I find fall the most inspiring of all seasons. Every year when autumn comes around, my creative drive goes into overdrive. I have no idea why. I just know that for me, it’s a good time of year for writing.

Writing Forward is Three Years Old!

I can’t believe it’s been three years since I started this site. To celebrate Writing Forward’s third anniversary, I’ve revamped the design. This year, it’s a lot sleeker and slimmed down. I’ve trimmed a lot of content and design elements in favor of simplicity. Less is more!

Writing Forward

Here at Writing Forward this month, you can expect more articles on creative writing. Over the summer, posts were sparse (and I was busy watching the entire series of Lost). But with summer’s end in sight, posts will become more frequent and you can expect new articles once or twice each week.

In the coming months, I’ll wrap up the better writing series, add new and updated articles packed with creative writing tips and ideas and share some fresh fiction writing exercises and creative writing prompts for anyone who’s stumped with writer’s block. I’ll continue advocating for good grammar and keep encouraging all writers to pursue poetry as a means to improve your writing.

Your Feedback

Is there a topic you’d like to see covered here? Any grammar questions you have? A writing problem that’s got you stuck and frustrated? Questions, suggestions, and feedback are always welcome, so don’t hesitate to contact me or leave a comment if you have any ideas or questions. After all, we are all part of the larger writing community, so let’s keep sharing and discussing, and most importantly, let’s all keep on writing.

The same is true for poems, short stories, and novels, except they require good, strong titles.

Today’s writing exercises ask you to compose headlines and titles that make people want to read your work.

Headlines

Magazines use enticing headlines prominently displayed on the front cover to entice customers. Newspapers use them to draw readers into a story, and bloggers, as many of you know, use them to generate buzz and link bait.

The best headlines and titles are catchy. They impart a teaser about what a reader can expect to find within the article. Therefore they tickle the curiosity of the target audience. They are also often memorable and include familiar phrases. Here are some starters for popular headlines:

• The Top Ten…
• How to…
• Fifteen Ways to…
• Everything You Need to Know About…
• The Twelve Best… Ever
• What [someone] Never Told You About…

Other common strategies that are particularly effective with headlines include the use of words and terms that quickly capture people’s attention. Examples include sex, money, lose weight, and a host of celebrity names, especially the names of anyone who’s currently in the spotlight and generating a lot of news, or rather, gossip.

Titles

Titles, like headlines, should entice a potential reader and make them want to read the entire piece. An effective title piques a reader’s curiosity and tells a little bit about what the story or poem will be about. It rouses curiosity and often includes trigger words that engage a particular audience.

Some authors use titles as part of their brand. Sue Grafton is working her way through the alphabet with her Kinsey Millhone series (A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.). Many romance novelists use word like kiss, love, romance, or dance in their titles. In the sci-fi realm, anything associated with space is fair game: galaxy, space, Mars. And a well placed mythological term, such as dragon clearly marks a fantasy novel.

In addition to book titles, many authors have a separate title for a series. This allows the author to use two different titles on a single piece of work. New readers will likely be drawn by the book title while existing fans will gravitate toward the series title.

In poetry, titles are far more creative. In some cases, the title may seem irrelevant to the poem. Many poets take a word or phrase from the poem and use it as a title. Others will use a title that works with the poem itself, which almost functions as part of the poem. The best poem titles invoke an image and gives the reader an indication of what the poem will feel like.

Writing Exercises

You can learn how to write good headlines and titles with the simple writing exercises below. In time and with practice, your headlines and titles will become great.

These writing exercises are simple and ideal for any writer who struggles with titles and headlines.

Instructions:

Write some compelling headlines and titles. Wait – there are a few details…

Write at least three headlines each for five different publications.

• Focus on newspaper and magazine headlines.
• Identify your target publication for each of your sets of headlines.
• Include at least one publication that you would never read. If you’re a swinging, childless, single person, do headlines for a parenting magazine. If you’ve never left your home state, write some headlines for a travel rag.

Write three titles each for short stories, poems, and novels.

• Ask yourself whether short stories and novels have different requirements for titles.
• Should a poem’s title come from the body of the poem?
• You can use famous or obscure novels, poems, and short stories (rename your favorites) or you can use your own. However, be sure to title real material rather than nonexistent.

Come back and post a few of examples from your headline and title writing exercises in the comments section.

You never know, maybe one of those headlines will kick off a whole article. Or perhaps one of your titles will inspire you to write a story or poem.

Keep on writing!

Do you have any writing exercises to share? Did you find these exercises helpful? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

This post was originally published in January, 2008. However, it has been updated with new content and republished for your reading pleasure.

For us creative types, productivity can be a fleeting thing. We experience highs (a whole month packed with inspiration) and lows (three more months fraught with the ever-annoying writer’s block).

It can be frustrating. But creative writing doesn’t have to be a fair-weather hobby. Many successful authors have harnessed creativity, reigned it in, and turned it into a full-time profession. So, we know it can be done.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Succeeding in the arts takes a tremendous amount of drive, ambition, and dedication. It’s not the kind of job you have to show up for every day or risk being fired. Nobody cares if you get your work done except you. And maybe your characters, if you’re a fiction writer.

