.

? There numerous tricks to tight writing, but the best is that if your sentence is more than ten words it may be too long.

? Always consider revisions, working to shorten and clarify.

? Less really is more in writing.

Writing a thesis essay is one of the challenges that students face in their academic life. The main reason why so many students dread writing a thesis essay is its baffling complexity, which is hard to handle at times.

However, writing a thesis essay can be much easier, if you already know how it should be written. And the secret formula of writing a high quality thesis essay is incredibly simple: all you need is to understand the initial purpose of thesis essays and follow the tips for thesis essay structure that you’ll find below.

1. Thesis Essay Peculiarity

Thesis essay is an essay elaborating on the original research and arguing a specific point of view. It requires an argumentative topic on which you have a strong opinion and want to prove it by means of research findings and information analysis. To put it in other way, thesis essay is a scientifically-minded piece of writing.

Consequently, a thesis essay is much more demanding than the rest of essays. It demands responsibility, analytical skills, ability to summarise, compare, and contrast. In order to write a high-quality thesis essay you need to be persuasive and able to prove your case no matter what.

2. Thesis Essay Topic

Thesis essay topic requires tender treatment. To choose the one that is your best bet, stick to the following:

1. the topic must be to your liking, that is you must have strong feelings on its account and hold a solid point of view as far as the solution of this problem goes;
2. your thesis essay topic must be argumentative, ambivalent and thought-provoking;
3. your thesis essay topic should not be widely researched and be on everybody’s lips. On the contrary, it must be a problem that is not known to the public at large and still is concerns us very much.

Get down to choosing a thesis essay topic with these tips in mind, and you will find one truly argumentative and interesting.

3. Thesis Essay Structure

Thesis essay structure must be carefully thought over, since it is the foundation on which you build your proposition and prove your rightness. With a proper thesis essay structure you will create the necessary impression on the readers and make them reject their own views and stick to your point.

Your thesis essay structure should be like this:

1. the introduction must include a statement of your hypothesis, which is a summary of your controversy;

2. confirmation of your hypothesis must be logically arranged:

a. first, provide a short digression in the history of the problem corroborating it by the past attempts at its solution;

b. analyze the problem at the present;

c. prove your hypothesis by the supporting evidence you came across when researching the thesis essay topic;

d. compare your hypothesis with other existing propositions and prove why yours is the best solution;

3. reinforce your thesis statement at the end of the essay by providing a persuasive summary of your thesis essay to make the readers come over to your side once and for all.

This is the proven way of organising thesis essays. So, do not hesitate to use this structure in your paper.

3. The Use of Supporting Evidence

As it has been previously mentioned, your hypothesis in a thesis essay needs a back up in the form of supporting evidence from reliable and relevant sources. The related sources you can use to strengthen your proposition can be:

1. past research and writings and their impact on the study;

2. facts, statistics, and the testimony of others through personal interviews and questionnaires;

3. or articles and books;

4. and examples.

You do not have to conduct a deep research for your thesis essay, as you do for a research paper. All you need is to explore your topic deep enough to have a sufficient amount of evidence and proofs. However, make sure that the information you plan to use is up-to-date and is taken from reliable sources. Otherwise, it will be easy to discredit your proposition.

4. Disprove the Opposing Arguments

Every hypothesis has a weak point, which, if wisely used by opponents, can destroy it all together. To avoid it, try to identify weak points of your proposition and the possible ways how they can be used by your opponents. Then find counterarguments that will rebut your antagonist’s sharp rejoinders. Try to anticipate any objections the readers may have and rebut them at once.

That is all you need to know in order to write a good thesis essay. Be sure that w
ith the above tips in mind you will easily master thesis essay writing and even come to like finding controversial topics and forming your hypothesis on its account. Thesis essay writing will no longer be a tedious burden for you.

Persuasive writing is not a genre that can belong to any particular target writing. I use the phrase ?target writing’ because, for all that we know, a piece of writing has to necessarily have an objective to fulfill. A news item, for example, is meant to bring forth associated happenings in order to provide a clear view on a matter. ?How to write outline’, on the other hand, is a sort of tutorial, just as ‘Blog statistics reveal upward trend’ is a summary of facts related to blogging.

In each case, the writer aims to target a dedicated readership, concerned with the subject on hand. It is possible to make use of persuasive writing for any of these subjects, and indeed many writers do, either to drive a point or two home, or perhaps as part of their writing style. But, persuasive writing – many will agree – is reserved to make comparative analyses between two points of view, as if to pit one against the other.

