Tag: how to

Where The Magic Happens

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[found on killzoneauthors.blogspot.com by James Scott Bell]

   “Being a structure guy, I’ve always been fascinated by how story works. When I was first learning the craft, I spent a year studying the 3 Act structure, taking my cues primarily from Syd Field’s classic, Screenplay. In that book, Field talks about plot points, the hinges that lead the plot into Act 2 and Act 3. But I found frustrating a lack of definition of how these plot points worked. What was supposed to be in them? Field knew something happened, he sensed it, but wasn’t quite able to define it.

   After watching movie after movie and charting their structures, it came to me. Especially that first plot point, which I began calling “the doorway of no return.” That’s because something has to happen to thrust the lead character into the dangers of Act 2. When you know this in your plot, and put it in the right place, it keeps your novel from dragging and gives it the momentum it needs to carry it to the end. It’s crucially important.

    Then, several years ago, I decided to do more in-depth study on what many writing teachers call the “midpoint.” If you do a search about midpoint on the Internet, you’ll find all sorts of ideas about what is supposed to happen here. Some people talk about “raising the stakes.” Others talk about this being the point of commitment. Still others say it’s a change in the direction of the story, or the gathering of new information, or the start of time pressure.

   So once again I started watching movies with the midpoint in mind. And what I found blew me away. Even though the writers may not have been conscious of it, they were creating something in the middle of their stories that pulled together the entire narrative.  The name I gave it is the “look in the mirror” moment. My workshop slide looks like this:

   At this point in the story, the character figuratively looks at himself. He takes stock of where he is in the conflict and, depending on the type of story, has either of two basic thoughts. In a character-driven story, he looks at himself and wonders what kind of person he is. What is he becoming? If he continues the fight of Act 2, how will he be different? What will he have to do to overcome himself? Or how will he have to change in order to battle successfully?

   The second type of look is more for plot-driven fiction. It’s where the character looks at himself and considers the odds against him. At this point the forces seem so vast that there is virtually no way to go on and not face certain death. That death can be professional, physical, or psychological.

   These two basic thoughts are not mutually exclusive. For example, an action story may be given added heft by incorporating the first kind of reflection into the narrative. This happens inLethal Weapon when Riggs bares his soul to Murtaugh, admitting that killing people is “the only thing I was ever good at.”

   A few more examples may help.

   In Casablanca, at the exact midpoint of the film, Ilsa comes to Rick’s saloon after closing. Rick has been getting drunk, remembering with bitterness what happened with him and Ilsa in Paris. Ilsa comes to him to try to explain why she left him in Paris, that she found out her husband Viktor Lazlo was still alive. She pleads with him to understand. But Rick is so bitter he basically calls her a whore. She weeps and leaves. And Rick, full of self disgust, puts his head in his hands. He is thinking, “What have I become?”

   The rest of the film will determine whether he stays a selfish drunk, or regains his humanity. That, in fact, is what Casablanca is truly about, in both narrative and theme.

   In The Fugitive, an action film, at the very center point of the movie Dr. Kimble is awakened in the basement room he’s renting, by cops swarming all over the place. He thinks they are after him, but it turns out they are actually after the son of the landlord. But the damage is done. Kimble breaks down. He is looking at the odds, thinking there’s no way he can win this fight. There are too many resources arrayed against him.

   Then I went looking for the midpoint of Gone With The Wind, the novel. I opened to the middle of the book and started hunting. And there it was. At the end of Chapter 15, Scarlett looks inside herself, realizing that no one else but she can save Tara.

   The trampled acres of Tara were all that was left to her, now that Mother and Ashley were gone, now that Gerald was senile from shock . . . security and position had vanished overnight. As from another world she remembered a conversation with her father about the land and wondered how she could have been so young, so ignorant, as not to understand what he meant when he said that the land was the one thing in the world worth fighting for.

   Scarlett wonders what kind of person she has to become in order to save Tara. And the decision is made in the last paragraph:

   Yes, Tara was worth fighting for, and she accepted simply and without question the fight. No one was going to get Tara away from her. No one was going to send her and her people adrift on the charity of relatives. She would hold Tara, if she had to break the back of every person on it.

   And that is the essence of GWTW. It’s the story of a young Southern belle who is forced (via a doorway of no return called The Civil War) to save her family home.

   Also, notice how this is different from other definitions of the midpoint you’ll see. Virtually all books on the craft approach it as another “plot” point. Something external happens that changes the course of the story. But what I detect is a character point, somethinginternal, which has the added benefit of bonding audience and character on a deeper level.

   In preparing for this post, I grabbed three of my favorite movies and went to their midpoints. Here’s what I found:

   In Moontstruck, right smack dab in the middle, is the scene where Loretta goes into the confessional, because she has “slept with the brother of my fiancé.” The priest says, “That’s a pretty big sin.” Loretta says, “I know . . .” And the priest tells her, “Reflect on your life!” He is actually instructing her to look in the mirror!

