10 Great Writing Tips from Authors

 

Writing success boils down to hard work, imagination and passion—and then some more hard work. Use these tips as an inspirational guide—or better yet, print a copy to put on your desk, home office, refrigerator door, or somewhere else noticeable so you can be constantly reminded not to let your story ideas wither away by putting off your writing.

 Tip 1: "Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel. If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction. Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development. Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution." — Michael Moorcock

 Tip 2: "In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it." — Rose Tremain

 Tip 3: "Always carry a note-book. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever." — Will Self

Tip 4: "Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting." — Jonathan Franzen

Tip 5: "Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out—they can be got right only by ear)." — Diana Athill

 Tip 6: "Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." – Anton Chekhov

 Tip 7: "Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too." — Sarah Waters

 Tip 8: "Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!" — Joyce Carol Oates

 Tip 9: "Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful." — Elmore Leonard

 Tip 10: "Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong." — Neil Gaiman

Even famous authors sometimes have a tough time with writing; they also go through periods of self-doubt. Despite this, they always manage to come up with the goods. So, take a lesson from them and stop putting off your writing plans and get started on your publishing journey today.

 

There has never been a better time than now to realize your dream of becoming a published author. Let your voice be heard and let your story be told. Never let your passion for writing wane. Let Sons of Issachar Publishing help make your dreams come true.

 

Tips to Enjoy your writing

 

Many writers like me will always claim we enjoy writing. I tell friends writing is my life and that I don’t think I can do any other thing except write. One might be forced to think I even write in my sleep. But is that really true? Sometimes, we get tired and wary of what we love, no matter how much we love it. Sometimes, I don’t even want to stare into another computer screen and I wish I don’t ever have to write again. So how do I beat this feeling?

Here are some tips that have worked:

1. Clear your head: Sometimes, external pressures are the reason we do not enjoy our writing. There is absolutely no way a person who does not know where his next meal will come from will enjoy writing or doing anything he loves doing. This is something many upcoming writers face. So, what is the solution? There is no cut out way to keep your problems out of your head, but at least you can try. Create your island out of your limited resources by clearing your head because your writing is an extension of your mental state.
2. Stick with what you love: Yes, sometimes we are forced to write on things that are outside our comfort zone. For instance, if I had my way, I will never write another article like this in my life, but I have to get paid. So, what can we do in this situation? Start by writing what you love most to get your creative juices flowing. Whenever I don’t feel like writing, I open a blank word sheet and start writing a short story. It works like a dead car battery that needs a little push to pick up again. Once the juices start flowing, I switch to what I have to write.
3. Reward yourself: For someone like me, I get paid to write. That might be a reward, but that’s not enough reward for me (I know, I can be greedy.) So, what do I do? I set a reward for myself if I can deliver something superb. For instance, it is my lunchtime but I have told myself I would not have lunch till I am done with this article. Note that this is what works for me. For some people in order to get to the lunch quickly, they might just write something below par. By the way, don’t do this when you are writing something long like a novel, or you might just die before you finish. The point is, look for a just reward for yourself, something you are looking forward to when you are done. It can serve as motivation.
4. Try Music: A friend of mine recently discovered Classical music puts her in the mood to punch vigorously on her keypads. I tried it and I felt like jumping off the bridge. So, you have to be careful with the genre of music as not everything works for anyone. But music improves cognition and enhances your memory. It digs deep into things stuck in your head and brings them out for you. So, know the genre that works for you and listen to a lot of it before you start any writing task.
5. Take Time off: Not too much time, but sometimes no matter how much you apply the above points, it probably will not still work out for you. So, take time off to either try to solve your problems or get into a reflective mindset.

Finally, we must recognize that we do better whenever we enjoy what we do. So, make it a point of duty to have some fun writing.

Samuel Ejedegba.

7 Common Mistakes Made by Novice Novelists

 

Professional writers of all stripes will agree that writing is both easy and hard. For novelists, the challenge exceeds composing well-written content. Agents reject flawed work. It is better to create a less mistake-riddled work given the high rate of rejection by agents.

Novice novelists make a number of common mistakes. Weed out these weaknesses while drafting the novel. Keep in mind the following common mistakes made by inexperienced writers.

1. An Undistinguished Manuscript

To get out of the slush pile, the novel needs to have a concept, an angle, or a pitch that is outstanding. Think big. Develop an aspect of the novel that makes it fresh, even if you are writing for a genre in which readers expect to see certain elements in their books. If your manuscript is good, but not good enough, do not be surprised by a rejection letter.

