Questions

Wannabe writers, are full of excuses as to why they aren’t writing yet. Many of these excuses can be changed to proactive statements with a mere switch in attitude and perspective.

How many times have you read an article, and said to yourself, “I could have written this.” Well, why don’t you?

It took me a long time to discover that my passion in life was writing. Even though, as a teenager, I filled a whole blank book with poetry, which I wrote while trying to recover from the “first love’s” broken heart type of feelings.

It wasn’t until I made it a habit to start writing in my journal every morning, that I found out just how easy it was to get the writing juices flowing. Below is a list of some common excuses writer wannabe’s make for not writing. You will find suggestions along with each excuse on how to counteract those excuses and move forward to success.

1. EXCUSE #1 I don’t know where to start, or what to write about.

—Just get up each morning a few minutes earlier than the rest of the household, and start writing in a journal. Write about anything and everything that pops into your mind. Try to write at least 3 or 4 pages. Devote at least 10 minutes each morning to this ritual.

Do it with a pen and notebook, rather than the computer. There is a physical connection between the brain and your fingers on the paper.

Keep your statements positive. Try to eliminate words like, “I need to” or “I should” or “I have to” replacing them with more affirming phrases. Using “I am” and “I can” changes your whole focus. I find just replacing the three phrases above makes the writing process much more positive and results oriented.

You will be amazed at the material that you can pull from this journal that can be used in your daily projects.

2. EXCUSE #2 I don’t have any experience or formal schooling in writing.

—-With the internet, and all the writing books available today, it is easy to teach yourself what it takes to write successfully. Just jump in and get your feet wet, give it a try.

Have someone you trust read over your writing, and then give you their opinion. But don’t stop with one person’s point of view.

Some of the best feedback I have received, has come from people wanting to use my “free to reprint” articles. I remember one lady email me saying, “I really enjoyed reading the passionate article you wrote on this subject.” Up to that point, I had never looked at my writing as passionate.

3. EXCUSE #3 I don’t have enough confidence in my writing abilities, I can’t measure up to what is already out there.

—-Following the same advice as above, as you jump in and do it, your confidence will grow. Publish some free content articles, to promote a website, and discover just what people like and don’t like. With feedback comes confidence. It is hard not be confident in your writing abilities when you get showered with requests to use your articles in others ezine’s and on their websites. :o)

4. EXCUSE #4 Writing will take too much time away from my family and other responsibilities.

—-On the contrary. Writing can actually benefit and help you with your other responsibilities. By establishing a morning routine of writing in your journal, you will get to know yourself better, and grow both in professional and personal development. These positive changes to you will affect everyone you come into contact during the rest of your day. This includes members of your family.

5. EXCUSE #5 I am not very creative.

—-Everyone has creativity in them. Some people have a harder time tapping into it than others. By creating a time and space for writing in your life, you are giving yourself permission to tap into your own creative subconscious resources and intelligence. You may be surprised and amazed at your own creative results.

6. EXCUSE #6 What I know has already been written.

—-Did you know, you could give 5 writers an assignment on the same subject and each one of them will come back with an article with a very unique and different focus. It is because we all look at things from different perspectives. Our perspectives are developed by our own individual life experiences and the lessons we have learned. You can take what is out there and put your own unique slant on it.

7. EXCUSE #7 I am scared, not sure I can handle criticism and rejection.

—-As mentioned already, by just doing it, jumping in and giving it a try, you will gain confidence and grow. Rejection is just someone’s opinion. Get another opinion, and then another.

Some of the best books published in history were rejected dozens of times before someone took a chance on them and would eventually hit the New York Times bestseller’s list.

So there you have it. Stop making excuses and jump in the water and get wet. It will be more fun, rewarding and maybe even profitable for you once you actually take some daily action steps. Who knows, you might even make a big splash upon entrance to the pool of what’s floating around. . :o)

As you begin getting your work out there, ideas will come to you so quickly it may be overwhelming at times. Just remember to write down your ideas, keeping notes on topic ideas, titles, and themes to research. The list will be endless.

Use these intuitive thoughts to spark your thought process when you actually sit down with pen to paper. You will find many stories, experiences, and lessons learned that can easily be incorporated into a promotional article. “So start writing now, may the force of your creativity be with you!”


- Dolly Kapil

Book publishing, information publishing, however it’s called. It can create a wealth of fortune for you.

