A POEM

FORGOTTEN 

January is the time

when the world is like a rhyme.

Confusing and sour, in its prime

Finally, in the end, it’s as sweet as  lime.

But it does not feel like it

I can tell from my feet. 

Because, I feel very lost

Like particles of dust.

I think I’ve been forced,

Like someone cursed.

To forget all,

That I could recall.

I have tried

And cried

But my mind

Still comes to a bind.

However I have hope

And a zeal to cope

Because by December,

I will remember.

All I have lost

ALMOST . . .THERE

LANDED THE 70K MARK

Yay! At 73, 429 words. Can’t believe it’ll all be over soon. Do you know that I can’t see the SINE COS 

I got blind by a TAN. Unbelievable pun, ain’t it. Something my bro conjured in his sleep. Guy’s a genius! 

OMG, I’m losing it!! What does this have to do with my book? I need to get some sleep, Been up for 

almost eighteen hours.

AS TOUGH AS NAILS

 I’m getting tired. I feel like I’ve lost it but I cannot give up now because I am almost there. 

It pays to be tough . . AS TOUGH AS NAILS.  

I’ve been writing like crazy for some months now and I feel like I have lost track of time. 

I’m gunning for 100k words but I have barely crossed half of it. Sometimes, I wish I could

 just end it all there but I have to be AS TOUGH AS NAILS. Because I know the sense of 

accomplishment I would feel in the end would be nothing compared to the damned writer’s block 

I’m having. 

I haven't blogged in a while. This novel is taking  a whole lot of my time.

Gosh, I need to take a walk.

HOW TO KILL OFF YOUR WRITER - By Writer's relief staff:

This is just some stuff I got from Writer's relief. It's got loads of info. I really dig it and i hope you do to



When you’ve reached that point in your story or novel where your main character dies—whether it’s from a disease, fatal accident, murder, or other creative cause—it’s important to handle the death in a way that your readers don’t want to turn away. It’s natural for readers to create an attachment to the central character, and saying good-bye is a hardship we all share. To make the death of your main character a little easier to bear, the following are points of advice to consider when crossing this difficult literary hurdle.

Keep it real.
An unrealistic death may be hard for the reader to understand. Readers will expect a solid reason behind the death of the character they have bonded with, so death from…a stubbed toe…may anger them. Make sure your reasoning for killing the character is plot-driven and not writer’s block-driven. Most readers will be able to tell if this was a thought-out decision or a mode to rush your way to the ending.
On the flipside: Unless your character has superpowers that the reader already knows about, a normal human can’t survive unreasonable circumstances. Explosions, accidents, ferocious animal encounters, alien invasions: Keep in mind what is plausible for him/her to survive.

Give the reader time to mourn.
If the death of your main character is sudden, give the reader time to absorb and react to what happened. You don’t want to kill him/her off and then move on as if nothing happened, or your readers might feel offended by the lack of dignity given to his/her passing.
Sometimes, it’s effective to not truly kill off your main character, but to lead your audience to believe he/she is dead, or even to bring him/her back in a revival. But consider the following before you decide to throw in a twist of that nature:


Make sure you have reasonable motive behind your main character’s revival.
Not every character is intended to return from the dead, so don’t use recovery lightly. If you reverse the death of your main character, it should be vital to the plot of the story, not because you are afraid to stick to your instincts. And if you decide to “trick” your audience by alluding to the main character’s death, rather than stating or showing that he or she is dead, make sure you have a good reason. If you cause your readers grief or worry over the perceived death for shock value alone, you might have an angry audience on your hands.
Essentially, you need to consider the feelings and emotions of your reader. Think about how people act toward the idea of death in real life, and incorporate that same sentiment in your writing. After all, readers easily regard main characters as if they are real people they care about and know. At the end of the day, you know what’s best for your plot and characters; after all, you created them! However, you want to think of the reader, and by doing this, hopefully, when your main character dies you won’t end up as “dead meat” with your audience.

For more from Writer's Relief, click here!

WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

READING: A MILESTONE IN WRITING

There are no skills that are more essential to your success as a writer than reading skills. A good reader will always make a better writer.Besides as a writer, you would want to know how readers judge your work, and that can be done by proper mastery of a few reading skills and strategies. Look at what some of the famous writers have to say about the reading-writing connection.

        'Nobody but a reader ever became a writer'
                                                          -Richard Pecks
        'Easy reading is damn hard writing
                                                       -Nathaniel Hawthorne
        'One sure window into a person's soul is his reading list'
                                                      -Mary B. W. Tabor
Clearly, you can see from these quotes that the intimate connection between reading and writing is something of mighty significance. Your reading skills could always be developed and channeled into a wonderful writing career.
    Throughout your life, you will read a wide variety of materials ranging from textbooks to newspapers to electronic mails to novels to traffic signs on the road and even e-mails as well. Therefore, it is important for you to be able to read all these materials with a high level of comprehension and retention.  As a writer, you'd be reading for many reasons most importantly gathering resources for writing your book. So, learning to  become an effective and efficient reader is not an option.  You must do it!
       The way in which you can approach reading varies widely, depending on the nature of the piece of reading. For example, an article about entertainment, say, "the top 5 rap songs on Billboard" would require a very light and less critical approach compared to a persuausive article on "The perks of  a military government" which would need complete analysis and evaluation to point out the validity and bias in the central idea and determine the quality of the information conveyed.
       However, the strategies I outlined below can be applied to almost any materials or resources you come across. These strategies are much more than just the famous 'SQ4R' or the 3 S's (survey, skimming, scanning). They entail a detailed approach to critically analysing and evaluating any random piece of writing with techniques that are qiuite easy to practice.
     Sit tight, then, ladies and gents.  Let's go for a long ride!!!

THE OUTLINING STRATEGY

An outline is a list of ideas organized in a structured pattern. The ideas are arranged according to the central idea, major details and the supporting details. Outline are excellent tools to evaluate the strength of the evidence and the writer's credibility. By checking to see that a writer is thorough in supporting his central ideas with major details such as facts and  supporting details like examples and statistics, you can determine if the writer has expertise or has done a thorough research on the subject.
    Make an outline as you keep track of important information and ideas.

Tips to writing a neat outline

• Use Roman numerals for main ideas. Use capital letters for major details. Us e arabic numbers for supporting details.
• Use indentation to indicate importance. Main ideas should begin at the left. Items begin farther to the right as they become less important.
• Never place a single item under any main idea. Always place two or more items or none at all.

The example above illustrates a formal outline on a descriptive essay 'The place I like the most'  .
   You could try this, no kidding! Just pick a textbook, and using a chapter make an outline of a section giving your outline at least two main details. Then test the effectiveness of your outline by sharing it with a friend who has not read the chapter. See if the schoolmate can answer the chapter reviews using the outline. But if this is not the case, then you might have left out a few important details of the outline.


Graph outlining
 Outlining with the use of graph organizers are effective as they can always help identify the relationship between details. The cluster diagram is the appropriate graph organizer for outlining key details. Begin by writing your central idea in the center of a sheet of paper. Circle that topic, then, write down any sub-topics and draw circles around them, making the circles large enough to add supporting detail. Link the related ideas with the central idea using lines and writing down their relationships. Also list the supporting detail.

THE EVALUATING PROCESS

• Establish a purpose for reading: Before you begin, establish a purpose for reading to focus your thoughts. Your purpose could be affected by the nature of the draft. So you could be reading for enjoyment, to enjoy the exotic settings of a novel, or learn lessons to apply in your daily life.
•  Let out that curiosity in you. be inquisitive about every information in the article. As you read, ask questions? When are the events taking place, what are the consequences of these events? Look for answers as you walk your way through the piece.Base your predictions with what you know about the characters and settings as well as on clues the author provides
• Make Personal connections: You will increase your understanding and enjoyment if you connect the characters and the events to your own experiences. Compare your similar experiences with the events. Consider what you would do and how you would feel if you were in the same situation as a character. This way, you get to understand the characters better, knowing how they feel, and be able to predict their next move.