2. Extreme or Inefficient Language or Cliché-Riddled Writing

Strong language is useful, when used with discretion. Overuse is off-putting. Make every sentence economical; make your words count. Excessive verbiage is dead weight that hampers the reader you want to impress. Descriptive language or content that is too familiar is a cliché. Keep that in mind, and you will see that agents and editors will appreciate your efforts.

3. Absent or Bland Descriptions

Readers enjoy being transported into a different world. Provide a context and setting that will engage readers.

4. Pretty Prose, Lack of Clarity, or a Literary Writing Fail

Showy language overwhelms content because the disruptive power of pretty prose impedes the flow of the narrative. Optimally, prose clearly and economically conveys meaning. Be aware that sloppy prose may signal sloppy thinking. If you aspire to write literary fiction, competence is insufficient. Literary fiction must be well written.

5. Pointless Detail and/or Distracting Research

Avoid unnecessary details to keep the reader interested. Even if you have done extensive research about the background setting of your fiction, do not smother the narrative with facts. This also applies to information about location and scenery. You are writing fiction, not a travelogue.

6. Plots, Character, and Conflict Weaknesses

Is the plot discernible? Your manuscript should not be a sequence of events affecting your characters or have bland, non-relatable characters. Add depth to your characters with insights into their inner lives or background stories. The backstory provides more information about the character. It can even just hint at the inner motivations of the character.

7. Dialogue and Pacing Weaknesses

Believable dialogue can be challenging for first-time novelists. Read each character’s dialogue to catch inconsistencies. Stick to the same points of view in a scene. Handle the transition from one character to the next carefully in a scene. Uneven pacing makes the narrative disjointed and could turn off readers.

Writing a novel is a major undertaking. The next challenge is to get past the slush pile. Avoid common mistakes to create an outstanding first novel that launches your writing career.

Culled from AIPWE 

Grammar Rules for Effective Writing

 

For language students, learning the rules of grammar is one of the most boring parts of language learning. Grammar is not easy to learn, let alone master. Writers, editors, and proofreaders must make a lifelong commitment to learning the rules and determining when the rules should be broken.

The rules of grammar are designed to help us communicate clearly, both in our speech and in our writing. The rules of grammar shape the structures of any language from the smallest to the largest unit. When proper grammar is absent, writing is sloppy, inconsistent, and difficult to read. To put it bluntly, we need grammar to make sense.

When a writer hasn’t bothered to learn the rules of grammar, it shows. The prose doesn’t flow smoothly or naturally, punctuation marks are strewn about haphazardly, and there’s no sense of clarity. Sentences are jumbled, words are misused, and paragraphs are disorganized. It’s a mess. The work is lazy and sloppy. Nobody wants to read it.

We’ll take you through key grammatical rules guiding writing in English Language. Let’s consider a few in this article.

Rule 1. Use concrete rather than vague language.

Vague: The weather was of an extreme nature on the West Coast.

This sentence raises frustrating questions: When did this extreme weather occur? What does “of an extreme nature” mean? Where on the West Coast did this take place?

Concrete: California had unusually cold weather last week.

Rule 2. Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb. Passive voice means the subject receives the action.

Active: Barry hit the ball.

Passive: The ball was hit.

Notice that the party responsible for the action—in the previous example, whoever hit the ball—may not even appear when using passive voice. So passive voice is a useful option when the responsible party is not known.

Example: My watch was stolen.

NOTE:

The passive voice has often been criticized as something employed by people in power to avoid responsibility:

Example: Mistakes were made.

Translation: I made mistakes.

Rule 3. Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, etc.

Example: There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper.

Revision: A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper.

Even better: The newspaper reported a case of meningitis. (Active voice)

Example: It is important to signal before making a left turn.

Revision:

Signaling before making a left turn is important.

OR

Signaling before a left turn is important.

OR

You should signal before making a left turn.

Example: There are some revisions that must be made.

Revision: Some revisions must be made. (Passive voice)

Even better: Please make some revisions. (Active voice)

Rule 4. To avoid confusion (and pompousness), don’t use two negatives to make a positive without good reason.

Unnecessary: He is not unwilling to help.

Better: He is willing to help.

Sometimes a not un- construction may be desirable, perhaps even necessary:

Example: The book is uneven but not uninteresting.

However, the novelist-essayist George Orwell warned of its abuse with this deliberately silly sentence: “A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field.”

Rule 5. Use consistent grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction.

Correct: I admire people who are honest, reliable, and sincere.

