im not myself tonight
my self is somewhere else
my sanity has taken flight
to visit different hells
thoughts distorted brains a mess
cant focus for sh*t
i hope this isnt a test
i breath real deep
try and find my center
but from this mind will seep
this awful farewell letter
looking down from among the clouds
i hear a soft lament
the stars cover me in their soft shrouds
the beautiful sky is my wonderful tent
- Tragic Protagonist

It goes without saying that you can learn a great deal about writing by reading the classics. Advice on writing novels is like carbon dioxide – it is free and everyone is exhaling it. Still, few will tell you that there is value in reading bad books. Well, there is and you should definitely do so.

Great books are often perfect examples of how to develop characters, plot lines and so on. I strongly believe, however, that to really grasp these concepts you have to experience it done poorly. If you don’t know bad writing, how will you know good writing? For every W. Somerset Maugham classic like Razor’s Edge, you should read something that gets poor ratings from readers on Amazon or whatever rating site you prefer.

Why would you want to suffer through a bad book? Well, the answer is found in figuring out why you don’t like it. This requires you to both take notes and suffer through the tome. The key is to uncover the details that make it painful to pursue and write them down. Is the plot to slow? Is there no apparent plot? Is it a novel with far too many storylines going on? Are the characters so undeveloped that you can find no attachment to any of them? The reasons can be numerous and often are!

Once you’ve deduced the nature of the problem or problems, the next step is not to mock that writing but to focus on yours. Do any of the problems in the book in question apply to your writing? Be honest! If not, what would you do to solve the problems in that novel? Would those steps in any way benefit your writing? You might find that they would.

Once completed, it is time to do a comparison between a quality classic novel and the bad book you’ve read. Write down your thoughts on the good and bad manner in which character development is handled in each book. Do the same for the plot and so on. By contrasting each of these elements, the difference between the good and bad aspects of writing should become clearer to you.

There is one final lesson to take from the bad book. That lesson is to recognize that it was actually published. The idea of publishing a novel is one that is often touted as being this side of discovering the cure for cancer. Well, it can’t be that hard or the bad book in your hand would never have been published!


- Thomas Ajava

I want to major in creative writing. However, I’ve found that most universities only offer English as a major, and further on, you may be able to be a “writing focus.” Does anyone know of a list of universities that offers a major of CREATIVE WRITING??

Thanks!!!
- Live Love Laugh

Writing short stories is a genre in its own right and varies a lot from the other styles of writing. Many ***?ople have taken to writing short stories online to express themselves and explore their creativity. Like each specific style of writing, short stories have certain features that need to be kept in mind. Let’s look at these requirements in this article.

While a word count is essential when you write your story online, don’t focus too much on it. It may stunt the story and your natural style of writing. Consider the word count only when you’ve finished the first draft and you are starting to edit it.

When you write short stories online, have only a few characters. Include only those characters that are most relevant to the story. That way, you will be able to do more justice to their characterization. Also, avoid giving too much background information on these characters. Only provide information that is crucial to the development of the story.

When you write your own stories online, you do not have the luxury of using too many descriptive words. What may start ***? a short story may well end up ***? a novella if you are not careful about the amount of description and embellishment that goes into the story.

When you write your story online, you have very little room to deviate from the main plot of the story. Your short story should be crisp and ***?st paced. The events that follow through the course of the story should only include ones that are essential to the progress of the story.

Get straight to the point. Don’t spend too much ***?me to build up the story. That would be a waste of ***?me and words. Since there is a word limit, you need to get rid of the fluff. If you put too many words into the introduction and you have only a few left for the ****?max, it could ruin the effect of the story.


- Mikal Jhonson

I will credit you, don’t worry. Also, no vampires. That’s not very original. Any genre, other than biographies or nonfiction(obviously lol). So, basically, I need you guys to help me brainstorm. Any idea is fine; romance, ***?ntasy, drama, sci-fi, realistic fiction, etc….you get the point.
Yeah, well, excuse me, “lifelikechild,” ****? with all this whirlwind around Twilight and vampires, I can’t focus on much else or come up with anything else not having to do with a few of the Twilight motifs and main points. So, sorry for not holding true to your ideal of an “author”. It’s my first ****?k and I just ****?ted ideas and help from some of the more kind ***?ople on Y!A, not criticism from YOU.
- ???? ?.