However, what most people understand about publishing means they have to do something big. They have to be really knowledgeable about the subject they want to publish. They had to be real good with writing.

But when does writing have to be a hard thing?

Here’s why: Long have we tried to write, and time after time we experience what we call writer’s block. The fact is, writer’s block can never have to be a problem at all – as you’ll learn why in a while.

Then, the world never cares whether you’re knowledgeable about something, they care when you’ve delivered to them in a value of some kind. Why do you think someone would want to buy a book from you? They wanted to learn something they can change their lives in, and further improve their quality of lives as well.

Here’s where researching comes in—but we’re not speaking about the average research. Sometimes people think research is a difficult feat requiring hours upon hours of effort, but with what you’re going to learn from me in later articles, you’ll find researching a petty little task to do, and you can create greater results from my technique!

We’ll talk about writer’s block here.

You see, the only reason why you have writer’s block is because you’re editing. It’s summed up in this one sentence.

Whether or not you’re editing doesn’t matter, but when you feel a block of your mind from writing amazing words, it’s because you’re giving yourself judgment over your writing process. It doesn’t have to always be this way.

And here’s a secret to eliminate writer’s block forever if you would but understand its true value and use it:

Write FAST. Write really, really fast.

I will teach you how to do this even clearly on the next subsequent articles I will be sharing with you which you can find on my web site, but right now here’s the most important thing you need to eliminate writer’s block forever.

To quote one of the world’s current greatest science fiction writers of all time, Isaac Asimov (featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for his prolific writing), here’s what he says when asked by a reporter what his secret is to becoming such a prolific writer: “I guess I’m prolific because I have a simple and straightforward style.”

Little did people really deciphered the true meaning behind his quote.

The way you can really have a simple and straightforward style is to write the way you talk… and if you want to write the way you talk, you better write fast because that’s the little trigger to unlocking your amazing writing abilities to have your readers feel as though you’re talking to them.

You know what they say? The best books in the world always makes it feel as if the reader is involved in the picture.

Well this is one of the biggest secrets to writing a book fast and publishing one you can sell on the Internet, or have them racked upon the booths of book stores you visit in the next few weeks, or months.

Believe it or not, you could publish your own book in 2 weeks and use it to change your life forever.

If you want to learn the subsequent chapters to really write fast, and how to use what you’ve written to create a multi-million information publishing business online even though you’re just an average person, be sure to wait or discover the next articles coming up for you.


- Dan Lok

Copyright (c) 2008 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

Book publishing, information publishing, however it’s called. It can create a wealth of fortune for you.

However, what most people understand about publishing means they have to do something big. They have to be really knowledgeable about the subject they want to publish. They had to be real good with writing.

But when does writing have to be a hard thing?

Here’s why: Long have we tried to write, and time after time we experience what we call writer’s block. The fact is, writer’s block can never have to be a problem at all - as you’ll learn why in a while.

Then, the world never cares whether you’re knowledgeable about something, they care when you’ve delivered to them in a value of some kind. Why do you think someone would want to buy a book from you? They wanted to learn something they can change their lives in, and further improve their quality of lives as well.

Here’s where researching comes inbut we’re not speaking about the average research. Sometimes people think research is a difficult feat requiring hours upon hours of effort, but with what you’re going to learn from me in later articles, you’ll find researching a petty little task to do, and you can create greater results from my technique!

We’ll talk about writer’s block here.

You see, the only reason why you have writer’s block is because you’re editing. It’s summed up in this one sentence.

Whether or not you’re editing doesn’t matter, but when you feel a block of your mind from writing amazing words, it’s because you’re giving yourself judgment over your writing process. It doesn’t have to always be this way.

And here’s a secret to eliminate writer’s block forever if you would but understand its true value and use it:

Write FAST. Write really, really fast.

I will teach you how to do this even clearly on the next subsequent articles I will be sharing with you which you can find on my web site, but right now here’s the most important thing you need to eliminate writer’s block forever.

To quote one of the world’s current greatest science fiction writers of all time, Isaac Asimov (featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for his prolific writing), here’s what he says when asked by a reporter what his secret is to becoming such a prolific writer: “I guess I’m prolific because I have a simple and straightforward style.”

Little did people really deciphered the true meaning behind his quote.

The way you can really have a simple and straightforward style is to write the way you talk… and if you want to write the way you talk, you better write fast because that’s the little trigger to unlocking your amazing writing abilities to have your readers feel as though you’re talking to them.

