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Break Out Of The Gate - Start Writing by Donald Turner
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Break Out Of The Gate - Start Writing |
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Education
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For the majority of want to-be authors, the most difficult obstacle to overcome is a lack of confidence in their ability to write. That's not easy to overcome. It demands some grit and a willingness to drive ahead. But if you possess a basic fluency with the English language and learned basic grammar in grade school, it is certainly doable. Unleash that special idea that's been rumbling through your mind waiting to break through into print. Spend a little time thinking through the key elements of what you want to tell your reader. Then sit down and face your computer, determined to share your ideas with others. Practice Sessions The more you practice, the sooner your words will make sense and form an easy read. If you don't have a burning idea and find it hard to dream up new topics to write about, use something you read in a newspaper or magazine, and try to reframe that idea in your own words. Shake off any inhibitions you might have, and just let the words flow as they move from your mind to the computer screen. Cast aside any doubts about the quality of what you're producing. If the ideas make sense, but the words require some massaging, that's fine. It happens to the best of writers. Rewriting and revising are key elements in every writer's tool chest. Now it's your turn to use them. This process does take a little effort, but look at the rewards. Others will read your thoughts and be influenced by your ideas. Just imagine seeing your byline atop an article in your favorite magazine. How about your name on the cover of a book! Choices As your confidence grows, it is time to begin thinking about what it is that you really want to write. Do you lean toward fiction or want to stay with the direct, factual presentation that characterizes nonfiction? Does your current top idea lend itself to an article or to a book? Don't let the challenge of writing a book deter you. Remember, books come in a variety of lengths. Your hundred-page contribution to literature may be as worthy and as compelling as one three times longer. The key is the quality of the content you create. So don't let size intimidate you. Very often the actual piece you want to write will determine the format and the length. Just be certain that you are fully comfortable with the topic you have chosen, and then get down to work. The Possibilities I have discovered that some of the students who enroll in my writing sessions have no concept of the wide variety of possibilities in both fiction and nonfiction. The realm of fiction, of course, involves writing about imaginary characters often placed in imaginary locations. These may, of course, be inspired by real people and real places, but do not necessarily have to conform to those specifications. You, the writer, will create the character and the place from your own mind. They are your own inventions. The novels, short stories and scripts for plays or motion pictures can incorporate a variety of genres, including historical, adventure, romance, science fiction, mystery or articles and books for children. So you must consider not only the format in which you will write, but also the specific category you want that format to reflect. When we shift to nonfiction, the picture is even broader. This writing is all reality-based, whether it is a how-to or a history or deals with a scientific subject or politics, economics, business, travel or current events. Even memoirs are considered within the nonfiction classification because they are fact-based. The Markets As you choose your category of writing, it is helpful to understand the different markets that might entertain your work. For example, in the fiction grouping, stories are accepted by magazines representing many different genres. An excellent resource for fiction markets is the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market published by Writers Digest Books. Similarly, Writer's Market, produced annually by Writers Digest Books offers hundreds of pages of publishers who accept nonfiction and hundreds more that list periodicals that run nonfiction articles, both consumer and trade oriented. Combining the practice sessions we spoke of earlier in this piece with an intelligent effort to match your subject to that of a category of writing and finally to the market that will be most interested is one of the most effective ways of bolting out of the starting gate and developing your skills and your reputation as a writer. online writing jobs
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