Note that are applies to and makes sense with each of the three adjectives at the end.

Incorrect: I admire people who are honest, reliable, and have sincerity.

In this version, "are" does not make sense with "have sincerity", and "have sincerity" doesn’t belong with the two adjectives "honest" and "reliable".

Correct: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Note that “check your” applies to and makes sense with each of the three nouns at the end.

Incorrect: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuate properly.

Here, “check your” does not make sense with punctuate properly, and punctuate properly doesn’t belong with the two nouns spelling and grammar. The result is a jarringly inept sentence.

Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Publishable Academic Article

 

Today, we shall take you through the dos and don’ts of writing an academic article that is worthy of getting published in any journal in the world. And these are just easy steps to implement.

1. Ask Yourself Why You Are Doing This.

Imagine a final year student at university who has done a course he doesn’t like for four years and is now compelled to write that infamous final year “long essay” project on a topic he or she probably was just hearing for the first time. Chances are, this student would look for a shortcut just so he/she could get it over with probably by paying someone else to do it for him/her.  The reason this student would find that shorter route is simply because he has not found an answer to “why am I doing this?” Same thing applies if you want to write a scholarly article. It is a difficult frustrating journey with lots of pitfalls and if you do not have a solid reason to keep going, you will fall by the wayside or find a shorter route.

Note: your reason should be a sincere need to solve a problem.

2. Do not start at the beginning.

Never start an essay of this nature from the beginning. You need to begin with the end in mind. The very first thing is to write down your result or theory (after you must have carried out your research/experiment). Your article should be structured around this result/theory. After that, you move on to the methodology and discussion and then the conclusion and introduction. After these, you can now write your abstract. This makes your work so much easier and finely patterned.

3. Keep your drafts secret.

Protect your work with your life…at least from your subject expert colleagues. However, you can show academics from a different field. For instance, a biologist will have no clue on the research on an Economics paper, but will understand the internal logic and can tell if the style is elegant.

4. Read the Author guidelines.

You know those long and tedious guidelines we see on the internet and we just scroll down to click “I accept?” Well, a journal submission guideline is something similar and reading through it might make you lose your will to live. But read you must! Following every guideline will make the review process much easier as majority of articles sent back or outrightly rejected by the editor is due to the writer’s failure to follow Journal guidelines.

5. Research your research.

You have to decide which Journal is more deserving of your article so make a list (scale of preference) of all possible journals you might want your article published in. This list should rank the journals from the biggest in academics to the smallest. Now, begin sending from the top. And only send to another if one rejects you. If you get rejected by the last in your list, then it’s probably time to try something else. Poetry maybe?

6. Be political and strategic

Being political is being savvy about the specific context you have as a young academic – what demands are there on the ranks of journals you should submit to, where will you be in five or 10 years’ time. All of these determine your political context. Your strategic context is how you plan a pathway to where you want to go with your career – do you publish lots of smaller articles in ‘easy’ journals, or keep plugging away to get that publication in one of the ‘top’ journals. You decide this, and it is up to you to plan a strategy rather than simply wandering blandly down whichever path you find yourself on.

Bonus Point

If you are at a crossroads in the research, writing, or editorial phase of your work, then now is a good time to call us!!!

Samuel Ejedegba

Why Every Writer Should Join a Writing Group

 

So you’ve decided you want to write. Perhaps you want to share a personal experience or record a little piece of history. There may be fascinating characters pushing at the edge of your consciousness and plot lines teasing you as they urge you to risk discovering where they may lead. Maybe you have already started down a writing path and you’ve arrived at a crossroads. Which way do you go and more importantly, how do you decide?

As an emerging children’s author, I found myself at that intersection not so long ago. After almost 20 years as a news journalist, I was eager to let loose the restraints of facts and current affairs and let my imagination take control. But I had no idea if I could do it. My first supporters were my family. They nudged me forward to the edge of the cliff – I took a leap of faith. I wrote starts of stories (and even a few endings), interesting scenes, character descriptions and a rhyming picture book text, but honestly, I was meandering around with no real direction. I knew I loved writing but I also knew I had a huge amount to learn. If I was going to make this my life I was going to need some help. Enter Zena Shapter, award-winning author and founder of Sydney’s Northern Beaches Writers’ Group (NBWG). Zena says she started the group in 2009 in order to fill her own writing needs:

"There were plenty of local support groups that acted as cheering squads for writers, but that wasn’t going to improve my writing. I wanted serious feedback; and, since I was a full-time mum, I also wanted that feedback to be free. Starting my own group was the only way to achieve all that."

