Fuel Your Writing

Are You Ready to Write a Novel in Three Days?

2010-07-26T17:57:07Z

Whoa.

I say that because I can’t believe a year has passed since I failed to write a novel in three days. You might be thinking, “Dave, that’s hardly a failure.” Mostly, I say it because I remember just how exhausted I was when the clock finally ran out.

The Three-Day Novel Contest is an annual writing contest held on Labor Day weekend. It challenges writers of all sorts to finish a full-fledged novel during the three-day holiday weekend.

I didn’t complete or submit a full novel, but I treasure the experience, and the writing I began that weekend has turned into something I continue to tinker with today. During this harrowing experience, I drank a lot of coffee, thought about the strange characters I cooked up at warp speed and actually wrote more than I had in a long time.

So even though I failed in a sense, I had a blast, and took a lot away from the attempt. You may have heard of NaNoWriMo, where writers have the opportunity to pen a novel in a month. That’s fun and all, but you can think of the three-day contest as NaNoWriMo on steroids.

Resources for Success

I’m telling you that not to scare you, but to help prepare you. It’s more than a month away, so you have plenty of time to plan for success. Here’s some resources to help:

Last year, one of our own writers, Laura Roberts, wrote about her attempt. Give it a read; it will help you.
The contest has a nice survival guide set up for you.
The contest cost $50.
The winner gets published!
You still have time to give some of the past winners a read for inspiration and guidance.

As for me, I still don’t know if I’ll enter this year. If I can clear out that weekend, I’ll give it a go because my past effort was one of the more rewarding writing experiences I’ve had.

If you have any more resources to add, please let us know in the comments.

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Are You Ready to Write a Novel in Three Days?

The Big, Dirty Secret about Blogging

2010-07-23T15:53:42Z

You can’t do it alone.

I know, I know. Writers are solitary animals by nature, the kind who demand a little alone time to kickstart the creative process. I like solitude. You like solitude. But listen up, my fellow lone wolves: successful blogging warrants a different skill set. Sure, you’ll still find yourself staring at a monitor any given hour of the week, but this new field of writing encourages a different approach.

You have to write, yes. But you also need to connect.

But don’t let that frighten you. Here’s the punch line: we’re already pretty darn decent at both!

Steps to Success

Ask high-profile bloggers how they made it to the top, and odds are you’ll start seeing a common response: they worked very hard for a very long time and spent most nights sobbing by the computer before they earned the first hundred subscribers. And then they did it again. And another time, and so on and so forth until they’d worked their way up to a nice pile of readers for all that incredible effort. It’s a long, sometimes tedious process, but these clever folk lessened the load like only true social butterflies can do: they talked to people.

Seems obvious, right? But the incredibly social nature of successful blogging doesn’t always click for someone installing Wordpress for the very first time. It didn’t hit me, certainly, until I got off my butt and realized there was some pretty telling trends on my Twitter feed. (Quick tip: stalk every single blogger in your niche!)

See, bloggers talk to each other. They comment on each others’ posts, write funny little emails back and forth on weekends, and just love to tweet about that great new article so-and-so put up on her blog. They read each other, essentially, and the network blossoms into something wonderful and financially viable from there. And when they really get friendly? They exchange posts, often leading to big audience boosts and many celebratory tweets all around.

Call it a game, if you want, but remember this: it’s probably the most important game of your blogging career, and you just so happen to be in great position to play it!

Work Your Words

Ideally, folks, you’d write the best damn post of your life, publish it, and your blog would skyrocket from there. But that sparkly new site of yours is just a drop in a staggeringly large bucket, and you’re going to need some help to raise it to the next level.

Good thing you’re an accomplished writer, right?

Start writing. But take the words, this time, into lands far beyond your own realm. Write friendly emails to other bloggers in your niche and cultivate those friendships over the next months. Sign up for Twitter, if you haven’t already, and get cracking: retweet other bloggers’ comments, tweet about their latest posts, and strike up a conversation just often enough to not get annoying.

It works. In the last two weeks, I’ve chatted with a few high-profile bloggers in my niche, only to see one then leave a comment on one of my posts. That’s exciting stuff for a new blogger, and the exact kind of connection-building so crucial to gaining any headway in an internet already saturated with unique writers. And who knows? If I keep up the conversation, I might get to write a guest post for this popular blogger, inviting a big stream of readers right over to my site – proof, if nothing else, of how valuable social skills can be to the aspiring blogger.

You can’t do this alone, folks. But don’t let that get you down – you’re already well-equipped to rocket a blog to success, so long as you realize that some social support along the way will make all the difference in the world. Blogging isn’t a new game, but it is a different one, and honing your social skills right alongside your writing talent might just be the best ticket to success.

Has social networking changed your blogging for the better? What else do you do to push your blog to the top?

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The Big, Dirty Secret about Blogging

Slenderize Your Writing in Only Minutes a Day

2010-07-21T11:03:51Z

Most of us really don’t enjoy exercising that much; we just want to be skinny. It’s the same with writing… so much easier to bang out a thousand words on a blog when fifty would probably do. Elegant writing doesn’t just happen; it takes regular, concentrated effort. Here is an exercise you can do to make your writing leaner and more attractive.

The first time you do this one, it may be a challenge. Let’s get started…

Write a three-page essay on an easy topic, like what you did on your summer vacation, how to change the oil in your car, or anything with a fair amount of detail that you don’t have to research.
Rewrite your essay as one page, without leaving out a single idea. Don’t simply edit, start over.
Now write it up as one paragraph of 5 lines, without leaving out a single idea.
If you’re feeling ambitious, make it one sentence, without leaving out a single idea.

By now, you’re out of breath and sweating like crazy. When your heart stops racing, go back and read the first essay, then read the lone paragraph. Which one do you think people will be more likely to read?

