Scott Oldford Site

Category: Craft

  • How to Beat Writer’s Block: 5 Ways to Face the Blank Page

    How to Beat Writer’s Block: 5 Ways to Face the Blank Page

    Just as an artist wouldn’t be able to rework a blank canvas, a writer cannot edit a blank page. Making mistakes is part of the process; don’t smother your creativity out of fear and doubt.

    Everyone has ebbs and flows in their creativity. Just as bamboo is strong but bends and sways in the breeze, be flexible in your approach to writing, maintaining an awareness of where you are going and the flexibility of thought to follow wherever your creative process takes you, unencumbered by resistance or doubt.

    “The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can,” author Neil Gaiman told The Guardian.

    If you struggle to overcome a fear of the blank page, take a deep breath and try one of these techniques.

    1. Take action

    For many, the blank page can be intimidating and overwhelming. Though just as when you worried about a monster in your closet as a child, to make the monster disappear, all you need to do is open the door.

    Similarly, “open the door” to your creativity by starting to write. The trick — as with honing every skill — is to practice.

    “Don’t just plan to write — write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style,” author PD James said, when asked for her favourite writing tips by Guardian Books.

    You wouldn’t trust a heart surgeon who has read books on how to operate, but never actually picked up a scalpel. Reading about writing craft is wonderful, but you also need to write — ideally, every day, even if it’s just for five minutes.

    [bctt tweet=”Reading about writing craft is wonderful, but you also need to write, says @WriterJoMalby“]

    “[The] Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around ‘getting ready,’ the more time and opportunity we’ll have to sabotage ourselves. Resistance loves it when we hesitate, when we over-prepare. The answer: plunge in,” author Steven Pressfield told Krista Stevens in this interview.

    2. Stick with the process

    Be prepared to tolerate the anxiety that comes with not being able to write as well as you’d like, and push through it. Suspending judgment when you’re writing frequently leads to unexpected creative gems.

    “That freedom opens you to the surprising stuff you never saw coming; stuff that makes you smile as you sit there in the coffee shop, your mug of joe cooling because you’ve forgotten to take a sip in 15 solid minutes,” says author and Contributing Editor at Writer’s Digest, Elizabeth Sims.

    “When beginning a writing session, new authors often feel that they must jump off to an excellent start, when all they really need is to start.”

    3. Be willing to write badly

    When we allow ourselves to let go of any preconceptions of what our writing should be, we loosen the creative faucet. Let go of your inner red pen and leave the editing until later.

    “[Be] willing to write really badly. It won’t hurt you to do that. I think there is this fear of writing badly. Forget it! Let it float away and the good stuff follows,” says novelist Jennifer Egan in an interview with The Days of Yore.

    “The bad beginning is just something to build on. It’s no big deal. You have to give yourself permission to do that because you can’t expect to write regularly and always write well. That’s when people get into the habit of waiting for the good moments, where I think writer’s block comes from. Maybe good writing isn’t happening, but let some bad writing happen …

    “When I was writing “The Keep,” my writing was so terrible. My working title for that first draft was, A Short Bad Novel. I thought: “How can I disappoint?”

    4. Use freewriting to kickstart your creativity

    Many authors advocate freewriting as a wonderful way of coercing your creativity out of its shell — whether you believe in the idea of a writing muse or not.

    “I have forced myself to begin writing when I’ve been utterly exhausted, when I’ve felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes … and somehow the activity of writing changes everything,” author Joyce Carol Oates told The Paris Review in 1989.

    Whether you use a writing prompt, an image, or a line of text from a favourite book, set a timer, start writing and don’t stop until your time is up. The trick is to keep moving, even if you’re not sure what to say next.

    5. Remember to enjoy yourself

    When we feel barricaded in by deadlines or pressured by outside forces, it’s easy to forget the beauty, joy and fun of writing.

    “Have humility. Remember you don’t know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life — and maybe even please a few strangers,” AL Kennedy told The Guardian.

    Celebrate each writing accomplishment, whether it’s as large as finishing your first draft of a novel or as small as writing the first sentence. The more you enjoy your work, the easier it becomes to write the next sentence and tackle the next writing goal.

    How do you deal with blocked creativity and fear of the blank page?