The group meets every month and after taking some time to build my courage, I made the journey to Sydney’s Manly Wharf to meet them. It is a decision that has changed my life. The NBWG is just one of many writing groups in existence and as Zena explains, they play a crucial role for writers of all genres and abilities. Since forming the NBWG, Zena is being published more frequently and has won eight national writing competitions.

"I don’t think there will ever be an end to learning and improving as a writer, so I value every interaction I have with my writers’ group – learning from others’ experiences is so very valuable," Zena says.

After just a single meeting, I was hooked. The critiques were thorough but ultimately positive and the members were encouraging and generous with their knowledge and experience. Soon after I joined, Zena put the call out for members interested in taking part in the “Write-a-Book-in-a-day” competition, raising money for children’s cancer charities. I’m sure mine was one of the first hands in the air. Not only did our group of ten manage to write, edit, illustrate and submit an 11,000-word children’s book in just 12 hours, our story Scribbles in the Dark also won National Best Book, National Best Illustrations and we raised the most money. As I stood at the awards ceremony to receive a certificate for the book I co-authored, I dared myself to think I might be able to do this after all.

Spurred on by my success, I decided to take on another challenge – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This time I was flying solo and I signed up to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Once again, it quickly became clear connecting with other writers was going to be key to success.

Nick Hudson was the Sydney NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison, and states being around other writers definitely keeps you motivated:

Knowing you’re not alone, being able to discuss your story in a welcoming environment, and sitting beside people that you don’t have to explain why you write to, all makes you feel part of something bigger.

NaNoWriMo is certainly big. In 2018, 315,000 novelists signed up for the challenge worldwide. While each region held write-ins, it was social media that tied the entire community together.

"Social media is fantastic for connecting people," says Nick. "Checking Facebook or Twitter, those are things that people are doing anyway because they have the habit."

Throughout the month I noticed I wasn’t alone in relying on social media to help me through the motivational dips. NaNoWriMo driven online writing marathons and sprints, combined with encouraging comments from other participants keep pushing me forward. Then as the end of the month approached, the online writing community became one giant cheer squad. Whether a person had completed 500, 5000 or 50,000 words, they were given a big pat on their virtual backs. Nick says social media helped bring people together who might otherwise never have met:

"One of the things that people discovered doing NaNoWriMo this year," he said, "is that there’s lots of people just like them, who all want to talk about writing with someone, who go through periods of low confidence in their writing, but who persist with writing through the doubt and worry."

I’m thrilled to say I’m one of the “winners” having passed the 50,000-word target. The first draft of my children’s fantasy series is now more than half written and I intend to have it finished early in the new year.

I think this quote, shared by Nick at the start of NaNoWriMo, sums up why being part of a writing community is so important:

Everyone you meet … knows you first and foremost as a writer.

I’m still part of the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group and the members continue to help me tear down and build my writing back up. I’ve made some fantastic writer-friends who share their successes and perhaps more importantly their rejections. Through my connections I have been appointed the editor of the Society of Women Writers NSW quarterly magazine and e-news, one of the oldest and most prestigious writer’s groups in the country. I found the right path by connecting with other writers, in person and online and I hope you do too.

Credit: Writer’s Edit

8 Tips for Improving Your Writing Style

 

There are many types of writing styles, though many of them incorporate simple words, short sentences, and direct language that engaged readers. While you should preserve your unique authorial tone, you can also improve your writing style with deliberate choices about structure and usage.

What Does Writing Style Mean?

Writing style is the voice and tone a writer uses to convey a story or express an idea. Every writer has their own personal writing style based on how they use words, their level of formality, their sentence structure, and their overall approach to the art of writing. A good writer uses different styles of writing depending on the purpose of their text. For example, blogging has a more casual tone while business writing requires more formal language.

4 Types of Writing Styles

There are four general stylistic categories that writing falls into. These different types of writing styles are differentiated by their purpose. Writers will use one of these general styles while also incorporating their own personal style into their piece:

1. Expository writing: An expository writing style is used for delivering facts and information rather than storytelling. Examples of expository writing include nonfiction books, scientific writing, technical writing, and news articles.
2. Descriptive writing: A descriptive style uses figurative language and sensory details to paint a picture in a reader’s mind. Poets use this type of writing style in their work.
3. Narrative writing: Narrative style has a plot, characters, and setting and is used in creative writing. It is the style writers use to craft a novel, novella, or screenplay. Examples of narrative writing style include Ernest Hemingway’s short story The Old Man and the Sea and The Shining by Stephen King.
4. Persuasive writing: A persuasive writing style tries to influence readers to adopt the writer’s point of view. Examples of persuasive writing include letters of recommendation, academic writing, and cover letters.