   There’s a perfect mirror moment in It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s the moment where Mr. Potter offers George Bailey a well-paid position with his firm, a job that will mean security for George’s growing family. In return, though, George will have to give up the Building & Loan his father started. Potter offers George a cigar and George asks for time to think it over. He is actually requesting look-in-the-mirror time, and is seriously considering this move. Then he shakes Potter’s hand, and the oily exchange suddenly clarifies what’s at stake for him as a person.  “No,” he says, “now wait a minute here. I don’t need twenty-four hours. I don’t have to talk to anybody. I know right now, and the answer’s No!” George had to make a decision as to what kind of man he was going to be. And he chose not to become another Potter.

   Finally, in Sunset Boulevard, in the middle of the movie to the minute, Joe Gillis also has to decide what kind of man he is. Norma Desmond, his benefactor and lover, has tried to kill herself because Joe found a girl his own age that he wants to start seeing. When Joe hears about it he rushes back to her mansion with the thought that he’ll finally tell her it’s over, that he’s leaving. But she threatens to do it again. And Joe sits down, literally, next to a mirror. In that moment he makes his fateful decision, the one that drives the rest of the movie.

   Could the reason these movies are classics, and others not, be that the writers understood the power of the look in the mirror? Whether instinctive or purposeful, they knew exactly what to do.

Books:

   In the middle of The Silence of the Lambs,Clarice is alone in her room, having just heard of Chilton’s betrayal of Lecter, meaning she won’t get any more information from him, meaning the certain death of the kidnapped girl she’s been trying to save. The odds are now firmly against her and the FBI. In the shower, Clarice reflects back on a childhood memory which symbolizes loss for her.

   At the midpoint of The Hunger Games, Katniss accepts the fact that she’s going to die. The odds are too great:

   I know the end is coming. My legs are shaking and my heart is too quick . . . . My fingers stroke the smooth ground, sliding easily across the top. This is an okay place to die, I think.

   And, if I may, in the exact middle of my thriller, Try Dying, Ty Buchanan’s home has just been firebombed. His fiancée has been murdered. And he reflects on two kinds of people, those who keep driving toward something, and those who have “given up the fight.”

   The question I had, and couldn’t answer, was which kind was I?

   Of course, not every film or book will have a “mirror moment” like I’ve described. But the ones that do have a depth about them, a better cohesion and focus, and a satisfying arc. That’s the sort of thing that makes a reader search out more of an author’s work.

   Since I incorporated “look in the mirror moment” into my workshops, students have reported it has been incredibly helpful in discovering what their novels are really all about. The nice thing is you can explore this moment at any time in your writing process. You can play with it, tweak it. Whether you are a plotter or pantser, just thinking about what the “look in the mirror” might reveal will help you find the real heart of your novel.

   That’s why it’s a magic moment (cue The Drifters).”

[found on http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-magical-midpoint-moment.html#.UhnJORaE5UM]

7 Great Online Research Resources for Writers

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[found on dailywritingtips.com by Mark Nichol]

“Doing research to strengthen a current story or article, or to get ideas for a new one? You can google all you want and hope for a productive return, but to engage in a focused search, try one of these mediated experiences instead:

1. Infoplease

From current events to reference-desk resources to features about history, this site puts a remarkable array of information within reach. Guides to the nations of the world, timelines of political, social, and cultural developments, special quantitative and qualitative features like “The World’s Most Corrupt Nations” and “Color Psychology,” and more cover just about anything you could think of.

2. The Internet Public Library

Unlike the other reference centers on this list, the IPL is a portal to other Web sites, brimming with directories of links in topics like Arts & Humanities. (Dictionary of Symbolism? Check. Ask Philosophers? Right. Legendary Lighthouses? We got your legendary lighthouses right here.) If you need background information on either fiction or nonfiction projects, stop by for a visit — I just dare you to leave without a digressive click or ten.

3. The Library of Congress

The online presence of the official repository of knowledge and lore of the United States is an indispensable resource not only for nonfiction writers seeking background information for topics but also for fiction authors seeking historical context for an existing project or inspiration for a new one.

4. Merriam-Webster Online 

The publishing world’s dictionary of record is at your fingertips online as well as in print, with a thesaurus and Spanish-English and medical compendia, to boot. The dictionary also includes refreshing can’t-we-all-just-get-along usage commentary. (That and which, as pronouns that introduce restrictive clauses,are interchangeable.) You’ll also find video tutorials on usage from dictionary staff, a Word of the Day feature, word games, and a variety of language-watch features.

5. Refdesk

Refdesk.com, like Infoplease, is a clearinghouse for online research, with links to headline news and timeless information alike. You can easily get lost in its Daily Diversions directory, which includes links not only to humor, games, and trivia sites but also to more respectable resources like DailyWritingTips.com (whoo!). If you have a question, chances are you can find the answer on this site.

