Questions

Rewriting a manuscript may not be the most attractive part of a writer’s job, but it is a necessary one, which brings to mind a local television ad I enjoyed watching years ago. It showed this hillbilly character sitting near a stack of old tires. He wore a pair of bib overalls and he looked straight into the camera and drawled, “Folks, tires ain’t purty.” The ad sold a lot of tires because the actor was believable, and he stated an obvious fact; namely, tires were not beautiful, but they were necessary.

When I first started writing, I thought I was “purty.” I considered myself an “artist,” someone who splashed words upon a page and then stepped back to admire them. Creativity meant never having to rewrite a single word. Such “creativity” also resulted in a steady stream of rejection slips. Over the years, however, I matured and finally acknowledged that rewriting (or, at least, rethinking to find the best word or sentence) had to be a part of my work ethic.

During my newspaper days it was pounded into me to give careful thought to each word before putting anything to paper. “Get it right the first time,” I was told. Ernest Hemingway, a former newsman, also chiseled out sentences for his novels in the same manner. When he was satisfied with one “perfect” sentence, he went on to the next, and then the next. Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald, on the other hand, wrote whatever came to mind, and then later went back and rewrote, sometimes entire chapters. My wife is also a very creative writer and she likes to “let it flow” and then edit and rewrites everything again and again. I try to edit as I go along; then I go back to the beginning and rewrite what needs fixing, maybe once or twice.

What method is best? I believe it depends on the individual. The important thing is not to be satisfied with the first thought that pops into your head. Think! Then rethink. Then rewrite.

Samuel Johnson once said, “You should read over your composition and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.” Now that may be a harsh statement, but it does stress the need to be ruthless when editing your own copy. The best way to approach the task of rewriting is to pretend you are editing another writer’s manuscript. Picture in your mind the worst writer you know. Now take out that blue pencil and cut, cut, cut. You will be surprised how well you feel after chopping away all the dead wood.

“The beautiful part of writing,” said writer Robert Cromier, “is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” Whether it takes you two drafts or twenty-two drafts doesn’t matter. The final draft is all that counts. Think of yourself as a diamond cutter, chiseling away until you extract the perfect diamond. Then step back in awe and say, “That’s it!”

Who should rewrite?

Only writers belonging to the human race need to edit and rewrite. Dogs, cats and aardvarks are exempt from this practice.

Author Kay Cassill stated, “I don’t believe a writer exists today who can’t profit from that editorial blue pencil.” All of us need to proofread our copy at least twice. Don’t rely on your computer spell-checker to spot spelling errors as many are overlooked, such as “there” instead of “their.” And don’t edit on the computer screen; print your pages and then edit. Errors in spelling and grammar are easier to spot on the printed page. Above all, don’t expect today’s editors to fix your mistakes. Most do not have the time, and many will simply reject your manuscript in favor of one with fewer errors. Rewriting is a fact of life. Accept it, or perish.

What should you rewrite?

You should rewrite only what can be rewritten correctly, or better, or more clearly.

Mark Twain left us with many pearls of wisdom and one of my favorites was his saying, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” The goal of each writer is to find the “right word,” the one that conveys succinctly what you want to say and how you want to say it. Don’t settle for “almost.” Cut and polish until that diamond illuminates the page.

“Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill,” said Edmund Morrison. It’s true that putting words on paper is easy; taking them off is the hard part. But, with the right frame of mind, rewriting can be fun.

Buy yourself a good dictionary and thesaurus. Also, get The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. This little book–less than 100 pages–is filled with numerous nuggets of wisdom on the correct rules of grammar. Look for clichés, redundant phrases, excessive adverbs, too many adjectives, and unneeded words or sentences. Writing is all about clarity. Keep it simple. Be direct. Don’t use two words when one will do. Use a machete rather than a pocketknife when you become verbose. Expect some bloodletting.

When should you rewrite?