8 Tips for Improving Your Writing Style

To be a better writer, you need to know how to be direct and clear, while also putting your own stamp on your writing. Follow these eight writing tips for improving your style:

1. Be direct in your writing. Good writing is clear and concise. Lose filler words, like unnecessary adverbs and prepositional phrases, simply take up space and weigh a sentence down. Say exactly what you mean in the most direct way.
2. Choose your words wisely. There are many ways to write a sentence, and there are different words you can choose to convey the same idea. Always choose the simpler of two words. Use familiar vocabulary instead of lofty words from the English language. Simple words are more direct and easier for all readers to understand. Use a thesaurus if you need a little help finding a replacement or an easier way to say something.
3. Short sentences are more powerful than long sentences. A story loses steam with wordiness. Short sentences are easier to comprehend, something that readers appreciate. Avoid trying to pack too much into a line. Every sentence should contain one thought or idea.
4. Write short paragraphs. Keep your paragraphs short and manageable. Each one should consist of sentences that support the same idea. Short paragraphs are easier to digest. They also create a more visually appealing layout on the page. Academic writing often consists of lengthier paragraphs, as they need more information to support each theme. In less formal writing, shorter paragraphs are the norm.
5. Always use the active voice. Use the active voice and adhere to subject-verb-object sentence structure. It’s the most direct path to making your point. With the active voice, the subject is doing something, which is more exciting than the passive voice, in which something is being done to the subject. The passive voice might be grammatically correct, but it creates long, complex sentences and is a weaker way of presenting information.
6. Review and edit your work. Proofreading your first draft should be the first step in your editing process before you hand your story over to a professional editor. Tighten your writing, check your word choice and sentence structure, and hone your voice to improve your style.
7. Use a natural, conversational tone. Your writing style relies on your own, unique voice. Communicate in your comfort zone. In other words, write like you converse. Shape ideas with your original thoughts and voice, and do your best to avoid clichés. Your writing style should reflect your personality.
8. Read famous authors. Pick up any book by Mark Twain, and you’ll know it’s his writing simply by the tone of the story and the words he uses. Great writers put a stamp on their writing with a signature style. Along with works of fiction, read Strunk and White’s famous style guide The Elements of Style. Learning how other writers create their style. Then do the same with your own writing.

 

Culled from Masterclass.com

Dedication and Willingness to be Terrible: How Ishiguro won the Nobel

 

Kazuo Ishiguro wrote the bulk of The Remains of the Day in four weeks. All it took was extreme dedication—and a willingness to be terrible.

In the way the sculpture or carpentry is a craft, writing is a craft. There is art, lifestyle, and romance to it. Writers don’t just jumble words on blank pages; writing is a mix of discipline, dedication, a staring into the abyss of the subconscious, and a unison with the supernatural. Like a worker of clay, writers mash words, and are themselves mashed and caked in the clay of the art.

Writing is a delicious work, but it is for the most part simply work. It’s often lonely. It’s rarely romantic. “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect,” Anaïs Nin said.

Writing is refreshing and exciting, and it is also a public service. Writers of literature are public servants in that they use their stage not just to celebrate literature but to also put the creation of literature in its place – of mirroring the society. And it’s especially refreshing when writers at the highest levels of the field do that. One of them has been Kazuo Ishiguro, the British novelist and the latest winner of the Nobel Prize.

On Thursday, 5th October 2017 the Nobel Committee announced Ishiguro as its 2017 laureate for literature. The Committee noted in its citation, that came in part because the author, “in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.”

Almost immediately after the announcement was made, a story from The Guardian, written by Ishiguro himself and published in December of 2014, began circulating on social media. The piece is headlined, “Kazuo Ishiguro: How I Wrote The Remains of the Day in Four Weeks.” The article details how the author overcame the consensus about writing, and most importantly the haul of life’s demand, to conjure enough letters that would become Ishiguro’s most famous piece.