6. Snopes

How do you verify that this self-described “definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation” is what it claims to be? Go to the site and find out. The fine folks at Snopes.com will set you straight about any one of hundreds of posts — each with a prominent judgmental icon, and commentary to back it up — about that one thing you think you remember you heard about that one thing. (For example:Posh comes from an acronym for “port out, starboard home” — the ideal respective locations for accommodations on a luxury liner — right? Cue the buzzer. Bogus.) TruthOrFiction.com is a similar site.

7. Wikipedia

This user-generated online encyclopedia got a lot of flak a few years ago for some inaccurate information posted by someone with a grudge, but that was an isolated incident. Also, many sources warn against using Wikipedia as a primary source for research. That said, don’t hesitate to avail yourself of the wealth of information available on the site — much of which is written by subject-matter experts in the field in question. Then click on one of the online sources linked in the footnotes, or take your search to one of the other sites in this list.”

[found on http://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-great-online-research-resources-for-writers]

Writing Articles for Newspapers and Magazines – Tips and Tricks

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[found on janetshaw.com]

“When it comes to writing for magazines and newspapers, the technique is quite different to that of writing fiction and non-fiction books, and even writing for the web. At the Boyup Brook Book Bonanza in May, I went along to a workshop on this particular subject. I picked up some useful tips which I thought I’d pass along to you.

The Opening Line

The opening line of the article must grab the reader’s attention straight away. This is no different to any other form of writing: a story must hook the reader in a very short space of time. The difference? In article writing, this hook must be the first sentence, not the second or the third.

Another crucial point here is the length of the opening sentence. The word count needs to be no more than twenty-two words for your grab line. This in itself is a challenge.

Sentence Style and Structure

Sentences need to be short in this style of writing. Similarly, paragraphs consist of only two or three sentences. There’s a lot of what they call white space in articles, a technique that’s used to break up the text, make it more appealing to read.

The Use of Quotes

An article is always more interesting to read if it includes quotes from someone with an expert opinion on the matter. But when doing this, the writer must make sure that he or she has relayed the quote accurately. It’s important to always check with the source to avoid the possibility of misquoting. This sounds like common sense, but it wouldn’t be hard to make assumptions or get a bit slack towards a deadline.

Language

In the examples read out at the workshop, and in further research I’ve done, it seems that the rules of fiction writing go out the window in article writing. Adverbs and adjectives are scattered throughout the text, as are metaphors and similes. Whereas in fiction writing, the emphasis is on erradicating adverbs and not overusing metaphors which can distract the reader, this is not the case in composing articles.

How To Query Editors

Sending off a query to a magazine or newspaper editor is different again to querying book publishers. In the latter case, the writer must follow the publisher’s submission guidelines to the letter. This could mean submitting a query letter and a synopsis, or a cover letter, synopsis and the first three chapters, or even the full manuscript. If the guidelines aren’t followed, the publisher won’t even consider the manuscript.

When a writer is contemplating having an article published in a magazine or newspaper, the instinctive response would be to send off the article as a way of demonstrating the high quality of work. Wrong. The advice in this workshop was not to waste time and energy producing articles that might never be picked up.

So what’s the answer? Easy. Send a query letter containing the following information:

      • knowledge of the magazine’s themes and content and an idea that would suit the readership;
      • a sample of writing
      • a writer bio, outlining credentials and past publications, if any; and
      • the writer’s qualifications for being able to write the proposed article.

The sample of writing referred to in the above list ideally should be the first two lines of the article; the opening sentence (the grab line) and the first sentence of the second paragraph. This demonstrates the ability to write and write well.

Some writers might feel terrified of submitting a query without having written the article. What if the idea is accepted? Can I deliver the goods on time? But the general consensus amongst the group was that sometimes writers need that little push to fire them up.

Expect Rejection

One thing that comes up time and time again in the writing world is to expect rejection. It’s normal in this industry. The important thing is to keep on going; keep writing those query letters, researching markets, coming up with new ideas. The more a writer’s name is seen by editors, the better the chance of finally getting something accepted.

One interesting school of thought amongst writers who submit to magazines in particular, is to go outside the magazine’s themes and styles. For example, some writers have struck gold when submitting a fiction piece to a non-fiction magazine, but still following their main theme. Obviously there is some leeway here with magazine editors. If something takes their eye and it brings another angle to the magazine, they’ll snap it up.

So what’s the bottom line? Keep on trying, think laterally, and enjoy the writing experience.”

[found on http://janetshaw.com/blog/writing-articles-for-newspapers-and-magazines-tips-and-tricks]

Breaking into Television Writing

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[-written By Lee Goldberg]

“Reader Lauren Machin from Atlanta, Georgia asks:

How do I become a television writer if I don’t have any contacts?

