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Writing prompts can be found all over the Internet, from single words to pictures to scenarios. Hey, a writing prompt doesn’t even have to be a “Writing Prompt” to be a writing prompt – anything can be used to kick off a piece of writing. But it’s nice when some thought has been put into something which is meant to kick start someone’s imagination.

This weekend I came across a new feature on the sci-fi/fantasy/science/tech/geek site io9 – Concept Art Writing Prompts. What I really like about it is that the pictures will most likely be weird and wonderful – a step up perhaps from a lot of ordinary and mundane prompts you might come across.

This is the first – a fantastically bizarre and playful image titled “Autopsy Lake”, by illustrator John Hendrix. It’s so wonderfully over-the-top that I’m sure it won’t fail to spure you into a story, even if it’s just a quick piece of flash fiction.

I think this will become a great resource for writing prompts, although at one a week it will grow slowly. It will be perfect though for the writer wishing to write a story a week perhaps, follow along and take your cue from io9 each week. The site always shows amazing and interesting artwork, so I am sure this feature will be no exception.

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What do you think of this feature? Do you know any other sites with similarly interesting and unique writing prompts? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of io9.

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We all know, the Internet is run by cats. Or, something like that anyway.

Cats certainly have become ubiquitous online. They’re cute, they’re beautiful, they’ll fight you for a cheezburger. And now, they are encouraging you to write!

Written? Kitten!

Written? Kitten! is built on the principle of positive reinforcement. Write 100 words, and you get a new picture of a cat. If you want to push yourself, and go even longer without seeing a new kitty picture, then you can up this threshold all the way up to 1000 words.

Created by housemates Alex and Emily, this simple web app was (clearly) inspired by Write Or Die, but with extra cute. The advantage Written Kitten has over its more feature-filled counterpart, is that its positive reinforcement should work better than the negative reinforcement of Write Or Die. Having said that, it all depends on whether you like kittens or not.

But who doesn’t like kittens?!

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Images courtesy of Urs Wachter and .

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Keeping track of the changes that you make to your writing can be really difficult. Especially when writing a novel, and you’re trying to keep track of many different threads, often changing when stuff happens, or why, or to whom. It can be a nightmare to go back if you find yourself in a dead end.

Luckily, thanks to some out-of-the-box thinking by Chris Smith over at Stepcase Lifehack, there is a solution from an unlikely source – developer software Git.

Git is used by developers in order to keep track of and control the versions of files in a directory, effectively saving versions of a directory into a main repository that tracks changes. But what makes Git so useful for developers also makes it useful for writers.

I love it when people come up with interesting ways to solve problems, and I think this is a great idea that a lot of writers could find very useful.

Read the full article over at Stepcase Lifehack, for more information including how to download and install Git on Windows and OSX.

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Image courtesy of Git.

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Researching your novel can be incredibly fun and very useful, but often a frustrating experience. Nowadays writers have the world at their fingertips, with the Internet just a click away. With such a wealth of information to draw from, we can often get lost in the clutter.

That’s where web-annotation software comes in. There are several choices on the market, and the latest offering is Scrible, created by Victor Karkar and Andrew Delpha, and released in public beta a week ago. Scrible uses a browser-based bookmarklet, and a browser add-on for you IE folks, to allow annotating and marking-up of web pages right inside the broswer.

Annotate & Highlight

Sign up is really simple, and free, and then all that you need to do is drag the Scrible bookmarklet to your browser toolbar. Once clicked, the bookmarklet brings up a simple editor toolbar, which can be used to add notes; highlight sections of text; bold, underline, italicize or strikethrough text; and select colors.

From the toolbar users can also select an annotating legend, share their page with others, and a button to save their page online.