ANALYZING

•   Try to understand the meaning behind events and character's actions. Isabel Allende, a famous author, said "I don' think of literature as an end in itself. It's just a way of communicating something. That 'something', be it a theme or a central message of life could be communicated indirectly. So, in order to fully grasp the real message, you have to do a bit of analysis. Envisioning the setting and the action by using details of the story to create pictures in your mind could help bring the message of each scene to light. 

• Identify the Author's purpose: To analyse critically, you must also determine why the material was written. Is he trying to inform, persuade or simply entertain you. Let's look at these bestsellers:

 

1.  Persuasive: I don't know about you guys, but the Da Vinci Code is one evil monster. Dan Brown's extensive research technique and very persuasive style of writing   almost kept me apart from my faith.
2.  Instructive: Well, the four hour work week pretty much instructs its readers on a number of things ranging from health tips to money making strategies
3.  Entertaining: Surely, anyone who has read Thanks to Jennings by Anthony Buckeridge wouldn't agree more-The man does have a mighty sense of humor.

• Judge the Author's work: When you read many works by the same writer. try to draw some overall conclusions about the quality of his works. Here are some tips to help you know a good write-up from a bad one.

 

1.  Use of Language and expression: Learning to analyse the various ways in which words are used is an important part of becoming a critical reader. As you read, you must be sensitive to the author's tone or attitude towards the topic. Tone can be expressed using words with connotative or implied meaning that differ from the denotative or literal meaning.For example:

                              Denotation: Jacob walked quickly up to the stranger
                              Connotation: Jacob walked confidently up to the stranger.
                     Also, check that he used other figures of speech in the appropriate manner. 


               
    2. Word choice: The word choice of a writer must suit his purpose and must his works must also show
        a  good control of vocabulary.
               
     3. Grammar:  Correct usage of grammar and keeping to the rules of conventions and concord.


RESPONDING

Think about how the characters make you feel and explore the associations that they bring to mind. When you're done reading, take some time to see if the author succeeded in evoking any feeling out of you. You can always reflect on the work and consider what it means to you. If you like it, what will stop you from getting more?

DRAWING INFERENCES:

  Writers don't always tell you everything directly. Sometimes you have to make inferences or make conclusions by considering the underlying meaning of details that the writer includes or doesn't include. Pattersons re a perfect example. They leave you in a situation where you get puzzled and you take a while to deduce what happened in the last two pages, especially the Women's murder club series.


READING FROM VARIED SOURCES: This makes you dynamic in every way and open to any field of literature. Ranging from poems, to memos, newspapers, written speeches, internet resources . . .[ the list never gets old.]. Read, read, read!!!
     But a note of advice: Do not treat information from any of these sources any differently from literary works in terms of critical analysis and evaluation especially resources from research on the internet. Use the same reading strategies presented in this post.

REFLECTING

After about some time, probably a week of applying these reading skills and strategies for almost any type of work, think about the experience of using them. Did they change anything about your reading pattern. Jot down these experiences, and compare them with those of a regular friend. If you notice a big positive difference, I've got two words for you, "Don't stop". If there are still flaws, never give up hope. Go through the strategies as many times as possible until you are near perfect.
      Also, to get better at critical thinking, you could always look at published criticisms of literary works to see how these professional critics do it. That's a sure bet as any.
 Sorry, but it had to come to an end.

Was this post helpful? 
Comments are highly appreciated

RESEARCH WRITING: THE INTERNET

WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

The internet is a series of global networks that are interconnected with one another. A network is an avenue for sharing files between individuals and networks alike. The internet grants users access to information stored in these networks.
       Dr. Barnes lee is the founder of the internet. He wrote a program that could allow pages to be linked together using keywords and it was mostly 'text' until 1992, when NCSA ( National Centre for Supercomputing Applications), computer program that was created by scientists at the University of Illinois came into play. The program was the first web browser.
       The development of web browsers greatly eased  the ability of thew users to navigate through all the pages stored on the web. Sooner, the appearance of the web was altered as well. More appealing multimedia (video, slideshow presentations) were added, and sound implemented. This change made the web more user friendly and more appealing to the general public.



