How to Write a Short Story
June 27, 2007
Everybody knows writing a story is not easy. Like the drama or the poem, it is imaginative literature that should appeal to the emotions of the readers. Since it communicates the writer’s interpretation of reality, there must be an artistic use of language to signify human experience. But how do we write a great short story? What are the things to keep in mind in order to come up with a short story that works? Here’s a quick guide to get you started:
1. Read
Reading is essential to anyone who wants to write. In order to be able to write a good short story, you must read other short stories first. This will not only give you the motivation and inspiration for your own story, but it will also help you learn how other authors made an impression on the reader and use their style as basis to create your own style and impression.
2. Get inspired
For seasoned professionals, there is no need to obtain inspiration because thoughts naturally flow and they only have to put them into words on paper. But for novice writers, it is important to have one because it will not only help you begin your first paragraph but also keep you going throughout. Your inspiration may take the form of an object. a person, or an event that you just can’t seem to forget.
$1036 in 12-hours From Writing A Single Article
June 27, 2007
Would it be worth it to master a technique that places the power of generating a flood of consistent, highly targeted and rabid traffic squarely in your hands?
As an online marketing professional, your time is valuable, and you need to focus on what works, that’s exactly why this technique is so powerful.
To be truthful, the $1036 in 12-hours is an accomplishment I can happily say is not abnormal these days - what is nice about this example is that it was a Sunday (typically my slowest day for sales) while I was gone the entire day to a local festival here in my hometown of Ottawa, Canada.
Let me say, I do tend to still work for a few hours on the weekends, but this Sunday, I didn’t even check my mail until the kids were fast asleep at 8:30 PM, exhausted by a combination of rides, music, jugglers, magicians and an unending diet of junk food - ahhhh…summer!
My inbox was filled with orders for my own products and over $500 in affiliate sales - after about an hour of answering my mail, I decided on an early rest and hit the sack.
What is Screenwriting?
June 26, 2007
Simply put, it is the art of writing scripts for a visual medium. Unlike a play where the action is “talked out,” the action within a screenplay is “acted out” visually. The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” was never more appropriate in relation to screenwriting. Having had the benefit of reading many screenplays as a reader, one of the most annoying, teeth grinding, nails against a chalkboard, signal of bad screenwriting is when the reader is told something instead of shown something. For example, I can’t put a number on the amount of screenplays I’ve read with descriptions like this:
“JOHN enters the room. He is Frank’s best friend and the life of the party.”
OK. We, the readers, are supposed to know this because the writer said it? What makes matters worse is when, right after making this statement, the character of John engages in an activity or line of dialogue not even remotely associated with his “life of the party” description. In a movie script, the writer should introduce every action and/or character the same way the moviegoers will be introduced to them on the screen. Now compare the above introduction of John to this one:
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters ? Good Ideas for Stories
June 26, 2007
The principle for writing good screenplays begins with good idea generation and then the use of structure to extrapolate that idea into a coherent story.
Sources of Good Ideas
a) Ideas that push cultural boundaries work well. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, The Defiant Ones, On the Watefront and so on were all controversial in their time and still very watchable movies.
b) Ideas that tug at the emotions and arouse passions. Imagine the worst thing you would want to happen to you. What are you most embarrassing moments? What causes the most pain?
c) Cathartic events. Protagonists engage in conflict and challenge but the final act is always cathartic.
d) Aspirational and self-actualising events. Make the audience move toward their ideal selves.
e) Fantasy and escapism. Take the audience to a new place, we’re tired of this world today.
f) Humour. What are the funniest, most ridiculous, most hypocritical, incongruous, bizarre, irrational moments of life.
g) Education and morality. Teach them something or show them how we should be.
Advice From Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining A Freelancer Career
June 26, 2007
For the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too!, I asked ten questions of freelancers who were living their dream life. Following are some of their answers. They cover successful marketing techniques, how to get clients and more!
1. Why did you start freelancing? Yuwanda Black, Writer, Editor, Small Business Columnist
My sister and I worked at the same company. We were freelancing on the side. Once we realized that we were making more as freelancers than as full-time employees, she quit and started Inkwell Editorial. Once the business was able to support two salaries, I joined her, which was one year later (1997).
2. How long have you been a full-time freelancer? Eileen Coale: Marketing & Corporate Communications Writer
I don’t work full time. On average, I work about 15 hours a week, sometimes a bit more. I work mornings until my youngest gets home from kindergarten, and sometimes I’ll put in evenings and Saturdays as well. Sixty to 70% of my work hours are spent networking and marketing to get assignments. The remainder is spent writing. In another year or two, I expect that ratio to flip.
