To keep yourself well practiced why not write a short article on an interesting friend or work colleague? Tip Of The Day
"Conduct a short interview for practice"
So sometimes work does dry up and you sometimes don't have the drive to keep going but there is always a way you can keep your brain exercised and get some practice in for yourself, while putting something interesting on your blog for others to read. To start off with pick a friend at random, someone who is interesting and generally has something worth writing about. It could be that they are great at a certain hobby or have just started a new job, sponsored a new charity, anything. Write out some questions, keep it short, only between 8 and 10 questions and sit down with your unsuspecting candidate and take some notes! (your notebook from Tip #1 will come in handy for this exercise!) Take some details down and then go away and write it out into an interview, don't make it too long and tedious to read through because people could get bored as its an interview on somebody they don't know. But this is great practice for you and its a little bit of fun. Its great if you want to go into article writing. Look at your local newspapers and check out how many of them have small interviews, 60 second interviews even. Try it out!
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Monday, 5 October 2009
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Tip of The Day #7
Today I am going for something really simple but yet a lot of people don't do it. I really feel it benefits me, so why not give it a go and if it doesn't work for you, then hey, what have you lost! Your Tip Of The Day is
"Read your work aloud"
This may sound like quite an odd piece of advice but let me explain first before you decide. When most people write you find that you get into a flow and you keep writing and writing and you read back over it in your head and it sounds fine . Now read it aloud and you sometimes pick up on things you wouldn't if you were reading in your head. I used this example on my partner the other day (I hope he doesn't mind me mentioning it!) He had written a short piece of writing and read it over and was happy with it. He asked me to read it through it but instead I asked him to read it out loud to me. As he was reading through it he kept stopping himself and rearranging words that didn't quite sound right and by doing that he completely edited his writing himself.
I always read my work out loud to check for mistakes or to see if a sentence I have written makes sense. It also works well for me if i am writing something and get stuck, can't think of what to put next, so I read it aloud to see if anything naturally follows it or if I need to change it. 9 times out of 10 it works for me. So today's tip may be short and simple but it really is a little tip worth knowing!
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"Read your work aloud"
This may sound like quite an odd piece of advice but let me explain first before you decide. When most people write you find that you get into a flow and you keep writing and writing and you read back over it in your head and it sounds fine . Now read it aloud and you sometimes pick up on things you wouldn't if you were reading in your head. I used this example on my partner the other day (I hope he doesn't mind me mentioning it!) He had written a short piece of writing and read it over and was happy with it. He asked me to read it through it but instead I asked him to read it out loud to me. As he was reading through it he kept stopping himself and rearranging words that didn't quite sound right and by doing that he completely edited his writing himself.
I always read my work out loud to check for mistakes or to see if a sentence I have written makes sense. It also works well for me if i am writing something and get stuck, can't think of what to put next, so I read it aloud to see if anything naturally follows it or if I need to change it. 9 times out of 10 it works for me. So today's tip may be short and simple but it really is a little tip worth knowing!
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Saturday, 3 October 2009
Tip of The Day #6
I have always enjoyed reading and love nothing more than coming home and chilling out with a good book. I used to just read for fun until I started writing my own novel and articles, I will explain more... So my Tip Of The Day for you is
"Read as much as you can, from books to magazines to e-books"
I enjoy reading all types of books from romance novels to crime and thriller stories. I love nothing more then getting stuck in to a good read. Reading has always been something I am passionate about but it is also a great learning tool. You get to pick up on how different people write. If you are particularly interested in writing novels then it it great to read books to allow you to pick up on different writing techniques. If you are more into article reading then you can gain so much from picking up a newspaper and magazine a day and reading through different articles. Read main articles that really grab your attention and then take a look at the one's which don't stand out as much. What is different in the way they are written? You can really analyse people's work and look at it in depth, even set yourself little essay questions on them or take the main contents and try to re-write it yourself.
These are great exercises and I find myself now whenever I am reading a book, looking at the way a sentence has been formed and if I would have done it differently. As a writer you are always looking at other people's writing techniques and looking for new ways to write your own work, the work doesn't just stop when you stop writing! So teach yourself something new today. You really are capable of it and it keeps your brain fresh.
There are so many online tips and e-books that you can go through as well to help you gain different ways of writing just from reading. Go on to your favourite writer's website and look at how the articles on their website have been written. Happy reading!