Writer/Producer Lee Goldberg responds:

I get this question a lot, but it’s disingenuous, since I’m a TV writer/producer and whoever is asking me that is really asking me to either read their script or to invite them in to pitch. So, theoretically, they already know somebody in the business.

They’re luckier than I was when I got started. I didn’t know anybody in the TV industry. But I got in. How did I do it? Everybody’s story is unique. Most of those stories, however, share one common element. You have to put yourself in the right place to get your lucky break. And it’s easier than you think.

The first thing you have to do is learn your craft. Take classes, preferably taught by people who have had some success as TV writers.

There’s another reason to take a TV writing course besides learning the basics of the craft. If you’re the least bit likeable, you’ll make a few friends among the other classmates. This is good, because you’ll have other people you can show your work to. This is also good because somebody in the class may sell his or her first script before you do, and suddenly you’ll have a friend in the business. Many of my writer/producer friends today are writers I knew back when I was in college, when we were all dreaming of breaking into TV some day.

A writer we hired on staff on the first season of Missing was in a Santa Monica screenwriters group and was the first member of her class to get a paying writing gig. Now her friends in the class suddenly had a friend on a network TV show who could share her knowledge, give them practical advice and even recommend them to her new agent and the writer/producers she was working with.

Another route is to try and get a job as a writer/producer’s assistant on an hour-long drama. You will only get a meager salary, but you will see how a show works from the inside. You’ll read lots of scripts and revisions and, simply by observation, get a graduate course in TV writing. More important, you’ll establish relationships with the writers on the show and the freelancers who come through the door. Many of today’s top TV producers were writer/producer assistants once. All of the assistants I’ve had have gone on to become working TV writers themselves, not because I gave them a script assignment or recommended them for one. I didn’t do either.

The first step towards getting in to pitch a TV producer for an episodic writing assignment is to write an episodic teleplay on spec. By that I mean pick a show and write an episode for it.

Although there are some producers who prefer to read screenplays, most showrunners, agents, and network executives want to read an episodic teleplay. Even if your spec feature script has acceptable levels of dialogue, characterization, and structure, people thinking of hiring you will still wonder “yes, but can he handle my characters? Does he understand the four-act structure?” An original piece can demonstrate that you have a strong voice, but it doesn’t show whether or not you blend that voice with ours. Can you write what we need without losing whatever it is that makes you unique? That’s why we need to see your talents applied to a TV episode. To someone else’s characters. To someone else’s voice.

How do you pick a show to spec? Easy. Pick a show you like. Odds are, if you’re thinking about trying to become a TV writer, you already know what show you want to spec – you just don’t know you know. It’s the one you watch every week, and when it’s over, you find yourself thinking, “That was pretty good, but wouldn’t it be cool if -“

Don’t worry about what’s hot and what’s not – choose a show you feel a connection to, one that you “get.” With some exceptions:

a) Try to stay away from syndicated or basic cable science fiction shows like Andromeda or Stargate. Or even a basic cable drama shows like Strong Medicine or even my show, Missing. Not because they aren’t good shows, but because most showrunners and network executives don’t watch them. They wouldn’t know whether a Farscape or Wild Card spec was any good because they’ve never seen the shows.
b) Also try to stay away from first-year shows, unless they are big hits. Otherwise, by the time you finish your spec, the show could be cancelled already and your script will be useless. No one is going to read a spec for a show that was cancelled after 13 episodes.

Many writers feel compelled to write a Sopranos or The Shield simply because they’re “hot” shows. That’s great if you have some kind of feel for the shows, but if you don’t, you’re not going to write a good Sopranos no matter how fine a writer you are.

What shows do you look forward to? Which world would you like to live in? Which characters would be happiest living in your brain for a few weeks? That’sthe show to write.

What you’re going to be writing is a typical episode. It’s not your job to write the show you think it should be; it’s your job to write the best possible version of the show that is. You need to prove that you can mimic the style and feeling of a show while still letting your unique voice and vision shine through

Let me underscore this again. You want to write a typical episode. You don’t want to write a “mythology” episode that delves into the deep backstory at the heart of the series. If it’s a show that derives much of its conflict from the sexual tension between two characters, you don’t write the episode where they sleep together. If it’s a show about people lost in space or on an island, don’t write the episode where they find their way home or get rescued. If it’s a show about a fugitive on the run for a crime he didn’t commit, don’t write the episode where he proves his innocence. (And don’t ever, ever, ever write a spec “cross-over” with characters from another series, movie, book, or animated cartoon).

What you’re trying to prove with your spec is:

-You’re not illiterate. You know how to write.
-You know how to write a script in the proper format.
-You know how to structure a scene.
-You know how to structure an act.
-You know how to tell a story.
-You understand the four-act structure.
-You can craft a story that serves the franchise of the show (i.e. a story that could only be told within the conceptual framework of that particular series).
-You can capture the voices of the characters.
-You can capture the story-telling style of the show.