Increase Your Business Success With A Free Newsletter
June 25, 2007
Publishing a free newsletter is an effective and inexpensive marketing strategy with several business benefits. Here are some of those benefits:
1. Increases sales
Prospects only become paying clients when they know, like, and trust your business. Publishing a free newsletter is a way of making your readers get more acquainted with your business. As a result, this will increase sales. You’ll find that when you convert your readers into paying clients, they’ll repeatedly buy more of your services as they get to know you more, like you more and trust you more.
2. Positions you as an expert in your field
Experts can charge more for their services, and they often get more media exposure. By providing helpful tips to your readers, a newsletter is another vehicle for demonstrating your expertise, and showcasing your knowledge and skills. This will enhance your credibility in the marketplace and therefore attract more clients.
3. It’s cost-effective
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters ? Incremental Productivity
June 25, 2007
When attempting to understand Creativity and Innovation, it pays to import the vast range of research and knowledge that has been accumulated in these fields ? most of it is to be found in the field of Business and Management.
For example, Writer’s Block is intimately related to Organizational Culture ? the same principles that prevent people from generating ideas in the corporate workplace are also responsible for Writer’s Block - evaluation apprehension in its many forms. Another example, the principles that prevent screenwriters from getting their work successful commercialised are the same as those that prevent organisation’s successfully implementing innovation ? lack of access to decision makers and so on.
Consequently, the following is one area of Creativity and Innovation Management that can assist screenwriters.
Incremental Productivity
Whilst radical innovation is glamorised, the true hero is incremental innovation. In other words: sustained, smaller changes. Whilst a few radical innovations are the result of giant leaps, the vast majority result from incremental changes applied over long periods. This principle can be applied in a number of ways:
Writing Articles that Get Read
June 25, 2007
Writing articles is one of the best and most effective ways of promoting your business because it does three things:
*Brands you as an expert. *Makes your marketing efforts viral. *Gives you content to attract potential buyers.
There are several things you can do to make sure that your articles get read.
1. Write an article potential buyers will find interesting. Even if you know your topic very well, it pays to do research. Find out what changes are occuring in your field and include that material in your articles. No one wants to read something that is outdated or inaccurate. Readers will find your material far more interesting if you tell them something they don’t already know, and you present it from your own unique perspective.
2. Submit your article to the right places. Article directories are a great place to submit articles because they are high traffic sites. Many offer a wide variety of categories so you can submit just about any kind of article. It will also increase your ranking in the search engines because you are linked to high traffic sites.
Free Ezine Advertising That Works!
June 24, 2007
When I say free ezine advertising, I’m not talking about the free ezine ads that some publishers offer, this technique is FAR more powerful than that.
One of the best ways to get free traffic to your site, is to write articles for ezines.
Now before you shudder and click away, it isn’t that hard to write a good article.
If you’ve got a bout of writers block, just search for info related to the subject you want to write about, then re-write it in YOUR OWN words and style, do not copy.
Your article needs to be around 500 - 700 words, with short paragraphs, 5 or 6 sentences.
DON’T try and disguise an advert as an article and forget about putting in your affiliate links, publishers will delete it straight away, if you want to use this approach to promote an affiliate program, you should really get your own domain as it looks more professional.
Once you have put your masterpiece together, leave it a day, then come back to it and re-read it, you’ll be surprised what other nuggets of info pop out after a nights sleep, and how many errors seem to jump out at you.
Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters - Writing a Screenplay Using Structure
June 24, 2007
Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure.
Inexperienced screenwriters may believe that structure inhibits creativity, but experienced writers know that following a template helps them to problem identify, generate ideas, select good ideas and develop them to reach that all important words-on-paper first draft ? structure is not a hindrance but an enhancer of creative output.
If doubts about structure still exist, then they are soon eliminated ? when screenplays are presented to decision makers for evaluation, writers soon learn that structure becomes an important part of the evaluation process.
A writer, through an individual and tortuous process of trial and error, may develop templates, or he or she may use one of the classic templates such as the Hero’s Journey. But a writer will rarely admit to the use of templates (it reduces the perception of originality) or he or she may be only mildly aware that they are following a process.
The Classic Hero’s Journey story structure template contains 106 sequences and more than 30 in the final act alone. It is an evolution of Campbells’ original model, containing only 17,18 or 19 sequences, depending on who the interpreter is.
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