Creative Writing Tips for More Output

Here are seven creative writing tips to help you be more creative more often. Try them all and see which ones work for you.

1. Show up for work Set a time every day, show up, and get your creative writing work done. It could be an hour a day (two hours on weekends!) or fifteen minutes. It can be first thing in the morning or right after dinner. The point is, make a schedule and stick with it. This will not only lead to more output, it will also lead to better writing.

2. Give yourself a quota Can you produce twenty pages a week? Ten? Five? Some of us work better when we count words rather than minutes. If that sounds like you, then forget about time allotments. Show up for work every day, but focus on your output rather than on your time card.

3. Reward yourself If you manage to show up every day or fulfill your quota, then by all means, give yourself a pat on the back. Whether it’s a trip to the masseuse or a weekend movie, reward your own positive behavior with special treats that keep you motivated week after week. Bonus reward tip: buy a book, and read it!

4. Punish yourself I’m not a big fan of negative reinforcement. It might curb bad behavior, but it does so for all the wrong reasons. Keep punishments light. Didn’t meet your goals? I don’t think you should cancel your vacation, but maybe you can skip dessert. Or, choose a punishment that promotes your goals. Read a textbook about creative writing or peruse a few articles on good grammar.

5. Hold yourself accountable If you’re having a hard time meeting your creative writing goals, then set up an accountability system. Take a creative writing class or workshop, join a writing group, hire a writing coach, or partner up with a fellow writer and establish weekly check-ins. For some reason, when someone else is holding us accountable, we perform better.

6. Use productivity tools There are unlimited tools at your disposal to help you stay productive and all of these can be used with your creative writing project. Put deadlines on your calendar. Hang a whiteboard and track your progress. Keep a journal of your writing sessions. Recording your goals and accomplishments can be extremely motivating.

7. Stay passionate Do things that keep your creative writing passions burning. Listen to music that inspires you to write. Watch movies and read books with stories that motivate you to write your own story. Dance, sing, and make sure you’ve always got your notebook or journal with you because you never know when your next great (or unusual) writing ideas will strike.

It’s All on You

Creative writing doesn’t just happen. You make it happen. Born without drive? Foster determination. Uninspired? Learn some new creativity techniques. Can’t think of anything interesting to write about? Write about your life, your friends and family, your problems, your best moments and your worst. Get a book of writing exercises and get busy. And remember, only you can prevent your dreams from coming true.

Keep on writing!

Do you have any special techniques you use to keep your creative writing projects alive? Add your tips by leaving a comment.

Speculative fiction is an under-recognized genre: Academia and literary elitists traditionally haven’t given it much credence, although it has been gaining acclaim in recent years. But the fans are rabid. In fact, you won’t find a more dedicated group of readers in any other genre.

Plus, it’s a lot of fun to step outside of reality and see just what your imagination can do.

You can write about knights and dragons, spaceships and far-off planets, the apocalypse, ghosts, or strange islands with magical properties. In the world of speculative fiction, anything goes.

The creative writing prompts below can be used in any way you want. Use your imagination. Have fun with a freewrite, compose a poem, or draft a short story. Who knows? Maybe one of these prompts will inspire a novel idea. And if you’ve never given science fiction or fantasy a shot, this is your chance to test the waters and find out just how deep they are.

15 Creative Writing Prompts

The Speculative Fiction Edition

1. A plane is flying from Australia to Los Angeles. As the passengers disembark, they start to experience amnesia — all of the passengers except for one. The farther they go from the plane on which they flew, the more severe their amnesia.
2. Four friends on a nature hike discover a deep cave, complete with running water. As they go deeper and deeper into the cave, they find strange objects — human skeletons, an old computer from the early 80s, a gas mask, and strange mango-sized orbs that emit a glowing blue light.
3. The earth has been ravaged by war, famine, disease, and devastating storms. In less than a decade, the population has dwindled from six billion to less than 42,000. There is no law or order. The grid is gone. Everyone is struggling to survive.
4. The year is 1623. A visitor comes to a small, tribal village in Nigeria. The visitor is wearing blue jeans, a Janis Joplin t-shirt, and a baseball cap and is carrying a pack that contains a solar-powered laptop computer.
5. Two children, a boy and a girl, decide to make a time capsule and bury it at the edge of a farm, under a big oak tree. While digging, they unearth a metallic object the size of a shoebox. It’s shaped like a bullet and has a deeply engraved 8 on it. It appears to be a container, since it rattles when they shake it. But there is no obvious way to open it.
6. A man who sees ghosts checks himself into a mental institute, not realizing that the facility has been closed for almost thirty years.
7. After a near-death experience, a soldier starts to experience a drastic kind of karma — every good deed he does is almost immediately rewarded and every bad deed results in something horrible happening to him. Is the karma real or just a series of coincidences?
8. A surgeon who happens to be an adamant man of science and does not believe in miracles is diagnosed with aggressive, terminal cancer and given six months to live. But three years later, he’s alive and the cancer is gone.
9. A con man who convinces people they’ve been abducted by aliens and takes their money… is abducted by aliens.
10. A deadly virus hits a highly populated metropolitan area, killing thousands of people. And after it passes, those who survived start realizing they have acquired bizarre and impossible new talents.
11. A traveler picks up a souvenir, a strange and colorful rock with one side that is completely flat. As she goes about her travels, she realizes that when she has the rock with her, she can understand any language that people are speaking, but she can only speak her own native language.
12. While on vacation in Hawaii, a young couple spots a strange, huge green bird with a 16-foot wingspan. One of them is terrified as the bird swoops down and lands just a few yards away from them, but the other one is intrigued. When the bird takes off again, the one who was intrigued insists on following it. So they do.
13. A sixteen-year-old who is growing up on a farm is out in a storm, gets hit by lightning, and survives. After that, the kid can hear the thoughts of animals.
14. A young girl starts having recurring dreams about a dragon. In one of the dreams, the dragon says, “You made me.” The girl becomes obsessed with dragons and decides her life purpose is to become a genetic biologist so she can, indeed, make a real dragon.
15. A team of researchers in a submarine are caught in a deadly sea storm. The instruments on board go haywire. They submerge deep into the ocean in search of calm waters until the storm passes. When it does, the sub surfaces but the instruments are still not functioning properly. They can’t get a fix on their location and cannot find land, which should be nearby. Then, the researchers realize their are two moons in the sky and the constellations are completely unfamiliar.

