Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 65

Interesting Facts About Writers And Writing

Writers are fascinating and often eccentric creatures. Learning from those writers who have been and gone, or are currently enjoying success can be a great way to boost your skills and find inspiration.

Let’s look at some weird and wonderful facts from the world of writing!

Peter Bales, an Elizabethan scribe was reported to have created a handwritten copy of the bible so small that you could put it inside a walnut shell. His motivation for doing so remains something of a mystery though!

Friedrich von Schiller left apples to rot in his desk - apparently the smell of them decaying helped him focus on his writing - each to their own we guess!

Some writers find inspiration strikes in the strangest places. Edith Sitwell began her writing day by lying in an open coffin, while Vladimir Nabokov and Gertrude Stein both preferred writing while sitting in a parked car. Whatever keeps you productive right?

Some authors prefer to shun technology and write the good old fashioned way with a pen and some paper. Celebrated author John Steinbeck was one such man, and apparently used 300 pencils to write his masterpiece ‘East of Eden.’

Ever got so into your writing that your fingers hurt?! Well, did you know there is a word for it?

Mogigraphia’ means ‘writer’s cramp.’

We’ve all heard of writer’s block, but if you want to impress your fellow writers with your intellect, you might want to refer to it as ‘colygraphia’ instead.

We all know the importance of sticking to your writing schedule. No one took this more seriously than author Graham Greene who would write 500 words a day exactly. Even if that meant stopping in the middle of a sentence. Others that liked to keep things regimented include Anthony Trollope who would pace himself to write no more than 250 words every 15 minutes.

As writers, we all have struggles to get over. Poor Agatha Christie had a particularly tough time as she suffered from dysgraphia meaning she was unable to write legibly; so dictated all of her novels.

We all love the Cat in the Hat right? Well when Dr. Seuss was stuck for inspiration, he apparently would head to his unique ‘hat closet’ filled with hundreds of hats which he would try on until he felt inspired once more!

‘Scrabblement’ is a delightful word from the 17th century. Its meaning? The ‘writing of a rambling character like that of a madman.’

Do you have any fun facts about writers or writing? Share them with us here!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Interesting Facts About Writers And Writing appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

What Are Your Chances Of Being A Successful Author?

The majority of writers would love to find success as authors. However, we know that the odds are stacked against us. It was always tough to get a book publishing deal, and while the rise of self-publishing meant that authors were able to get their book out into the public domain regardless, without proper marketing it is hugely challenging to find your readership and get them to buy your book.

So, realistically, is there any point? What are the chances of becoming a successful author in this day and age? Let's take a look at some of the facts.

The average indie author only sells around 250 books (ever). But that figure is skewed by those few that are selling hundreds of thousands of copies of their novels. So the real number may be a lot lower than this. This makes for some pretty depressing news for those who are looking to self-publish, though naturally there are reasons why some books do better than others.

There are success stories from self-published authors. It's also important to focus on the fact that there are those indie authors who become famous and enjoy success. Some indie authors can make a modest living from their books. Others make millions and millions of pounds. Take E.L James for example. She started as a self-published author and went on to top the Forbes' list of the highest-earning authors in 2013.

Those who have a marketing budget are likely to do better. If you want your novel to be successful, there are several things that you can do to give yourself the best chance of success, and one of them is have a budget to publish and market your book in the most professional way possible. While authors have varying success from different marketing methods, the truth is, the bigger your budget, the more likely you are to ensure that you book reaches the right people and that they are persuaded to buy it.

If you get an agent or publisher, you'll have less control and have to pay a percentage of the money you make to them - but at least you'll get a professional team backing your book. However, the truth is that if you aren't offered that much money in your book contract, you're not likely to have a large, professional team working hard to make sure your book sells. If they only offer you a 5-10k advance, warning bells should ring. If that's all they can give you, how much are they going to invest into marketing your book - you might actually be better off self-publishing and keeping all of the sales proceeds yourself - if making money is your number one priority that is.

Persistence is key. There are many famous novelists who, had they given up too early, would never have made it as a successful author. Multiple rejections and poor book sales didn't hold them back, so you never know when you might experience the same change in fortune!

The stats say that around 80 percent of Americans fancy themselves as an author, and with over 1 million self-published books published on Amazon, it has never been easier to make the dream of becoming an author a reality. However being a successful one is a mixture of hard work, good luck and never giving up.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post What Are Your Chances Of Being A Successful Author? appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Fun Facts About The English Language

The English language is a weird and wonderful thing. It’s what we writers rely on to craft our stories, and the way we use it, play with it and manipulate it to create worlds, develop characters and craft our stories is the essence of all that we do.

