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Pray for the people of France

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We stand with France

20 Ways to Double Your Writing Productivity (Infographic)

Good Advice for any Writer

of grammarcheck.net

20 Ways to Double Your Writing Productivity from Best-Selling Authors (Infographic)
Source: www.grammarcheck.net

6 Reasons to Write an eBook for Your Business

Tell the world you are an expert

 

write book

Republished with permission from the author, Eileen Batson

By Eileen Batson, owner and founder of Batson Group Marketing and Public Relations

While there are a variety of reasons to write an eBook, here are six that are proven winners.

  1. It can establish you as an expert By sharing your knowledge you can help others while building your reputation as the ‘go to person’ in your particular niche.
  2. Write it once and it is there forever. You may need to update it from time to time but that’s not a difficult task.
  3. eReaders provide a movable feast for knowledge and entertainment and the demand is growing. By 2025, e-readers are projected to make up approximately 75 percent of the total market.
  4. An eBook is to your email list as plant food is to, well, plants. Make your eBook available to download for sale or as a freebie from your website – to get people to sign up for your newsletter. The buyer needs to enter their name and email address to download it or use it as bait (as a freebie) to get people to sign up for your newsletter. Either way you have a valuable new contact on your atabase who may go on to buy your product or service.
  5. Increase traffic to your website By promoting your eBook across social media platforms you will drive traffic to your website or blog. Seed your eBook with a call to action. Include your web address and special offers that direct readers to your site where they may buy more from you.
  6. Exposure is a good thing. The more you are seen around the internet the easier it is for you to be seen as an authority – exposure breeds credibility and being able to say you are an author takes you to the next level.
Batson avatar 100 (1)

Eileen Batson

EILEEN BATSON has been a publicist and owner of Batson Group Marketing and PR for 25+ years.

She offers consultation and implementation services for business owners, authors and artists to help them be well known, well thought of and well-remembered.

For more information contact Eileen at Eileen@BGMPR.com or visit her website at www.BGMPR.com

Writing may make you healthier

First published in Arts.mic

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write

Hands on computer

Rachel Grate's avatar image By Rachel Grate

The benefits of writing go far beyond building up your vocabulary.

No matter the quality of your prose, the act of writing itself leads to strong physical and mental health benefits, like long-term improvements in mood, stress levels and depressive symptoms. In a 2005 study on the emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing, researchers found that just 15 to 20 minutes of writing three to five times over the course of the four-month study was enough to make a difference.

> Read the rest

Writing advice from the Master of Horror

10 Writing Tips from
Stephen King

By Yelena Melnichenko
Originally published by Mental Floss

This tip is my favorite because if you wait for your “muse” your whole life will pass before you.

Stephen King

The Master of Horror – Stephen King

“There is a muse, but he’s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer. He lives in the ground. He’s a basement kind of guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. You have to do all the grunt labor, in other words, while the muse sits and smokes cigars and admires his bowling trophies and pretends to ignore you. Do you think it’s fair? I think it’s fair. He may not be much to look at, that muse-guy, and he may not be much of a conversationalist, but he’s got inspiration. It’s right that you should do all the work and burn all the mid-night oil, because the guy with the cigar and the little wings has got a bag of magic. There’s stuff in there that can change your life. Believe me, I know.” – Stephen King

Get the other 9 tips here>

Women want to read everything

21 Books From The Last 5 Years That Every Woman Should Read

The Huffington Post | By Nina Bahadur

The one struggle of being a woman who reads is that you want to read everything.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed by bestseller lists, because there just isn’t enough time in the day to read every hot new book. Between near-constant recommendations of amazing memoirs, new sequels and a terrifyingly long list of bookmarked Internet longreads, it can be stressful to choose what you should pick up next. Knowing which classics you’re missing from your reading repertoire is easy — it’s a little harder to remember what you’ve missed from three years ago.

We’ve done a little bit of the hard work for you (or maybe just increased your book stress… sorry) by pulling together a list of incredible titles from the past few years that you should add to the pile on your bedside table. These books by women are just a few of the incredible titles published recently — an exhaustive list would be hundreds of books longer. Those listed here are some of the most-discussed, thought-provoking and life-changing books from a diverse group of women writers. They make you rethink what being a feminist means, offer life advice to women of all ages, and reinforce your long-held belief that Tina and Amy should be your best friends and life coaches forever. The novels are some of the finest writing from woman authors. From lighthearted memoirs to harrowing thrillers, there’s a genre here for everyone.