  • How to Write Better: 7 Simple Ways to Declutter Your Writing

    How to Write Better: 7 Simple Ways to Declutter Your Writing

    You know that feeling when you open up your closet and it’s so stuffed with clothes you don’t wear that you can’t find the ones you really like?

    Or maybe your desk is piled with papers that need filing, and you waste all kinds of time looking for that one you need? Clutter adds stress and sucks up valuable time.

    The same situation applies to writing. Unnecessary words and redundancies in a page or paragraph obscure its core meaning and interrupt its flow. The essence of your message is buried under all those excess words.

    Once you’ve written the first draft of your novel or short story, it’s time to go back and look for cluttered sentences and paragraphs.

    Ferret out words that don’t add to the meaning or imagery and are just hampering the fluid flow of ideas. Look for instances of overwriting or beating a point to death. Say it once — or twice, max — then move on. Otherwise you risk annoying your readers.

    Ready to search out the clutter in your story?

    1. Avoid little-word pile-ups and eliminate redundancies

    Reveal the essence of your message by streamlining your words. Instead of “in spite of the fact that,” just say “although.” Instead of “in the vicinity of,” say “near.”

    Replace “in the direction of,” with “to” or “toward.” Instead of “came in contact with,” say “met.” Instead of “during the time that,” say “while.” No need to say “located at” – just say “at.”

    Before:

    On their cross-country trip, they slept each night in the cheap motels located less than a mile’s drive from the interstate.

    After:

    On their cross-country trip, they slept each night in cheap motels just off the interstate.

    Before:

    The car drove slowly through the large complex heading in the direction of a secluded building at the back of the facility. It was located on the shore of the Mississippi River. The vehicle came to a stop next to the entrance to the building.

    After:

    The car drove slowly through the large complex toward a secluded building on the shore of the Mississippi River. It stopped next to the entrance.

    Before:

    He was shooting off his mouth in the bar last night telling everybody that he was going to find the bastard that ratted on him.

    After:

    He was shooting off his mouth in the bar last night about finding the bastard that ratted on him.

    Before:

    He moved his mouse pointer over to the other email that he had received.

    After:

    He clicked on the second email.

    2. Don’t drown your readers in details

    Leave out those tiny details that just serve to distract the reader, who wonders for an instant why they’re there and if they’re significant.

    Before:

    He had arrived at the vending machine and was punching the buttons on its front with an outstretched index finger when a voice from behind him broke him away from his thoughts.

    After:

    He was punching the buttons on the vending machine when a voice behind him broke into his thoughts.

    In the first example, we have way too much detail. What else would he be punching the buttons with besides his finger? We also don’t need to know which finger he’s using or that it’s outstretched, since everybody does it pretty much the same. Minute details like these just clutter up your prose.

    Before:

    An angular snarl stuck to his face, the officer indicated with a hand gesture a door that was behind and off to the right of Jason. He swung his head around to look in the direction the officer was pointing.

    After:

    Snarling, the officer gestured to a door behind Jason. He turned to look behind him.

    3. Take out empty, “filler” words

    Words like “it was” and “there were” simply get in the way of your story without adding anything useful.

    Before:

    I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the basement. There was a dim light ahead in the hallway. To the right there were cardboard boxes stacked high. To the left, there was a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. There was someone upstairs.

    After:

    I headed down a rickety set of wooden steps to the dimly lit basement. To the right, cardboard boxes were stacked high. To the left, I saw a closed door with a padlock. Suddenly, I heard muffled sounds. Someone was upstairs.

    I could play around with this some more, but you get the picture.

    4. Take out the word “that” wherever it’s not needed

    Read the sentence out loud, and if it still makes sense without the “that,” remove it. This change smoothes out the sentence so it’s less clunky and flows better.

    Before:

    She said that you thought that it was too expensive and that you wanted to shop around.

    After:

    She said you thought it was too expensive and you wanted to shop around.

    5. Delete words or phrases that unnecessarily reinforce what’s already been said

    Cluttering your sentences with too many unnecessary words can get in the way of clear communication and confuse and subliminally irritate the reader. Go through your manuscript and see where you’ve cluttered up sentences and paragraphs with little words and phrases that aren’t needed and just impede the natural flow of ideas.