Writing in “journals” or “journal time” was one of my favorite subjects growing up in school. I can remember looking forward to the comments the teachers would write daily in my journals. As years passed on in grade school, I grew accustomed to positive grades and opinions being given to me on my journal entries.

I can remember when journal writing was a must do all the way up to attending high school. When I entered college, journals became non-mandatory. What a shame.

Journals are like having a conversation with a person, yet written down on paper. Journals force you to focus on your own thoughts, not necessarily the thoughts of others. I truly believe that my personal thoughts about what I was learning dialy helped me become a better writer.

I find that journals help students think of their writing as purposeful, rewarding, and wonderful. Journaling is a great task to do on a daily basis in the classroom. Writing journals ARE a wonderful form of communication(a very important Language Arts concept). The reader and writer are more involved in the process, and the writing can many times be extremely focused, detailed, and specific.

I am learning that journal writing interests me to the utmost. The overall structure of journals is very free, fun, and focused to me. I make entries to my personal journal daily. Often they are about things I have learned or things that the Almighty has taught me that day.

The thought process of a writer is the key to what all journals should be about. Journals are very much like creative writing in a box. Overall, journals are enjoyable to write, and at the same time they are very relaxing and a great escape from the rigors of daily life.

What I picture my students writing is basic creative thoughts that come from their minds. For example, as a class, we may have a discussion about taking care of dogs. I, as the teacher, expect to read journals on either what it is to raise a dog, the students’ own opinion on dogs, what type of dog they should own, and the pros and cons of having a dog.

Or…whatever else they’d like to write about dogs. I hope to have a free, open writing policy with my students, so that they are free to express themselves clearly in thoughts, questions, and especially in their writing. In conclusion, journals ARE the last task that my students do at the end of a busy day. I have them write about what they learned that day and…they love it.


- Don Alexander

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of it as running a marathon. Many who set out to run a marathon hope to finish. That’s why they start in the first place they have a goal in mind. What is your goal in writing an article?

You have an idea of what the finished product is going to be but you’re not sure how to go about putting it all together. It seems like such a hard thing to do especially if you don’t feel overly confident about writing. Well, just like the marathon, you have to take it one step at a time.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a marathon runner, is to get organized.

Instead of running gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin writing an article. Once you’ve gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing.

Beginning Steps to Writing an article.

First, figure out your article’s working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles.

Break your articles up into smaller chunks with subtitles. Readers like to scan an article to see if it pertains to what they are interested in. Aim for clarity in your titles and use subtitles that pertain to the specific paragraph.

What is Your Thesis?

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your article will solve that problem. All paragraphs spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. This foundation is what will help keep you on track.

When you’re writing an article you need to use the same process as writing a book, ebook or anything elese. Keeping your thesis in mind will keep you focused while you write. Remember: all paragraphs must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your article.

For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to help you overcome insomnia.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason for writing your artilce. Ask yourself some questions.

Does your article present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

Will your article positively affect the lives of your readers?

Is your article dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?

Does you article answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the effectiveness of your article. Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your article.

Do you want to promote your business?

Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website?

Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing.

Do you want to add it to other articles and put together a short ebook to sell as a product on your website.

Do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product?

Do you want to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world?

The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

If you’re putting together an ebook then you need to decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader’s respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don’t bore your readers to sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to keep your readers more alert.

Good writing takes a lot of practice. Make a schedule to write a little everyday. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font family.

Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they’ve gotten past your introduction. Use text that is large enough to be read easily on the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don’t mess up a great artticle by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas.

These are the basic guidelines to writing an article. You can use these same basic principles to writing a book, newsletter, blog or any other type or writing. Once you get started you will find that writing will become easier as time goes on. Before you know it you will have enough articles on your topic to put a book together.


- J. Ron Beauchamps

The basic question posed by The Literacy Writing Connection is how is the writing of compositions, essays, short stories et cetera connected to the various forms of literacy for a child? Is any one form of literacy enough to get the job done?

Essentially no. Since there are a number of forms of literacy, no one form can do all that is needed. However, the exciting aspect is that the written works of a child are a key indicator as to his or her literary skills. By writing a short story, a child is exercising many different skills. For my purpose, the term ‘writing’ will be associated with today’s society, thereby involving computers as well as paper and pencil.