Save & Organize

Organizing and saving notes for your writing is always a challenge, especially if you are working on a novel or a long piece of work such as a dissertation. Regular bookmarking is a possibility, and we have shown you better ways to save and organize your research before on FYW using things like Dropbox and Evernote. Scrible allows users to save their annotated web pages in a Personal Library, stored in the cloud so accessible from anywhere. Web pages saved here are organized by tags (with the same tagging principles as Gmail uses) allowing quick and easy retrieval of the information you need. Scrible also indexes the text of saved pages, so users can perform full content search from not only the web page texts, but also anything written in their notes and annotations.

Share & Collaborate

You can use Scrible to quickly share your saved web pages, along with any annotations and highlights you make, with anyone through email. This makes collaboration with others really simple, whether you are working on a piece of writing together, checking information with clients or simply asking advice concerning your research.

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With Scrible being in public beta, there is of course the chance that you will encounter a few bugs while using it. But by signing up for free you will be able to use this great software, and also help to fix those bugs and improve the service by giving feedback, before Scrible is fully launched.

Keep an eye on the Scrible blog for announcements on future developments.

How do you keep your online research organized? Let us know how you find Scrible, or whether you prefer any other web-research annotation tools, in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Scrible.com.

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With the Internet, the opportunity to create and share you writing is almost infinite. You can do it in a multitude of ways, but by far the purest I have seen is Pen.io. With just a pagename and a password (to allow you to edit your work) you can have a page set up in literally a matter of seconds.

Pen.io was created by Australian entrepreneur and designer Anthony Feint. By focusing on content, he has made a site that gives each piece of text its very own home, free from distractions like navigations menus, links or banner ads. Content doesn’t get pushed down below the fold and lost in pages of writing like it would do on a traditional blog. All that is to show on a Pen.io page is the writing that you create.

Creating couldn’t be easier with Pen.io. Here’s why you should be using it:

Simplicity

After you have come up with a page URL and password, a new page is created. On that page will be a amount of text that explains and prompts you on how to get started. All you do is click on this existing text to change and replace the title, the body and even the url you started with, and away you go.

Power

Despite its simplicity, Pen.io does allow you to do some pretty cool things, by allowing basic HTML and powered by the specially designed PenUp markup language. PenUp uses simple tags to allow things like video embedding (:video), images (:image) and even extra pages (:page). I’m sure by know you can already grasp the very easy concept behind PenUp tags! The language is still growing, with more tags under development. Follow along with Pen.io on Twitter, or subscribe to the blog, to stay up to date.

Content

The focus of Pen.io is firmly on the content: what you choose to write. And what you choose to write with Pen.io can literally be anything. Many people use it to share snappy, funny comments or jokes. You could write “blog” posts with this way. Perhaps write an online letter to someone, and then send it to its recipient via the URL. Or maybe you want to just write something for yourself, you can do that. Just don’t direct anybody to the page.

Be creative! There are a few examples of uses for Pen.io here, but there really is no limit to the number of things you can write. The true beauty is that you can use Pen.io to publish anything you like, no matter how long or short, no matter how trivial or serious.

Share

One of the best things about writing, and writing anything, is sharing it with others. The final wonderful thing about Pen.io is that sharing is as easy as copying and pasting a URL. They aren’t horrible, long URL strings either, with countless numbers, random letters and punctuation marks. You create a simple URL, making it evocative, informative, striking, whatever you like… and that’s it. It ends with a tidy .pen.io.

So, whatever it is that you want to write and share with the world, Pen.io is definitely something to try. Its simple, immediate and surprisingly powerful. It’s beauty lies in what YOU choose to do with it.

Please share your thoughts on Pen.io, and examples of anything you have written with it, in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Pen.io and @penapp.

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The problem with being a writer, is that the words nearly always sound great in your head. But then when you fire up the computer and try to catch those words floating about up there, and pin them down as written words on a screen, you struggle. Most writing software is is cluttered with a million options you don’t need. Multiple windows and applications pull at your attention. Half the time you spend writing, you’re actually just trying to keep writing. Writing starts to feel like a chore, and stops being fun.