The good news is that you don’t have to perform a major workout every time you sit down to write. Doing it once is usually painful enough that the memory of it causes you to think, “Is there a shorter way to say that?”

What did you write today? Spend a few minutes going back over it, taking out unnecessary words, thoughts redundant or irrelevant to the main point, anything that doesn’t absolutely have to be there. You’re on your way to scribal fitness.

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500 Words A Day: The Graham Greene Challenge

2010-07-12T16:08:56Z

If you’re anything like me, sometimes you find it helpful to know what other writers are doing to get words on the page. If you’re a little more like me, this curiosity has become more of an obsession. Maybe I’m just hitting an experimental phase in my writing journey. In any case, I hope it’s an experiment that others can benefit from as well.

Recently, I read that Graham Greene, author of “The End of an Affair”, tried to restrict his writing to only 500 words a day, a little less than two pages. Not even two pages a day? The task seemed…well, like a piece of cake. However, like anything too good to be true, there was a catch. Greene stopped at exactly 500 words. That means even if you were in the middle of a sentence you would have to stop, you couldn’t exceed, not even by one extra word. I wanted to give it a whirl nonetheless.

I attempted this with some novel material I’ve been working on. I was picking up mid-scene and was going to have to be uber-conscious of my word count. However, I ran into a problem right off the bat. The writing started off slow and my muse didn’t seem to want to play along. This experiment wasn’t going to work if I couldn’t even get to the 500 words. I took a break with total word count of 93 and started to read, a nifty technique I like to use to invigorate my creativity. Half an hour later and I was ready to go.

My second attempt was much more successful. I fell into my stride and was going strong when I noticed that my word count had reached 489. Eleven more words. That’s all I had left and I was on a roll. I silently cursed myself for choosing this lousy experiment in the first place before begrudgingly continuing with the task at hand. My last sentence looked like this:

The wash basin shattered upon impact, sending tiny shards of porcelain

I could have gone on. The thought was on the tip of my brain ready to tumble to my fingers and onto the page. I played fair though and stopped. I walked away and tried desperately not to forget what came next. As it turns out, I don’t think I could have forgotten it if I had tried because all I could think about was what came next and even what came after that. Mr. Greene was definitely on to something.

The following day, I found myself eager to return to the writing and the 500 words seemed like nothing. I used Graham Greene’s technique for a whole week and found it to be amazingly beneficial. Forcing yourself to stop before you feel you’re finished keeps you thinking about the story and when you’re thinking about your story, you can’t help but to keep pushing it forward even if it is only in your mind. Not only that, but I found myself scrutinizing more over word choice. What would be the best fit for that sentence? Is that really what I want to say?

I enjoyed this exercise because it forced me to slow down and really see my story, something I think is key to a good narrative. Also, 500 words really isn’t asking a lot, is it?

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500 Words A Day: The Graham Greene Challenge

5 Mistakes You Make When Writing A Blog Post

2010-07-09T10:23:06Z

Blogging is so common these days, everyone seems to want a piece of the action.

The problem is that newbies get the idea this blogging thing is a cinch–that you don’t need any particular skills, structure, or game plan to write for the internet.

It’s true to some extent; you can get your own domain and start up a blog with no experience whatsoever. However, creating a blog that people will want to read, and subscribe to, requires more than that.

There are limitless wrong turns one can make when writing a blog post, but here are 5 common mistakes and how to fix them:

1. You don’t know who your audience is.

Who reads your blog? Can you describe your average audience member? Do you know what they want out of life? Do you know what they’re searching for on your site? If you don’t know your audience, you won’t be focused on writing to meet their needs. And, if your blog doesn’t provide ongoing benefits for your readers, they won’t be around long.

2. You don’t bother to outline.

For all you pantsers out there, even outlining a blog post might go against your natural tendencies. But, I’ve found the best way to keep your article focused is to write the headline and subtitles first. These might change as you write, but they give you a sense of where you need to go. When I get a few great ideas for posts all at once, I write my headlines and tentative points, plus find a suitable photo first, and simply leave the outlines in my WordPress editor for later. Once my posts are outlined, they get written relatively quickly.

3. You skip the introduction and conclusion.

Just like you remember from your high school days, your writing needs an introduction and a conclusion to be effective. For example, my article would appear less-than-professional if I’d begun with my headline, then launched straight into the list, and ended abruptly with the 6th point. Many readers wouldn’t have bothered sticking around to find out what I have to say. Introductions and conclusions don’t have to be long, but you should write them every time.

4. You don’t use an effective photo.

Photos aren’t necessary for good content, but they help visually attract your readers and reinforce your point. A poor or amateurish photo can be just as bad as no photo at all, so if you’re going to choose one, choose wisely. Flickr has a huge directory of Creative Commons photos available for use with only the need to cite the owner. While it can be time consuming searching for photos and uploading them, it’s time well spent.

5. You omit keywords and meta descriptions.

When I first started blogging, I had no idea what the ‘keywords’ and ‘meta description’ boxes in my WordPress editor were for. It was only once I’d been writing for a couple of weeks that I discovered those little boxes were for important for helping people find and read my articles. SEO Logic says on their FAQ page:

Both the meta keywords tag and the meta description tag contribute to your search engine ranking, and the meta description tag influences the liklihood [sic] that a person will actually click on the search engine results page and visit your site.

If you’re not using these tags, you’re missing out on potential readers.

Tips for Writing Better Blog Posts

How can you make your blog posts beneficial, focused, and clear?