    The phrases in italics are redundant here:

    We passed an abandoned house that nobody lived in on a deserted street with no one around. The house was large in size and gray in color.

    At this point in time, the truth is that complaints are increasing in number, but I don’t see that as a problem to be solved.

    6. Don’t tell after you’ve shown

    For example:

    She moped around the house, unable to concentrate on anything. She felt sad.

    He paced nervously around the room, muttering to himself. He was agitated.

    In both instances, the second sentence can and should be deleted.

    7. Condense any long-winded dialogue

    In real life, people don’t usually speak in lengthy, complete sentences or uninterrupted monologues. Read your dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural, not like a rehearsed speech.

    [bctt tweet=””Read your dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural,” says @JodieRennerEd“]

    Break up any blocks of one person speaking at length by rewriting them in questions and answers or a lively debate, with plenty of tension and attitude. Try using lots of incomplete sentences and one- or two-word answers, or even silences.

    How would your characters actually speak in real life? Think about their personalities and character traits. For example, men, especially blue-collar men, tend to be terser and more to-the-point than women.

    Looking for more ways to declutter your writing? In my editor’s guide to writing compelling stories, Fire up Your Fiction, I offer lots of concrete tips with examples for streamlining your writing for a smoother flow and pacing. Also, check out the post on tightening your copy.

    How do you streamline your writing?

  • Feel Nervous About Submitting Your Writing? Why That’s a Good Thing

    Feel Nervous About Submitting Your Writing? Why That’s a Good Thing

    Does this story sound familiar?

    Whenever I submit something I’ve written for a client, I develop a nervous twitch. I wonder if the client is going to like what I’ve written, or if they’ll think it’s absolute garbage.

    No matter how much time and effort I’ve put into it, how much of my soul I’ve poured out onto the page, I wonder if this will be the time when someone sees me for the charlatan of a writer my self-condemning alter ego insists I am.

    “There, that’s the one,” he says. “That’s the one who’s going to finally tell you just how horrible a writer you really are!”

    This nervousness and anxiety, I’ve come to realize, is actually a good thing, if it’s properly harnessed. You just have to make sure you don’t allow that evil alter ego to speak too loudly, or to convince you that you’re a lousy writer. The trick is in finding the right balance and using your nervousness as motivation.

    Are you really that good?

    If you have no anxiety about your writing at all, you might fail to take constructive criticism seriously — and miss a chance to improve your craft. On the other hand, if you allow yourself to be convinced you cannot write, you might give up altogether.

    The nervousness and anxiety are what propel you to continue honing your skills. If you truly thought you already knew everything there was to know about writing, it wouldn’t be fun or challenging anymore, and there would be little reason to continue doing it. As long as you feel like you have more to learn, though, you will keep working to refine your skills and become an even better writer.

    Anxiety and writer’s block

    This feeling of anxiety isn’t the same as the “writing anxiety” that can block your writing and cripple you as a writer, although these are also often signs that you have a healthy regard for wanting to improve your writing. Writer’s block is a symptom of that same condition, but it isn’t the only symptom.

    No, the kind of anxiety I’m talking about develops after the writing is done. It’s the feeling that the work isn’t quite finished or isn’t quite good enough. You’ve probably felt this from time to time — if not every time you finish a project. The key is to not let this feeling stop you from submitting the work.

    Donald M. Murray describes this issue quite eloquently in his essay “The Maker’s Eye.” He rebukes the illusion that a written work can ever be finished, arguing that “a piece of writing is never finished. It is delivered to a deadline, torn out of the typewriter on demand, sent off with a sense of accomplishment and shame and pride and frustration.”

    Harness that anxiety!

    Use your anxiety to fuel your revisions. Allow yourself to detach from what you’ve written and read it as if you were a stranger to the piece. By becoming your reader, you can look for what the reader wants to find in your writing: information, a call to action, entertainment or a mixture of all of the above.

    Being anxious and slightly nervous about the quality of your work is a good sign that you are passionate about your writing. If you lack passion, you could find your writing career coming to an abrupt end.

    How do I know when enough revision is enough?