USING THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH

Keyword search
     Prior to beginning a search, you should identify your specific topic. To make your searching easier, narrow your subject to a keyword or a group of keywords. These are your search terms and they should be specific as possible. For example if you are looking for the latest film-show guide of a cinema, then the name of the cinema would be your keyword. However, if you were to enter the name of the cinema in the query box of the search engine, the SERP might present more than a thousand links about the cinema that is not related to your needs. You might see extraneous links like their history, fan reviews, news concerning them and the lots with related names containing information that is not related to your search.
      Because you used such a broad keyword, you might need to navigate through all that information before you find a link or a subheading for the film-show guide. In contrast, if you were to type in the 'film-show guide' and [name of cinema], you would have a better chance of locating pages with this information. Although don't go to detailed. Otherwise you'd be met with 'no search result found'  

SEARCH RESULT PAGE SHOWING GENERALIZED SEARCH(SILVERBIRD)

                                       SEARCH RESULT PAGE SHOWING SPECIFIC SEARCH                                                                           (FILM-SHOW GUIDE AND SILVERBIRD CINEMA)                          

How to narrow your search
 In a situation where you have a large group of words and still don't know which ones to use, write out all the list of words you are considering. Once you have completed the list, scrutinize it. Then delete the words that are least important to your search. and highlight those that are most important.
  Note the importance of these key search connectors as they could help you fine tune your search      
           AND: narows a search by retrieving documents that include both terms. For example: film-show    
                     guide and Silverbird cinema.
           OR: broadens a search by retrieving documents including any of the terms. For example: Denim
                  jackets or Blazers.
          NOT: narrows a search by excluding documents containing certain keyword. For example Baseball
                    not history off.


Tips for an effective search

• Keep in mind that search engines can be case-sensitive. If your first attempt at searching fails, check your search terms for misspellings and try again
•  When you want to present a group of keywords, present them in order form the most important to the least important keyword
• Avoid opening the link to every single page on your result list. Search engines present pages in descending order of relevancy (not always, but most of the time). To avoid wasting your time, read the descriptions of each link before opening the page although the most useful pages as decided by the search engine will be located at the top of the list.
• When using some search engines, you can find helpful tips for specializing your search. Take the opportunity to learn more about effective searching.

ALTERNATIVE SEARCH METHODS
   Online reference sites
      Your  search should be specific to what you are looking for. If you are hoping to find data and facts, use reference sites before you jump onto a simple search engine. You can find reference sites to provide definition of words, statistics about almost any subject, biographies, maps and concise information on many topics. Online libraries(i.e. Questia), online periodicals and encyclopedia (Wikipedia) constitute reference sites. Most of these reference sources could be found through conducting subject searches which will be treated next.

Conducting subject searches
 As you consider to go online,consider your subject and the best way to fin information to suit your needs. I f you are looking for general information on a topic and you want your search results to be extensive, consider the subject search indexes on most search engines. These indexes, in a category and subject list layout, often appear on the SERPs of most search engines. When you click on a specific highlighted word, you will be presented with a new screen containing subcategories of the topic you choose.


EVALUATING THE READABILITY OF INTERNET RESOURCES
This is no different than evaluating the quality and bias of any other physical research material you come across. Always check the validity and the main source of the information you find online.

 Tips for evaluating internet resources:

• Consider who constructed and now manages the web page. Check to see if this author is a reputable source. Often, the URL endings indicate a source: .