Simple programs like TextEdit or Wordpad are useful for clutter-free writing, and there is a selection of writing programs dedicated to blocking distraction and facilitating writing, some of which I’ve previously written about before at FYW.

By far the best that I’ve used is the beautiful OmmWriter.

OmmWriter has been available for quite a while now, and I’ve been using it for a few months, but realised recently that I had yet to share it with you, which I feel I needed to do. This article actually coincides quite nicely with the release of OmmWriter for Windows; previously the software was only available for Mac. So now no matter which OS you’re on (with apologies to any Linux users), you’ll be able to try it out for yourself.

What makes OmmWriter so special, is the zen-like approach to writing that it’s developers Herraiz Soto & Co, an independent creative agency based in Barcelona, have taken. By combining a full-screen writing space with a completely clutter-free interface; clean, minimalist backgrounds, and ambient music, they have created something which becomes part of the writing process. Users can chose from the free version, or pay a (very) small fee (or more if you wish) for more options such as extra backgrounds and music options.

Concentration

OmmWriter Dana is a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us today: our capacity to concentrate.

By presenting the writer with a full-screen, clean background upon which to write, OmmWriter makes it easy to focus on the actual writing, getting those ideas out of your head. Users can choose from a range of backgrounds, each one without any unnecessary images or distractions. The writing interface over the top, by which users choose from a number of options such as font, text size, background and the size of the writing area, disappears when you begin to type. This leaves you with the words that you write, and nothing else.

Music to my Ears

One of the beautiful things about OmmWriter is the way it integrates music into the writer process. Its seven tracks (three if using the free app) are all short, ambient pieces that loop seamlessly over your writing. Even for those of you who prefer silence when you are writing, I would urge you to give this a try. The music is soft, calming, and helps create an almost zen-like state of mind, helping the words to flow.

Sucked In

The more intimate the relation, the smoother the flow of inspiration.

I touched upon the zen-like quality of OmmWriter above, but I feel it needs expanding on. When writing works it can be incredibly meditative. There are times before using OmmWriter that I have found myself “in the zone”, as it were, when the words come easy and the music I’ve been listening to or the soft click-click off my fingers over the keys settles me into something like a zen state. OmmWriter totally facilities this, and when it happens the time just flies by.

What helps OmmWriter to maintain this zen-like writing state is that even when performing mundane, non-writing tasks, such as saving files, opening previous works and starting ones, as well as copying and pasting and editing, does not break the spell of the program. These are well integrated and it never feels like you are stepping outside the “writing realm”.

A Pleasure

We also love writing. We love writing for the simple pleasure of, well, writing. Besides, writing is a beautiful way to chase great ideas.

The process of writer should be a pleasure, and with OmmWriter it certainly is that. Never before have the words felt so easy to flow from brain to fingers to keys to screen. Using OmmWriter I feel much more connected to whatever I’m writing, just like I do when I am writing with my favourite pen in my journal. Nothing beats that pen on paper feeling, but OmmWriter recreates a digital equivalent to it very well indeed.

OmmWriter isn’t just my favourite writing app, it is one of my favourite apps full-stop. I urge everyone to give it a try, if you haven’t already. If you’re already a fan, or try it and love it, please share your thoughts below!

Quotes taken from OmmWriter.com

Screenshots from OmmWriter.com and the OmmWriter software, courtesy of yours truly.

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If you’re not already writing your autobiography—start. As a future (or present) world-renowned writer, it’ll come in handy someday.

The more we write the less we die.

Writing your story is productive, flexing those synapses with on-hand experiences and memories, centering you with who you are and where you are. After all, the more you you can bring to the writing table—in all cases—the better.

I like to have a Scrivener* project called “Autobiography” open in the background at all times.** This program allows me to add new sections in a way that lets me easily pickup where I left off on any given story.

For example, the other day something reminded me of “Ice Fishing.” I switched to Scrivener, hit return to create a new scene, typed “Ice Fishing,” added a quick synopsis: “family goes ice-fishing/I steal dad’s truck/they forget fishing licenses/come home/APB put out for my arrest.”