If that be so, what are the ingredients that make a writing persuasive? For one, the essay must be based on facts – preferably supported by figures – and not mere conjectures. This apart, there are several other necessities of a persuasive writing, many of which apply equally to other forms of writing as well. Let’s have a look.

An unequivocal title

No doubt there. Capture attention of your would-be readers. A long title doesn’t serve well. It is better to economize on words that form the title, making sure that it conveys a clear meaning. Phrases and idioms are welcome, but once again, they must be unambiguous and succinct, contributing directly to the subject of your writing.

Opening sentences matter

It is said a whole story is hardly ever read on screen. That may not be true always, but let there be no doubt that very few people go through an entire piece. The onus is therefore on the writer to make the best out of the situation. Which means the opening sentences are important, because more often than not, they hold the key to whatever comes later. If the reader’s interest is not aroused in the first few lines, chances are he will skip reading the rest.

Set the tenor

If I may quote OUSD’s definition, “In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.” Holding this as a guide, it is necessary to figure out how do you plan to proceed. You may prefer going whole hog demolishing the opposing issue, or you may sing paeans to the issue you favor thereby subtly downgrading the opposing one. Whichever you choose, you need to set the tone of your writing right in the beginning. If you want to play between the 2 styles of arguments, you need to exercise caution so as not to confuse and antagonize your readers.

Facts first, opinion next

Many writers lead themselves into believing that readers are ignorant. The fallout of this fallacy is that a persuasive writing often runs the risk of turning highly opinionated too soon without commensurate backup facts. The ideal writing should first place the facts, based on which opinions must follow.

Depend on circumstance

It will rarely be that all persuasive writings will follow the same ground rules. If a sales pitch is one type, calling upon readers to make a buy, so too is a political commentary, that requires readers to make a firm opinion. However, the style of writing for one will be completely different from that for the other.

Wit adds color

If you can mix wit with your argument, you’ll be seen as gently persuasive. Writing such pieces may be hard, but if you do it well, half of your objective is won. People simply love this. Remember though that only wits cannot win you the day. You also need to balance with good amount of examples. If you have it in you to make a perfect concoction, even the most dour topic can make a good persuasive writing.

Better thinking skills come from practice. What are some good ways to practice? You can sit and think, for starters, you can work on specific puzzles and problems. You can have interesting discussions with others. There may not be a “best” way to practice your thinking skills and boost your brainpower, but one of the most powerful is to write.

Why writing? Because unless you are just copying words, to write is to think. There are three basic ways in which writing helps your thinking skills.

1. Writing clarifies your thoughts.

You may have noticed how much clearer an argument or opinion becomes to you once you express it. Talking forces you to clarify your thoughts, but not just to the other person. Putting thoughts into words is also a process of telling yourself the logic behind what you “felt” or what you only partly understood. You try to make the other person understand, but you are often also bringing yourself to that understanding, or at least a better one. You are thinking aloud.

Writing accomplishes the same thing. It is essentially like talking to the paper or computer screen. Compared to talking, it has the disadvantage of not giving you outside feedback. On the other hand, you get to express and develop your thoughts without interruption. This is a great way to work on your thinking skills. Boost your brainpower by exercising your “explain power.”

2. Writing establishes firmer memories.

We cannot use what we cannot remember. This isn’t entirely true, because we are often using a lot of information from our unconscious minds in decision making and everyday life. However, to consciously think about a topic effectively, we need to have the knowledge and ideas we have gained available. This means we need to remember things. Better memory equals better thinking skills.

Writing helps with this. This is why we were all advised in school to take notes. It wasn’t just to have the notes for later, but also because the process of writing things down helps us remember them. By the way, a piece of paper and a pen in your pocket is a good idea if you want to remember new people’s names. Just write them down as soon as you learn them.

3. Writing gives you new insight.

Do you want to understand a topic? Write a book or ten articles about it. Okay, you may not have the time, but if you are learning about behavioral economics, for example, you can write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better.

Do you want to invent a new product? Write down an explanation of the problem you are trying to solve (ex: create a better chair). Include an explanation of the good and bad points of the current solutions. Write about some possible approaches, and write about anything else you can think of. Do this exercise, and you’re half-way to your new invention.

People don’t necessarily write about something because they understand it already. They often start writing about something because they want to understand it, and the process of writing is what brings about their understanding. Why not start a journal today and improve your thinking skills by writing?