So to celebrate this collection of 26 letters that allows us to communicate our stories to the world, let’s look at some fun and interesting facts about the English language that you probably never knew…

Enneacontakaienneagon is actually a word! Yes, that’s right, try pronouncing that after a wine or two! It’s meaning is almost as bizarre as the word itself - a shape with ninety-nine sides, who knew?!

What’s the shortest sentence in the English language? I am. How profound!

Can you write a sentence that contains every single letter in the English language? Have a go! If you can, you’ve created a pangram!

Could you guess what the longest word in the English language is? You might be thinking of that rather joyful phrase from a much-loved children’s film. While that is just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - you’d actually be wrong. The longest word in the dictionary is in fact pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - unfortunately having a much less lovely meaning as it’s a type of lung disease caused when a person breathes in ash and dust.

Did you know that some words have no meaning? As strange as it sounds some words snuck into the dictionary due to printing errors. The word “dord” lasted eight years before finally being removed !

The English language is ever-evolving, and a new word is added around every 2 hours!

You know those words that you say often but don’t really add any value to your sentence? No? Think for a minute. If you ever start a sentence with “Actually” or pepper your speech with “like” these are known as crutch words as they could be removed without changing the meaning of your sentence.

Write down the word swims. Turn your piece of paper upside down. Pretty cool huh? This is called an ambigram.

Did you know that English is the language all pilots must use when they are flying regardless of where they are from? The rules state they must identify themselves and speak in English while flying.

The word girl initially meant a small boy, or girl. It did not have a specific gender and was used to describe a young person regardless of sex.

The English language is brilliant, historic and fascinating. Do you have any fun facts about the English language? Share them with us here!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Fun Facts About The English Language appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Easy Writing Tips That Apply To Everyone

Want your writing to improve? These tips can help you, no matter what kind of writing you do.

If you are going to write, you have to read

If you are not reading something, you should be. The best writers know that the more they read, the better they will become at the craft. Reading is learning, and it inspires us. It helps us to understand the essential elements that make a story or a piece of content stand out, shine, be memorable. Read everything you can get your hands on, make sure you read every day. Every writer must be a reader; it’s the biggest favor they can do for themselves!

Stop comparing yourself to other writers

Comparing yourself to other writers (whether favorably or unfavorably) isn’t going to get you anywhere. Be inspired by other writers, sure. Learn from their mistakes, of course! But don’t moan about how they got published even though they aren’t that talented, or that you’ll never be as good a writer as them, or that you wish you were as ‘lucky’ as them. You are in control of your writing destiny, your voice is unique, and only you can tell the stories you write. Be proud of being a writer, work hard and never give up. No other writer, however good or bad should validate or invalidate that.

Practice makes perfect

If you are a writer, you need to write. There are no excuses. There is enough time. Writing is tough, challenging, exhilarating, exhausting, satisfying, frustrating, and so much more. It’s a rollercoaster, but you can’t get anywhere if you don’t get on the ride. The more you write, the easier it will become and the better you’ll get, so you need to make sure it’s a priority.

Find an honest critic

Having someone who will give you honest feedback on your work is invaluable. Find this person early on. Listen to them. Learn how to receive constructive criticism. Your writing is never going to appeal to everyone, however being willing to receive feedback can mean you make it the very best it can be.

Open your eyes and ears to find ideas

There are ideas for stories everywhere. Get out into the big wide world and observe it. Look at people, listen to conversations, find stories. You could find ten ideas for stories every day if you open yourself up to what is going on around you so make sure you keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll never be short on inspiration.

Don’t be afraid to let go

Sharing your writing with others is scary, but you have to accept that your writing is imperfect. If you don’t let it go, you’ll never know what might have been. So make it as good as it can be, accept that it doesn’t have to be perfect, and then just let it go.

Study the craft of writing

Some people are natural writers, and some people aren’t. But every writer, no matter how talented they are can learn a lot if they study the craft of writing. So accept that there is lots to learn, and make sure that you set aside time for study, and practice and experimentation. You’ll see your writing improve so much if you do.

It doesn’t matter if you are a fiction writer, a blog writer, an article writer or all of the above. These tips can help you write smarter, more interesting, better work. So make sure you take them on board!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Easy Writing Tips That Apply To Everyone appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Prioritize Your Writing

One of the biggest challenges many writers face is finding the time to write. If you aren’t able to write full-time, you need to create a writing schedule that fits around your day job and maximizes your efficiency and productivity - so that when you do get a chance to sit down and write, you make the most of the time you have.