                         .edu indicates educational instittutions,
                         .gov indicates government agencies,
                        .org indicates nonprofit organizations and agencies while
                        .com indicates commercial or individual

• Skim the official and trademarked web pages first. It is safe to assume that the information you draw from Web pages of reputable institutions, on-line encyclopedias, online version of many daily newspapers, or government-owned sites provide information as reliable as print resources. On the other hand, individual-owned sites tend to borrow information from other sites(Like I do, truth be told but I always cite my source: 'Referencing 101') without providing documentation.

• When looking at individual sites and other 'less official' sites, check for the writer's credentials and consider these factors

1. Do not let colorful graphics and presentations fool you
2. Make sure information on the web page is currently updated enough to suit your needs. Many web pages indicate how recently they have been updated
3. If it has been borrowed with documentation, check to see if you can find the real source of the information.

COPYRIGHT
Finally, Just like books in prints, Text, photographs, music and fine art printed online may not be reproduced without acknowledged permission of the copyright owner. 
        
Update: For list of glossary terms visit http://www.pc.net/glosssary/ They'll come in handy.

How do you see this post? Speak your mind in the comment box and explore other thrilling posts!!

Teddy Gaynes

 
  

THE WRITING PROCESS- (A KINGSOFT PRESENTATION)

WHAT'S YOUR INSPIRATION?

My dog and I -2005

Just wanted to share this with you guys. His name is Berlin - my inspiration to start writing. The first book I wrote was about maltreated dogs although I changed my mind about publishing it. Still the manuscripts are with me

What's your own inspiration? Discovering your writing inspiration fuels you to keep on no matter what.

HOW TO WORK THE WRITING DRAFT

                                     

As you draft your narrative, keep your central idea in mind and shape the story around it. You may want to use a plot diagram to plan the events leading up to and following the climax of your plot.

MAKING A PLOT DIAGRAM

A plot usually contains the following elements:

 Exposition: The characters and settings are introduced as is the central idea -the struggle between characters or the characters and some unseen force.

Rising action: Also called the suspense  the tension builds as the central idea slowly comes to light.

Climax: High point of interest in the story, during which one of the forces win  and the idea is resolved.

Falling action: The event that immediately follows the climax.


Denouement:  This is where loose ends are tied up

THE PLOT SKELETON:

Just so you know, this is the universal plot outline used generally in all the genres of literature around the world. Although this pattern might look cliche but it works and it's known to have consistently evoked emotion in the readers. Bear in mind, that this is just the 'skeleton' of the whole artwork. It's left for you to add flesh around it and make it look lively. That depends on the characters, the resolution, the theme and so much more.
     This is an example of a story using this plot diagram.

• Exposition: Ted's parents go away, leaving him alone in the house for the first time

• Rising action: Ted watches some horror movies and then hears a noise. Scared to the bones, he decides to check the basement door. Mysteriously, he gets locked in the basement.

• Climax: Ted's parents arrive home just as Ted panics.

• Falling action: Ted explains to his parents why he was in the basement

• Denouement: Ted realizes that he has learned an important lesson about himself

Using this skeleton as your pivot, get your central idea, and shape a nice story around it.

(P.S: I think that story about Ted would have been me. . . LOL)

IMPROVING YOUR WRITING DIALOGUE

                           

Dialogue in writing is usually used to develop and reveal characters and as well evoke some sort of emotion form the reader. Dialogue is the exact words your characters say aloud or think to themselves. Through dialogue, you show rather than tell readers about the characters in your story by conveying the traits and attribute of that particular character effectively. As you proceed, look for chances to use dialogues rather than descriptions.


TELLING BY DESCRIPTION:
    John caught sight of Harry and greeted him with enthusiasm in the hallway. Harry, feeling totally embarrassed, tried to avoid his friend but he had no choice.

SHOWING BY DIALOGUE
  "Hey, chap! Good to see you!" yelled John, catching site of Harry in the hallway
  "Yeah" Harry said weakly "Good to see you too"
"What luck running into you here and all"
"Yeah, luck . . . huh"

From the above example, you can see that Dialogue provides elaboration much more. You get to understand the traits of each character a lot better.