What you aren’t trying to prove is how clever you are, or how much better you’d be writing the show than the people who are already writing it. Your goal is to write an entertaining, tight, typical episode of the show that illustrates your professional skills, not your amazing style and unique voice. While TV producers are interested in your voice, what they really want to hear is how well you capture their voice. Your job as a TV writer is to channel the showrunner’s vision, not your own.

And as soon as you finish writing that terrific spec, start on another for a different series, preferably one that’s the opposite of what you’ve just written (i.e. a procedural and a melodrama). Because the first thing a TV producer will ask after reading your spec is:

“Does he have another spec I can read?”“

[found on http://www.writersstore.com/breaking-into-television-writing]

Write What You Love

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[found on thecreativepenn.com; by JOANNA PENN on MAY 24, 2011]

“This is a guest post from Kate Lord Brown, author of The Beauty Chorus. I am totally in agreement with Kate on this topic. After years of being blocked by thinking I had to write literary fiction, I looked at my obsessions of religion, psychology, travel and action-adventure thrillers and finally wrote with passion!

Maybe you’ve come across the tired old line ‘write what you know’? It’s standard advice in a lot of How To Write manuals. I’d like to suggest you ignore it, and instead write what you love.

If I was going to ‘write what I know’, I could tell you about juggling work and family life. I could tell you about what I cooked for dinner last night, which film I watched. In fact, that is pretty much what I do write about for blog posts and articles. I’ve published internationally writing about parenting, travel locations, art exhibitions. For short sprint writing, drawing on your own experience is a great start. You can add to this with simple research about products, details about travel connections or opening times to package up a neat few hundred words.

However, for the endurance race of a book length manuscript I think you need more than that. If, like me, you juggle writing with all the other demands of work and running a home, it has to be a burning question that will get you running to your desk instead of putting your feet up when everyone else is asleep. If you urgently want to find the answer to something, that drive and enthusiasm will be felt by your readers.

Sometimes you’re lucky, and you stumble on the key to your new story. I came across a tiny obituary for a woman who had flown Spitfires during WW2, and that sparked months of research for my debut novel. I wanted to know why people had forgotten about these incredible women. I wanted to know everything about their lives, what it was like to be a young woman in a man’s world during the War. I knew nothing about wartime aviation – but I loved their story, and I wanted to know more.

With ‘The Beauty Chorus’ I was lucky. The story came to me. But there is no point waiting for the Muse – as Jack London said: ‘You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.’

If you are searching around for a subject for your next book, or wondering why your current project has hit a wall, why not try the following:

    • Take a big sheet of craft paper and some markers. Draw a circle at the centre and put your name in it. Radiating out from that centre, draw a line for each thing you love, and write it down in a smaller circle. Get really specific – not just ‘flowers’ from that write ‘roses’ or ‘tulips’. Brainstorm everything that excites you, really thrills you.
    • Come back to your drawing a few days later, and see what jumps out at you. There may be two or three things, which is fine. I never need too much excuse for a new notebook, I don’t know about you, and this is time to reach for one. Write on the first page your chosen subject.
    • Over the coming weeks, you’ll find you spot more and more information about this subject you love – it’s amazing how synchronicity kicks in and you will suddenly start seeing roses, or tulips, or WW2 aircraft wherever you look. Write it down. Paste up pictures and photographs in your book. Follow up tantalising leads. Tune into your story.

Within a very short time, you will find you have a resource book that can be the powerhouse of your new book. Just flicking through the pages of your notebook should excite you. From this seed a whole story can blossom – whether it’s about Crusaders bringing home roses, or the nefarious dealings of tulip traders, or the brave and beautiful young women who flew fighter planes.”

[found on http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/05/24/write-what-you-love]

7 Basic Skills Needed to Work in Sports Writing

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[written by Porsche Farr in Sports Media]

“Sports writers come from all walks of life. Young and old… new and experienced.

Readers often find articles or blogs written by journalists, industry professionals, bloggers, fans and anyone else that may have an interest in a particular sports topic.

For an aspiring sports writer who wishes to succeed and become credible as a sports writer, the writer must first develop certain basic skills. Here are the basic skills you will NEED to work in sports writing.

1. Broad Understanding of Sports Business

Different leagues and entities within sports operate just like any other business.  Accordingly, sports writers must have a general understanding of how sports work as businesses in order to thoroughly complete a given assignment.   In sports, there are marketing, finance, public relations, communications, sales, legal, sponsorship and several other departments.  A given story can cover any of the given disciplines.  For instance, a writer covering a story about the implication of a league lockout will have to understand how a lockout legally affects both sides but also understand how it affects sales, public relations and other aspects of the league’s business.