If you’re writing a novel, don’t wait until you finish the entire book before editing your pages. Begin rewriting as soon as possible, preferably after the first few chapters. I say this because if you finish the entire book you are somewhat “locked” into the outcome. During rewriting–as often happens– you may take an entirely new direction. Writing is all about the freedom to express yourself. So why be shackled? The same is true for short stories or articles. Begin editing at the first pause in the creative flow. For some, this may not be until the end of the story or article. For many, however, the muse departs after several pages. When this happens, stop! Go back to your first page and try to write it better. Move on to the next and do the same. When you reach where you left off you will be surprised your muse has returned, refreshed and ready to go again.

Where should you rewrite?

By this I mean, “Where in your manuscript are you most likely to need editing?” The first place to look would be your opening paragraph. It doesn’t matter if you’re working on a novel, short story, or article; the beginning must hook the reader into wanting to know more. Read the first lines of some of the classics and you’ll see what I mean.

“Vigorous writing is concise,” wrote William Strunk Jr. in The Elements of Style. “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.”

In addition to the beginning, make sure your ending is equally concise and free of errors. Leave an editor with a satisfied smile on his face. Don’t add more than necessary to wrap-up your article or story. Know when enough is enough. Thomas Wolfe gave his editor, Max Perkins, fits because he never knew when to stop writing. Perkins had to literally sneak into his apartment and steal the manuscript before Wolfe added more to it.

Another area to look for trouble is in dialogue. Delete all unnecessary adverbs and explanatory verbs. The word said is preferable in most cases.

Why should you rewrite?

There are  three rules to becoming a successful writer: (1) Write (2) Rewrite (3) The same as Rule 2. The only way to become successful in any endeavor is through practice; rewriting is the practice part of writing. Look at golfer Tiger  Woods. He will “write” during a golf tournament, but he will also “rewrite” over and over again at the practice range, trying to eliminate any errors in his swing. Often during interviews, he remarks, “I just want to put myself in contention.” He does this by “rewriting” his golf game until it is perfect.

Few of us can equal Tiger on the golf course, but we can certainly put ourselves in contention with other writers by practicing our trade with the same dedication. Let’s face it, going to the practice range is not as glamorous as playing in a televised tournament before thousands of cheering fans.

Rewriting is also not glamorous, but it is necessary if you want to be a winner. And, who knows? Some day you may have fans of your own.


- E. P. Ned Burke

Do you think you need to be a prolific writer to be able to create information product?

Truth is, you don’t need to. In fact, you can even have your own best-selling product without even writing a single word!

Having said that, you’ll still have to put in some effort to get product created.

Listed below are five ways anyone can use to easily and quickly create information product to sell…and profit from.

#1: Compilation Method

Get the experts in your target market to provide content for you. Approach these experts and request for their contributions of ready-content that you can use. 

Explain the benefit they’ll get out of it. 

With all the contents provided, all you need to do is compile them and create an attractive package that’ll get people interested in the product.

The added advantage of using this method is, the information product you created is guaranteed to be filled with high quality content as you’re getting the market experts to provide it for you. 

Another lazy method I’ve seen some marketers do is, they search for free videos online, eg. in Youtube and compile all the links in a short report and sell it for a low price. 

What they’re doing is making life easier for others by doing all the research and work done to provide their buyers with direct links to the helpful and informative videos.

That’s how simple it can be to create information product.

#2: Expert Interview Method

As in the above method, you’ll get the experts to provide you with the content. The difference this time is here you’ll do interviews with them.

If you can talk, then you can use this method to quickly and easily create a product. 

You may interview just one expert or a bunch of them. If you’ve one question, then it’s appropriate to just get one expert to give a detailed answer to it. 

Likewise, if you’ve multiple questions to ask which cover different angles, and if there’s no one expert enough to cover it all, then it’s just right to get a few experts to provide you with the solutions.

These are ideas you can use but definitely not cast in stone. Use your own creativity to plan out how you’d like your information product to be created and packaged.

#3: Using PLR Method

So what is PLR? PLR stands for Private Label Rights, which basically hand you the right to alter a product any way you want. Yes, even put your name as the product author. 

There are many sites now offering PLR products. Some even providing products every month on their membership sites. 