You know what they say? The best books in the world always makes it feel as if the reader is involved in the picture.

Well this is one of the biggest secrets to writing a book fast and publishing one you can sell on the Internet, or have them racked upon the booths of book stores you visit in the next few weeks, or months.

Believe it or not, you could publish your own book in 2 weeks and use it to change your life forever.

If you want to learn the subsequent chapters to really write fast, and how to use what you’ve written to create a multi-million information publishing business online even though you’re just an average person, be sure to wait or discover the next articles coming up for you.


- Dan Lok

I have wanted to write a novel for some time now. I am a very good writer but I am having trouble starting and getting somewhere. I need to know of a plan to follow or something to aid in keeping the bits and pieces organized in my head or something along these lines. I can’t invest in anything (im broke) but are there any people who have been through the writing process before that could give me steps to follow or any other useful information? Thanks a TON, this is really important to me!
- Holla!!

Is there any better feeling in the world than the look on someones face when they have just read your latest piece of creative writing? For many, it is the fuel that keeps us going. It is like throwing dried apple wood on the creative fire that burns within a writers spirit. The flames grow and expand, and we get catch a whiff of that fragrance and ca not wait to start the whole creative writing process all over again.

The smiles, the praise, the words of encouragement these are some of the best aspects of the craft of writing. Not all writers crave these things, but the mere fact that there are so many books in print shows that there are a lot of people who want their creative writing to reach out and touch others. Whether you invent entire worlds as a novel writer, or you like to throw in a bit of imagery when you do jobs writing travel articles, the flair you add helps tell a unique story in a way that no one else can.

Of course, getting your creative writing into the hands of an eager audience is sometimes easier to imagine than to accomplish. Agonizing over every adjective and punctuation mark is only part of the process of becoming a published writer. Some writers choose to pursue traditional methods for publication, while others take a different path and decide to self publish their work. Both options give you the chance to share your creative writing, although the methods and outcomes can be very different for each.

Choosing your method for publication is an individual decision and should be based on your needs and desires. If you are a childrens book writer whose main goal is to have a professional looking hardback book for under the grandchildrens Christmas tree, then perhaps self publishing is the way to go. If, on the other hand, you dream of being a professional writer who tours the bookstore chains to do personal appearances, then you may need the backing of a large scale publishing company.

There are many tools available that can help get your creative writing published, and it is usually the writers responsibility to learn about and utilize these writing resources. Check out Writers Market or publishers websites for writer guidelines that can help you determine how and where to submit your work. While it is still a lot of effort, many writers choose to hire a literary agent to help with the submission process. This allows you more time for writing fiction and less time for reading writer guidelines and tweaking proposals.

Creative writing skills are very important, whether your focus is writing fiction or simply making your nonfiction writing more engaging. Using words and ideas that make the story unforgettable is what causes great writers to shine. For many of us, the satisfaction comes from seeing this glow reflected in the faces and imaginations of the reader. While desiring the title of professional writer sometimes gets in the way, it is nice to occasionally remember the simple joy that comes when our creative writing is able to transport a reader to a place they have never been.


- Caterina Christakos

Writing a novel has never been easier

There are several different software packages around that will enable your writing process and assist you in the mechanics of writing and make it all easier for you.

However, the ideas and how you work, will determine whether you make a successful novel or not. I do not know if these software packages will make you create the million dollar revenue bestselling novels out there. But, hey, it’s worth a try. When we look in the book store windows and see what type of stories makes the bestseller out there now these days. Then we see it is a matter of stories and concept. However the novelist has become more a marketing victim and we see that the marketing and sales machinery assists in a very good way to create the new bestseller.

Maybe these tools will have what it takes to create another one soon, or at least quicker than without the tools. I wish you the best of luck and with hopes that YOU will make the next bestseller, but best of all, that I will be one of your readers.

I have reviewed two software packages that can assist you in creating a novel, and also assist you in the recipe for your novel. Both software’s run on Mac OS, so if you have a PC, well, you are out of luck. The tools will not cut it for you my friend.

Mariner Storymill 3.0

Claimes it will aspire authors and assist them in multi-level writing methods of tracking characters, scenes, and locations. As the professional writers will appreciate StoryMill’s time-saving ability to oversee and manage the full creative process with Smart Views.