Remember, these creative writing prompts are meant to be inspiring. If one of them gives you an idea, run with it. You don’t have to stick with what the prompt says. Change the characters, the situation, the setting. Just go with the flow, and keep on writing. And if you have any creative writing prompts of your own, feel free to share them in the comments.

Sure, some people are born with a talent for word craft. But nobody’s born knowing how to write. We all have to work at building and growing our writing skills, and this is especially true for anyone who wants to have a career in writing.

Better writing is not something that happens overnight. It’s a long-term commitment but the payoff is great. If you make a choice every day to improve your writing, then your work will get stronger, become more compelling, and you’ll drastically increase your chances of getting published.

How to Build Better Writing Skills

This list could keep you busy for years. There’s an endless supply of tools and resources to help writers build skills. Below, you’ll find the core activities that lead to consistently better writing over the long term.

1. Read. Listening to audio books and surfing around the Internet do not count as reading. Curl up with a well written novel, brush up on your nonfiction reading, flip through some poetry collections. Reading is the single best way to naturally acquire writing skills.
2. Write every day. My music teacher says that it’s better to practice for fifteen minutes every day than to practice for two hours three times a week. I think the same is true for writing. Even if you can only dedicate a few minutes to writing every day, it will become an ingrained habit. Writing will become an integral part of your life.
3. Proofread, edit, and revise. It’s blatantly obvious when a piece has not been properly proofread. Typos, grammar infractions, and crimes against language will assault anyone who attempts to read your work. So fix it.
4. Know your strengths and accept your weaknesses. You will come to learn that some aspects of writing come easily to you (maybe you’re great at dialog) but other aspects are a challenge (your plots are full of holes). Once you accept your weaknesses, you can work on eliminating them through practice and study.
5. Brush up on grammar. It’s rare for a piece of writing to be so amazing that readers are willing to ignore bad grammar. Many writers are lazy in this area because learning grammar is a lot of work and it’s academic work rather than creative work. The good news is that once you learn the rules, they will be with you forever.
6. Get to know the style guides. Style is all about consistency with writing issues that aren’t addressed by grammar rules. Make sure you know which style guides are pertinent to your work and make sure you include them in your own collection of writing resources.
7. Experiment with different forms. Every fiction writer can learn a thing or two from poetry and vice versa. Nobody’s asking you to start rooting for a different team; just dip your toes in different waters so you know you’re swimming in the right body of water.
8. Share your work and invite feedback. One of the quickest ways to improve your writing is through feedback. Get a real, live, well-read person to review your work. Embrace the feedback, even if it hurts, and then put it to work for you by ironing out all the wrinkles that your friendly reader found.
9. Offer to give feedback on others’ work. When you edit or critique another writer’s work, you’ll see a piece of writing from the editor’s angle as well as the reader’s. This will give you a better perspective on your own work.
10. Conduct thoughtful research. If you work in the nonfiction arena, then make sure you’ve got your facts straight. Even in fiction, there has to be some alignment with reality for a story to be believable. Resources are abundant. Use them (and be sure to check their credentials).
11. Cultivate creativity. Have fun with your writing. Fill it will color or scale it back to a minimalist style. Try new words and off-the-wall images. Creative writing keeps readers interested!
12. Make a conscious commitment to strive for better writing every day.

Better Writing Isn’t For Everyone

Improving your writing is hard work. If you love to write, then the work will be fun at times. Other times, you’re just going to have to grin and bear it, knowing full well that the ends make the means completely worthwhile. Some people love to write every day. For others, it’s a drag and they’d really prefer to just write when the mood strikes.

What separates a hobby from a lifestyle or a career is that we take it seriously and we have made a serious commitment to follow our passion, even if there’s a lot of hard work involved.

Some people are perfectly content with being mediocre, and that’s fine too. But if you want to shine, to be the best writer you can possibly be, then make that commitment and keep on writing.

Do you have any tips to add to this list? What have you done to improve your own writing? Do you strive to produce better writing? Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences by leaving a comment.