•    Note that also, when drafting your story avoid always having your narrator explain explain what happens next. The dialogue could do a good job in revealing further plot events.

       DESCRIPTION OF PLOT                                              PLOT REVEALED BY DIALOGUE
        Jane was very angry with her mother                               "Mom! How could you forget? I keep
       for forgetting to take her to the cinema.                              reminding you everyday to take me
       Besides, her mother promised her about two                     to the cinema. And you just keep 
       weeks ago. Now, she just wanted to cry                           letting me down! I could just cry"

• Do net let your dialogues be predictable. Otherwise, the whole thing could turn out to be a bit of a bore.

        "I'm glad you love me" Sam said, with passion in his voice.
         "Me too" said Jane, " I love you, Sam" 

•     Rather make it look like it's the character's speaking:

                     
     "Gosh, I like that you love me" Sam said with passion in his voice.
      "I like that you like that I love you" Janet said amusingly.
      "Whoa! you just got me confused there, lady" Sam giggled and Jane joined up.
                        
                 

• Be realistic! Make the dialogue seem humanly possible.Go natural. Do not go about bringing archaic up and big words which you do not know their meaning. It will look ambitious and fake. Unless you want to end up sounding like Shakespare, avoid big words in dialogues:                                                                                                                           "The day has proven to be a callous one, hereof. That post was ostentatiously taken from me when that lackadaisical brat showed up. What a megalomaniac!"                                            

•  Don't forget, your ultimate goal is to make your reader feel something. So, no matter what you do, or how you do it, do not deviate from the plan.

CHECK THIS OUT!

'HOW DO I WRITE A BOOK?' Not my best of videos regarding this topic but it's worth seeing. Author of She takes on the world, Natalie Macneil, talks about her experience on writing and also offers some guide to writing your own book. It's definitely a must see for writers that have their work in the 'thought' stage and in the 'publishing' stage as well. Don't miss this!

Teddy Gaynes

THE WRITING VOICE

                            
First off, the writing voice is a writer's persona. It's the unique tool of a writer that tells all about his style, diction, expression, and language use. It's what makes him stand out from the literary crowd. Without the writing voice, a writer cannot be identified. Say, you pick a random book and begin reading a part of it and it strikes you that you've read a piece so much similar to this: the same theme, style, language of expression and the lot. That's the writing voice.
  Make no mistake. A writing voice is quite different from the real voice and does not truly display the true nature of the writer. Hence it is elusive in nature. It doesn't exist and so do the characters, just like a euphoria.   
     Finding your writing voice is a milestone in the writing journey, a very significant one, and it takes a great deal of struggle to do this. With your own voice, you get to decide how to bring the characters to live and interact with one another.After you've found your voice, make sure to develop it with time, something that most writers never do. It helps unlock your creative potential which will go a long way to determining your success in the literary world.Your ideal voice helps you gain confidence. Taking braver steps and perfecting your skills over time. You could still vary your expressions a little going a little over the top but in a controlled manner. Finding your voice takes a lot of struggle. You have to go through lots of phases to do that. You don't need to force it at all. It comes with time. 
   Also, maybe you'd be thinking that you'd never find that voice because you keep on 'remixing' a part of other 'heard' authors' voices. That's cool! Besides if it weren't for them, you wouldn't have gotten inspired in the first place. So, taking out a page out of your mentor's playbook is not a crime. It helps mold you up into a brilliant writer until you find your own unique  voice.  Now that you know what a writing voice is, you'd be probably be asking 'how the hell do I find it?'. Well, there are a number of ways to do just that but i will just focus on the obvious:
     Always be confident and authentic. Never be to afraid to try out a different style to check if it suits you. Try defining your personality in various ways. For example: if you were a drink, which will you be? The soft and stinging type, or the  harsh type?
  Sometimes to find your voice, you just have to keep on shouting to hear it. By shouting, I mean, keep writing articles consistently till you figure out what you really like about those articles you write. Go through them just before you edit and ask yourself or your friends 'what are the qualities of these articles that define me?'
    Do exercise a little patience. And of course, hope for the best and expect the worst.