    You need to find the healthy balance between revising, rewriting, and realizing that the piece is due and it is time to turn it in. Take to heart all of the praise you’ve received for your writing, and realize that while what you have written may not be perfect, it is high-quality work that possesses all of the soul and heart you can pour into it.

    If you read it as a stranger and find within your words the information, call to action, entertainment, or whatever you wanted the reader to get out of it, hand it in! You’ll likely have another opportunity to revise it after your client or editor has a look and shares her comments.

    Not convinced? Here’s a perfect example: I revised this particular post several times before I took a deep breath and submitted it to the editors, and then revised it once more after their feedback!

    What if the client really does hate my work?

    It’s possible that one day, a client may not like what you’ve written. When that time does come, take it in stride. Not everyone has the same preferences; not everyone likes the same movies, so why would everyone like the same style of writing? Ask for their feedback on how to revise the work: do you need to work on better emulating the client’s voice, strengthening your self-editing skills, or creating clearer calls to action?

    Learn from your mistakes, and move on to make your writing even better.

    [bctt tweet=”Learn from your mistakes, and move on to make your writing even better, says @byrneswritenow”]

    A writer needs to have thick skin and be able to handle constructive criticism without taking it personally. As with any form of art, your skills and abilities should constantly be improving, and you should be able to take constructive feedback and use it to improve your art.

    You’re passionate about your writing — but recognize that with that passion comes some anxiety and nervousness. Just don’t let your nerves rule you — use them to motivate you to strengthen your skills.

    Do you ever feel anxious before submitting client work or pressing “publish” on a blog post? What do you do?

  • Andrew Fitzgerald on Adventures in Twitter Fiction: TED Talks for Writers

    Andrew Fitzgerald on Adventures in Twitter Fiction: TED Talks for Writers

    Looking for some writing inspiration? One fantastic source is TED.com, home of “Ideas Worth Spreading.” This series of posts features notable TED talks related to writing, storytelling and creativity. Enjoy!

    Ready to change the way you look at Twitter?

    In this TED talk, Andrew Fitzgerald, a writer and editor who works for Twitter, explores new ways to use the platform for storytelling. Rather than thinking of the social network simply as a means of connecting with others and promoting your work, what if you were to use the medium for inspiration or even distribution?

    Fitzgerald draws parallels to the advent of serial radio shows in the 1930s, saying that “radio is a great example of how a new medium defines new formats which then define new stories.” He explains how this real-time storytelling blurs the lines between fact and fiction and provides opportunities for writers to play with different identities and anonymity while building new and creative stories.

    He references several well-known examples, including Hugh Howey’s self-published short story “Wool” that spawned a succession of sequels; Jennifer Egan’s “Black Box,” a short story tweeted line by line by The New Yorker’s fiction account; and parody stories that build on real-life events, such as the @MayorEmanuel account that documented the events of the Chicago mayoral election with a science fiction twist.

    Find the transcript and audio download on TED.com.

    What do you think of Fitzgerald’s ideas about Twitter storytelling?

  • The Write Life Turns One: Thanks for Being Part of Our First Year!

    The Write Life Turns One: Thanks for Being Part of Our First Year!

    It’s hard to believe, but The Write Life is celebrating its first birthday!

    Thank you for being part of this community of writers: for reading, subscribing, contributing, commenting and sharing. We’re glad you’ve enjoyed our posts this past year, and look forward to continuing to help you create, connect and earn.

    As we look forward to our second year, we’d love to know more about how we can help you. Would you mind sharing your thoughts in our five-minute survey?

    The survey asks questions like, What are your writing goals? What writerly challenges are you facing? What do you most need to make progress on the writer’s journey? Your feedback will guide us in providing information and content that’s most helpful for you.

     

    Thanks for supporting us through our first year, and here’s to many more!

    Cheers,

    The Write Life team

     

  • Cliches to Avoid: 4 Story Endings Your Readers Will Hate

    Cliches to Avoid: 4 Story Endings Your Readers Will Hate

    Writing a book is difficult, but crafting an ending that is both impactful and wraps the plot up beautifully is even more so.

    You worked hard to create a beginning that grabbed your readers, so make sure to write an ending that lives up to the rest of your story. Relying on clichés will only leave your readers feeling disappointed and dissatisfied.