Define your audience before you launch your blog.
Write your headlines first and get in the habit of outlining your posts.
Always write an introduction and conclusion, even if they are short.
Choose visually appealing photos that match either the particular post or the overall themes of your blog.
Learn to identify keywords and write effective meta descriptions for each post.
Don’t try to make too many points in one post. Choose one and focus on it.
If you want your blog to be professional (as opposed to a diary-like venture) write your posts the same way you would write an article for a magazine.
Solve a reader’s problem or include a benefit in each of your posts.
Proofread your posts at least 24 hours after writing them. Fresh eyes catch more mistakes.
Ask for reader participation. End your post with questions or invitations for your audience to contribute through commenting.

Learn the guidelines of professional blogging, and you’ll soon find your posts more engaging, and your readership increasing.

What newbie mistakes did you make when you first started blogging? What bothers you the most in other blogs? What are your best tips for writing better blog posts?

Images courtesy of B Rosen, Steve Keys, SuziJane.

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5 Mistakes You Make When Writing A Blog Post

Description that Grabs You

2010-07-07T09:05:13Z

As an active bookmobile participant and Highlights fan from way back, I love to read. I especially love well-written copy that’s so specific and so revealing that you can almost touch, see, smell or hear what’s being described. Here are some recent favorites:

From Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge:

* It was as if marriage had been a long, heavy and complicated ordeal, and now there was this lovely and light dessert.

* Years later, the situation squeezed Olive so hard she felt like a package of vacuum-packed coffee.

* For the first time in years, Cliff thought about God, who seemed like a piggy bank that Harmon had stuck up on a shelf and had now brought down to look at with a new considering eye.

* The appetites of the body are private battles.

From Ron Hall and Denver Moore’s Same Kind of Different as Me:

* The surgeons filed in, looking grim, and I wondered bizarrely is they teach appropriate facial decorum in medical school.

* I could see through his eyes that little pieces of his heart was break off while we was standin there.

* He stood away from anyone – which did not surprise us since the others always treated him like a bad dog on a long chain.

* When all you doin is bringin in the Man’s cotton, ain’t nowhere you got to be at ‘cept where you at

And from Lynne Truss’ classic Eats, Shoots & Leaves:

* He saw commas as so many upturned office chairs unhelpfully hurled down the wide-open corridor of readability.

* Cruelty to punctuation is quite unlegislated: you can get away with pulling the legs off semicolons or shriveling question marks on the garden path under the powerful magnifying glass.

And the story that makes this last book’s title such a classic:

A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. “Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. “I’m a panda,” he says at the door. “Look it up.” The waiter turns to the relevant entry, and sure enough, finds an explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

What are some of your favorite well-worded descriptions? Please share yours, and why you like them, in the comments below.

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Description that Grabs You

Making Writing Easy: Practical Tools

2010-07-05T11:34:41Z

Writing, despite being an art and a creative endeavour, is most definitely a craft. Like any crafts, the skills and the rules needed to be able to construct successful, enjoyable writing are ones that must be practised and honed. By reading fiction we familiarise ourselves with the right (and wrong) ways that language can be used, by reading articles such as this we remind ourselves of the skills we need, and discover ways in which we can improve them, and by simply writing we can discover what works, and what doesn’t.

Making Things Easy

Like any craft, writing blog articles and stories isn’t just reliant on the core, hard skills that we learn, such as grammar, dialogue, structure, punctuation etc. It is also made easier when there is a raft of supporting structures put in place in order to make the process easier, or more enjoyable. I would like to share some of the practical, physical tools that can be used in order to make the writing process easier, by facilitating inspiration and creativity, and by aiding in the actual writing process.

We often think of creativity and inspiration as being opposite to the craft of our writing. The rules and skills, grammar and punctuation, are the craft, and the flashes of inspiration, the whimsical musings and the creative process are the art. However, we need to view the art and the craft as being together. By doing this, and by using practical tools to turn our creativity into actual writing, we can avoid getting lost in thoughts and ideas and actually get them down onto paper and turn them into stories and articles.

Capture Your Ideas

Sometimes we struggle for inspiration, and sometimes they just come to us, prompted by something unexpected. It’s true; we can find inspiration anywhere. The key to successfully creating something from this inspiration is to have the tools to hand to capture those ideas when they come to you. Get that idea out of your head and down on paper, then forget about it until you can come back to it later, write the story, or file it away for a future dry spell.

Scratchpad – I keep a A4 pad on my desk, next to my laptop. Any time something pops into my head (ideas for stories or blog posts, but also things I need to do, reminders for stuff, things I need to buy) I pick up a pen and write it quickly down on the paper, and continue what I was doing. At the end of the day, process these ideas.

Notepad/document - I prefer to use pen and paper, but I know a lot of people (especially those of us who are at our laptops for long periods of time) like to keep a simple Notepad document or similar on their desktop, as a place to capture ideas for future filing and reference, in a similar way to the physical Scratchpad.

Notebooks – I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this advice for writers, and you are also probably sick of hearing it, but – carry a notebook wherever you go! Inspiration can strike at any time, so be ready to get it down, otherwise you’ll forget it. Plus, having a pocket notebook on you at all times can be really useful if you have a spare moment while you’re out – chance to brainstorm one of those ideas you’ve had, or write a few paragraphs of that story you’re working on. Make the notebook one that you enjoy using, and you’ll use it more often. I use a Pocket Moleskine (currently Lined, but sometimes I use Plain, which can be very useful for free-form ideas and brainstorming)

Structure Your Ideas

Some of us plan, some of us don’t. For me, a brainstorm is usually enough to get me started, even when starting longer pieces of work that may or may not become novels. But for those of you who do like to plan (and even for those of us who don’t) index cards and Post It notes can be very useful. Using either of these things can be brilliant for writing on individual characters, places and events in a novel, and as they are physical and moveable they can be shifted around, shuffled and arranged, in order to work out and visualise the relationships between them. Even with non-fiction writing, this technique can be very helpful in structuring your articles and blog posts, by rearranging key points. Combine these with either a Whiteboard or a Cork board. These can also be very useful for sticking up ideas and prompts, as well as inspirational pictures or cards or nice things people have got you.