To know more about finding your writing voice, visit this site

Teddy Gaynes    

HOW TO NOT LOOSE INTEREST WHILE WRITING A NOVEL

 You've just gone half-way writing that 70,000-word Sci-fi novel and you begin to feel nauseous about the characters, the plots, the theme, everything! Going back to finish the task up now becomes a really big herculean task for you.
       Don't fret now. It's a normal trend among writers especially the big guns in the literary world. Stephen King, for instance, had dumped the incomplete manuscripts of his first novel,Carrie in his trash can after loosing interest in writing it until his wife, Tabitha, had gingered him to write it again. Then, a $400,000 contract followed up after it was finally published in 1974.
     So, clearly, you're still on track to making the bestseller author list. There could be a lot of reasons for loosing interest. You just have to identify the problem and search frantically for its solution to enable you round off that future best seller of yours.   
     Here are a list of the major problems causing lack of interest in most future writers and their solutions (Not all of the problems are exhausted in this article):

NOT YOUR NICHE
  
First off, If you're in it just for the money, then, trust me, there are other less time-consuming ways of earning money. Some people are into the romance genre only because books in this category tend to be in higher demand compared to fiction or other genres. If Romance ain't your thing, I suggest you quit, because it will only be a matter of time before the task wears and breaks you.
      Discover your passion and keep on writing on it since you tend to express yourself more when it comes to your specialty.


THOSE NEW IDEAS. EH?

 At a point, you run out of ideas and then some days later, totally different ideas keep streaming into your brain. Then you decide to dump the first draft and go for a companion draft.
      New ideas are highly welcome most of the time, but sometimes, they could be redundant. The way to avoid is is to draw out what i call a 'vomit' draft before you start. This is where you pour out all your ideas on the subject you're writing about. Then sieve and organize them in your working draft which you will always refer to while writing. Then if new ideas come up, you could always cross-reference them with the 'vomit draft' and see where they fit in. If not, discard! But, be careful when making choices about new ideas for they seem to be tough decisions to make.


LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS

If you've totally hated your draft, then you could learn to love the characters. Then, by so doing, you could pick up interest again. Imagine the whole plot happening in real time. Talk to your characters as you would a close friend. Find out more about them, something you hadn't known. You could get a book and record the bio of each important character. Also, make the characters interact with themselves. Feel the story revolving around you. Maybe, you could give yourself  different roles and right down your feelings about each. In just a matter of time, you'll come around (This usually works for me. It's what keeps me going)



ENGAGE IN OTHER STUFF!

Don't be too into it. Writing 2-3 hours is okay for starters. Then, with time you could increase the number of hours you spend writing. It varies for everyone. So, you have to know what works for you, and stick to it well enough. Once you overstep, the whole process could get really boring and messy. When you're not writing, get enough relaxation. You could even pick other books to read to improve your writing skills.


NEVER LACK INFORMATION

Stories exist because of availability of information. Make wide researches and read enough articles about the subject you want to write on. Having a whole lot of information at your disposal makes the process a whole lot easier and interesting. Even though it seems stressful, im the end, it always pays off. An example of an extensive researcher cum writer is Dan Brown. He went to the extent of having an audience with the pope before writing Angels and Demons.

Did you like this article?

There are many more where this came from. You just have to stay through the ride to reap the benefits!