However it can be all too easy, no matter how good your intentions are, to find that other jobs or chores or social engagements get in the way of your writing, and soon it falls further and further down the list of your priorities until it slips off the radar altogether.

So how can you ensure that you make writing a top priority in your life?

Here are some helpful tips:

Get better at time management

To be able to prioritize your writing you need to first identify when it is you actually can write. So the best thing to do is to write down a list of all the things you have to do and all the deadlines you have for those things. This can be anything from your job to doing the laundry to hanging out with friends.

Once you have your list, you need to reflect on what is important to you, and what you could sacrifice to make sure that you have enough time to get your writing done. You can split your list into two columns, those things that are essential and those that are just for fun. From here you can figure out where you could cut back so that your schedule is freer for writing time.

It’s essential to be real and honest with yourself here. If you love your weekly wine and natter with your girlfriends, don’t pretend that you’ll give it up when you’ll either make yourself miserable by doing so or feel guilty when you never do. It’s OK to have other priorities, hobbies, and interests as well as writing, but you do need to work out how important it is to you and make sure you make time for it if it is indeed a priority in your life.

.

Block out your free time

Once you have an overview of where you have free time, you need to block it out. Don’t leave it open to be filled with other non-essential tasks or commitments. Instead, put it in your diary, block it out in your calendar. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that this time is non-negotiable and set aside to write.

Be committed

At the end of the day, you are the only person who can truly commit to your writing schedule. So make sure that you are. Give yourself a one month trial period where you absolutely must stick to it, no matter what. If you find at the end of the month you are into the swing of things then you know you’ll be able to continue. If you don’t, and find you are stressed and behind on other tasks or just miserable and feel like you are missing out on other things you enjoy, then you need to revisit your schedule and see where changes can be made.

Don’t compare yourself to others

It’s very easy to look at other writers who are producing more work than you and feel like a failure. But to keep writing as a priority, you need to be able to write when it suits you. If you force yourself into it, you won’t enjoy it and will probably end up writing less. You have to write at your own pace. That’s not to say you shouldn’t push yourself, but making yourself exhausted and unhappy is not going to make you a brilliant writer so stay flexible and allow yourself a little grace from time to time too!

The post How To Prioritize Your Writing appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write A Great Article

How To Write A Great Article

Whether you are trying to become a freelance writer, or you are looking to make your author blog more exciting, understanding the essential elements that make an excellent article will help you get there.

By using the tips below, you can make sure that every article you produce is valuable, exciting and appropriate for your target audience. So let’s take a look.

Make it accessible

While some topics call for more academic writing, when you are creating blog posts or web pages or articles on more general topics, you should be wary of making them too complicated or specialist. You don’t need to dumb down your writing, but at the same time remember that people want to be able to understand your article easily and so writing with clarity and using simple language will ensure that you don’t isolate readers.

Know your reader

It’s also vital that you fully understand who your reader is, the problems they have, their needs and desires and where they go looking for content. The better you know your audience, the easier it will be to craft an article that appeals to them.

Research your subject

A thoroughly researched article will naturally be better and more interesting than one that isn’t. Take your time to fully understand your topic and figure out what it is you want to say. Back up claims with facts and figures to impress your audience and gain trust.

Break down points and keep paragraphs short

People are time poor, and if they want to find information, they usually prefer to be able to ingest it in bite-sized chunks so make sure you don’t overwhelm them with huge blocks of text. Keep paragraphs short and use bullet points and headings to make your article more readable too.

Be unique

Try to think of a new fresh approach so that you aren’t just regurgitating the same tired old information over and over. If you can find a way to say something new, and present something of value to your audience, you are likely to gain readers and admirers too!

Take time and care

Don’t rush your article. Take time to check for spelling and grammar mistakes, to make sure that your article reads well, and to eliminate anything that doesn’t add value.

Using these simple tips above can help ensure that your articles are useful, interesting and helpful to your readers. So next time you want to write one, use this as a guide to ensure your article is as good as it good be!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Write A Great Article appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write A Plot Outline

While some writers get an idea for a book and just like to get writing straight away, others choose to be more methodical and organized in their approach.

Writing a plot outline, before you begin any actual story writing, can be incredibly useful. A persuasive plot outline will help guide you when you are finding it a struggle to write, will give you a proper perspective of how your whole novel will pan out and will ensure that you don’t get halfway through your story and realize you don’t have any idea how to finish it!

So how do you write a powerful, practical plot outline that will help you plan your book and make sure that you get the most out of your outlining process? Here are some useful tips.