All the reading, writing, and studying in the world couldn’t replace the valuable help that I received from those who were my teachers. And by teachers, I mean both my professors and my peers, because I learned just as much from my classmates as I did from the instructors.

Now, I get to pay it forward. This blog and my work as a writing coach have both been vehicles through which I can share the things I’ve learned, both at school and through real-world experience.

Creative Writing Blog

When I first started this website, my intention was to use the blog to support a freelance writing business. The idea was that if I could demonstrate my knowledge about writing, clients would be more likely to hire me.

But I quickly learned that the people who read the blog weren’t the people who needed writing services. The readers were writers, just like me. And they were all trying to learn and grow, to produce better writing. Some were working on novels, others had blogs of their own. Poets, authors, copywriters, and bloggers all stopped by to exchange writing tips and ideas.

After just one year, I separated the writing blog from my business site and started focusing on creative writing topics. It was a boon to take regular breaks from business writing and copywriting so I could continue to explore creative writing tools and techniques.

Writing Coach

A couple of years ago, a woman emailed me and asked if I’d be interested in becoming her writing coach. She explained that she didn’t want someone to simply mark up her work and she didn’t want to spend a lot of time perusing writing resources and reference books. She wanted to work one-on-one with someone who could help her stay focused on a large project and who could also help hone her writing skills. Based on what she had read here at Writing Forward, she wanted me to do the job. I accepted her proposal. Soon after, I decided to go public with it, figuring that it would be fun to do a little work on the side as a writing coach.

And it has been fun, but a few months ago, I decided that at the end of summer I would pull the writing coach program so that I could focus more on my website design and copywriting business. But then I realized that my work as a writing coach is not just something I do for fun. It’s also a way for me to give back, and it has been incredibly rewarding.

In my writing coach program, people send a piece each week for critique. The other day I was reading a piece that showed remarkable improvement from the previous week. And it occurred to me that I had something to do with that. This particular client had taken some of my suggestions to heart, put them into practice, and the results were obvious.

Watching a struggling or beginning writer grow over the course of several months is pretty cool. Commas that were once haphazardly strewn about find their proper placements, the right words are suddenly capitalized, spelling is accurate, and the work is well organized, flows smoothly, and is highly readable.

My writing coach program is specifically for writers who either need to grow their skill set with regards to grammar, spelling, and punctuation or for those who need someone to help them stay focused, set goals, and reach them. There is an emphasis on creative writing (as opposed to business writing, copywriting, or academic writing). If you’re an experienced writer, you might consider becoming a coach. And if you want to become an experienced writer, you might try hiring a writing coach.

If you’re interested in working with a writing coach to improve your writing or help you reach your writing goals, please contact me. Or, subscribe to get creative writing tips and ideas delivered directly to your email or RSS feed.

Some say there are no new stories, just remixed and rehashed versions of stories we’re all familiar with. Often, when someone calls a piece of work original, a close examination will reveal that it has roots in creative works that preceded it.

Most of us writers have had ideas that we shunned because we thought they were too similar to other stories. But just because your story idea is similar to another story, perhaps a famous one, should you give up on it?

Writing ideas come and go. If it’s true that originality is nothing more than putting together old writing ideas in new ways, then instead of giving up on a project that you think has been done before, you can simply make it your own.

A Little Guessing Game

Look at this way: everything already exists. The ideas, plots, characters — they’re already out there in someone else’s story. Originality isn’t a matter of coming up with something new, it’s a matter of using your imagination to take old concepts and put them together in new ways.

To test this theory, see if you can guess the following famous story:

A young orphan who is being raised by his aunt and uncle receives a mysterious message from a stranger, which leads him on a series of great adventures. Early on, he must receive training to learn skills that are seemingly superhuman, skills that help him hone his natural talents. Along the way he befriends loyal helpers, specifically a guy and a gal who end up falling for each other. Our young hero is also helped by a number of non-human creatures. His adventures lead him to a dark and evil villain who is terrorizing everyone and everything that our hero knows and loves — the same villain who killed his parents.

If you guessed that this story outlines Harry Potter, then you guessed right. But if you guessed that it was Star Wars, you’re also right.

This shows how two stories that are extremely different from one another can share many similarities, including the basic plot and character relationships, and it proves that writing ideas will manifest in different ways when executed by two different writers. You could probably take the story above and write your own piece, and it will turn out to be pretty unique even though two of the most famous tales from the last few decades are based on the same ideas.

Recycled Writing Ideas

I’m not advocating for writers to go out and dissect popular stories and then rewrite them with a new twist. What I am advocating is seeing writing ideas through instead of casting them aside because they have something in common with a story you’ve read or seen on film or television.

Creative writing is about discovery, imagination, and sharing your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with readers. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had several writing ideas that seemed brilliant at first but later just seemed like a retelling of some old story that everyone already knew.

But lately I’ve been seeing stories in a new light. When I read a great novel or watch a mesmerizing movie, I often realize upon reflection that these works have common elements with lots of other stories. I don’t know if J.K. Rowling ever realized that Harry Potter had so much in common with Luke Skywalker. Whether she did or not, the lesson we can all take away is that she forged ahead and believed in the story that she wanted to tell. So I’ve come to realize that creativity isn’t always coming up with something new; often, it’s simply finding new connections, perspectives, and combinations of elements. Letting go of your ideals regarding originality and reshaping them with this new understanding will send you soaring into less inhibited and better writing.