Teddy Gaynes

NICHE-WRITING

                                                 

                                                    DISCOVERING YOUR WRITING

There are a lot of different niches where a writer can belong to. See the full list of writing niches here. And discovering your writing niche in  the literary world is very necessary. It's like the 'operating system' in a computer. Your niche drives you to piece specific niche-related ideas together. A different niche, a different idea. For example, in the horror genre, you'll be all about gathering heightened suspense ideas, moving a bit slow-paced with it,  yet organize  them in short and sharp manners. The number of words, chapters, and other qualities depends on the niche you are writing as well.
     Knowing what niche you're supposed to write could be difficult sometimes. You've just got to know and understand yourself a lot. What type of books do you really have a penchant for? horror, mystery, non-fiction? What type of films or stories interest you? drama, or religion? Just ask yourself more personal questions and when you'd get to know yourself a bit, then finding your place i the literary world wouldn't be as difficult as it seems.
   Left for me, I'd say, writing multiple genres is not a bad idea. You've got to take chances at least once in a life time. In this way, you get to discover the niche you are most comfortable with. Hey, don't get me wrong! Once you notice you are definitely not up for that side of the world, QUIT pal.     
   Don't do it because most bestsellers emerge from that literary genre when you know nothing about the genre. Trust me, your fumbling will no know bounds. As a local author, I understood that perfectly well. Romance wasn't really my thing and I went into it for a year and the results were .... well, that's a subject for another day.
   Even though, you got a lot of ideas in scattered genres, pick the one that suits you most. Develop in that area, and you'll come out a 'daddy' in your niche. Ain't nothing better than being the king of your own home.
John Grisham, a well renowned legal-niche writer is very loved by his readers. He never deviates from his genres and as such, his readers always know what to expect of him. 
Nevertheless, some renowned authors have the ability to support more than two niches. That's nice, very nice, if you're gifted like on of those authors. It gives you an edge over others.                                      
  Knowing your niche could take years. It's a slow and unconscious process just like 'growth'. You could always tell judging from your numerous manuscripts and your favorite authors.
   So, Just think creative and find your writing niche.
Mine is twisted horror (the dark is a nice place to be) and I could really do well at mystery and thrillers.

Don't forget to subscribe to get more of these within your reach without having to visit this site everyday.

Teddy Gaynes
 

WRITING THE KILLER FIRST CHAPTER

                               

If you're reading this post, probably you've chosen the topic to write on while considering your audience and your purpose. Possibly, you've drawn out your working draft as well and you are yet to begin the first mind-blowing chapter of yours.
   Just so you know, first impression matters. Word!, even though its the most cliche of al things cliche. Having a mighty good start means a great deal in the literary world. If you start off in a wobbly manner, boy, it'll take decades before you get back up from the large ditch.
   Here, your objective is to create a stinging impression on the writer. Make him feel a sharp, glowing interest after going through the very first page of the book that will keep him glued through the first chapter, the second and the whole book till the end.  Let's shoot!


FOCUS MOST OF YOUR WRITER ENERGY ON THE FIRST CHAPTER
Spend a lot of time piecing the ideas for the first chapter together. Without brilliant ideas, there can't be any brilliant story.Dedicate about 3-5 hours a day working on it. Do take your time, though. Think a while before you put down the next two lines.


THE REVISION STRATEGY
Take about a third of  the total time allotted for writing in a day to go through the draft over and over again, proofreading and editing  till they fit n perfectly to your taste. You can go as many as 11 times. Just make sure you are making progress every time you edit it. You could also ask for professional help if you feel you can't do it yourself.

THE MORE DETAILED, THE BETTER
Make the first chapter much more detailed than ever compared to the other chapters. This will keep the reader conscious and 'alive' throughout the journey as the reader paints a vivid picture of the characters and plots in his sub-conscious using the given details in the book.To enable him understand the characters more from an introductory point of view, a clearer picture is needed and that means more detailed information. Also, keep dialogues to a minimum for now as what the reader would mostly rely on for the first stage isn't the communication but the detailed narration.

LET IT FLOW
 Let every paragraph in the first chapter flow into each other, using transitions and other grammatical tools. The ideas in the first chapter should have a very deep connection to the second. This will create a lasting impression as the reader gets hooked from the very beginning, to the next till he finishes the very last page.

You can see contemporary works of great authors like Stephen King and Grisham and imitate them in a mature way.

View this blog theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/ for articles related to this post

Was this helpful?

Please do leave your comments on the box below so that I can serve you better

Teddy Gaynes