Now I have something interesting to write about next time I’m blocked, or bored writing some article for an online writing site.

While recounting one story, it inevitably evokes memories of other events, which then get their own scenes. Scrivener also allows one to easily organize their life into chapters; a three-act structure; or twelve-step program.

When all is lived and done, I can drag the sections in whatever order I choose via the handy index card mode, then print out an industry-standard-formatted manuscript, ebook, or even PDF fit for print.

Of course, this could all be done by saving text files to folders and doing all the work manually. This is simply a method that is working for me.

If your experience turns out to be anything like mine, not only will you find some catharsis in your own pages—you’ll find that your life is far more interesting than previously believed.

*Use code “ONEWORD” to get a 20% discount on Scrivener through February 2011. I don’t get anything from this, by the way, just the warm feeling of sharing an awesome piece of software with you all!

**I also use and recommend Dropbox which provides redundant off-site backups and universal access.

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In the age of smart phones and iPods, people are rarely without their music. Music always seems to be partnered with creative work. Artists play music while they paint, designers play music while they create their websites and you probably have music on while you write your masterpiece. While most people use music as background, your favorite song can actually help make your writing better. This article explores how you can use iTunes (or your music player of choice) to improve your own writing.

Create a soundtrack

When you watch a movie, the score really gives the story depth and scope. Songs help bring emotional intensity to the narrative. When you want your writing to have an emotional impact, set it to song. That might sound stupid but if you are thinking about the musical vibe you want your narrative to have, you can usually write in that direction. Surround yourself with the world you create. Listen to the soundtrack while you are at the gym or in the car. When you hear those songs, your mind will instantly take you into your story. Think about your favorite movie songs. When you hear them, you see the scene in your mind. Movies started off as words on a paper. Your writing can have the same impact.

Writing to a specific decade/time period

Writing consistently within any given decade can be challenging.If you were writing a story set in the 1960’s, listening to some Hendrix or Jagger could definitely help. This is especially true if you weren’t around during the 60’s. Movies use songs from the era to let the audience know what time period they are in before we see anything decade-specific. Think of the Forrest Gump soundtrack. Lyrics can also give us hints about went on during that time.

Character Playlist

A great story is nothing without strong characters for people to connect with. Music is a great way to open up some new passagewayscharacters you are writing for. What type of music does your lead character listen to when she is stuck in traffic? What’s her favorite song? Music tastes says a lot about a personality. If you are stuck on a character build, make a random playlist and freewrite while you listen. You might come up with random phrases and words that can be used to describe your character. Once you find a song that fits the vibe of the character, create a Pandora radio station for the song. Need a creative boost? Write a character playlist for a character you already love. My latest: Liz Lemon’s favorite songs.

Listen to songwriters

Songs usually tell stories over the course of 3 minutes. That’s brevity. Listen to your favorite songwriter. How do the musicians use language to tell the story in such a short space? Also, good songs are known for the beautiful language. Great songs are known for being beautiful without being silly or over-sentimental. Listen to songs that avoid using tired cliches or draw comparisons between eye color and the sea. Once you figure out how to do it right, try it out in your own writing. Even if you are a bare-bones writer, a pop of fancy writing can add some variety.

Listen to podcasts

Get some interesting story ideas from listening to podcasts. There are dozens on the topic of writing, such as Grammar Girl for some grammar tips. Listen to author interviews to get some insight on the writing process and inspiration. Listen to The Moth and be instantly inspired by incredible stories from regular people. This American Life is also a must-listen for the aspiring writer.

Listen to comedians

The ultimate storytellers. There is an art to comedic writing that is hard to master. Comedians make real life compelling with word choice and funny comparisons. The stories are funny because somehow, we can all relate. Study up on your favorite comedians and try to figure out why you think they are so funny and test some of that out on your own writing.