    Stay away from these four cliché endings:

    1. The happily ever after

    What it is: All of the characters in your book live happily ever, with no hardships to bear. The hero defeats his foes and all of the plot twists are nicely tied up – perhaps a little unrealistically.

    Why to avoid it: Life doesn’t necessarily end happily ever after, which makes this type of ending feel disingenuous. You want your readers to feel enthralled with your book so that they’ll want to share it with friends, read more of your work or even re-read your story. Real life isn’t perfect, so make sure that your book stays in the realm of realism.

    2. The drawn-out dream

    What it is: The drawn-out dream ending involves the main character waking up safe and sound in their bed, realizing that the entire plot has just been a dream.

    Why to avoid it: This type of ending typically annoys readers, who feel that the author has copped out. A book should be emotional to everyone involved, and an author who uses this ending seems to betray readers’ trust and cheapen the emotions they’ve felt throughout the book.

    3. The guilty hero’s monologue

    What it is: When the hero finally defeats the bad guy or force, the reader is privy to her internal thoughts of regret or remorse. The monologue is supposed to show the character’s guilt at what she’s had to do and how it’s eating away at her. Even though the ending is happy, our hero must now live with the blood on her hands.

    Why to avoid it: In general, writers should strive to show, not tell, readers what is happening in the book. By strongarming readers into feeling specific, manufactured emotions, you are taking away their freedom to experience the story in a way that is reflective of their background and experiences. Readers may feel they are being led to specific conclusions, and few enjoy the feeling of an author holding their hand throughout a book — especially the ending.

    4. The lover’s life

    What it is: This is a special twist on the happily ever after ending, in which the main character falls in love, sometimes for an unexplained or random reason. It shows that true love makes the world go ‘round and that all that happened in the course of the story was worth it.

    Why to avoid it: Unrealistic endings tend to annoy readers. If a love interest is too sudden, it isn’t all that real. If it is unexplained, it leaves your characters lacking depth. The truth is that not everyone falls in love and lives happily ever after. The best endings are unique, somewhat realistic, and really make your readers think.

    Set the text aside, brainstorm some unique possibilities, and pick up your manuscript again when you have a more interesting picture of what could be.

    If you want to learn how to finish a story the right way, check out our guide here.

    What other cliché endings did we miss? What frustrates you at the end of a great story?    

  • How Too Much Knowledge Can Hurt Your Writing Career

    How Too Much Knowledge Can Hurt Your Writing Career

    “The curse of knowledge” may sound like something out of a cheesy movie, but it’s as real as it gets — and if you’re not able to avoid it in your writing, it could hurt your business.

    The curse of knowledge is the inability to see yourself in a novice’s shoes.

    No matter how brilliant your writing is, it won’t matter if you don’t give your audience a chance to understand it. Your expertise allows you to speak with authority, but using jargon and advanced language will alienate readers with less experience.

    Right about now, you may think this problem doesn’t concern you, that you know your stuff, that you’re great at explaining your subject. So did I — before I realized how my knowledge affected my writing career.

    The curse of knowledge: A case study

    Most of my writing career revolves around WordPress. I have a number of WordPress-related articles on the web, and I published a book called WordPress 3.7 Complete. I know WordPress.

    Most of the time, this helps me because I don’t have to look too deeply to find an idea or an angle when writing a new article. But other times it stabs me right in the back.

    Eventually, I realized that because of my experience with WordPress, I was often failing to address those readers who don’t have the same experience — which alienates them from my writing.

    How did I find out? I took a look at the comments readers were leaving. In complex posts, readers left fewer comments and only referred to the simplest elements of the article. The easier to grasp the language, the more in-depth and detailed the comments were. In other words, people understood and enjoyed the simple approach more than the complex one. It’s similar to Derek Halpern’s analysis of the research showing that using longer, complex words actually makes people think you’re less intelligent.

    If I’m not careful, my knowledge of WordPress could actually prevent me from effectively conveying my ideas. And as a person building my reputation based on my skill in the WordPress niche, this could be a serious obstacle in my career path.

    Does your writing pass the grandma test?