Writing Programs

How do you write? Writing longhand can be great for unlocking creativity, but in terms of pratical writing and editing, be it of an entire novel or a relatively short blog post or article, some sort of writing software is usually required. I myself use OpenOffice.org Writer, the free, open-source version of Microsoft Word. It does everything that I want, and I’m comfortable using it.

The key word here is comfortable. You need to feel comfortable when you write (including the need for a comfy chair and writing area) but you need to be mentally comfortable as well. No use using a program that you find difficult and unintuitive to use. Most people just use Word, because it is the default program for most of you (I’m sure many of you use Macs, same applies for your default writing program) but here are some alternatives you might like to try, that will make getting down to writing as easy as possible.

Darkroom (Windows) or Writeroom (Mac) – these two downloads take away toolbars, menus and other such clutter so you can focus on what is important – the writing. Just being able to see the text can be a real help for clearing your mind, concentrating on writing and freeing your imagination. Because these programs fill the screen they can also filter out other distractions such as email, Twitter, FB etc. Plus, these programs can be fun to use, and the more fun our writing is, the easier it will be and the more we will want to sit down and do it, even if it’s to churn out copy or freelance filler articles. Darkroom looks especially cool, with its bright green Courier text set on a black background. Makes you feel like you’re writing in the Matrix…

Writer (online) – this online version of the above programs can also be very useful. You can still save your work, once you’ve set up an account, and then access it again when you want to continue writing. This can be especially useful if you frequently travel and want to be able to work on your article or story wherever you might be, on any computer. Of course, you can do this with other suites such as GoogleDocs, but this is a great way to do it in a distraction-free environment, especially when you utilise Writer’s full-screen mode.

Text editors – one really good is to use whichever text editor comes with your OS. Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Macs are very simple programs, and while most people just use them for jotting down notes when at their computer, others swear by using them for writing entire pieces of writing.

Play!

Sometimes we can take our writing too seriously. But, on the other hand, we sometimes don’t take our creativity seriously enough. We think of creativity as something passive, that comes to us in flashes of inspiration, or just as something to do (or that just happens) while we are writing. But, by looking at the creative process as something that you can work on, like the writing process, we can use it (yes, at our beck and call!) to inspire us when we need inspiring, or to just give us that mental boost when we get stuck, or even just as a break! Learning to use creativity in a practical way like this can be very useful.

Lego – This is perfect tool for unlocking your creativity when you need it. It doesn’t really matter what you make, and whether it’s anything particularly good or even recognisable! The idea is to play. The simple fact of making something, anything, creating something, that is the important thing. By making ourselves be creative in this way we can unlock areas of the brain which might otherwise lay dormant, opening up, engaging in play, and allowing our brain to think creatively – can lead to increased inspiration, motivation and creative thought.

What tools do you use to make your writing (and creating!) easier? Please share in the comment below.

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Making Writing Easy: Practical Tools

Free Online Writers’ Conference

2010-07-02T09:04:02Z

The annual Muse Online Writers’ Conference takes place from October 11th through the 17th. Registration has already begun but is open until August 15th so there is still plenty of time!

Check it out and see what you think.

All that is asked for is a donation, if you are able. And, if you do not make the August 15th deadline to register, there is a five-dollar fee, payable through PayPal, but even that is nominal considering all that is offered.

The previous years worked out really well and this one should be just as great. Jump on board and take advantage of a remote workshop that allows you not to have to take a *real* vacation yet offers the same programs other workshops do!

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Be Thankful for ‘The End’

2010-06-30T11:25:12Z

Say hello to the beginning of the end. Or should it be the end of the end? Hard to tell. What I do know is that the once bright light that became clouded over with fog as though it came from a lighthouse not meant to save the ship is now shimmering back. Over the past couple of months, the fog would lift a bit, but not for long enough to be able to use it. Or was it my hazy mind, not able to focus on the light that was actually there, which caused me to lose so much of myself?

I’ve been rather sick of late. That was my unfortunate reasoning for what I hate to term, writer’s block. For another it may be the end of an important relationship, through death, either literally or figuratively. Maybe someone moved, started a new job, had to become accustomed to a new life rather than focus on who and what he or she is and wants to do. For me, I have spent the last two months struggling even to get out of bed, let alone write. My spark was gone. Nothing was there to ignite my passion and creativity. An illness had beaten it out of me. Or, again, if the light was there, I was just not able to see it. I couldn’t use it in any way or form, no matter how hard I tried. Which, admittedly, wasn’t all that hard…

But I’m here with good news. I can see my beacon again. Candles burn all around me, illuminating the room as my netbook shows me only what I need to see – my words. I have the strength to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard. As I sit and wait in doctor’s offices or as I fold laundry, stories appear and weave words into sentences, sentences to paragraphs, paragraphs to pages, until I cannot take it anymore and I have to stop what it is I’m doing and write it all down. Oh, how I’ve waited for my life to be overtaken by stories again. Not by dreamless sleep while my body was doing whoknowswhat to destroyandthenfixitself.

I’m not completely fixed, no. And sometimes the fog rolls in and I have to rest and let the creator lie still, but that’s all right by me. As long as I know that part of me is still there. That oh-so-important part that sometimes (let’s face it, most of the time) seems to define me.

How many of you have lost your way, for whatever reason, and subsequently felt you lost a piece of yourself — only to find it again, out of the ether, and to once again be filled with a sense of purpose…to know you are you again?

You are a writer — through and through.