Devise your book premise

The premise for your book is the basic idea, the very essence of what your book is going to be about. However, to make this more helpful, you need to flesh this out. So write down who your protagonist is, what is the setting and situation they find themselves in at the beginning? What is the change and the driver for action that catalyzes their journey? Who will get in their way and why? What obstacles must the protagonist's face and overcome, will they succeed and at what cost? Try to answer these questions and then condense your answers so that your book premise reads succinctly in a couple of sentences.

Sketch out your scenes

You don’t need to do this in chronological order just yet, but begin to allow yourself to imagine some of the most important scenes that you know are crucial to your story. Make a list of all these scenes and any ideas relating to them. You can then begin to move them around to get a timeline of what might happen when in your book. As you do so you can begin to link and connect scenes together, and more ideas will flow, and more scenes will appear. Try to allow yourself the creative freedom to write every stage, and every thought down - you can always go back and eliminate those that are unnecessary or don’t quite work at a later date.

Get to know your characters

The easiest way to begin to understand your characters better is by interviewing them. Ask them a series of questions to help you get to the core of who they are and what they believe. The better you know your characters they more naturally you’ll be able to write them and the more obvious it will be how they think, feel, and react to certain situations.

Explore different settings

Trying to convey different settings to your reader accurately is tricky, but they must be believable and imaginable for your reader to immerse themselves in the story and the world you have created. Your plot outline allows you to explore different settings and helps you to decide the kinds of setting that will complement your plot, the theme of your book and the characters who live there too.

Write and then condense your outline

Now you should concentrate on writing an outline for your book in its entirety. Here is when you should try to become more detailed, sketch out chapter outlines, add more to the scenes you have created, try to identify the key components for each and work out how the end of each scene will then fuel and catalyze the action that takes place in the subsequent one. Once you have finished, you may wish to try condensing your outline by choosing the most important points. This should enable you to neatly summarise your plot which you can use as a guide while you write and only refer back to the more extensive outline when necessary.

Now you should have a thoroughly researched and crafted a useful plot outline - so it’s time to start writing your book! With such a valuable document to help you, getting your first draft down should be a breeze!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Write A Plot Outline appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Make Your Characters Relatable

Every good writer knows that their characters are the glue that will hold their book together. Without extraordinary, relatable characters, that your readers can connect with and that sparks an emotional reaction, your story will fail.

So how do you do this? Let’s take a look…

Make them vulnerable

A hero who is too flawless is going to be challenging to relate to. All humans have their flaws, their secrets, their insecurities, their weaknesses and so on. Make sure that you aren’t so intent on making your character likable that you forget to make them human!

Include the minutia

It doesn’t matter how powerful and talented and magical your protagonist is, and it doesn’t matter if they have extraordinary superpowers or do something so unimaginably heroic to save humanity or whatever - you still need to make them live in the real world, to get dressed, to eat breakfast and so on. Don’t be afraid to let your character exist as a real person. If everything they say and do is larger than life and over the top and extreme it will be hard for readers to connect with them at all.

Give them morals and values and beliefs

Everyone has different ways of conducting themselves in the world and while most of us know the basic difference between right and wrong we all view the world from a slightly different perspective and your characters should too. Let the reader understand what is important to them, what their belief system is, what morals they uphold and so on. This will help your reader get to know them better and if they act on the basis of their values and morals, the reader (even if they don’t share the same ones), will still be able to relate to their motivation for doing so.

Don’t be afraid to let them fail

As well as having a vulnerability, it is vital for things to go wrong for your characters from time to time. If they never fail, they will never learn. No one’s life is perfect; we all have challenges to face, obstacles to get over, and sadnesses or difficulties in our lives. Your characters should experience defeat, but also pick themselves back up after the loss and try to move on - that’s what makes them heroic but also encourages your reader to root for them even more.

Give them personality

Everyone is different and has their little quirks and idiosyncrasies that make them uniquely who they are. Make sure that you give your characters the same. Build up their personalities so they become these 3D, exciting, layered people who your readers can’t help but engage with. If you can, try to use wit and humor, but don’t overdo it. Allow them to be self-deprecating and make sure they are self-aware, acknowledge their flaws and work hard to become better people.

So there you have it. Hopefully, this list will help you to create more likable, relatable characters. Is there anything you would add? Share with us here!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Make Your Characters Relatable appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

What Makes A Good Story?

A good story needs to capture the reader's attention, and hold it. It needs to tell the reader something important and make it so interesting that people sit up, pay attention, absorb it and react to it too.