    Not sure if you’re suffering from the curse of knowledge or not? Here’s a simple way to find out.

    Call your grandma and give her a piece of your writing. After she reads it, ask her to share her understanding of the core message. How close are her impressions to the message you wanted to share? [bctt tweet=”Does your grandma understand your writing? If not, you need to revise.”]

    This simple test gives you a quick indication of whether you need to elaborate on a concept or give a little more background explanation.

    Introducing new concepts without drowning in jargon

    Ok, so your grandma should be able to grasp the basic message you’re trying to convey. But what if you need to explain industry jargon?

    Using a bit of jargon in your writing is okay, even necessary, to fully introduce someone to a new topic. But if you use too much of it, you’ll lose your message — and your audience’s interest — in the process.

    Here’s a prime example of the curse of knowledge. Both of these videos attempt to explain gravity to the layperson; which one is more successful?

    This video features slick footage and well-known scientists, but it’s 44 minutes long and addresses additional concepts related to gravity. It’s interesting, but isn’t going to hold most people’s attention for very long.

     

    Contrast that video with this high school teacher’s workshop, in which he manages to explain the complicated idea of gravity in less than 10 minutes. He’s not using any difficult or technical language. He’s illustrating the concept instead of blasting the audience with scientific jargon, which makes his demonstration engaging and interesting.

    Aim for your writing to be like the second video. Here are two simple steps to help you avoid the curse of knowledge.

    Step 1: Be aware

    You can’t cure yourself of a bad habit if you don’t know you have one, right?

    Being aware is half the battle.

    Now that you know the curse of knowledge exists, keep an eye out for it as you edit your work. Whenever you finish writing a piece, read through it and try to identify the parts that could potentially be hard to understand for the average reader. If you’re not sure, have a less-experienced friend or colleague take a look — or give your grandma a call.

    Step 2: Better yourself

    A famous saying often attributed to Albert Einstein goes, “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

    This is a bit confusing, since by definition, the curse of knowledge affects people with knowledge. So a lack of thereof shouldn’t be among the causes, right?

    The explanation is in our usual learning patterns. Regardless of the topic you want to master, you’ll go through the same phases:

    1. You start by acknowledging that you know nothing about the topic

    2. You devour all the information you can find, and after a short period of time you think that you know everything there is to know on the topic

    3. You realize how many gaps there are in your understanding and experience a letdown

    4. You begin growing your knowledge, conscious of all there is left to discover

    The curse of knowledge is something that tends to appear between the know-it-all phase and the letdown phase. This usually the time you can’t convey your ideas — not because you are too advanced, but because you aren’t knowledgeable enough yet.

    Admitting that we don’t fully know our subject matter can be tough. However, it’s something that affects us all, and once we make peace with it, we can find solutions. Learning more about your niche frees you from sitting in front of a blank piece of paper for hours trying to figure out how to explain an idea that you don’t fully grasp, and allows you to connect with a larger, more diverse audience.

    So, what does your grandma have to say about your writing?

  • 6 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes You Simply Don’t Want to Make

    6 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes You Simply Don’t Want to Make

    Nothing stops a reader in his tracks as quickly as a poorly worded headline, sentence or paragraph. Think about it: if the title or first few lines of a post are awkward or incorrect, do you continue reading or move on to another option?

    Quality writing demonstrates that you take your work seriously and want to be perceived as credible and professional. Even the most valuable content will be dismissed if it’s riddled with errors.

    Brush up on these six common grammar mistakes so you can avoid them and keep your readers’ attention where it belongs: on the information you have to share.

    1. Too many pronouns

    Including an overabundance of pronouns in a single sentence may confuse your readers: Who is doing the action? Who said that? For clarity, begin a paragraph or a sentence with the name of the character you are writing about, then use pronouns to refer back to that person.

    Example: Here’s a sentence that uses too many pronouns, making the meaning unclear: “He went there to do that, but she didn’t know where he was.”

    2. Misused apostrophes

    Generally, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession — not plural — and to mark missing letters in contractions (for example: you are = you’re). Many writers use apostrophes incorrectly when denoting plurals. Take some time to get familiar with the correct use of apostrophes so you don’t fall into this trap.