2. Actual Industry Knowledge

Before writing about a certain sport or a certain topic within sports, writers need to have in-depth industry knowledge about that particular sport or topic.  Simply put, if a writer is confused or unclear about a given topic, the reader likely will be too.  In addition to knowing background information, writers should also know sports lingo and terminology.  Aspiring sports writers should also make sure that they continually strive to maintain current industry knowledge and trends.

3. Research Skills

Though some may live for the sensationalism and gossip perpetrated in sports media, a good writer should know how to find out all of the real facts that make up a particular sports story.  Instead of speculating or developing theories, writers should complete the appropriate research on a given topic before going to press.  If the story involves a particular court case, actually find court documents to support what the article discusses.  If the story involves business projections, look for certain market data.  Use due diligence to ensure that everything written is true and correct.

4. Ability to Connect With Sports Fans

Every writer writes for a particular audience.  Whether that audience consists of sports fans in general, sports fans of a particular sport or sports professionals, the writer must keep this in mind.  An article, column or blog should read in a way that not only keeps readers interested in a particular story but also keeps readers wanting to read more of that writer’s stories.  A lot of sports fans have favorite bloggers, columnists and broadcasters that they follow to get their daily sports news.  Sports writers should strive to develop a loyal following of readers.

5. Creativity

When readers find interest in a particular topic, they may peruse various articles and columns about the same topic.  The audience that sports writers cater to want to read about more than one opinion and see the same topic from various angles.  Regardless of their position on a particular topic, the readers enjoy the competition and debate sparked by sports.  When writing about a particular topic, a writer should hold true to their viewpoint while presenting the information in a creative manner at the same time.  Avoid following the opinions of fellow sports writers just because and feel free to embrace originality.

6. Basic Command of the English Language

Regardless if you write for theWall Street Journalor if you write for your own personal blog, possessing strong writing skills is a MUST.  In 2013, sports news breaks on smaller blogs, Twitter and Facebook just as often as it breaks on major sports websites.  With news breaking so quickly, a lot of sports writers put out stories with typos and poor grammar.  Take the time to get back to the basics and ensure that every article exhibits the best possible grammar, punctuation and word usage.

7. Familiarity with Current Associated Press Stylebook

When publishing articles, writers must take heed to the proper formatting guidelines used across the industry.  Most organizations follow the Associated Press Stylebook formatting.  Even though a writer can state the same idea several different ways, the stylebook specifies which rules writers need to use when writing for magazines, newspapers and other broadcasting mediums.  Sports writers should become familiar with the AP Stylebook and keep it handy when writing articles.”

[found on http://www.sportsnetworker.com/2013/01/28/7-basic-skills-neede-to-work-in-sports-writing]

How to Write an Autobiography

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[found on http://www.autobiography.com]

“The first step in writing an autobiography is to decide who will be reading the book. A family keepsake requires a different level of writing skill than a book that will appeal to the general reading population.

Most often, successful autobiographies are written by famous or infamous people. There are some exceptions. If your life has been extraordinary in some aspect then you might consider writing a book marketed to the masses. For example, Children of the Storm: The Autobiography of Natasha Vins was written by a woman whose family lived in the Soviet Union and struggled for religious freedom. Her life story offers a window into a world that is interesting regardless of whose life story is being told. Also worth noting is that Vins also writes children’s books. This points to her drive and ability to write, both important qualities to possess when considering whether to take on the considerable task of creating a professional quality autobiographical book.

Being old is not a requirement to authoring an autobiography. Consider The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The defining characteristic of a great autobiography is that the author’s experiences are interesting enough to form a compelling story.  Nonetheless, every life is a story worth telling. It can also be a very good first venture into the craft of writing. It is easiest to write what you know. A story about yourself would fit that bill to a tee.

But even for those people not looking to test their writing skills, there is merit to taking the time to write a first-person narrative of your experiences. It will offer your great-great-grandchildren a window into a world that will likely be interesting to them no matter how well it is written because it is their roots. Also, genetics play a significant role in our lifestyle choices. Should your offspring find themselves on a path similar to yours, it would be very meaningful for them to read about a relative who suffered similar bumps or had a knack for the same craft. It’s a gift that will last generations.

Step 1: Create an Outline
Step 2: Identify Moments
Step 3: Introduction
Step 4: Supporting Cast
Step 5: A 1,000 Words
Step 6: Details, Details
Step 7: The End
Step 8: A Neat Package”

[To read more about the steps, take a look at http://www.autobiography.com/index.html]

Seven Tips on How to Write a Devotion

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[found on faithfulbloggers.com]

“Writing a devotion can offer hope to your readers and inspire them in a way that lectures or plain articles, may  not. A devotional is a very well thought out piece about one very minute topic usually focusing on a particular spiritual lesson. Writing devotionals does not have to be difficult, there are many steps you can take to calm yourself down, get centered and write what God wants you to write.