Have you ever discarded writing ideas that you felt had been done before? Do you find yourself on a constant quest for a story that is new and original? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment.

Today’s guest post is by Alexis Bonari, a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of accredited online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

One of my literature professors once told me that there’s no wrong way to create an outline so long as it accomplishes the intended purpose. By the time they are asked to complete a lengthy project like a thesis paper or novel, most writers have already developed their own unique approach to outlining their work. While it’s a good idea to stick to what works for you, taking a quick look at other outline approaches can be helpful. The following are some of the most common outlining strategies.

The Classic

This outline is bullet-pointed. Roman numerals and letters are used to break down each idea. Word processing programs generally have an outline function that makes the process even easier. You set the progression of bullet-point symbols. Here is an example:

I. Main Idea

A. Supporting information

II. Main idea

A. Supporting information

i. Details

People prefer this style of outline for its readability and the simple process for summarizing complex ideas.

The Scatter Method

My personal favorite since middle school, the scatter method, is essentially just what it sounds like. You make a rough outline of where you want to go with the project. Then, you write sections of the paper without transitions. Although it’s good to have a working thesis before starting, there’s nothing that says it must be written down and refined at the outset of the project. All the pieces and parts are then assembled into a rough whole. Some are edited or taken out entirely. Only then are transitions are added.

It should be noted that this method requires a great deal of time spent reading and re-reading your draft. While this works for me, it certainly isn’t for everyone.

The Visual/Kinesthetic Learner Option

Much less common than the first two styles is the visual/kinesthetic learner option. You write and then print out bullet-pointed elements of a classic outline, including phrases and points that you want to make. Then, take these cut-out pieces and arrange them in a grand outline on the floor or a spacious table. This allows you to see more of the outline than you would on a computer screen. You can look ahead further and rearrange by physically moving the pieces around. When you’re ready to go ahead with the project as outlined, simply pick up the individual pieces in order and flip through them as they write.

My father-in-law wrote several published books; he used this method for all three of them. As my professor said, there is no “right” way to create an outline. There’s only what works for you and your writing style.

photo credit: Sumlin

Creative writing is not an easy pursuit. Like most skills that are worth mastering, it takes hard work, dedication, and attention to all the details of the craft.

Talent doesn’t hurt either.

Many writers are never completely satisfied and constantly strive to produce better writing. Today’s poem has to be better than yesterday’s. Tomorrow’s short story must surpass today’s.

Writing daily is one way to improve your work. Proofreading is another surefire path to betterment. You should also collect writing resources and read regularly.

I wasn’t kidding when I said that writing isn’t an easy pursuit.

Another great way to grow as a writer is to get feedback from readers and from other writers. It’s one of the most difficult but valuable ways to achieve better writing.

The Lone Writer

Writing is often regarded as a solo pursuit. But most of us write for an audience. Once a piece of writing reaches its readers, it’s no longer a solo endeavor. It becomes interactive. It also becomes a prime target for scrutiny. That’s right, all the critics (and a whole bunch of people with big, huge opinions) will pull out their scrutinizing rifles and play target practice with your work.

Sure, you can wear a bulletproof vest, develop a thick skin, and let it all roll off your shoulder. However, that’s not going to do anything for book sales, blog subscriptions, or article submissions.

Do you think the Mars company just woke up one day and decided to add a bunch of new colors to the M&Ms bag? Nope. They did tests. They checked with a small pool of consumers to see how the new colors would be received and to make sure they tasted alright.

If all you do is write in your journal, this might not apply to you. You can eat your own candy and refuse to share it with the world. But if you want readers, real flesh and blood readers, to embrace your work, then you should get on with the taste tests. Immediately.

Don’t Hoard the Candy

First, you have to start showing your writing to other human beings. These human beings should not be your mother (yes, I know there are exceptions to the mother rule). Ideally, these people will be other writers and experienced readers. Don’t know any? Sign up for a creative writing class or join a writing group. Find someone who offers critiquing services (like me).

In short, find someone who knows how to give a good critique. If you’re serious about your work, you’ll want to get opinions from people who understand the fine nuances of good writing before you wrap it up and send it off to publishers or agents.

A screenwriter once contacted me because he wanted his screenplay proofread. After going through the entire quoting process, he finally said something like, “Thanks, your prices are reasonable, but I’m just not comfortable letting anyone read this screenplay. I think it could be a blockbuster and I don’t want anyone to steal it.” I issued a polite and professional response, but what I was really thinking was, “Well if nobody sees the screenplay, then your screenplay will never see the big screen.”

Like I said, don’t hoard the candy, and if you’re paranoid about infringement and theft, register your work with the copyright office and get on with your writing life.

These Look Just Like Those Candies from the Movie E.T.

M&Ms look a lot like Reese’s Pieces but the similarities stop there. Likewise, a critique is different from proofreading. The purpose of proofreading is to fix mechanical errors with spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A critique should be designed to address strengths and weaknesses in a piece.