Of the many literacy forms including, but not limited to, Media, Global, Multi-cultural, Scientific… the ones that stand out with respect to children are Functional, Information, Mathematical and Computer.

Functional is the easiest to understand. Can the child use basic reading and writing skills to get crucial ideas across or to interpret incoming ideas in order to stay safe. By crucial we can focus on the essentials of life and expand from there. Can they communicate verbally and on paper?

Information refers to the child’s ability to understand that he or she requires additional knowledge on a subject and to go and get it. Once retrieved, can the child process and evaluate that knowledge? And finally, can the child apply the new knowledge effectively to solve a problem or otherwise? Let’s call this the ability to research.

Mathematical is straightforward enough and does not involve higher math skills. This points to a child’s understanding of the most basic mathematical symbols and operations. You might say it also helps with drawing comparisons, such as ‘he has more than I do’ or ‘this is darker than that’. It can assist with spatial awareness as well, but we’ll leave that alone for now.

Finally, Computer Literacy. This is, in its simplest form, the abiity of the child to turn on the computer, run a wordprocessor, type a story, print it and save it for later. You would be surprised how many adults can’t do this. Let’s call it keyboarding.

You can read more about this at Short-Stories-Help-Children.com.

If a child can produce a short story that involves any opinions, knowledge he or she did not possess before, regard for what could be considered adequate flow, balance or word volume, and get it across in a clear way; you have achieved a great victory. The child has communicated, researched, made comparisons and keyboarded to produce a meaningful story.

Focussing your attention on keeping these four forms of literacy (or parallel terminology) in good balance will build a solid foundation for learning the many complex subjects to come in their future. Try to imagine where the child would be if any one of the four forms was way out of balance. You may actually find you can apply whimsical names to each type of child.


- Phil Girouard

I have two more techniques I think are very useful in fighting creative blocks.

Technique 4: Spend Some Time Talking with Your Muse

I know this sounds a little, well, a bit, um, kind of, er, okay. It seems kooky as heck.

I’m not suggesting you have to get all mystical, unless you are mystical.

But try this exercise.

1. Sit down somewhere comfortable, away from your work area.

2. Ask yourself, “What does my muse want me to do, that I’m not doing?”

3. Listen to that answer. I know in my case, most recently, I was writing solely for money, and my muse (subconscious, whatever) was withholding inspiration until I realized I needed to write for me.

4. Ask yourself, “What does my muse want me to stop doing, that I am doing?”

5. My answer here was that I needed to stop working myself half to death, and focus on doing better work, not more.

This whole “talking to your muse” thing may seem a little odd, but you do have a subconscious, and it does know things you need to know, and it will release that information if you let it.

Just try it. If it doesn’t work for you, you don’t have to keep doing it.

***

Technique 5: Go Back to Work

Okay, now it’s time to just forget about the block, and go back to work.

That may sound very mercenary, telling you to get back to work when you’re blocked and can’t work.

But the fact is, I think by now you can work. I think the main reason we feel blocked is that we focus on the block.

I believe that if you go back to work, you’ll be able to work.

I once read a great technique, and I think it was in Jerrold Mundis’s book on writer’s block.

My variation of it is this. Find your favorite poem, or novel, or painting, or whatever it is you do.

Go to your work area and spend 20 minutes meticulously copying that piece of art. Do it by hand. If you write, use a pencil and a legal pad, or crayons on newsprint. Get your hand involved in working again.

Now, spend twenty minutes working on a completely new project of your own. Do not go back and try to “finish” what you were working on before the block. Start something new. It doesn’t matter if it’s something you can finish in 20 minutes, or if you’re just starting.

But only work 20 minutes. And then don’t work again that day.

The next day, copy for ten minutes and work for 30.

The following day, don’t copy. Work for 45 minutes. No more, no less.

By now you should either have broken your block, or be totally convinced it will never break. If these techniques didn’t work for you, try them again, or try Mundis’s book, or try another book, or just keep trying to work. But don’t give in to the block. You are a creative person and you can work.

You will work again very soon.

[End of Part 3, End of Article]


- Angie Dixon

I want to transfer to a college that focuses on English and have a good Creative Writing program. I want to major in creative writing but don’t know what college to transfer to.
- A Warrior for Yahweh