What are some of your favorite movie soundtracks? Do you have a set of songs you write to? 30 rock fans, what songs do you think Liz Lemon listens to?

Images courtesy of Maury McCown and Rakka.

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There is a lot of writing advice out there on the Internet. Even beyond this site *shock horror!* there is a wealth of amazing articles and videos and information to both help and inspire all types of writers.

The problem is that there is so much of it! Like anything on the Internet, finding information that is interesting, relevant and helpful can be a chore, and sometimes you might spend so long wading through the rubbish that when you find something that’s actually good you can’t even be bothered to read it, or you skip right past it.

What you need is something that brings the advice you want to you, without you having to search for it. One of the best ways to do this is Twitter. There are loads of interesting feeds offering inspirational advice, as well as many big- and small-time authors tweeting about their lives as writers, which can be very interesting and informative, and even agents offering insider knowledge on how to get published. By signing up to Twitter (if you haven’t done so already, as I know a lot of our readers are on Twitter) and following feeds such as these, the information comes directly to you.

To help you find the best that Twitter has to offer, we at Fuel Your Writing are going to sharing our favourite writerly feeds with you. Taking a lead from the popular Twitter hashtag #FF (or #FollowFriday – Friday is traditionally the day that Twitter users share their favourite feeds and friends with the rest of their Twitter followers) we will be running a regular Friday feature on our favourite Twitter feeds.

To kick things off, one of my favourite writing feeds:

This brilliant feed is a compilation of quotes, tips, articles and wisdom compiled by Jon Winokur. A lot of the quotes are from literary greats as well as people you might not have heard of – they are often very funny, frequently inspiring and always helpful. There are also some links to excellent articles, such as this one (shared in a recent tweet) about Writing With Style, written by Kurt Vonnegut.

Here are a couple of my favourite recent quotes from Advice To Writers:

Excellent advice on just “doing it” – sit down, write, and worry about editing later.

Writing should be bold, in both tone and content. Don’t hold back, write with guts. Read my FYW article on writing with guts here (shameless plug – Editor’s prerogative!)

Because we all need some to love, cherish and to put up with our writing!

So, get on Twitter (if you aren’t already) and get following Advice To Writers. And stay tuned to FYW every Friday for more awesome Twitter feeds and writing advice.

Who do you follow on Twitter that helps you writing? Please share in the comments below!

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Most of us really don’t enjoy exercising that much; we just want to be skinny. It’s the same with writing… so much easier to bang out a thousand words on a blog when fifty would probably do. Elegant writing doesn’t just happen; it takes regular, concentrated effort. Here is an exercise you can do to make your writing leaner and more attractive.

The first time you do this one, it may be a challenge. Let’s get started…

• Write a three-page essay on an easy topic, like what you did on your summer vacation, how to change the oil in your car, or anything with a fair amount of detail that you don’t have to research.
• Rewrite your essay as one page, without leaving out a single idea. Don’t simply edit, start over.
• Now write it up as one paragraph of 5 lines, without leaving out a single idea.
• If you’re feeling ambitious, make it one sentence, without leaving out a single idea.

By now, you’re out of breath and sweating like crazy. When your heart stops racing, go back and read the first essay, then read the lone paragraph. Which one do you think people will be more likely to read?

The good news is that you don’t have to perform a major workout every time you sit down to write. Doing it once is usually painful enough that the memory of it causes you to think, “Is there a shorter way to say that?”

What did you write today? Spend a few minutes going back over it, taking out unnecessary words, thoughts redundant or irrelevant to the main point, anything that doesn’t absolutely have to be there. You’re on your way to scribal fitness.

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Writing, despite being an art and a creative endeavour, is most definitely a craft. Like any crafts, the skills and the rules needed to be able to construct successful, enjoyable writing are ones that must be practised and honed. By reading fiction we familiarise ourselves with the right (and wrong) ways that language can be used, by reading articles such as this we remind ourselves of the skills we need, and discover ways in which we can improve them, and by simply writing we can discover what works, and what doesn’t.