Yes!  There is something already inside you that God wants you to say. You just have to open your heart to the Holy Spirit, and listen.

  1. Be prayerful — Before you put pen to paper, or rather, start typing, pray. Ask God to tell you what He would have you to write about. What message does He want you to impart? Be mindful of what comes to mind as you are praying. Does a particular person come to mind with a specific issue? Does a specific verse pop into your head? Listen. He will tell you what to write.
  2. Pick one topic — After intensely praying about what to write, pick one topic that comes to mind and be very focused on that one topic. It is easy to get carried away writing with all the ideas that will come to you!
  3. Keep it short — Your devotional should be no more than one page, or 500 words. But it is even better if it’s less than 500 words, shoot for 250 words to keep yourself focused on one small laser targeted topic.  This will also help to keep your reader interested and with you.
  4. Know your audience — When you have your topic, write it to a specific audience, this is known as your “target market” in business, but here, this is your audience. Ask yourself the question:  Who is going to read this devotional? If it helps, write your devotional as if you’re writing it to a dear friend.
  5. Check your facts — Make sure, if you are quoting biblical scripture that you not only check the scriptures to make sure you are not taking something out of context, and that you are quoting it correctly, but make sure you are using a relevant verse to support your devotional.
  6. Inspire action — Ask the readers to do something at the end of your message in your closing paragraph. That action will depend on what your message was about. You can end with a very short prayer if you wish, but keep it related to the message.
  7. Be yourself — Remember to be yourself. You’re not perfect — no human is — and that is perfectly okay. Grammar isn’t as important as your message. Do check your spelling with the spell checker, and have someone else read it if you wish, but the message is the most important thing here.”
[found on http://faithfulbloggers.com/blogging/seven-tips-on-how-to-write-a-devotion]

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex

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[storymind.com by Melanie Anne Phillips, creator StoryWeaver, co-creator Dramatica]

“Perhaps the most fundamental error made by authors, whether novice or experienced, is that all their characters, male and female, tend to reflect the gender of the author. This is hardly surprising, since recent research finally proves that men and women use their brains in different ways. So how can an author overcome this gap to write characters of the opposite sex that are both accurate and believable to their own gender?

In this Dramatica Tip, we’ll explore the nature of male and female minds and provide techniques for crafting characters that are true to their gender.

At first, it might seem that being male or female is an easily definable thing, and therefore easy to convey in one’s writing. But as we all know, the differences between the sexes have historically been a mysterious quality, easily felt, but in fact quite hard to define. This is because what makes a mind male or female is not just one thing, but also several.

First, let’s consider that gender has four principal components:

Anatomical Sex
Sexual Preference
Gender Identity
Mental Sex

Anatomical sex describes the physicality of a character – male or female. Now, we all know that people actually fall in a range – more or less hairy, wider or narrower hips, deeper or higher voice, and so on. So although there is a fairly clear dividing line between male and female anatomically, secondary sexual characteristics actually create a range of physicality between the two. Intentionally choosing these attributes for your characters can make them far less stereotypical as men and women.

Sexual Preferences may be for the same sex, the opposite sex, both, or neither (or self). Although people usually define themselves as being straight, gay, bi, or celibate, this is also not a fixed quality. Statistics shows, for example, that 1/3 of all men have a homosexual encounter at least once in their lives.

Although it often stirs up controversy to say so, in truth most people have passing attractions to the same sex, be it a very pretty boy or a “butch” woman.

Consider the sexual preference of your characters not as a fixed choice of one thing or another, but as a fluid quality that may shift over time or in a particular exceptional context.

Gender Identity describes where one falls on the scale between masculine and feminine. This, of course, is also context dependent. For example, when one is in the woods, at home with one’s family, or being chewed out by the boss.

Gender Identity is not just how one feels or things of oneself, but also how one act’s, how one uses one’s voice, and how one wishes to be treated. Often, a male character may have gentle feelings but cover them up by overly masculine mannerisms. Or, a female character may be “all-business” in the workplace out of necessity, but wishes someone would treat her with softness and kindness.

Actually, Gender Identity is made up of how one acts or wishes to act, and how one is treated or wishes to be treated. How many times have we seen a character who is forced by others to play a role that is in conflict with his or her internal gender self-image? Gender Identity is where one can explore the greatest nuance in creating non-stereotypical characters.

Finally, Mental Sex describes where one falls on the scale from practical, binary, linear, logistic, goal-oriented thinking to passionate, flexible, emotional, process-oriented thinking. In fact, every human being engages in ALL of these approaches to life, just at different times and in different ways.

Now, in creating characters, consider that each of the four categories we just explored is not a simple choice between one thing or another, but a sliding scale (like Anatomical Sex) or a conglomerate of individual traits (like Gender Identity). Then, visualize that wherever a character falls in any one of those four categories places absolutely no limits on where he or she may fall in the other categories.