However, when you are trying to tell a story, appealing to a mass audience can be tricky. The public is incredibly diverse, each member with their own interests, opinions, likes and dislikes and belief systems. They also have different concerns, morals, passions, and characteristics too.

So any story might be a good story to someone out there. However, it is up to the writer to tell it in a way that makes those who might be interested in the topic, actually appreciate and value the content.

So what can you do to ensure that your story is a good one?

Do your research

When it comes to telling a story, you need facts and details, and this is where research comes in. Make sure that you bother to do your research, find out interesting information, and check your facts too!

Think about how to present it

The treatment of your chosen topic is more important than the topic itself. It doesn’t matter how fascinating something is if you can’t tell it in a way that engages and excites your audience it won’t count for anything. Make sure you tell the tale, paint the picture and highlight the most relevant and exciting points so they are clear and obvious.

Make sure your story is clear and comprehensive

The best stories are those that don’t ramble; they don’t hide their meaning or leave the reader guessing, or use language or phrasing that is difficult to understand. The best stories will enable your readers to have a firm understanding of your points, and be clear about what it is you are trying to say.

Make sure there is a plot

Whether the story you choose to tell is fact or fiction, there should still be a plot, and there should always be characters. People love to be able to relate, and they love reading something that they can immerse themselves in. Engage your reader by thinking about how you can plot out your story, so it has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Create a satisfying ending

Great stories have endings that leave the reader completely satisfied. They feel they have found out all they need to know, and are able to take something away. Perhaps a valuable lesson, a sense of elation, a poignancy - whatever it is, your ending is crucial, it will re-emphasize your points and the meaning of the story and why you decided to tell it in the first place. It will tie up loose ends and won’t leave your readers confused or unaffected.

Edit and perfect it

Lastly, a good story should well written - and this takes time. Don’t shy away from editing, polishing and perfecting your story. Good spelling, punctuation, and grammar will impress your reader and demonstrate your professionalism.

Writing a good story that will appeal to your target audience takes research, planning, and creativity. Use the tips above to make sure that your stories not only gain the attention of your readers but continue to delight and surprise them right up until the very end.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post What Makes A Good Story? appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

The Worst Mistakes Writers Make

No one can claim to be a perfect writer, and we are all going to make mistakes from time to time. It’s normal. However, having the ability to learn from your mistakes, and also to recognize when your mistakes could cost you big, is so important.

So what are some of the worst (and most common) mistakes that writers make? Let’s take a look at some of them.

Not believing in themselves

Self-doubt is something that can strike even the most successful writers from time to time. While it’s almost a rite of passage to doubt yourself sometimes, if you let it take over and are constantly beating yourself up, you’ll end up not making progress or limiting your writing. Try to free yourself of self-doubt, gain writing confidence through learning and practice and have faith that your hard work will pay off in the end.

Not enjoying their writing.

Writing is something most of us choose to do. No one is forcing us into it. If you can’t enjoy your book you’ve got to start to wonder why you are doing it in the first place. Of course, it takes hard work. Of course, it takes effort. However, it is a good idea to check in with yourself from time to time to make sure it is still a pleasure and a positive thing in your life, otherwise perhaps you need to start thinking about how to change that.

Not editing enough

The editing process can be long and arduous. However if you don’t take the time to edit your novel thoroughly, you are doing yourself a great disservice. Make sure you put as much effort into your editing as you do writing your book and you’ll be so glad that you did when you finally finish it.

Giving up too soon

There are millions of people out there that want to write a book, and a lot of them start to do so. However, what is the percentage of people that begin writing a novel and actually finish one? Well, it’s a huge difference. It can be easy for other things in your life to get in the way, but if you have a story that you feel like you need to tell, then try not to give up until you’ve told it.

Not taking the time to learn

Writing is a craft and an art form. Many writers make the mistake of thinking that writing can’t be taught and therefore that they don’t have things that they need to learn. However, no matter how experienced a writer you are, there is always more you can learn, so always keep yourself not only open to the idea of learning but actively seeking experiences and lessons to make you a better writer.

Not realizing they need to be so much more than writers

A writer's job these days is so much more than being a writer, and if you want to be successful, there is no avoiding this fact. It’s fine just to write, if that’s what makes you happy. But the job description for professional writers is much more complex and demanding, are you up for the challenge?

So there you have it. Are you guilty of making these writing mistakes? If so, perhaps it’s time to make a change and get back to your best, most positive writing self once more!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post The Worst Mistakes Writers Make appeared first on Writer's Life.org.