    Example: A sign at the office should read, “Only managers should use copiers,” not “Only manager’s should use copiers.”

    3. Comma confusion

    Writers often misuse commas. They’re meant to let the reader know to take a pause before moving on. Some writers use too many commas, and some don’t use enough, so do your best to be consistent with your usage.

    As you’re writing, scan your sentences to see if you have two sentences strung together with a comma. Can the sentences stand alone? If so, split them up or use a semi-colon.

    Example: This situation is known as a comma splice: “I went to bed late last night, I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.” This could be better said in any of the following ways:

    • “I went to bed late last night. I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”

    • “I went to bed late last night; I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”

    • “I went to bed late last night because I couldn’t stop watching a movie on TV.”

    As you read books and well-edited blogs, take note of comma use. You can learn a lot from reading professional work.

    4. Incorrect capitalization

    Many writers take it upon themselves to capitalize anything they want, and other writers may not capitalize anything at all. This rule is one of the more flexible ones on this list, since capitalization is often used for emphasis. However, according to grammar rules, only capitalize proper nouns such as the name of a person, place or business.

    Example: A business writer creating a sales page might want to write “The Writing Handbook Will Launch on Saturday,” but this is not grammatically correct. Instead, they he should write, “The Writing Handbook will launch on Saturday.”

    5. Fragments

    A fragment is an incomplete sentence, and many writers are unaware they include these sentence fragments in their writing. If you’re writing informally on a personal blog, you may consciously choose to use fragments. However, in more formal writing or on assignment, make sure to replace them with full sentences.

    Example: “Or take it home.” This is not a complete sentence and should be rewritten as, “Keep it here or take it home.”

    6. Wordiness

    Have you ever written an article, then checked the word count and found you’ve fallen short? Perhaps you have to add 200 words in order to meet your goal, so you throw in some fluff.

    Wordiness means including extra words or phrases simply for the sake of word count — or that you’re just long-winded. While not strictly a grammar infraction, wordiness affects the structure and composition of your writing, taking away from its quality. Do your best to keep your writing succinct for clear communication.

    Example: “Due to the fact that access to internet resources are actually at the present time very easy to access in many places, the vast majority of users seek to have those kinds of devices that are most easy to carry around with them wherever they go.” (46 words)

    Here’s how Professor G. Kim Blank suggests making this sentence more concise: “Because the Internet is available most places, users often prefer portable devices.” (12 words)

    What grammar mistakes do you see your fellow writers making?

    Photo by Jason Rosenberg on Flickr under Creative Commons

  • 3 Ways to Train Your Brain to be More Creative

    3 Ways to Train Your Brain to be More Creative

    Whether you’re just getting started freelancing or are employed full-time, writing “on demand” can be terribly difficult.

    Does this sound like you sometimes?

    •  Waiting for inspiration that just isn’t coming

    •  Finally hitting your creative stride… only to realize you have a meeting in 15 minutes

    •  Barely making deadlines because you’re struggling to get into the creative zone when you most need to

    You’re not alone. Being able to turn the creativity spigot on and off is something all of us creative professionals struggle with at some point in our careers. It’s essential to find a way to harness creative energy and tap into it when you need it.

    I’m naturally more creative at night and I don’t know if that will ever totally change. However, a few big changes to my workflow have helped me tap into the creativity I need during normal business hours. Not only does this work better for my clients, it enables me to have a personal life instead of being holed up in my office working odd hours. Win-win.

    Here’s how you can start channeling your creativity when you need it most.

    1. Develop a (good) habit

    Get your brain and body in the habit of sitting down at a specific time to work and be creative. Working in the middle of the night wasn’t ideal for my life or for my clients, so I trained myself to develop a creative and focused mindset during certain times of the day.

    I started by blocking off two two-hour windows a day for creative writing. During each creative session, I silenced my phone, closed my email and social media channels, and focused solely on the task at hand. After about a week of sticking to this schedule, I realized that my brain started to “tune in” during these times. I no longer needed a warm-up (see tip #2) to get into the flow and I found that I was much more focused.

    Try blocking off one or two “creative sessions” during your day and keep at it for at least a week to develop a good, creative habit.