In the event that a product you’d like to have doesn’t come with PLR rights to it, simply contact the product owner and state your intention to purchase it. 

#4: Public Domain Method

Before I go any further, it’s better if I explain what Public Domain is. As a general guideline, Public Domain is anything that’s not protected by copyright law…meaning, you’re free to use Public Domain works in any way you like. You don’t need permission from anyone for it.

Beside books, Public Domain works includes music, poetry, lyrics and more!

Now, how you be sure if something is in Public Domain?

Works published before 1923 is definitely in Public Domain, that’s a fact. Example is a popular book published in 1910, “The Science of Getting Rich”.

There are also some other ways to identify if a work is in Public Domain. 

But what I wish to imply here is, you can take a Public Domain product, repackage it and sell to your target market. 

#5: Outsourcing Method

If you’d like a totally unique product to sell, unlike PLR product where there are others who’re selling the same stuff, then outsourcing your product creation task is the best way to go.

All you need is look for product creator who’ve the expertise to create information product for you for a fee. 

Any product can easily be outsourced, eg. ebook, article, video, audio, software, etc and there are sites online offering all these services and more.Example of sites you can go to include elance.com and workaholics4hire.com.

This method is best if you’d like to have more done in quick time or if you don’t have the expertise or knowledge to create the information product yourself.

There’s no reason for anyone not to have a product to sell…now that you’ve seen it’s possible to create information product without having to write anything at all.

Look, it’s either you trade your time or money. If you’ve the time, then you may want to create your own product…and if you’re more money, then it’s fine to just get someone to do it for you.

So go ahead and create your best-selling information product now.


- Zekimann

No matter how fantastic the short story you have written may be, without a catchy title the chances are good that an editor will not read it. The title is the most important part of the story as this is what first captures the reader’s attention.

A good title should grab the reader and make them wonder what the story is about. A bad title will probably cause the reader to skip the story altogether. This holds true when submitting your stories for publication. Editors are busy people and will pass on the story, often without reading the first sentence, if your title doesn’t capture their interest.

The title of your story will tell the editor a lot about your creativity. If your title is strong, an editor will be more likely to look at your story with a positive attitude.

So how do you come up with a good title? Below is a small list of tips to help you come up with an attention grabbing title.

1. Keep it short, no more than four or five words. Even two or three word titles are generally more than enough. If you can come up with a single word that conveys something about your story, even better.

2. Avoid boring titles. Don’t name your story something like ‘The Monster’ or ‘The Sea’ as these are dull and boring, and too generalized. Instead, try for something that evokes emotion. ‘Under the Bed’ would be a good title for a scary story and ‘High Tides’ works better for a story based on the ocean.

3. Make sure your title fits your genre. Don’t name a whodunit with a title that could be confused with a romance story.

4. Make your title easy to remember. This is another reason to keep the title short. Use your creativity to come up with something catchy that relates to the theme, the action, or the characters of the story. A memorable title allows your readers to recommend your story to others.

5. Research the title you come up with. Although titles are not copyrighted, you don’t want your story confused with another story of the same name. They can be similar without being exact.

So how do you spark your creativity to come up with the perfect title for your story? The following are a handful of ways to awaken your muse.

a. A short line of dialogue or a memorable sentence from your story can sometimes be the right choice.

b. A common phrase or expression can often be found that sums up the theme of your story. Or use a play on words, where only one element of the phrase is changed.

c. Borrow a line from an established work. Look at Shakespeare, the Bible or other well known book, song or movie.

d. Use one your main characters’ names. Think along the lines of ‘Tom Sawyer’ or Stephen King’s ‘Christine’.

e. Likewise, your title can be your setting. Think of Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Space, etc…

f. A good title can convey the main idea of your story. ‘Misery’ or ‘Legends of the Fall’ are good examples.

g. Use word association to link together elements of the story.

h. Allow the action to determine the name. By adding an ‘ing’ to the first word, you can come up with a catchy title. Some examples of this could be Chasing Rainbows or Dreaming Life Away.