Making Things Easy

Like any craft, writing blog articles and stories isn’t just reliant on the core, hard skills that we learn, such as grammar, dialogue, structure, punctuation etc. It is also made easier when there is a raft of supporting structures put in place in order to make the process easier, or more enjoyable. I would like to share some of the practical, physical tools that can be used in order to make the writing process easier, by facilitating inspiration and creativity, and by aiding in the actual writing process.

We often think of creativity and inspiration as being opposite to the craft of our writing. The rules and skills, grammar and punctuation, are the craft, and the flashes of inspiration, the whimsical musings and the creative process are the art. However, we need to view the art and the craft as being together. By doing this, and by using practical tools to turn our creativity into actual writing, we can avoid getting lost in thoughts and ideas and actually get them down onto paper and turn them into stories and articles.

Capture Your Ideas

Sometimes we struggle for inspiration, and sometimes they just come to us, prompted by something unexpected. It’s true; we can find inspiration anywhere. The key to successfully creating something from this inspiration is to have the tools to hand to capture those ideas when they come to you. Get that idea out of your head and down on paper, then forget about it until you can come back to it later, write the story, or file it away for a future dry spell.

Scratchpad – I keep a A4 pad on my desk, next to my laptop. Any time something pops into my head (ideas for stories or blog posts, but also things I need to do, reminders for stuff, things I need to buy) I pick up a pen and write it quickly down on the paper, and continue what I was doing. At the end of the day, process these ideas.

Notepad/document - I prefer to use pen and paper, but I know a lot of people (especially those of us who are at our laptops for long periods of time) like to keep a simple Notepad document or similar on their desktop, as a place to capture ideas for future filing and reference, in a similar way to the physical Scratchpad.

Notebooks – I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this advice for writers, and you are also probably sick of hearing it, but – carry a notebook wherever you go! Inspiration can strike at any time, so be ready to get it down, otherwise you’ll forget it. Plus, having a pocket notebook on you at all times can be really useful if you have a spare moment while you’re out – chance to brainstorm one of those ideas you’ve had, or write a few paragraphs of that story you’re working on. Make the notebook one that you enjoy using, and you’ll use it more often. I use a Pocket Moleskine (currently Lined, but sometimes I use Plain, which can be very useful for free-form ideas and brainstorming)

Structure Your Ideas

Some of us plan, some of us don’t. For me, a brainstorm is usually enough to get me started, even when starting longer pieces of work that may or may not become novels. But for those of you who do like to plan (and even for those of us who don’t) index cards and Post It notes can be very useful. Using either of these things can be brilliant for writing on individual characters, places and events in a novel, and as they are physical and moveable they can be shifted around, shuffled and arranged, in order to work out and visualise the relationships between them. Even with non-fiction writing, this technique can be very helpful in structuring your articles and blog posts, by rearranging key points. Combine these with either a Whiteboard or a Cork board. These can also be very useful for sticking up ideas and prompts, as well as inspirational pictures or cards or nice things people have got you.

Writing Programs

How do you write? Writing longhand can be great for unlocking creativity, but in terms of pratical writing and editing, be it of an entire novel or a relatively short blog post or article, some sort of writing software is usually required. I myself use OpenOffice.org Writer, the free, open-source version of Microsoft Word. It does everything that I want, and I’m comfortable using it.

The key word here is comfortable. You need to feel comfortable when you write (including the need for a comfy chair and writing area) but you need to be mentally comfortable as well. No use using a program that you find difficult and unintuitive to use. Most people just use Word, because it is the default program for most of you (I’m sure many of you use Macs, same applies for your default writing program) but here are some alternatives you might like to try, that will make getting down to writing as easy as possible.