Tip #7 coming soon
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"Read as much as you can, from books to magazines to e-books"
I enjoy reading all types of books from romance novels to crime and thriller stories. I love nothing more then getting stuck in to a good read. Reading has always been something I am passionate about but it is also a great learning tool. You get to pick up on how different people write. If you are particularly interested in writing novels then it it great to read books to allow you to pick up on different writing techniques. If you are more into article reading then you can gain so much from picking up a newspaper and magazine a day and reading through different articles. Read main articles that really grab your attention and then take a look at the one's which don't stand out as much. What is different in the way they are written? You can really analyse people's work and look at it in depth, even set yourself little essay questions on them or take the main contents and try to re-write it yourself.
These are great exercises and I find myself now whenever I am reading a book, looking at the way a sentence has been formed and if I would have done it differently. As a writer you are always looking at other people's writing techniques and looking for new ways to write your own work, the work doesn't just stop when you stop writing! So teach yourself something new today. You really are capable of it and it keeps your brain fresh.
There are so many online tips and e-books that you can go through as well to help you gain different ways of writing just from reading. Go on to your favourite writer's website and look at how the articles on their website have been written. Happy reading!
Tip #7 coming soon
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Thursday, 1 October 2009
Tip of The Day #5
Sorry it's a little bit later today but got caught up at work. It took a while for me to get settled which is a coincidence as my Tip Of The Day today is
Your brain can not concentrate for long periods of time, hence why when we were in school we had so many breaks. As adults we are expected to concentrate for longer, although sometimes it may be the case that we can sit there for hours writing, but the quality of the writing my differ. It will be fantastic at the beginning and as time goes on you can tell where the writer needs to put down the pen/stop typing and take a break. There is no harm in having a break, it does some good. So when you start feeling tired or a little weary, remember it is ok to take a break and that you are generally only expected to concentrate for about 30-45 minutes at a time.
Try it out and see how it works for you. Happy writing. Come back for Tip #6 tomorrow.
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"How to help you to concentrate and get the most from your writing time"
When you sit down to get on with your work, whatever kind of work it may be, it either takes a while to get into it or its hard to keep concentrating for long periods of time. Firstly when you sit down to concentrate, sit in a quiet room, don't have the TV or the radio on in the background because although you may not realise it, it will be causing a distraction from your work. When you have loads of ideas and you just want to keep writing forever its great but you need to have breaks. Write down all your ideas (so you don't forget them) and then start writing and continue for about 30 minutes. Then take a break, move away from your desk, go get a cup of tea/coffee and take a 10-15 minute break. Have a change of scenery for a short space of time and you will see the difference. When you go back to your desk you will find it a lot easier to concentrate.
Your brain can not concentrate for long periods of time, hence why when we were in school we had so many breaks. As adults we are expected to concentrate for longer, although sometimes it may be the case that we can sit there for hours writing, but the quality of the writing my differ. It will be fantastic at the beginning and as time goes on you can tell where the writer needs to put down the pen/stop typing and take a break. There is no harm in having a break, it does some good. So when you start feeling tired or a little weary, remember it is ok to take a break and that you are generally only expected to concentrate for about 30-45 minutes at a time.
Try it out and see how it works for you. Happy writing. Come back for Tip #6 tomorrow.
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Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Tip of The Day #4
I thought I would post this one a bit earlier today, help get my brain into gear as well! Today's tip is based around that lovely saying Practice makes perfect. Now although some argue you don't know what perfect is because you can always improve on something, I like to word it a little differently and adapt it to myself. So your Tip Of The Day for today is
"Read your work, Edit it, Re-read it, Re-edit it..."
Everyone who writes, whether it be in a lesson at school, a story for yourself, an article or even a piece of writing for work, you all know how nice it would be to write something once and that be it. However it doesn't work like that (I hear you sigh) and there is a reason for that. Using my own example, when I started writing my own novel Sean's Story I wrote the 1st chapter pretty quickly and then put it aside for a few weeks and went back to it. In that time I had thought of new lines I had wanted to put in, so I read it and edited it for the 1st time. Over the last 6 months I have read that chapter and edited it to a point where I am now happy with what my 1st chapter says and where it is leading the reader to. Now I am hoping that it won't take me that long to write my next chapter, as I was still finding my feet throughout chapter one.
Whatever I write though I have the same routine with, write it and then go away and come back with fresh eyes, even the next day is a great start. You can only hold your concentration levels for around 30 min's - 45 min's and although you could keep writing for hours, when you go back and read it, you can tell roundabout where your concentration levels started to deteriorate. So by re-reading and re-editing you get to make your piece of writing perfect! It can seem tedious at times but I assure you only good results come from it. So go ahead and grab out an old piece of writing and see what you can do with it today!