Often, you can spend hours coming up with a title only to have the editor change it after accepting the story for publication. Sometimes the new title will make little sense to you. While you may think your title is perfect, the editor knows the publication’s readers well and may think the alternative is a better choice. And while this may irk your ego, knowing the story will be published is its own reward.

However you come up with the title to your short story, remember it is the first impression the editor will have about your writing abilities. Like the logline to a screenplay or the first paragraph of a novel, the title should represent the story they are about to read. At the end of the day, you want the editor to remember your story and place it in the ‘accepted for publication’ stack on their desk.


- Kristy Taylor

The most creative writers inspire generations of people and their work lives on for centuries. Now you don’t have to sit and wait for that magic idea to appear. Here are 9 creative writing tips and hints.

Tip 1: Write Poorly

Only read what you have written, after you’re finished writing the text. Allow yourself to write horribly. If keep holding yourself back and are correcting yourself all the time, you’re probably also holding back on your most creative ideas.

Tip 2: Listen To Your Mother

Eat a balanced diet with lots of healthy foods, make sure you get enough sleep, and exercise. If you’re in top condition, your brain functions in optimal condition as well, which means that you’re more likely to get brilliant creative ideas.

Tip 3: Don’t Be Afraid Of The Truth

I recommend getting lots of feedback, because if you don’t, you probably don’t have a single clue how you’re doing. In my personal experience, getting feedback often leads me to great new ideas.

Tip 4: Break The Law

Yes, just forget about the laws. Be free. Don’t try to be seen as politically correct. Go against the opinions of the masses on purpose. For example, if you write about a con artist, avoid the cliché and portray him as the good guy, as a hero.

Tip 5: Go Back To School

If you’re looking for creative ideas, try some fun writing exercises. They will help you explore other writing styles and lead you to completely new ideas.

link: over 300 writing prompts and exercises

Tip 6: Lay Down Your Pen

Sometimes it’s best to take a break. The best and most creative writers also do a lot of research before they write down a single word. Doing research actually enhances your creative abilities, because it gives you more pieces to work with.

Tip 7: Laugh

If you’re not having fun writing, then your readers probably won’t be amused as well when they try to struggle through your writing.

Tip 8: Get A Life

Leading an exciting life with lots of different things happening gives you an infinite amount of subjects to write on. It also makes your life more fun. Try doing some things you normally would never do. Traveling a lot also helps to generate creative ideas.

Tip 9: Choose a bad subject

Choose the most lame topic you can imagine, a topic you have no interest in whatsoever. The challenge is to find out how to make it interesting.

Good luck with the writing!


- Creator

All those who love to write and express their feelings by making use of powerful words must go for the profession of content writing. If you have the art of writing powerful content then you can surely polish this art and give it a shape of creative writing. These days creative writers are using their caliber of content writing in the most efficient way to rule the different genres of writing.

Writing is not an easy job because every single word written by a writer conveys a message to others that must be understood by others in the same way with which the author has intended to write. These days the field of content writing is spread among different dimensions and among all the forms of writing, web writing is the most accepted form. With the innovation of new online technologies people want to post their views and comments online through a simple mouse click.

Several content writing services like article writing, submissions, blog writing, press releases and many more are utilized by different online marketing companies to promote goods/services through web. The aim of an efficient writer is to convey the message in a very subtle way while attracting the readers without compromising on the quality of the content. Content writing deals with beautification of the write up by using flowery words that do not tend to mislead a reader.

The job of a writer is to convey the right message in a right way by making use of the right words. Usage of absurd words can mislead a reader and thereby mar the image of a writer. If a writer has the perfect art of content writing then the writer can surely make his/her image in the field of writing. Content writer is the biggest artist because he/she makes sure to deliver a lucid content without loosing the essence of the content.

No, doubt that it takes years to expertise in content writing. All those who want to use the tool of writing to earn a living must start focusing on the fundamentals of efficient content writing.


- Naman Jain

I am writing a novel but just for the past few days I cant type a single word…….Its killing me…..
- sykopenguin4292