    2. Train your brain

    Sometimes your schedule just won’t allow you to stick to your dedicated creative time. So, take a cue from Pavlov and his dogs: develop a creative ritual to get ready to write.

    One option is to start with a “fun file” before diving into more serious, professional work. A fun file is whatever you want it to be — an ongoing story or a writing prompt response — but most importantly, it is a no pressure zone to get yourself into the creative mindset. Work on this fun file for five to 15 minutes before switching to your “real” work.

    Eventually your brain will start to associate the fun file with being a precursor to real work and you’ll be able to seamlessly glide into serious work straight from your fun file at any time of the day.

    3. Take the power away from “The Muse”

    I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on having to wait around for other people — inspirational muses included.

    A lot of creative folks get stuck on the idea that they need to feel inspired in order to produce creative work. I get it. When those ideas and words are just flowing out of your brain it can certainly feel like divine inspiration. But in reality, you’re discrediting yourself as a creative professional when you give too much power to the muse.

    Remind yourself that you are the one producing the great creative work. You are the one who worked hard to get here. The more consistently you work on creative projects, the less you’ll even think about that finicky muse. Get into the habit of creating on your own terms and you’ll never sit around waiting for inspiration again.

    How do you find inspiration and creativity when you need it most?

  • Point of View: How Writers Can Master This Crucial Story Element

    Point of View: How Writers Can Master This Crucial Story Element

    Once you decide on the point of view for your book — whether first person or third, omniscient or limited — the hard part follows: staying consistent.

    Falling out of the selected point of view (POV) can abruptly interrupt the story. Readers no longer connect with the main character, and they have a hard time following the plot.

    Avoid these fatal flaws by maintaining a steady point of view.

    It’s best to be mindful of POV as you write, because fixing errors requires combing through each and every scene! It’s doable, just not very fun. And most literary agents won’t want to do it for you.

    Here are six tips to ensure you keep a steady POV in your story:

    1. Only include setting elements your POV character would notice

    When your POV character first walks into a room, they’re not going to notice every detail — the color of the curtains, the shape of the table, the type of tile on the floor. While you want to describe the setting accurately, you have to keep POV in mind. Maybe all your character will notice is the delicious aroma of food cooking in the kitchen.

    One of literary agents’ pet peeves is when writers go beyond what is necessary in setting the scene. Be natural in introducing pertinent details, or even have another character who has been in the room awhile point it out.

    2. Don’t let characters describe themselves

    Your character likely isn’t going to realize what facial expressions they’re making as another character relays the day’s gossip. And they’re probably not going to notice the food in their teeth unless someone else comments on it or looks at them funny. Be mindful of how you describe characters: What would they really have noticed?

    3. Don’t include anything your POV character wouldn’t have known at that time

    Unless they’re a fortune teller.

    But this rule applies to your POV character’s knowledge of facts, not just future events. Would they really know the specific brand of clothing a friend was wearing? If so, how they knew that should be apparent to the reader as well.

    4. Make sure the characters’ judgments are based on signs noticeable to the reader

    If one character believes another is a two-faced liar, this judgment should also be apparent to the reader. All the signs the character saw to reach that decision, the reader should have seen, too.

    5. Don’t jump from head to head

    Each chapter or section should be in a single character’s point of view. When the POV switches, make sure it’s obvious in the first sentence.

    6. Eliminate every “he thought” and “she saw”

    These attributions are jarring when readers already feel that they’re in the POV character’s thoughts. People don’t think using phrases like “I’m seeing this” or “I’m thinking that.” Those are phrases we use to express to someone outside of our mind what we’ve thought or experienced. In using these phrases, you ban readers from your character’s head.

    A major red flag pops up when these attributions refer to other characters, since your POV character wouldn’t be able to know what another character was looking at or thinking about.

    Readers want to get lost in a story. They want to think and feel right along with the main character. When you tell a story from a character’s point of view you have the privilege of writing from inside that character’s head. The bottom line is for you to get inside your main character — to think like him, to see like her — and to tell the story as if you were living it.

    If point of view still seems an overwhelming skill to master, get help from other writers by putting together a writing group or even hiring an editor. The more aware of point of view you are, the easier it will be to catch yourself from falling out of it.

    How do you ensure a consistent POV in your writing?