Tip #5 will be coming tomorrow and talks about helping you with concentration levels.
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"Read your work, Edit it, Re-read it, Re-edit it..."
Everyone who writes, whether it be in a lesson at school, a story for yourself, an article or even a piece of writing for work, you all know how nice it would be to write something once and that be it. However it doesn't work like that (I hear you sigh) and there is a reason for that. Using my own example, when I started writing my own novel Sean's Story I wrote the 1st chapter pretty quickly and then put it aside for a few weeks and went back to it. In that time I had thought of new lines I had wanted to put in, so I read it and edited it for the 1st time. Over the last 6 months I have read that chapter and edited it to a point where I am now happy with what my 1st chapter says and where it is leading the reader to. Now I am hoping that it won't take me that long to write my next chapter, as I was still finding my feet throughout chapter one.
Whatever I write though I have the same routine with, write it and then go away and come back with fresh eyes, even the next day is a great start. You can only hold your concentration levels for around 30 min's - 45 min's and although you could keep writing for hours, when you go back and read it, you can tell roundabout where your concentration levels started to deteriorate. So by re-reading and re-editing you get to make your piece of writing perfect! It can seem tedious at times but I assure you only good results come from it. So go ahead and grab out an old piece of writing and see what you can do with it today!
Tip #5 will be coming tomorrow and talks about helping you with concentration levels.
Read More......
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Tip of The Day #3
I bet you have all just been dying to see what your tip of the day is for today? Even if you haven't it's just something to get you thinking and it keeps my brain going when I get in from a day at work. And I just love sharing my thoughts with anyone who is interested! So your Tip Of The Day is
"Get yourself a crossword book"
Why? I hear you ask. Crosswords are great for keeping the brain trained and not only that but they expand your vocabulary without you having to read a dictionary! When you were at school you were always discovering new words, now being older, you get stuck into the same routine every day and rarely learn a new word. So not only does a crossword get you thinking but you learn new words from it, and new meanings. Even if you don't get yourself a crossword book, get the paper and do that one for a bit of fun. Although i have to say doing celebrity crosswords won't help your vocabulary grow as much, however you will be very up to date with the celebs!
So when your next scanning your local newsagents for a magazine or something to occupy you on the train to work, grab a puzzler or crossword book, they last a while too. Just doing one a day will add at least one new word to your own dictionary for when you next sit down to write that novel or article. Happy Puzzling!
Come back tomorrow for Tip #4
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"Get yourself a crossword book"
Why? I hear you ask. Crosswords are great for keeping the brain trained and not only that but they expand your vocabulary without you having to read a dictionary! When you were at school you were always discovering new words, now being older, you get stuck into the same routine every day and rarely learn a new word. So not only does a crossword get you thinking but you learn new words from it, and new meanings. Even if you don't get yourself a crossword book, get the paper and do that one for a bit of fun. Although i have to say doing celebrity crosswords won't help your vocabulary grow as much, however you will be very up to date with the celebs!
So when your next scanning your local newsagents for a magazine or something to occupy you on the train to work, grab a puzzler or crossword book, they last a while too. Just doing one a day will add at least one new word to your own dictionary for when you next sit down to write that novel or article. Happy Puzzling!
Come back tomorrow for Tip #4
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Monday, 28 September 2009
Tip of The Day #2
Today's Tip of the day just happens to follow on from yesterdays! Hope you enjoyed the read and that these tips will come in use. The tip of the day for Monday is
"Never dismiss ideas - keep them aside to go back to at a later date"
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"Never dismiss ideas - keep them aside to go back to at a later date"
So now you have your notebook (and you keep it by your bedside!) you will find that you jot down ideas on the spare of the moment. Using your notebook to write down anything that comes into your head is great. Even if it is one word, one sentence or a random group of words which you think will come in handy, even a setting for a story which you haven't started writing yet. These are all thoughts that you have come up with or had an idea for at some time during your career, so give yourself some credit for them, don't just throw them away, keep them aside!
If you don't use them straight away don't dismiss them, keep them for the future because at some point when you have writer's block (which we all get) they may come in handy and give you something to start writing about again. An idea which works (only if you are persistant and stick to it) is to keep a page for each date in your notebook, only an A5 sized book, write the date at the top and jot down your ideas for that day. And then when you look back and use them just cross them off. It could be a great idea you have but just nowhere to use it yet or no inspiration to do something with it. So save it for a later date. Never just cross it off or throw it away.
Look out for Tip #3
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