Here are 21 books published in the past 5 years that all women should read>

21 books

There are some rules to storytelling

Pixar’s 22 rules of Storytelling

First published by the Huffington Post

I believe that following the rules of writing too closely tends to stifle creativity and sometimes paints the writer into a box. But there are some universal truths to storytelling that all writers should follow to create that viral story.

Pixar Studios, creators of  Toy Story 3A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc.Finding Nemo, The IncrediblesCars, Ratatouille, and a slew other successful animated movies, has 22 rules of successful storytelling that resonate with awesome storytelling.  Graphic artist, Emma Coats brought those rules to life in a stunning infographic.

Pixar rules of storytelling

When addicted…to Writing

 

Photo of female hands typing a letter on the laptop

Writing is my addiction

People are addicted to a lot of different things; I’m addicted to writing.

In fact, I’m so addicted, that I spent my entire career as a writer and newspaper reporter, and later, an editor.

How addicted was I?

So addicted, that when I retired five years ago, I kept right on writing: stories, essays, memoir, and poetry. Once an addict…

Some people keep their addictions down to a reasonable level – after all, if you only indulge a few times a week, or once or twice a month, who’s going to notice?

But I’m not that laid back; I write almost every day. I’ve tried all the usual things, even going cold turkey, but no matter what I do, I always go back to my addiction.

I have one major piece of advice for my fellow addicts; give in. Admit you’re an addict. As the old saying goes, when they give you lemons, make lemonade. For example, here’s a poem I wrote recently about my addiction:

Writers write: Right?

 

I’ve learned some wise words that I heed

On how a writer can succeed.

Work hard; the formula will prove

The way to get you in the groove.

 

Distractions woo us from all sides;

Excuses roll in like the tides.

For best results, here’s what I say:

Do some writing every day.

 

Sit right down and write a sonnet;

Good or bad, don’t dwell upon it.

The lazy man will take a fall,

But enterprise can conquer all.

 

Or, start a novel, fiction’s fun,

Your words will flow while writing one.

The true joy’s in the work itself,

Not just some book upon a shelf.

 

It’s lonely staring at a page

That’s white and empty at first stage,

But think how happy you will feel

When your own words are down for real.

 

One caution, though, and you’ll agree;

Life gives you choices; nothing’s free.

Ideas may sparkle, shine, and gleam,

But work alone, fulfills your dream.

If you’ve finally surrendered to your addiction, and you plan to use it for positive outcomes, here are a few practical tips about starting:

desk

A quiet place with an uncluttered desk helps the creativity flow.

First, find a quiet place to work; successful writers thrive in solitude, away from the distractions of family, the day job and noise, including music. Silence is a friend to ideas, and their development through writing.

Use the best technology available, making sure that you have a comfortable chair, and plenty of light; sore butts and tired eyes are the enemies of creativity. You can write anything, anywhere and any place, but why set up obstacles for yourself?

It’s time to get serious: Topics

All right, you say; so far, so good, but what should you write about? Where do you find your subject?

Write about what you know. If you teach, you know about the satisfactions and disappointments of your profession. Your personal history is filled with people, and events. If you are a sales person, you know all about selling yourself, to sell your product; if you’ve been looking for a job, write about that.

What you’ve learned in life can be a source of inspiration for all sorts of fiction, from detective novels to fantasy. If you decide to write poetry, the gamut of emotions and events you’ve experienced will serve you well.

And don’t be put off by comparing your efforts to those of successfully-published writers. Remember, they started from scratch, just like you. They learned how to deal with rejection letters from publishers, and became successful in spite of rejections; in fact, the experience only made them redouble their efforts; it strengthened their determination.

The Nitty-gritty

Once you’ve settled on a topic (Let’s say, for example, you decide to write a short story about your five-year-old’s first day at kindergarten), Stay on topic!

Many new writers get distracted by side issues. You’re writing about your kid; what happened, what he did, what he felt. Don’t start inserting your opinions about the state of education in the United States, or go off on a rant about the relative virtues of home schooling, or go completely nuts, and start writing about a totally unrelated subject.