Now, I’ll admit that this article went nowhere near the direction I had planned, and the title is more in keeping with the original topic, but I have a feeling I’m not alone in this dilemma I’ve been facing. Besides, what I originally wanted to say can wait for the next time. For the next five-hundred words. After all, I’ve waited this long…

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Be Thankful for ‘The End’

The Pros and Cons of Four Major Blogging Platforms

2010-06-28T11:08:48Z

We’re all writers here, so it makes sense that we blog.

Should writers blog? I believe so. We derive passion from stringing words together, making stories and enlightening people to the human condition. But once you find your nook in the writing world, and decide to blog, how do you choose between the myriad of blogging platforms available?

Start here. I’m going to list pros and cons for four of the major blogging services. These won’t be full-fledged reviews so much as quick glances into how these tools could benefit writers. I’ll look at Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr and Posterous.

Wordpress

When it comes to Wordpress, you have two choices: Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. Blogging on the dot com platform, like most other platforms gets you up and running in minutes. If you use the dot org platform, you’ll need your own domain and hosting. I’ve used both types, and currently use Wordpress to power my own website and blog. No matter which way you decide, the user interfaces, pros and cons are nearly identical. The Wordpress site has a good article on the pros and cons beneath each of them.

Pros

Wordpress is a proven technology, wildly popular and supported by a huge community.
The interface is relatively easy to use for most beginners, and even easier for those with blogging experience.
Plenty of posts about creative writing exist on Wordpress blogs, allowing you to engage in an already large writing community.
Automattic, the company behind Wordpress continues to make improvements to the platform, allowing for greater flexibility and creativity for writers and bloggers of all kinds.

Cons

Some consider Wordpress’ array of choices intimidating, and many who want to just write do not need all the options.
If you use Wordpress.com, your blog will be subject to ads that you cannot control.
Wordpress.com has many themes, but you do not have the array of choices you would with employing Wordpress.org and themes. You may not be able to find a theme that fits your style, and if you lack HTML and CSS knowledge, altering one will be difficult.

Blogger

Blogger fast became and remains a popular blogging platform. Google powers it and backs it, so you know the technology will be user-focused and advanced. I previously used it to power my online running journal.

Pros

Backed by Google, so it integrates well with other Google blogging services like Feedburner, and various Google products.
It’s among the most easy to use platforms out there, and many beginning bloggers prefer it.
Blogger’s recently launched template designer allows users to edit and change their site designs without touching any HTML or CSS code.
Like Wordpress, Blogger is popular, and has a large community of writers already there. One of my favorites is Erika Driefus’ Practicing Writer blog.

Cons

Blogger is just blogger. If you have some experience blogging, the platform might seem worn. That reason drove me to leave Blogger behind for Tumblr. Granted, it’s my personal opinion, but you may find the same.
To have access to some of the more advanced features available in Blogger, including the new Template Designer, you have to use Blogger in Draft, where new features are tested. There isn’t a huge difference between this and the regular Blogger, but it’s something you should know.

Posterous

Posterous has gained popularity recently, especially among tech-savvy people. The site boasts that you can not only blog, but post all your updates there, and do it easily. You do all this via email, or a web interface. I recently started a learning journal there, and love using it because of its simplicity.

Pros

It really is easy to use. You can simply email posts to a Posterous email account, and the email gets converted into a post on your site. Images, video and other content attached to your email converts easily as well.
Many tech experts lump Posterous into the micro-blogging platform, so if you gear your writing blog more toward short updates, this platform may work better for you.
Posterous is also geared toward mobile blogging, thanks to its emphasis on posting via email, so if you need to post from anywhere, this platform will work very well.
Posterous has a bookmarklet, which makes it easy to catalog content you find on the web. It’s a great feature for those writers looking to collect inspiration around the web.

Cons

Posterous is still fairly new, launched in mid-2008, so the community – although strong – is still growing.
Currently, Posterous lacks as many themes as some other blogging platforms. However, the site has added a handful of new themes lately. You also need to know HTML and CSS to alter your theme, but you do have free access to the code.
Even though posting by email makes Posterous super easy, I find myself going into the web interface afterward to adjust formatting, which may annoy some users.

Tumblr

Tumblr, like Posterous, lands more squarely in the micro-blogging platform. Its has a passionate group of users, and is incredibly easy to use. As mentioned before, I now use it to power my running journal.

Pros

Hello easy. I love using the web interface on Tumblr, but haven’t tried email posting yet. I also enjoy the dashboard at Tumblr, which makes it easy for you to read the Tumblr blogs you follow, placing an emphasis on engaging in the blogging community there.
Tumblr has an extremely passionate community of bloggers, and some neat creative writing blogs live there.
There are a lot of creative themes to choose from, some geared toward writing and content.
Tumblr also has a bookmarklet, making it easy to catalog content and share. I also like the notion of reblogging.

Cons

If you want comments on your blog, you need to set that up separately using Disqus.
There’s not an easy way to back up your blog. You can download an app for Mac that will do it, but if you’re on a PC, that’s useless. However, staff has started work on a PC version.
As far as I could tell, there’s no easy way to import content from other blogging platforms, which could be a problem for some writers.

Conclusion

As you can see, I haven’t touched on every blogging platform out there. I’ve only touched on ones I’ve used. Also, many of these pros and cons center around issues that would effect anyone, not just writers. The two most important factors for any writer who wants to blog:

Find the platform that YOU find easiest to use, and that differs for everyone. Once you do, you can concentrate on what matters: writing.
Use the platform that has the community you fit into best. Few remember that the reason blogging has become so popular is because it allows people to form communities and express themselves. Don’t lose sight of that.

Final Recommendations

I like Tumblr and Posterous for blogs with shorter bursts of content. I like Wordpress and Blogger for blogs that require more control, and longer form content.