Due to distractions from the “first flurry of public success” that accompanied his second novel, an end seemed to have come to his “proper” work, spending a whole year fruitlessly to write the opening chapter of a book. So Ishiguro and his wife, Lorna, hatched a plan to jump-start his creativity:

I would, for a four-week period, ruthlessly clear my diary and go on what we somewhat mysteriously called a “Crash.” During the Crash, I would do nothing but write from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. I’d get one hour off for lunch and two for dinner. I’d not see, let alone answer, any mail, and would not go near the phone. No one would come to the house. Lorna, despite her own busy schedule, would for this period do my share of the cooking and housework. In this way, so we hoped, I’d not only complete more work quantitively, but reach a mental state in which my fictional world was more real to me than the actual one.

The goal, essentially, was to deliberately create an environment in which the author and his narrative might be fused into one. It was a crash. “Throughout the Crash,” Ishiguro notes, “I wrote free-hand, not caring about the style or if something I wrote in the afternoon contradicted something I’d established in the story that morning. The priority was simply to get the ideas surfacing and growing. Awful sentences, hideous dialogue, scenes that went nowhere—I let them remain and ploughed on.”

And he hooked it. Four weeks later, Ishiguro had a draft of The Remains of the Day. He tinkered with it still, yes. He added and trimmed and honed. For the most part, though, he had, in a concentrated month, completed a masterpiece. He’d spent his year of unproductivity, he notes, doing the background work of the writing—he’d read books by and about British servants, and histories, and “The Danger of Being a Gentleman”—and the Crash came at a time when Ishiguro knew what he needed to know to write what he wanted to write. All that was required was to sit down and do the work.

It’s a helpful reminder to writers of literature both serious and less so—and to anyone who might be intimidated by talk of writing’s metaphysical properties. “If you mix Jane Austen and Franz Kafka then you have Kazuo Ishiguro in a nutshell, but you have to add a little bit of Marcel Proust into the mix,” said Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of The Swedish Academy, explaining the Committee’s choice of Ishiguro. “Then you stir, but not too much, then you have his writings.”

It’s high, and accurate, praise—but it is the reward for Ishiguro’s quest for knowledge, strong spirit to make a difference, unchained mind, and stalwart dedication to link the clutters of words, dialogues and character. And it is indeed a vital imaginative breakthrough!

How to Find Your Writing Style: 8 Tips for Developing Voice and Tone

Just like a famous designer might have a unique fashion style, great writers develop their own signature methods for storytelling and communication. Try these tips for developing a writing style that fits who you are and the stories you want to tell.

What Is Writing Style?

A writing style is an author’s unique way of communicating with words. An author creates a style with the voice, or personality, and overall tone that they apply to their text. A writer’s style can change depending on the type of writing they’re doing, who they’re writing for, and their target audience. A news journalist will have a very different style than a blogger, for example.

2 Elements of Any Writing Style

An author’s writing style is defined by two elements:

1. Voice: Voice is the personality you take on in your writing. It is the point of view through which you’re telling a story.
2. Tone: Tone is identified by the attitude that a piece of writing conveys. Writers create tone through elements like word choice, sentence structure, and grammar.

4 Types of Writing Styles

There are four main types of writing. While a writer will still incorporate their own voice in their writing, these different writing styles each have a purpose and specific audience, which dictates how an author should shape their copy:

1. Expository writing: Use an expository writing style to inform or explain a topic to readers. Examples of expository writing include technical writing, business writing, high school essays, and news articles.
2. Descriptive writing: Descriptive writing uses figurative language and sensory detail to describe a person, place, or thing to allow readers to create a picture in their mind. Descriptive writing is the style of writing most often found in poetry.
3. Narrative writing: Narrative style is writing that tells a story and includes elements often found in a novel or short story, like the main character, setting, and plot. It is most often used in fiction writing. Examples of narrative writing style include The Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, and The Lord of the Rings.
4. Persuasive writing: When you use a persuasive writing style, you communicate your opinion to try to influence the reader to adopt your stance on a subject. Examples of persuasive writing include cover letters, advertising campaigns, political speeches, and editorials.

8 Tips for Developing Your Writing Style

Whether you’re writing a novel or an article, you need a unique writing style that is distinctly you. Follow these general guidelines to help you find that style and develop your writing voice and tone:

1. Be original. Focus on the point you are trying to make and say it as only you can. Avoid using clichés—they lack creativity and originality and imply that you can’t think of anything else to write. Choose language that reflects both who you are and who you’re writing for.
2. Use your life experiences. The accumulation of unique experiences in your life have given you a distinct point of view. Incorporate that into your writing process. Let events in real life that have shaped you also inform your own work and voice.
3. Be present in your writing. Whether you’re developing a narrative storyline or writing a blog post, immerse readers in your story by being present when you write. Use an authentic tone. Use efficient syntax to effectively convey the details of your story.
4. Have an adaptable voice. While you should have a confident and consistent voice, writing styles should shift depending on what type of writing you’re doing. Different genres will work better with different types of writing styles. In creative writing, your personality will shift depending on the narrator’s perspective, and whether the story is told through first person or third person. Writing narratives with heavy dialogue, like screenplays, will require a writer to take on different styles with each character.
5. Step out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to experiment a little in your writing. While your style should reflect who you are, it should also stretch the limits of your literary personality. Incorporate a variety of literary devices to amplify your voice.
6. Read other authors. William Faulkner. Margaret Atwood. Stephen King. Ernest Hemingway. Each author has a unique voice, tone, and overall writing style they developed over the course of their writing career. Read some of your favorite authors as well as famous writers you’re not yet familiar with, and focus on how they use words and compose sentences to tell a story.
7. Write often. Good writers have a regular writing habit. The more you write, the more your writer’s voice will come into focus. One method many writers use is to have a morning journal. This daily writing ritual requires a three-page, longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing exercise first thing every morning. You’ll develop better writing skills and find your own unique style.
8. Hone your craft. Once you feel like you have a handle on your personal style, consider these other, more technical ways you can further improve your writing style.

 

Culled from Masterclass.com

Why You Must Write Down Your Ideas

 

If you do not write down your ideas then you've been doing a whole lot wrong for a long time.

I really do not want to go into the things you've been missing out on but just bear in mind that they are huge. Writing down ideas is one of the simplest but most powerful tools you'll ever come across. I'm talking about a mental tool that will advance you to a whole new level.

But why is it so important, and what will it do for you?

What you gain when you write down your ideas

Here's one quote from Michael LeBoeuf:

“When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.”

I've seen stuff I wrote down like eight years ago and I soon as I read through, the ideas came surging up like a storm. It literally feels like time travel, but it's just something written on paper.

A tool that can make your ideas attack you that powerfully from eight years ago will keep you fully concentrated on them if you've just written them down in the present as to-dos. You'll focus your full attention on them as LeBoeuf has said and be able to get them done at lightning speed.

But writing down your ideas doesn't just give you razor-sharp concentration, it equally keeps you chock-full of content. By that, I mean - in simple terms -  that you can finally wave your final goodbye to writer's block.

Francis Bacon, Sr. suggests that you should...

“Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.”

That's coming from the great man himself.

When ideas pop into your head and you write them down, you're essentially arming yourself, or put differently, loading up on guns for your armoury. When you need to get creative at any point, all you gotta do is take one out and fire.

The thoughts "that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable" - you can't argue with that. And if you don't write them down they'll vanish, disappear the same way they came.

If your memory is like mine, or like half the people in this world's, it's pretty much a leaking bucket. One moment it's full to the brim, the next moment it's brimming with emptiness. Your pen and paper are that useful bowl you can put the bucket in, so if the ideas are ready to take their leave from your mind, they can just seep nicely into that bowl and stay there for when you need them.

Bottom line is, if you constantly write ideas down you will never find yourself in a position where your mind is blank and you're looking for something to write on.

 

5 Tips on Finding Time to Write

 

If you ask a lot of writers what their biggest challenges are, most would say it is finding the time to write.

Ironic, isn’t it? How could you be a writer and not have the time to write? It’s like being a dancer and not having the time to dance or being a cook and not having the time to cook. While it might be possible not to have enough time to do what you love, because you have a very busy schedule, the things you still do in the midst of your busy schedule such as eating, taking a drink, going on a stroll are simply the things you make the time for. So, like those things you have the time to do, all you have to do is make or find the time to write too.

Now, here are a few tips on how to find the time to write even when you feel that there is no time.

 

How You Can Find Time to Write

1. Decide to write

Everything you do, from getting up from your bed to brushing your teeth is a decision, and decisions start from the mind. So, what you have to do is make the conscious decision to write. Once you have made a resolve to write, you will be surprised at how much time you would have to write.

2. Make it a priority

To find time to write, it is important that you make writing a priority. Plan your day around your writing activity and shelve other things in order to get your writing done.

If you need to, you can get tips on how to optimise your time and manage it effectively.

3. Do it first

Ensure that writing is one of the first activities you do in the morning - if not the first. This is because if you postpone it for other things, you might be swamped to the point of exhaustion that inhibits creativity.

4. Take a notepad everywhere you go

It is easier to write when you have a notepad with you. So, even when you are going on a short walk with a friend or sitting at the bank waiting for the customer care representative to attend to you, you can use the time to write.

