Easy Way to Write Newsletter ?Special Report 1. The Editor's Desk. 2. On Becoming a Writer ?A Practical Guide 3. Featured Resource Dear Fellow Writer I hope life is treating you well and that you are happy and stress-free! I also hope, of course, your writing's going great guns! Remember: When you start your 30-day writing stint, don't forget to let me know. Just drop me a line with the working title of your book, the anticipated genre and the estimated word count you're aiming for. I'll do my best to offer encouragement and advice during the entire period! Try it. The writers I've worked with in this way have always told me my assistance was invaluable! rob@easywaytowrite.com FEEDBACK As you know, I always ask for feedback on my books, articles and reports. Mostly, when people email me, they ask about technical issues or about advance techniques for fiction writing. However, recently, a few writers have asked if I might consider going right back to basics?for them. So, here goes? On Becoming a Writer ?A Practical Guide Question. What makes a person WANT to write? There's no real easy answer. Some say the urge to write is God given, some say you're born with it. Writing courses teach the craft and then, supposedly, you can do it. But why? WHY would anyone want to write? To create, to communicate, to share? Whatever your reasons, the process of becoming a writer requires that you first make a decision. Take a few moments now to ask yourself, Why do I want to write?? Your reasons will be personal to you and should feel like a fundamental part of what you want from your life. The following 10 tips will help kick-start your writing habit, whether you're a complete novice, or perhaps a pro who has lost their way! 1. Step Away From the Car, Sir. Slightly detach yourself from your surroundings. Stop participating and begin observing. Even when you're in social situations, try to be objective about what is actually going on. Watch people, see how they act and ?more importantly - interact. Be interested in the psychology of people. Why they do what they do? What do they want to achieve? What is the effect they're after? How do they use their emotions to express their needs? Does it work? How? Why? Why not? Don't pass judgment. Take it all in. See the people around you as characters in a fictional setting. See the whole of them, including their surroundings ?the objects and the colors, the textures that frame the image in your mind. Carry around these tableaus so that you can draw on them later when you write. 2. Look Harder, Homer As you go through your day, study everything. If you're walking down a road, stop unexpectedly and look around you. Consciously notice the buildings, what's underfoot, how the weather is, what's just a few feet in front of you. At home, look at something you take for granted. A kettle, for instance. Find yours and study it. Notice the contours and the materials. Think about words you might use to describe it in detail. 3. Write Thinking Will Be Rewarded. Whenever you're in a situation, think about how you would describe it. It's a simple technique. Your mother is making tea and you are chatting to her. Take a mental step back and describe what you see and what's happening. “I watched as her delicate hand turned the tap to the right. Water gushed into the old silver kettle. The sound was hollow…” Similarly when you're outside, in any environment, describe it to yourself as though you were writing it down. For instance: Beams of sunlight pierced the overhead canopy of trees. The light was soft and warm. Multicolored parrots hopped to and from low branches, cackling like excited children.? 4. What Reasons Do You Need? Many novices are desperate to write but can't think of anything to say. Or they agonize over looking foolish to the extent that cannot write! Don't worry about it. Everything you write is personal. You don't have to show it to anyone. It's yours until you set it free. In the mean time, just WRITE. If you're having trouble starting, force yourself to write anything ?anything at all. A shopping list. An overheard conversation. Describe your bedroom. Don't wait for inspiration ?just write! If you can, completely switch off your conscious, logical mind and write the first thing that comes to you. It doesn't matter how personal it is, or how trivial, just get it down! This exercise helps because it subtly adjusts the mind to realizing that this is how you want to express yourself. Do it for a few days in a row if the urge to write dissipates and you'll soon be back on track. 5. Wakey Wakey! Set your alarm clock for an hour earlier than normal. This may be difficult at first but it's important and useful. The night before, commit yourself to getting up as soon as you hear the alarm. Promise yourself you'll do it! When you hear that alarm, get up. Don't get dressed, bathe or eat. Don't even make coffee. Just get out of bed, stagger to your writing space and write the first thing that comes into your head for five to ten minutes. Get into the habit of writing nonsense for a few minutes every morning before you start work on something more important. It works for Ray Bradbury! 6. Oh God ?Not That! This one can really help writers get over a block. It's hard but it's worth it. Think of the most awful and embarrassing thing you've ever done - the more cringe-worthy the better. Now write about it. All of it, in all its gory, horrible detail. After your first draft, go back and re-read it ?try to forget it was about you. Edit it so that it works as fiction ?with a message if you like. Stop when you like it as a piece of writing. Then hide it away for a year or so before you read it again! This technique can often unblock creative channels. Written down, you see your mistakes in a different, more objective light. You set them free. Make it a habit ?it's good for you! 7. Like Your Style, Baby. Don't limit yourself. Write poems, songs, dialogue, fact, fiction, even practice writing advertising copy or horoscopes. It's a mistake to limit yourself to one type of writing. Your expertise improves in all areas ?and an improvement in one area reaps benefits in another. 8. The Sincerest Flattery Take out a classic book from your bookcase. It doesn't matter if its Hemingway or Stephen King. Try copying out a paragraph. Think about the words as you write them, try to imagine what frame of mind you might have to be in to write similar lines. Hear the rhythm. All good writers write to an internal rhythm. It's this you're trying to access. Notice how the author has used words to evoke people places and feelings. Some do it with economy, others with hundreds of seemingly irrelevant words that all add up to the writer's style. Don't be intimidated. Remember that you're rarely seeing the first draft by the time a book is published. The apparent ease of the writing style may well be the result of much editing! 9. Wanna See My Invention? Even when you're not writing, keep stringing together stories. Think of plots, characters, settings, dénouements. Think about your stories - how you can improve them and what makes them work. Ask yourself what the next one will be about. Develop this technique into a habit and you'll soon feel compelled to write. 10. It's A Goal! When you start writing regularly, set yourself small goals. Anything from 200 words a day, or a commitment to writing in your diary. Later extend your goals to finishing a short story, or an article or a poem. Perhaps one in a week. The trick is to set goals you can achieve easily. This conditions the mind into finishing things. In a way, your subconscious recognizes that the ultimate goal is not writing, it's stopping writing! Don't overstretch yourself. If you force too much on yourself, you might get tired and disillusioned. Get the writing habit slowly and surely and don't forget to enjoy it! Strive to see yourself as a writer. Imagine yourself at some point in the future, a fully blown writer who writes every day, interpreting the world and trying to better it through writing. Believe you can be that person. Then? Relax ?it will happen. ?2004 robparnell -------------------------------------------------- Featured Resource The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Though written almost a century ago, the book still contains some of the most valuable lessons a new writer can learn. Written in an economical and amusing style, it tells all you need to know about writing well. A classic ?now available free from: http://www.bartleby.com/141/ Just follow the on screen instructions for download. I hope you've enjoyed this newsletter and learned some valuable information on your quest for writing success. Best wishes and keep writing! robparnell Author and Freelance Writer http://easywaytowrite.com One-Click Safe Un-Subscribe http://secure.MakeBuyingEasy.com/r.cgi?ID=55589 Powered by MakeBuyingEasy.com http://MakeBuyingEasy.com/x.cgi?id=730