But hey, that’s just me. What do you think? Have you used other blogging platforms and want to share your thoughts? Have something to add to this? Let us know in the comments below.

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The Pros and Cons of Four Major Blogging Platforms

How to Make a Great Leading Character

2010-06-23T21:45:19Z

Anyone who likes a good story will tell you that what drives them to read on is wanting to know what happens to that central character. They want to follow this person’s journey from the first page until its final conclusion. And in order to make the reader want to remain loyal to this person, they need someone who is compelling, who is charismatic and more importantly, they want someone who is filled with intrigue and personality. Not just a plain persona made out of the heroic mold. They want someone who they can relate to, someone perhaps they can see themselves as being.

We can see this in some of literature’s greatest protagonists; Odysseus, who longs to return to his family and kingdom; Frodo Baggins, who desires to spare his homelands from the ravages of war; Harry Potter, who must face a destiny that is beyond his control; or even Henry V from the William Shakespeare play, who must prove his maturity and ability to lead a nation in the fires of war and death. And that is just to name a few, and what’s more, this need for compelling characters are not just limited to just males, or even humans. They just need to have that intuitive spark that captivates their audience into wanting to be like them, and to be with them until the end.

So then, now that we covered the basic ‘why’ of the main character (MC), it’s time to examine how to make one from scratch. I’ll go into greater detail as to what is needed to be considered for your MC.

Personality

First and foremost, you need to develop a personality, whatever that may be. Will your MC be friendly, distant, rude, arrogant, kind, humble, boisterous, greedy? There are thousands of characteristics that need to be taken into consideration, but you only need a few. Keep in mind that you cannot have a perfect character. No one wants to read about a person who is perfect. They’re not interesting, at all. Look at Superman and DC Comics for example, he was virtually picture perfect in the first two years of his run. This was somewhat acceptable, because his audience was very young, but as these children grew with the comics, and their literary tastes matured, they began to look for characters with more poignancy and depth to them, which was what helped make the Marvel Comics, and their flagship stars popular with their older audiences.

Another example of forgettable MCs would have to be those seen often in the romance genre. Now to be fair there are other genres that are guilty of this flaw, but having read Janice Radway’s essay on this particular genre, I can use this area better than with the other points. But I digress. Mass produced romance novels are normally produced on a massive scale and for the most follow a very clear-cut system of clichés and formulas. You often find a supposedly independent intelligent woman, falling for and become virtual slave to the man they are trying to woo. And somehow, the couple comes to an understanding that benefits the two at the end of the book. MCs in these novels often seem very two-dimensional, so much so that it is sometimes hard to remember one very vividly and clearly from the other.

So in short, give your character flaws, real flaws, human flaws. My advise, pick at least one sin and stick with it. For my case, I used wrath, a lot. I mean A LOT. But this is just my case, and with what you are writing you need to tailor your MC to how you see fit.

Back-story

Onto the second aspect to work on. Where does your character come from? Were they a villain before? Were they a victim? Did they have a family? Did they kill their family? These are just a few questions that you will have to ask yourself when you are working on your character’s back-story. Thankfully, once you answer your first question, the rest tend to answer themselves, unless you want to make a new twist in the tale, which is never a bad thing.

Usually it helps with the story, and with the character’s drawing power, if the back-story is influential in what their personality is during the story. Learning what happens to a man’s family is important to why they are on a journey of vengeance, for example. A man searching for redemption to a past sin is another good one. To give your character reason for doing what they are doing. And again, it has to be a believable back-story, anything too far into the imagination will just make the readers think the story is just weird, period.

Own Worst Enemy

Finally, while a physical obstacle is usually required for the MC to have to face in the novel, I always like it when the worst enemy that MC has to face… is themselves. For a reader to read about someone who must face themselves as well as a ‘traditional’ antagonist can strike a very personal chord within the reader, which in turn will make them want to read on further and see if your MC is able to overcome their personal demons. Now this isn’t to say that this demon has to be completely eliminated in the end, look at George MacDonald Fraser’s “Flashman” series. But to see someone who has to face their flaws on a regular basis is rarely one that readers would come to dislike.

We ourselves have to face our demons at certain points in our lives, and to read and take some form of escape that helps to reinforce our resolve to face these demons helps to connect the MC to the readers on an intimate level. And because of this connection, there is a relationship with these characters that is more poignant then if the MC is a simple cookie-cut character.

What are your main characters like? How have you filled them with “character” to create a living, breathing, interesting person? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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How to Make a Great Leading Character

Pushing Your Writing – 750words(.com) at a time

2010-06-16T12:51:19Z

Sing along now, everyone: “writers have to write.”

Pretty solid advice, by most standards, and the sort of mantra worth drilling into the skull of any poor sod writing for a living. Four years of university forced me to flex the creative muscle on a weekly basis, putting pen to paper for at least a few hours each day, but graduation paints a different picture entirely. This came as a shocker, but – and hold on to your hats, folks! – apparently I’m kind of lazy.

But that’s okay! Sometimes writers don’t want to write. Sometimes we want to sink into the couch and soothe our tired minds with less productive pursuits. For those forced to slog through a typical work day, that kind of vegetative state might be more common than not. As those off days start to tally up, however, so does the guilt – a creeping sense of restlessness, one only assuaged by sitting down and churning out some verbs.

How about we skip that guilt entirely? Writing every single day doesn’t always come easy, but it’s a battle-tested tool for fighting through writer’s block and helping to cultivate your personal style. And, with a website like 750words, even a shiftless writer like myself can stay well on track!

