Write or Die: the software that offers struggling authors a simple choice | Technology This is horrible! The novelist David Nicholls says that while working on his latest book Us he used a piece of software called Write or Die, which starts to delete what you are writing if you pause for too long. “I was convinced that there was a novel in me and I had to just spew it out on to the page,” Nicholls told an audience at the Cheltenham Literary festival. “I produced huge piles of paper and I saw it was all rubbish. I agree. I have tried adding and deleting spaces, like dribbling a basketball when I want to stand still. Actually, I think the second half of that is healthy. In the end, Nicholls had to bin the 35,000 words he had written this way, but they weren’t wasted.
How To Pitch Stories To Code Switch : Code Switch Like every team of reporters and editors at a major news outlet, Code Switch gets a lot of pitches for stories, and we can only greenlight a small percentage of them. The majority are from publicists interested in having us cover one of their clients. But we also get a healthy stream of pitches from potential freelancers. Having done freelance work, I know the pitching process can seem like a black box. So in the spirit of encouraging more great pitches, we wanted to share some things to keep in mind when you share your ideas with us. Remember, Code Switch focuses on race, ethnicity and culture. Make your pitch clear and easy to read. Pitch stories, not essays. Only very rarely do we greenlight an essay we didn't commission, and we don't publish polemics. If your story is based on a personal experience, make sure to relate it to a broader set of experiences. The greater the variety of perspectives you consider in your pitch, the stronger it's likely to be. So pitch us!
Life Writing Collage by Sonja, from Vija Celmins, “Eraser,” 1967, acrylic on balsa wood, Collection of the Orange County Museum of Art. For a long time, I’ve wanted to keep a diary. I tried throughout adolescence but always gave it up. I dreamt of being very frank, like Joe Orton, whose diaries I admired very much; I found them in the library when I was about 14. As a young adult, I read a lot of Virginia Woolf’s diaries and again thought that I really should keep a diary. I realize I don’t want any record of my days. I wonder if it isn’t obliquely connected to the way I write my fiction, in which, say, a doormat in an apartment I lived in years ago will reappear, just as it once was, that exact doormat, same warp and weft, and yet I can’t say when exactly I lived there, who I was dating or even if my own father was alive or dead at the time. When it comes to life writing, the real, honest, diaristic, warts-and-all kind, the only thing I have to show for myself—before St.
Three anti-social skills to improve your writing - Nadia Kalman E.B. White wrote, “The best writing is rewriting.” With that idea in mind, look at a few of the examples of ineffective dialogue in the blog post, “Bad Dialogue – Bad, Bad Dialogue,” by Beth Hill, at Now, select one example to rewrite and improve. If it’s repetitive, eliminate the repetition. If it’s too formal or stilted, mutter to yourself until you come up with a more natural-sounding version. The author Mark Twain is considered a master of dialogue, but his use of dialect – and particularly his phonetic rendering of African-American speech in the novel Huckleberry Finn – is the subject of controversy. - An overview of various attitudes towards the novel in the PBS teachers’ guide to Huck Finn: - Leslie Gregory’s article, “Finding Jim Behind the Mask,” in Ampersand, available at
Write for A lot of what makes Cosmopolitan such a brilliant place to work is the HUGE connection it has with its readers. We get emails from you every single day, and love your comments on Twitter and Facebook, ranging from the witty and hilarious to the truly considered and impactful. So we're inviting you to bring those skills onto Cosmopolitan.co.uk and write for us. We want to hear about an experience you've had that's worth talking about, that's made you look at things differently. In around 800 words, we want to hear about something that's really struck a chord with you; whether it be something that had a profound effect on you emotionally; something that was traumatic, but you've come out of the other side and want to share your story; a mind-blowing experience you've had; a life lesson you've learned; or just something that happened to you that was hilarious and that we and the world need to know about. Submission deadline 31st December 2014 - full terms and conditions can be found here.
Study work Gap Programmes|City Travel Review Writing Advice Well, first off, boring writing covers a multitude of sins. Without looking at your writing (which I can’t do), I can’t tell you why it’s boring exactly, any more than if you call up a doctor and tell her you don’t feel well, she can tell you what’s wrong with you exactly. The differential, so to speak, is vast. This is why you need someone — a teacher, friends, ideally a class of writing students — reading your work and giving you feedback. If you are convinced that your writing is boring, ask yourself a few questions: Are you including details that aren’t necessary to the story, just to pad out scenes and make them seem longer/more important? “Joe got up and brushed his hair and then his teeth. can be edited down to this: “Joe went to work.” Unless there is something remotely important about the tooth brushing, the breakfast food, or the locking of the front door, skip it all. Are you overstating characters’ emotions in order to make everything seem more dramatic? (permalink)
Foreshadowing Examples[edit] An example of foreshadowing from the book trilogy and its screen adaptation The Lord of the Rings:[6] —Frodo: What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature [Gollum], when he had a chance!—Gandalf: Pity? This conversation foreshadows the fact that later in the story Frodo himself pities Gollum and is unable to kill him. “Keep him!” Foreshadowing is used in much of the works of John Steinbeck. See also[edit] Chekhov's gun References[edit]
Character Names - Tips for Writers on Naming Characters | BabyNames There are many literary and movie characters that become everlasting brands in our culture—Atticus Finch, 'Ratso' Rizzo, Holden Caulfield and Scarlett O'Hara, for example. If you name your character right, you will choose a name that is unique to your character and memorable to your story. The names you choose should reveal something about your characters: who they are, where they come from or where they are going. Here are several tips we compiled for writers of stories, novels, tv and movies to help you choose the perfect name for your characters. For more in-depth info, check out CharacterNames.com! Tip 1: Make the name age-appropriate The biggest mistake we see writers make is choosing a character name that is not age-appropriate. Tip 2: Choose a name by meaning Many writers give their characters names that have significance in the story. Tip 3: Exotic romance names are out Tip 4: Science fiction names don't have to sound alien Tip 5: Terms of Endearment Tip 6: Overused Names
Name That Character! by Anne Marble A character's name is a basic part of that character, but it can sometimes be hard to come by just the right name. These tips might make that passage a little easier. Warning! Ten Tips on Choosing Names Let the Names Reflect the Characters Give characters names that tell you something about them. Make Sure the Name Doesn't Belong to Someone Famous Sometimes, when you hit the right name, it will feel just right, as if it had been on the tip of your tongue, as if you had known your character's name all along and just had to remember it. This doesn't mean that you have to come up with a name that no one has. Avoid Names That End in S This tip sounds trivial, but it can save you a lot of trouble later. Use Names That Fit the Period If you're writing a historical or Regency romance, do some research on names common to the era. Also, no matter how good your sources are, don't grab the first name you see. Avoid the Trends Avoid Overly Weird Names and Cute Spellings Surname Tips Anne M.