5. Use your free time

Almost everyone gets some free time on their hands. When you find out that you have some free time, perhaps during the weekend, rather than using it to watch Netflix or something else, write.

Beyond these tips, it is important that you stay committed to writing. You should perhaps have a specific time you write, and remember to reward yourself for your commitment.

Your audience are waiting to read your work. Don't delay them any longer.

 

Need help with your writing? The Ready Writers offers attractive and reliable services on writing, editing, transcription and more.

 

How to Create a Writing Habit that Sticks

 

Let’s face it, writing can be very instrumental. Through your write-up, you can proffer solutions and enlighten people; you can also motivate and give hope to the crestfallen. The challenge you may encounter is that you may not always be motivated to write, or you may be a major in the school of procrastination. So, here are some things you can do in order to create a healthy writing habit.

 

How to Create a Lasting and Fruitful Writing Habit

 

1. Make up your mind

The mind is a very powerful force and everything you do starts from within. So, if you haven’t made up your mind to start writing daily or consistently, you may never be able to write. Therefore, quit talking about writing and start writing.

 

2. Set a routine

Once you have made up your mind to start writing, set a day or time you want to start writing. It can be every Wednesday at 5:00am or every day at 2:00pm. Pick a time and day that works for you and ensure you are faithful to your writing schedule. You can set a reminder on your phone.

 

3. Tell people about your goal

If you decide to start writing regularly, don’t keep it to yourself; tell people around you such as your friends, relatives or colleagues about your resolution and let them hold you accountable for your writing goals.

 

4. Focus on writing for a month

It is said that a habit is easy to form in 14 days, although that may not apply to all things, especially if you intend to write once a week. So, in that case, it is better to focus on writing consistently for a month first, and then 3 months, and then half a year and on…until your writing habit is formed.

 

5. Make your writing fun

While you are writing, try to make the activity fun, so that it doesn’t feel like a chore. You can listen to music while writing or take your favourite drink, or write in an area you find amusing or comforting.

 

6. Reward yourself

As you achieve your writing goals per week or per month, ensure you reward yourself, either by buying yourself a nice meal or watching a movie at the cinema, or whatever you feel you deserve. As you reward yourself on each writing adventure, you look forward to writing more.

 

Sometimes, as you work towards forming your writing habit, you may lose motivation and feel the need to stop, in a case like this, you should re-energise your resolve by reminding yourself why you started to write in the first place. Alternatively, think of all the people that have benefited from your previous write-ups and keep writing.

Descriptive Writing 102 (Guidelines to Writing Good Descriptive Essays)

Continued from last week.

2.    Select a vantage point (point of view) from which to relate events or details. We have three points of views:

a)     First person: In the subjective case, the singular form of the first person is “I,” and the plural form is “we.” “I” and “we” are called subjective case because they are both used as the subject of a sentence. “I” refers to yourself, while “we” refers to yourself and/with others.

For example: I just joined the Lagos Book Club and we are reading, “The Wonders of Africa.”

Other singular first person pronouns include the objective case (this means it is used as the object of a sentence) “me,” and the possessive case (they are used to show possession or ownership), “my” and “mine.”

Plural first person pronouns are “us” (objective case) and “our” and “ours” (possessive case).

I am certain a table will make it easier to understand.

First Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular	I	Me	My
Plural	We	Us	Mine

b)  Second Person: This point of view is more appropriate in formal writing. Use the second person point of view for presentations, emails, business and technical writing.

This point of view addresses the reader. It makes use of pronouns like, “you,” “your,” and “yours.”

Second Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular and Plural	You	you	your/yours

c)   Third Person: This is the most common point of view used in fiction and academic writing. The pronouns used here are “he,” “she,” and “it.”

For example: It was the best time of my life. “It” is in the singular third-person subjective case.

In addition to having singular and plural cases, the third person also has gender and neuter (a gender that refers to inanimate objects) categories.

Third Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
Singular	He (masculine)	Him (masculine)	his/his
	She (feminine)	Her (feminine)	Her/hers
	It (neuter)	It (neuter)	Its/its (neuter)
Plural	They	them	Their/theirs

3.   As you write, include vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeal to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate. 

4.   Consider including figures of speech, such as analogies, similes and metaphors to help evoke feelings and paint a picture in the reader's mind.

5.   Use precise language. Specific adjectives and nouns and strong action verbs give life to the picture you are painting in the reader's mind. Do not use general adjectives, nouns, and, of course, passive verbs.

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