Are the characters believable? Is the style consistent? Does the language compel? Is it clear and easy to understand? Does it flow smoothly? Are there holes in the plot? These are the questions that a good critique asks and answers. Sure, you can ask someone who’s giving a critique to keep an eye out for grammar mistakes, but don’t serve up a piece of writing that’s only half-baked.

Cookie Dough is Good but it’s Not Good for You

Raw cookie dough is pretty tasty. I know it puts a smile on my face. But it’s not wise to go around shoving raw material under everyone’s nose when you’re asking for a solid critique that will help you work toward better writing. Work hard on your piece and get it as polished as possible before you start asking people to take a bite.

When you’re asking someone to provide you with feedback, they’ll only be distracted if the piece is full of errors and grammatical mistakes. Remember that you’re asking them to take time out of their busy lives to do you a favor, so don’t waste that time by giving them work that is in the early draft stages. This conveys that either you want them to do the work for you or that you’re too lazy to clean up your piece before asking for feedback. Or, they’ll just assume you’re a crappy writer.

Also, the more errors there are in your piece, the more challenging it becomes to address bigger issues. If a reviewer is caught up on mistakes that you could have fixed yourself, he or she will be more likely to miss other, less noticeable mistakes and problems with your work.

So check and recheck your work, and put the cherry on top before you serve it to anyone (yes, even the taste testers).

Watch out for Do-gooders

Keep in mind that some people will only tell you what you want to hear. “Mmm, this is delicious,” is flattering but it’s not the feedback you’re looking for. Especially when they’re spitting out mouthfuls of the stuff behind your back. Look for people who can offer honest and straightforward critiques, who are willing to tell you what works and what doesn’t.

This is why it’s generally not a good idea to ask your mother (and other loved ones) to be your critic. Mom probably thinks you’re the greatest (I know, I know, not all moms, but work with me here) so it’s unlikely she’ll tell you that your writing is broken. In fact, people like your mom may not even be able to see the flaws in your writing  – they are blinded by love. So, find someone who can be objective (and yes, for a few writers out there, that will be Mom).

Give a Lick

Always be gracious. I’ve been asked to proofread, edit, and offer critiques to countless individuals in my life: family, friends, co-workers, and mere acquaintances. If I give someone honest feedback and they try to argue with me or throw it back in my face because they can’t handle it, I will never, ever give them the courtesy of a critique again.

Do not critique the critic, people. Take their advice and move on. If you asked for a critique, then it’s your job to suck it up and deal with it.

Instead of lashing out at your critic…

Relax, Digest, then Make Better Writing

A lot of people have a knee- jerk reaction when they receive a critique. Imagine, you’ve worked hard on a piece, editing and rewriting until you felt it was shiny, sparkling, and ready for the market. Then, someone comes along and says “This needs some work.” You’ve already done the work. You were hoping for a rave review, but now this person is telling you that you’ve missed the mark. And this makes you feel like the mark (which you are of course).

After receiving a critique, give yourself time to absorb the feedback. Sometimes you just need to let it soak in overnight. Other times, it might take a few days before you’re cooled off and ready to revisit the project with a fresh perspective. Then, sit down and sift through the critique. Decide what advice you want to take and what you want to toss (that is your right as a writer). Edit, revise, repeat. Keep at it. If writing is truly your passion, let it become a lifelong pursuit and enjoy the journey of evolving as a writer. Just take your time and don’t give up.

Don’t Ever, Ever Give Up

If writing is your passion, then never give up on it. Write, polish, and ask for feedback. Read a lot. Proofread everything. Build a library of writing resources and collect writing tips. Write some more. Read again. Come up with a few new creative writing ideas. Write again. Keep going round and round.

And always strive to be the best writer you can possibly be.

Do you have any tips to share for better writing? Do you work with a writing group or have a reliable person who can critique and give you feedback? Do you think feedback has improved your writing? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June, 2008 but has been updated with new insight and updated information for your reading pleasure and writing benefit.

Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. I believe that a writer who is dedicated to her craft will take the time and invest the energy required to master the most basic tools, grammar being foremost among them. But I also believe there are situations in which it’s best to break the rules — as long as you know which rules you’re breaking and why.

Too many times I’ve heard aspiring writers shrug off good grammar, saying they’d rather focus on the story or characters, they’d prefer to use a natural, unlearned approach to keep the writing raw, or they will simply hire an editor to do the dirty work.

I have a hard time buying into those lines of reasoning. Refusing to bother with grammar is just plain lazy, especially for writers who yearn to be more than hobbyists.

10 Good Reasons to Pursue Good Grammar

So, I’ve been thinking about the reasons why writers should embrace grammar rather than shrug it off. Here are 10 reasons why good grammar should be a central pursuit in your writing endeavors:

1. Readability

If your work is peppered with grammatical mistakes and typos, your readers are going to have a hard time trudging through it. Nothing is more distracting than being yanked out of a good story because a word is misspelled or a punctuation mark is misplaced. And you should always respect your readers enough to deliver a product that is easy to use.

2. Communication

Some musicians learn to play by ear and never bother to learn how to read music. Many of them don’t even know which notes and chords they’re playing, even though they can play a full repertoire of recognizable songs and probably a few of their own. But get them in a room with other musicians and they’ll quickly be isolated. You can’t engage with others in your profession if you don’t speak the language of your industry. Good luck talking shop with writers and editors if you don’t know the parts of speech, the names of punctuation  marks, and all the other components of language and writing that are seeded in proper grammar.