For example, you might have a character extremely toward male anatomical sex, bi-sexual (but leaning toward a straight relationship at the moment), whose gender identity is rough and tumble (but yearns to be accepted for his secret sensitivity toward impressionistic paintings) who is practical all the time (except when it comes to sports cars).

Any combination goes.

But when it comes to Mental Sex itself, there are four sub-categories within that area alone which tend to define the different personality types we encounter:

Subconscious
Memory
Conscious
Preconscious

In brief, each of these “levels” or “attributes” of the mind can lean toward seeing the world in definable or experiential terms. Pre-conscious is a tendency to perceive the world in components or as processes that is determined before birth. It is the foundation of leaning toward the tradition “male” or “female” personality traits. Subconscious determines the tendencies we have to be attracted or repelled from component or process rewards.

Memory relies on our training to organize our considerations in a give situation toward components or processes. And every character always has a Conscious choice to focus on the components or processes at any given moment. In other words, in a given situation, at each level of Mental Sex does a character center on the way things are or the way things are going? At each level is the character more interested in getting his or her ducks in a row or in a pond?

Finally, beyond all of these considerations is the cultural indoctrination we all receive that leads us to respond within social expectations appropriately to the role associated with our anatomical sex. These roles are fairly rigid and include what is proper to wear, who speaks first, who opens the door or order the wine, who has to pretend to be inept where and skilled where else (regardless of real ability or lack there of in that area), the form of grammar one uses in constructing sentences, the words one is expected to use (“I’ll take a hamburger,” vs. “I’d like a salad”), and the demeanor allowable in social interaction with the same and the opposite sex, among many other qualities.

In the end, writing characters of the opposite sex requires a commitment to understand the difference between those qualities, which are inherent and those, which are learned, and to accept that we are all made of the same clay, and merely sculpt it in different ways.”

[found on http://storymind.com/content/47.htm]

Best Advice for Article Writers

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[found on blog.ezinearticles.com]
 

“1. You Have to Start Somewhere!

“I was told just to write. My heart would do the rest and I would learn professional tips along the way … My writing pathway is now clear and moves forward … into the future.”
– Sandy Giles
 
“Just get started writing. Writing leads to more writing. Lethargy leads to no writing. The choice is yours.”
– Dr. Erica Goodstone

2. Find Inspiration and Encouragement Everywhere

“Take a cue from your children. When they want something, they will tell you directly with excitement, smiles, and motivating words and actions.”
– Terrance L. Weber
 
“‘C’mon, can’t you write a bit more?’ – my partner used to say this to me and it ultimately helped me to overcome procrastination.”
– Frederik Kreijmborg

3. Find Your Groove and Motivation

“I’ve found that setting the mood helps … Of course, you have to research your topic, outline your story, or know what you are talking about, but once you’ve settled on the basic gist of the content, you have to get your mind in the right place. Crank up some mood music, light some scented candles or some incense. Take your laptop into the park. Do whatever it takes to control your settings so you are at ease, then let the words pour out. This is where the best, most fluid content comes from.”
– Miriam B. Medina

4. Offer Solutions

“Just offer what can be done to achieve what has been a challenge, provide a solution, and make readers’ lives easier. In a nutshell, you help them win and you will win!”
– Rahman Mehraby

5. Don’t Forget the Importance of Your Title

“Titles are incredibly important! Don’t give away the article in the title, but deliver in your article what you advertised in your title.”
– Shirley Slick

6. Keep it Concise

“The best advice for me was to keep my paragraphs under 5-sentences.”
– Lance Winslow

7. Writing Is a Multi-Step Process

“First, think about the problem your readers want to solve. Second, think about at least 6 ways the problem could be solved. Do the research. Third, think some more about the several ways there are to meet the reader’s needs. Fourth, sleep on it. Fifth, start writing with excitement and enthusiasm. Sixth, put it away and then do the editing tomorrow. Seventh. Done!”
– Terrance L. Weber

8. Allow Yourself Time to Review and Proofread

“Writing and editing are two different ‘zones.’ It’s not always easy to seamlessly transition from the creative storm that came up with all your ideas to the fine-tooth comb you need to make sure those ideas are clear, cohesive, and error-free. If you take the time to step away from a piece of writing and come back later for a final edit and review, you WILL catch mistakes you missed once you’ve given your brain time to refresh itself and relax … A better piece of writing is always worth the time.”
– CH James

9. Allow Your Articles to Evolve and Learn From Your Mistakes

“Come back to the article in a few months to see how it is performing … A great article evolves over time.”
– Scott Bateman

10. The Ultimate Words of Wisdom

“(1) Keep it simple, (2) less is more, and (3) do it now.”
– Jeff Herring”
[found on http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2012/10/top-ten-article-writing-tips.html]