Style

Dozens of style guides are available, and many of them give conflicting advice. New writers are often confused and discouraged after reading some of them.

Here’s my advice, based on decades of experience:

Keep it simple. That means, use short, declarative sentences and the simplest words you can find to adequately describe a scene or situation. Where possible, stick to nouns and verbs; nothing messes up a narrative more than strings of adjectives and adverbs.

The whole point of writing is communication. Whether you are writing fiction, or reporting a news event, the aim is to let the reader know what he needs to know, as economically as possible. If you adhere to this, the story will almost tell itself.

Voice

A lot has been written about “voice”; has the writer found it, does he have a genuine one, what are the nuances of his “voice,” what is his “voice” trying to convey? Does it succeed?writers-voice-1

Pundits on all things literary, like to freight “voice” with semi-mystical qualities, and use it to rank writers to make pronouncements about their chances of immortality.

I’ll let you in on a little secret; everyone has a “voice.” Some are pleasant, some not; some, gentle; some sharp. A writer’s voice is nothing more, or less, than the way he or she puts words on the page; if the voice is clear, you’ll understand what he or she is saying, and enjoy the way he or she says it.

It’s a job

One reason why new writers fail is their misunderstanding of what they are trying to do. If you approach writing as a hobby, something you spare half an hour for when you’re not mowing the lawn, or catching a football game on TV, you’ll fail.

No matter how creative you are, no matter how well you write, always keep one thing in mind; like anything else in life that’s worth doing, successful writing takes hard work, and requires commitment.

Set up a routine

Every writer worth his salt has a routine which he follows religiously. It doesn’t matter how you arrive at that routine; without it, you’ll just be wasting your time, and anything you produce will show it.

Carve out a block of time each day when you’re most rested and alert. If you’ve paid attention to me so far, you’ve already set up a place to work, and have the tools you need ready at hand.

Before I forget: Solitude is the writer’s best friend; turn off the TV; Shut off the music; have your partner take the kids to the playground; let the robot answer the phone; ignore the doorbell.

When is enough, enough?

Once you’ve established your routine, you have to decide how many hours to devote to your writing. The maximum time to stay focused on a task varies from individual to individual. You’ll have to experiment to discover what that time is for you.

Nothing is more crazy-making than forcing yourself to stay at a job past your ability to perform it well. That’s why airplane pilots, who perform potentially life-endangering jobs, have limits placed on the number of hours they’re allowed to fly.

How will you know when you’ve reached your limit? When you start to squirm in your chair, when your mind starts to wander, when your neck starts to hurt, it’s time to stop and do something else.

Go in the kitchen and make some coffee; take the dog for a walk around the block; or, if you need more than a fifteen minute break, shut off the computer and walk away. When you return to your desk later, or even better, the next day, you’ll be refreshed and ready to go again.

And one more thing: writing is a job that requires work, but work is supposed to be rewarding. Work is not a synonym for torture or drudgery. If you equate writing with those words, then it’s not for you, but if you find pleasure in telling a story well; if you love words, and their power, than sit right down and start to write.

What are you waiting for?

Marc Leavitt is a retired newspaper reporter and editor. These days, he writes poetry on, Marc Leavitt’s Blog, at:

Another Reason Not to Fear Short Attention Spans: The Slow Reading Movement

image by Jayel Aheram, StressedTechnician

 from Ink, bits & Pixels

Earlier today I posted an argument against authors writing for shorter attention spans. I argued that attention spans weren’t actually getting shorter; instead, readers will stick with a book which interests them no matter the interruption. I still think that is a good argument, but it’s not the only one I could make.  An article… Read More »

Source: Here’s Another Reason Not to Fear Short Attention Spans: The Slow Reading Movement | Ink, Bits, & Pixels

Sex After Sixty wins this year’s Wattys

Recognizing the best in Digital Storytelling

Ok, so what is a Watty? You’ve watched the Oscars. You know what an Oscar is.BookCover6x9_Cream_290FINAL TO PRESS What, pray tell, is a Watty?

The Wattys are Wattpad’s official annual awards that celebrate the best in digital storytelling. Be it fanfiction, romance, urban, sci-fi, poetry, or short stories, we acknowledge stories of all genres and styles.

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