Jer’s Novel Writer

This program is made to fit a certain way to write. It is made to assist you overcome your shortcomings. So the software offer you to be a better writer, and hoping it will help you too.

This program is all about momentum, and reducing the number of things that break the flow when you write. Jer’s Novel Writer is designed to help you keep writing when the creative juices are flowing, and then find all the things you need to go over again when you are more in a nitty-gritty mood.

Both StoryMill and Jer’sNovel Writer have a solid set of word processing tools, including Spell checking and a full page view. Neither of them is as full-featured as Mellel or Word. But for the purposes of writing your Novel, they will get you out that starting gate.

StoryMill 3.0 starts from $49.95 and you have the opportunity to register for a try out period.

Jers Novel Writer is free. Both come with tutorials, and their special features can be learned in an hour.

Which is the better app for writing that novel? Its up to you and your story. Do you like to work from a recipe, with the ingredients all in a row? Then StoryMill is for you, letting you plan every chapter. Or do you like to throw in a dash of this, a dash of that, and write the recipe afterwards? Then Jer’s Novel Writer is for you.

My own preference is StoryMill since. I like to fire ahead and write, StoryMill lets you get on with it. The interface, with all the Database tabs, is like a comfy security blanket. Actors. Scenes. Action! If you are clear sighted enough to see beyond the novel to the movie adaptation, well, it is not a big leap from StoryMill’s structured approach to a movie script.

Both Novel Writer and StoryMill goes through the same elements and techniques in writing, though each does it in a different way.

StoryMill is for the writer who is less impulsive and more compulsive, who simply must have an outline and all the characters defined before putting down two words. Straight off, its Outline interface is there for you to create Actors, Scenes, and if you wish, other custom categories. This software is very handy for big stories with large casts. It even allows for start and end dates, for stories that may span years.

Jer’s Novel Writer is for the rocket launchers who just wants to burn rubber, and write the novel. There is a little work beforehand in the Project settings, where you structure your Novel into Books, Parts, or Chapters, or whatever hierarchy you wish, and set your Styles. Then you are off. Your database and outline are created on-the-go, with Control clicks, putting everything into a pop-out drawer to the right.

Ok, so I covered in detail two different types of noverl wrting software toolboxes. However there are others in the market and I give a brief overview of them below here.

There is a lot of good writing software out there for the Mac. Most of the programs linked to below are direct competition for Scrivener. I provide links because the writing process is different for everyone. Scrivener suits the way I write, and hopefully some others too, but if it doesn’t suit the way that you write, then you may want to check out some of the excellent software below to see if any of it fits the way you work.

WriteRoom is a dedicated full screen writing application for distraction-free writing. Imagine a better-looking TextEdit that can operate in a beautiful full screen mode. WriteRoom has deservedly caused quite a buzz among the Mac writing community for its simplicity, style and ability to help you concentrate on the text.

Ulysses, by Blue-Tec, was one of the first programs on the Mac to be aimed specifically at creative writers. It was also, to my knowledge, the first to offer a full-screen view for text-editing. It is a beautiful piece of software, though it only allows plain text editing and makes you use tags to define where you want italics to go, which never quite did it for me. The designers have a very strong design philosophy - if that philosophy matches the way you work, you will love this software; if not, you might find yourself frustrated at the lack of rich text and hierarchical organisation capabilities.

CopyWrite is perhaps the most popular creative writing software available for the Mac. As I understand it, CopyWrite has a similar gestation history to Scrivener: the author liked Ulysses but was frustrated by its limitations, so came up with his own writing management software. CopyWrite is rich-text and features full-screen editing and versioning. Personally, I find the the lack of hierarchical organisation limiting (there is only one level of categorisation), and I’ve always found it a little quirky in many ways, but plenty of people rave about it and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Storyist is the new kid on the block (along with Scrivener) of writing software. It’s a little like Jer’s (see above) but with a page layout view. It shows an outline on the left and your text on the right, and provides templates for character and location sheets. Specifically aimed at novel and story writing, as of 1.0 the import options are a little limited, but it looks like a promising application and is well worth a try.

PaperToolsPro has an interface that vaguely resembles that of Ulysses (see above), but it is mainly aimed at writers of research papers, dedicated to helping you assemble the paper whilst keeping track of references and avoiding plagiarism.

DevonThink is not so much writing software as a great database tool for your research, DevonThink is a very powerful organisational tool and does provide basic text-editing capabilities.