3. Getting Published

How will you get that short story, essay, or blog post published if you don’t know the basics of good grammar? Sure, some managing editors will go over your work and clean it up for you, but most reputable publishers have enough submissions that they can toss technically weak work right into the trash can without thinking twice.

4. Working with an Editor

I love it when writers say they can just hire an editor. This goes back to communication. If you can’t talk shop with other writers, you certainly won’t be able to converse intelligently about your work and its flaws with a professional editor. How will you respond to feedback and revision suggestions or requests when you don’t know what the heck the editor is talking about? Remember, it’s your work. Ultimately, the final version is your call and you won’t be able to approve it if you’re clueless about what’s wrong with it.

5. Saving Money

Speaking of hiring an editor, you should know that editors will only go so deep into correcting a manuscript. It’s unseemly to return work to a writer that is solid red with markups. Most freelance editors and proofreaders have a limit to how much they will mark up any given text, so the more grammar mistakes there are, the more surface work the editor will have to do. That means she won’t be able to get into the nitty gritty and make significant changes that take your work from average to superior.

6. Investing Time

Learning grammar is a way to invest in yourself. You don’t need anything more than a couple of good writing resources and a willingness to take the time necessary to hone your skills. In the beginning, it might be a drag, but eventually, all those grammar rules will become second nature and you will have become a first-rate writer.

7. Respect & Authority

As a first-rate writer who has mastered good grammar, you will gain respect and authority among your peers. People will take you seriously and regard you as a person who is committed to the craft of writing, not just some hack trying to string words together in a haphazard manner.

8. Better Writing All Around

When you’ve taken the time to learn grammar, it becomes second nature. As you write, the words and punctuation marks come naturally because you know what you’re doing, having put in plenty of practice. That means you can focus more of your attention on other aspects of your work, like structure, context, and imagery (to name a few). This leads to better writing all around.

9. Self-Awareness

Some people don’t have it. They charge through life completely unaware of themselves or the people around them. But most of us possess some sense of self. What sense of self can you have as a writer who doesn’t know proper grammar? That’s like being a carpenter who doesn’t know what a hammer and nails are. It’s almost indecent.

10. There’s Only One Reason to Abstain from Good Grammar

There is really only one reason to avoid learning grammar: you’re just plain lazy. Anything else is a silly excuse. Like I said, I’m all for breaking the rules when doing so makes the work better, but how can you break rules effectively if you don’t know what the rules are?

No matter what trade, craft, or career you’re pursuing, it all starts with learning the basics. Actors learn how to read scripts. Scientists learn how to apply the scientific method. Politicians learn how to… well, never mind what politicians do. We are writers. We must learn how to write. And we must learn how to write effectively. Writing effectively requires using good grammar.

Pitch In!

Share your favorite reasons why writers should embrace good grammar by leaving a comment. Also, feel free to recommend useful writing resources and grammar guides. And keep on writing!

Fiction writing is one of the most popular forms of creative writing. Everyone is trying to write some fiction, — novels, short stories, novelettes, novellas, micro-fiction, and even Twitter fiction. Events like NaNoWriMo are becoming wildly popular. More and more novels are written every month.

But out of all the average work, how do you make your novel stand out?

You know the answer, of course. By making it your own and as perfect as possible. A novel can be made as perfect as possible by learning the art of fiction writing and then editing like mad.

Editing is tough work. Any writer can edit a 500-word blog post, but some freak out at the thought of editing an entire novel. It’s tough. Many writers even think it’s impossible to edit something like that, especially those who enjoy the writing but don’t like revisions.

But editing and proofreading are essential and will come more easily if you know good grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you understand concepts like structure and plot holes, editing will be even smoother.  And if you have knowledge of various fiction writing elements, that’s just awesome.

But there’s one more little trick that will help writers edit novels more easily: create scenes and chapters. If you create effective scenes and chapters in your first draft, you’ll be well on your way to better editing.

First off, what are scenes and chapters?

What are Scenes?

I’ll just let Wikipedia give you the definition here:

“In fiction, a scene is a unit of drama. A sequel is what follows; an aftermath. Together, scene and sequel provide the building blocks of plot for short stories, novels, and other forms of fiction.”

Scenes are indispensable when writing a novel. A novel is lengthy, about 80,000-130,000 words. Scenes are usually only 400-500 words long. You can easily edit a scene rather than editing the whole manuscript at once, which makes editing more manageable. During the editing process, you can check for structure, flow, characters, and plot holes. You can also break up one scene into two or more scenes if you want the editing process even more simplified. Don’t worry about making your scenes too short because you can always make them one again when the work is done. Easy.

Scenes in plays are similar to scenes in novels. If you write a short section in which something significant happens in a single setting, then it is a scene. The scene directly affects what happens later. “What happens later” is the sequel. Here is a good article on how to write perfect scenes.

What are Chapters?

From Wikipedia:

“A chapter is one of the main divisions of a piece of writing of relative length, such as a book. Chapters can be numbered in the case of such writings as law code (like Chapter 7 or Chapter 11) or they can be titled.”