The concept of morning pages originated with Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, a process which tasks writers and creative folks of every stripe to touch base with their innate talent by writing three pages of mindless content every morning. Sounds strange, but it’s a great way to reawaken your latent creativity – in your sleepy state, the little voice that criticizes your work is often muted, allowing you to develop your skills without interference from that pesky thing between your ears. 750words adapts that same idea for the internet, providing you with an appealing blank screen and a little counter on the bottom right to chart your progress.

The goal is simple: write 750 words. They can be about anything, of course, and rest assured they exist for your eyes only. My daily pages often take the tone of a diary, but that’s just dandy – I’m writing, at least, and 750words provides a neat page of stats for me to skim whenever I’m done. The site employs computerized text analysis systems to show you the emotions that come through your words, as an example, and even your tendency to write about certain subjects versus the rest of the world. I’m proud to say I write about death slightly less than the rest of the planet!

The stats come formatted in pretty charts and graphs, making them both a pleasure to view and ponder. You’ll even receive various ‘awards’ in the form of animal icons for maintaining streaks of daily writing, and you also have the option to participate in the monthly challenge, whereby you strive to write every day for a month and give yourself a big fat pat on the back at the end.

You’ll find my name on the ‘Wall of Shame’ for the May’s challenge. I don’t want to talk about it.

All in all, 750words is a pretty nifty tool for writers. Rant about your ex, fiddle with flash fiction, or keep progressing on your latest novel – 750words provides a perfect home for your output, one that encourages a lazy author like me to keep writing every day of the week. Putting pen to paper on a regular basis is one of the best practices a writer can follow, so consider this a heartfelt recommendation to check the site out.

Image courtesy of 750words Facebook page.

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Pushing Your Writing – 750words(.com) at a time

Writers: Are You Destroying Yourself with Negativity?

2010-06-14T12:19:27Z

In the past few months, I’ve seen a few things in the writing blogosphere that have disturbed me: writers nitpicking, complaining, and acting like they have a sense of entitlement.

Some of these behaviours include:

Being paranoid that other writers, agents, or acquiring editors will steal your ideas
Claiming writing contests or promotions aren’t fair
Complaining that the query system doesn’t work
Expressing concern that agents and editors just don’t ‘get’ one’s writing because it’s above their intellect
Leaving deliberately abrasive comments on people’s blogs to spark debate
Badmouthing literary agents who don’t necessarily work the way the writer would like them to
Giving excessively harsh critiques that aren’t at all helpful
Saying that other writers’ books should never have been published because they’re not as good as one’s unpublished writing

Getting published is difficult, so it’s sometimes tempting for the unpublished among us to cry, “The system isn’t fair!” or “It’s all about who you know.” Perhaps the system isn’t always fair, and yes, it doesn’t hurt to know someone who can recommend your work to a literary agent or an editor.

But…

Most things in life aren’t fair.

(Sorry. Your mother was right.)

While most of us do our best to build each other up, others insist on destroying morale with their negativity.

The problem is, they’re only destroying themselves and their own opportunities for success. Before these grumblers actually have time to write something publishable, they’ll be disillusioned with the entire process and, most likely, give up.

Why do you think writers sometimes behave this way? Is it to make ourselves feel better? Is it about jealousy? Frustration? Ego?

Perhaps you find yourself caught in a cycle of negativity about the world of writing and publishing. If so, take a moment to remember:

All published writers were once unpublished like you, and most of them got contracts the old-fashioned way–by querying an agent.
If, after due persistence, you can’t find an agent who ‘gets’ your work, the problem most likely lies with your manuscript. Focus some of that energy into finding out how to write better.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but there’s no need to be abrasive about it.
Criticism is meant to be constructive. Empower another writer by helping them see what areas of their work they can improve, but be nice about it.
Just because you don’t care for a certain author’s work doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have been published. Everyone has different tastes.

What things drive you crazy in the writing community? What defeatist attitudes or behaviours bother you most?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Most of you are amazing. We’re all grateful for the wonderful community of writers here at Fuel.

Let’s help spread the support to our fellow writers. This week, try thanking someone who’s made a difference to your writing. Encourage a struggling newcomer to the craft. Help someone polish their query. Leave a helpful comment on someone else’s blog.

Let’s do our best to make each another’s journey that little bit easier, that bit more enjoyable.

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Writers: Are You Destroying Yourself with Negativity?

2010 WordCount Blogathon comes to a close

2010-06-11T10:10:38Z

The third annual WordCount Blogathon drew to a close on the 31st May, after a month of frenzied blogging by freelance writers, with a raft of prizes totalling more than $1,200, randomly selected from the names of all those who took part. The Blogathon is an annual event, started in 2008 by Michelle V. Rafter when she challenged herself to blog every day during the month of May, in order to fuel her motivation, inviting other writers to join her. The following year, in 2009, almost 45 freelancers from across the US joined in, blogging about everything from frugal living to gardening, cycling to social media. See a complete list of 2009 participants here.

The Blogathon happens through WordCount: Freelancing in the Digital Age, a freelance and new media blog which Michelle founded in 2007. Like Fuel Your Writing, WordCount was named one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers last year on Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers site. The growth and success of the Blogathon shows the strength of the community of writers and bloggers that has built up round the site, as does the amount of prizes offered up for those taking part, donated by various sponsors.