OmniOutliner is probably the most powerful - and certainly the most popular - outlining tool available for the Mac. It’s so good, that the basic version comes free with most new Macs these days. OmniOutliner provided inspiration for the outlining capabilities of Scrivener.

WriteItNow was originally designed for the PC, so the interface isn’t quite as pretty as the other writing software mentioned here because it isn’t written in Cocoa. Nonetheless, it provides hierarchical organisation of your work and some powerful research tools, and is worth a look.

MacJournal is blogging software rather than creative writing software, although you could bend it to creative writing if you really wanted to. It is very powerful, very easy to use, and has a lovely tabbed interface. It has also provided some inspiration for the new Scrivener interface. Recommended..


- Stig Kristoffersen

Most people think writing a novel is just writing. I have lost count of the number of people who say “I want to write a novel” and think that they will just sit down, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and the whole thing will just unfold before them. I’ve read a few novels, they think, why can’t I write one?

If only it were that easy!

The process of writing any story is exactly that, a process. And whether you are tackling a novel, a short story, an essay or a non-fiction book, you need to begin by planning your story.

This is the most ignored stage in the writing process, and yet it is by far the most important. JK Rowling spent five years planning the Harry Potter novels. And that certainly paid off, didn’t it?

The key to writing any story well, is to find the story that only you can write. This story carries your own emotional truth, and as you progress through the story writing process, your character will take you on the journey of emotional growth just as they will your readers once it’s published.

The Deeper Character Journey

The deeper character journey is the most important aspect of any story. It is what your readers will remember and it is what makes the process of writing a story so worthwhile for the writer. Every time you take your character on a journey, you go on that journey yourself.

So how do we find that deeper character journey? Where do we begin?

We begin with this simple exercise:

Without thinking too much about it, finish this sentence:

? I am interested in writing a story where the main character discovers the importance of ………………

Write for 5 minutes, preferably in long hand, allowing whatever comes up to just flow onto the page.

When you have finished you will find that you have written a lot of different values into your answer. Values are universal qualities of human experience, either positive or negative. Take a few moments to divide these values into their positive and negative groups. You’ll find that a few similar ones in each group will stand out, so isolate these and then decide on the most important ones from each group.

Once you have done this you can now write your deeper character journey in one simple sentence.

? I am interested in writing a story about a character who goes from being….. to being…..

What is your character’s weakness?

Every character has a weakness - something they need to learn to have a better life. Your character’s weakness should now be pretty clear to you, as it is strongly connected to what they need to learn the importance of from the above exercise. With your character’s weakness in place, you can now begin to put them and their weakness under pressure and suddenly your story is off and running.

Predicament

Stephen King says he starts a story with a character in a predicament and watches them to see how they get out of it. So at the start of your story your main character must be in some sort of predicament or stuck in some way. The predicament your main character is in should be a symptom of their weakness. They are aware of their predicament, but they are not aware of their weakness.

For example, a character who needs to learn the importance of patience, is stuck underground on a broken down train. He becomes more and more exasperated and angry as the minutes tick by as he needs to be at an important meeting. As he’s underground his mobile phone has no signal, and he also can’t just jump off the train, as the doors are electronically sealed, and besides he’s underground so he can’t just wander off up the tracks in the dark.

So we know our character’s predicament will expose his weakness, which is impatience. The question for you to answer is, what does he do? How does he respond? What choice does he make? And he will make that choice based on his personal values.

Values in Conflict

Conflict lies at the heart of all powerful stories. It is a well worn adage in story writing that nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict.

But a good story also isn’t just a sequence of random conflicts, things that happen with no apparent pattern or meaning. It is a series of events, putting your character(s) under more and more pressure, forcing them to respond. This then shows us their true character.

Values underlie our choices, our decisions, and in storytelling they drive the story through the characters being forced to make difficult decisions where their values are challenged. A value is a belief system based on what is important to the individual. A value represents something in your character’s life that they are willing to fight for. So if you have a married woman who is attracted to another man, her choice of whether to go with the other man or stay with her husband will be based on the values of romance versus fidelity or loyalty.

Once you have nailed the values underlying your character’s choices, you will have connected strongly with your character’s deeper journey. This in turn connects you to your readers, who will recognise similar conflicts in their own lives.

And you also have the essence of the story that only you can write.


- Suzanne Harrison