A chapter is usually made up of two or more scenes, although sometimes there is just one scene in a chapter. Chapters that have one scene are usually short, although that won’t be the case if the scene itself is long or elaborate.

Chapters can be short, although if you make them too short and have too many of them, they may become less effective. Extremely long chapters, on the other hand, can be cumbersome. Experiment with caution.

The length of the chapter may depend on the audience for whom the novel is written. Children’s books have short chapters whereas adult books have (mostly) long chapters.

How do you effectively create chapters in a novel? It depends. In adventure and mystery novels, some people like to end chapters on cliff-hangers: this is a popular technique. However, the bottom line is that you should end chapters whenever you feel a major shift in the story, whether it be a change in point of view, a new scene, or a sequel.

Short chapters are easy to write. As mentioned, they often consist of a single scene and therefore rarely become boring or complicated. Long chapters can be dull if not executed properly. As you write your novel, try to strike a balance so that each chapter is interesting to the reader.

Chapters make ideal blocks of text for editing and proofreading for the same reason that scenes are indispensable. You can create separate document files for each chapter (or scene) to help you focus on smaller chunks of text. I’ve done this a few times, and it worked well for me. But then, in creative writing, there is no such thing such as one size fits all. Experiment with various techniques and test your results.

Effective Fiction Writing

Remember that while writing the first draft of a novel, planning effective scenes and chapters will make editing much easier. By including scenes, chapters, and other shorter blocks of text in your fiction writing, you’ll be off to a great start with your novel or other long-term fiction writing project.

Have Your Say

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Do you agree that chapters and scenes are great for editing if you create them effectively? Disagree? Got something to say? Any fiction writing tips to add? Then it’s over to you to leave a comment below.

Of all the seasons, summer offers the greatest number of delights for our senses. It’s chock-full of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches.

We grown-ups pine for the days when summers were free and careless (at least I do). Do kids know how lucky they are to enjoy almost three solid months of freedom from obligation? Ah, the promise of summer vacation.

Seasonal Poetry

Poets have long celebrated the seasons through verse. Using vivid, descriptive, and emotional language, poets have successfully captured the very essence of the seasons and their annual cycles. Such poems are a celebration of life, death, and nature. They capture the imagination and connect us all by reminding us that some aspects of the human experience are universal.

But all writers get stuck, including poets. Call it writer’s block, lack of inspiration, or absence of the muse. Sometimes, ideas just don’t come easily. That’s when poetry prompts and other writing exercises keep your creativity going.

Poetry prompts are an accessible way to jump-start a poetry writing session when you’re fresh out of ideas. They’re also useful for writing in form or tackling specific subject matter. This leaves your mind free to focus on structure, rhyme, and musicality.

Using Poetry Prompts

Below, you will find five lists of words. Each list pertains to one of the five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. You can use these lists to write a poem in any way you see fit, but below are a few suggestions for building poems around the poetry prompts.

Try choosing one word from each list. You can mix up the words to write a free-verse poem or choose one word from each list to kick-start each verse in a five-verse poem. If you want to write a poem that appeals entirely to one sense, simply choose the list that corresponds (for example, the SMELL list) and use all the words on that list for your poem. Feel free to write in form. You can visit the types of poems section to find a form in which to write.

Or, to really challenge yourself, try writing a single poem using all the words from all the lists. That ought to really tickle the senses!

Summery Poetry Prompts (for the Senses)

SEE

• Beach ball
• Parade
• Surfer
• Tourist
• Swimsuits
• Sunglasses (shades)
• Buckets & Spades
• Dripping Ice cream
• Boardwalk
• Horseshoe crabs
• Jelly fish
• Lifeguard boats
• Beach bags
• Lightning bugs (fireflies), June bugs
• Hanging basket
• Clear blue skies
• Cotton white clouds

HEAR

• Splashing
• Outdoor concerts (or beach concerts)
• Waves crashing
• Thunder (don’t forget about those summer storms!)
• Music blaring from convertibles
• Seagull calls
• Lawn mowers
• Fans (A/C)
• Children playing
• Ice cream truck/van
• Buzzing bees, bumble bees buzzing, honey bees

SMELL

• Barbecue
• Chlorine (swimming pool)
• Suntan lotion (or sunblock)
• Coconut
• Ripe peaches
• Wildflowers
• Freshly cut grass (wet summers like this one), parched grass (dry summers)
• Fresh summer rain

TASTE

• Ice cream
• Fresh summer fruits: watermelon, plums, grapes
• Flavored shaved ice, popsicles
• Iced tea and lemonade
• Cotton candy, popcorn
• Fish & Chips
• Salt water taffy
• Vine-ripe tomatoes
• Sea (salt) water
• Strawberries and cream
• Blackberry pie

TOUCH

• (Gritty) sand
• Water
• (Feet in) flip-flops
• Burn-your-feet-hot concrete/pavement
• Warm/hot breezes
• Freshly watered (or cut) grass
• Water balloons in the face (via water balloon fights!)
• Sun on your face

Do you have any words to add to these lists of poetry prompts? If so, leave them in the comments and we’ll update the post to include them. Good luck with your poetry writing, and have a great summer!