Here are the prizes, who won them, and what they were for:

Blog/Website SEO Review – Jason Lancaster from Internet marketing specialists Spork Marketing, will analyze more than 50 aspects of the winning website or blog’s design and structure, and report on what’s working, what’s not and suggestions to make it more search engine friendly. Value: $500 WINNER: Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise

Blogging Class – One admission to TV and film blogger Jane Boursaw’s popular class, Blogging for Passion and Profit, Premium level, is on offer to this winner. Value: $250. WINNER: Katie Hinderer –Write Beyond the Cubicle

Coaching – Marla Beck, a life coach for writers offered up a one-hour “Get Unstuck” coaching session. Value: $185. WINNER: Jan Udlock –Imperfect Mom

KnowledgeWebb subscription – 1 year subscription to KnowledgeWebb, online and in-person training. Value: $129. WINNER: Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map

Resume help – One hour of resume writing service from Danielle Buffardi of PenPoint Editorial Services to overhaul an old resume or start a new one. Value: $125. WINNER: Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard

Editing services – One hour of writing, editing, freelance business or social media coaching from Michelle V Rafter. Value: $125. WINNER: Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven’s Blog

Task scheduling software – A copy of Simple Task Timer, a time-tracking software that writers can also use to schedule projects, produce productivity reports and generate invoices. Value: $49.95. WINNER: Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings

Online Markets E-book – A copy of the new e-book The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets, written by Susan Johnston’s (of The Urban Muse, another of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers). It covers 40 online writing markets that buy freelance articles, as well as samples of successful query emails and a glossary of writing and web terms. Value: $15.99 WINNER: Joy Choquette – One Year. 156 Fears. Life Changing.

Starbucks gift card – Preferred fuel for bloggers! Value: $25. WINNER: Sarah E. Ludwig – Parenting by Trial and Error

Associated Press Stylebook 2009 – New, paperback edition, shipped directly to the winner from Amazon.com. Value: $12.89. WINNER: Katie Jett Walls, One per Week

More information on this year’s WordCount Blogathon can be found here. Anyone interested in signing up for next year’s Blogathon, or sponsors wishing to get involved by donating prizes, are invited to contact Michelle at michellerafter(at)comcast(dot)net, or through her Twitter account @michellerafter.

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Lost In Translation: Editing Translated Texts

2010-06-09T11:08:36Z

As a writer, I try my best to avoid using clichés and worn out turns of phrase such as ‘lost in translation’. However, working as an English Language Editor in Saudi Arabia has opened up a wealth of new meaning for the phrase that using it as a title for this piece is not clichéd but perfect.

Editing text can be challenging at the best of times, especially text for a specific field such as engineering, medicine or education, all of which I deal with regularly. However, when that text was originally written in a different language and then fed through a computer before it lands on your desk you’re faced with an entirely different challenge. Meaning can truly be lost between the author, the translator and the editor. For example, one of the more interesting mix-ups I have come across is suggesting a doctor step in and help if your infertile husband cannot get you pregnant…

Many freelance jobs for editors are translated texts, and many freelance editors looking for work will choose to skip over them. Anyone who knows the job will tell you that it is a minefield that is best left alone unless you really know what you’re getting into. However, I believe that with a few tips and pointers to set you on the right course you could open up a whole new income stream. Following these steps should help you make a success of editing translated text from any language:

Start with the basics

As with writing, you should start with what you know. By correcting the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors first you will not only ease yourself into the document and familiarize yourself with the text, you will also begin to notice the obvious confusions of meaning.

Never assume!

Take my previous example, it would seem a safe bet to assume that the author of the text did not mean for the doctor to call around while the husband was out with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to set the mood! However, while you may think that the author meant to tell patients to visit their doctor for medical solutions to infertility you should not just change the text. Leave a comment or suggestion, or better still contact your client and ask what was meant.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Chances are your client is the one who translated the text, meaning they read both the native language of the author and English. If you are unsure about something, then they are the person to ask. They will have access to both the original and the English version of the document, and talking to them will clear up any misunderstandings. Being in constant contact also helps break down the barrier that working via the Internet can often create, which will lead to a better finished piece at the end and may also open up the possibility of future work.

Double-check everything

In some languages, such as Arabic, there aren’t words for certain technologies or medicines. Instead of simply naming a new machine or procedure it will be described. A good translator will at least make a stab at what the machine or procedure in question is, however, that does not mean that the name or the spelling is correct. Having a good dictionary, specific to the field the text is aimed at, is a must. For example, I frequently make use of TheFreeDictionary.com’s medical dictionary for any medical text I edit.

Once you have ferreted out what you believe to be the right name, phrase or term and inserted it into the text you MUST make a comment, or contact and inform your client that you have done so. Remember, you are an editor; not a doctor, engineer or expert in metaphysics! Besides, there is a very good chance that during the course of translation meanings were lost again, leading you to the wrong conclusion.

A full copy edit is a must

When you think you’re finished, even if you have been through the text one hundred and fifty four times always, always perform a final full copy edit before you send it to your client. When providing your client with time frames for completion add an extra day. Even if it can be done in two days, tell them three.

Here’s why: you need to sit back and read something else before a final edit. By moving away from the project you ensure a more thorough final read, rather than simply skimming because you’re sick of reading the same thing over and over and over again. It will be the little things like confused spellings such as weather when it should be whether, or a comma where there should be a semicolon. Read each word slowly, and out loud, to make sure you miss nothing.

DON’T PANIC!

So you’ve read this post, done some more research and won a bid for a translated text. Then it arrives and you read it. Suddenly you feel that you would be able to make more sense of Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky than you could of the document on the screen. This is normal. Every day I get sent a booklet that I am utterly convinced was translated into Swedish instead of English. Words are back to front, grammar is non-existent, there are absolutely no full stops, and only 1.5 words out of 10 are spelled correctly.

Step away from your computer, make a cup of ~insert favorite beverage here~ and take a few steadying breaths. You CAN do this. Start with step one of step one, spelling. Then tackle the lack of proper punctuation, and before you know it the grammar is starting to take care of itself. Work one paragraph at a time this way and you’ll be finished before you know it.

Good Luck!

Has anyone had any difficult experiences editing translated texts? How did you manage? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Lost In Translation: Editing Translated Texts