Darkroom (Windows) or Writeroom (Mac) – these two downloads take away toolbars, menus and other such clutter so you can focus on what is important – the writing. Just being able to see the text can be a real help for clearing your mind, concentrating on writing and freeing your imagination. Because these programs fill the screen they can also filter out other distractions such as email, Twitter, FB etc. Plus, these programs can be fun to use, and the more fun our writing is, the easier it will be and the more we will want to sit down and do it, even if it’s to churn out copy or freelance filler articles. Darkroom looks especially cool, with its bright green Courier text set on a black background. Makes you feel like you’re writing in the Matrix…

Writer (online) – this online version of the above programs can also be very useful. You can still save your work, once you’ve set up an account, and then access it again when you want to continue writing. This can be especially useful if you frequently travel and want to be able to work on your article or story wherever you might be, on any computer. Of course, you can do this with other suites such as GoogleDocs, but this is a great way to do it in a distraction-free environment, especially when you utilise Writer’s full-screen mode.

Text editors – one really good is to use whichever text editor comes with your OS. Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Macs are very simple programs, and while most people just use them for jotting down notes when at their computer, others swear by using them for writing entire pieces of writing.

Play!

Sometimes we can take our writing too seriously. But, on the other hand, we sometimes don’t take our creativity seriously enough. We think of creativity as something passive, that comes to us in flashes of inspiration, or just as something to do (or that just happens) while we are writing. But, by looking at the creative process as something that you can work on, like the writing process, we can use it (yes, at our beck and call!) to inspire us when we need inspiring, or to just give us that mental boost when we get stuck, or even just as a break! Learning to use creativity in a practical way like this can be very useful.

Lego – This is perfect tool for unlocking your creativity when you need it. It doesn’t really matter what you make, and whether it’s anything particularly good or even recognisable! The idea is to play. The simple fact of making something, anything, creating something, that is the important thing. By making ourselves be creative in this way we can unlock areas of the brain which might otherwise lay dormant, opening up, engaging in play, and allowing our brain to think creatively – can lead to increased inspiration, motivation and creative thought.

What tools do you use to make your writing (and creating!) easier? Please share in the comment below.

Images courtesy of FallingWalls.com, WhoIsMadHur.com and ddi7.com.

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Sing along now, everyone: “writers have to write.”

Pretty solid advice, by most standards, and the sort of mantra worth drilling into the skull of any poor sod writing for a living. Four years of university forced me to flex the creative muscle on a weekly basis, putting pen to paper for at least a few hours each day, but graduation paints a different picture entirely. This came as a shocker, but – and hold on to your hats, folks! – apparently I’m kind of lazy.

But that’s okay! Sometimes writers don’t want to write. Sometimes we want to sink into the couch and soothe our tired minds with less productive pursuits. For those forced to slog through a typical work day, that kind of vegetative state might be more common than not. As those off days start to tally up, however, so does the guilt – a creeping sense of restlessness, one only assuaged by sitting down and churning out some verbs.

How about we skip that guilt entirely? Writing every single day doesn’t always come easy, but it’s a battle-tested tool for fighting through writer’s block and helping to cultivate your personal style. And, with a website like 750words, even a shiftless writer like myself can stay well on track!

The concept of morning pages originated with Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, a process which tasks writers and creative folks of every stripe to touch base with their innate talent by writing three pages of mindless content every morning. Sounds strange, but it’s a great way to reawaken your latent creativity – in your sleepy state, the little voice that criticizes your work is often muted, allowing you to develop your skills without interference from that pesky thing between your ears. 750words adapts that same idea for the internet, providing you with an appealing blank screen and a little counter on the bottom right to chart your progress.

The goal is simple: write 750 words. They can be about anything, of course, and rest assured they exist for your eyes only. My daily pages often take the tone of a diary, but that’s just dandy – I’m writing, at least, and 750words provides a neat page of stats for me to skim whenever I’m done. The site employs computerized text analysis systems to show you the emotions that come through your words, as an example, and even your tendency to write about certain subjects versus the rest of the world. I’m proud to say I write about death slightly less than the rest of the planet!

The stats come formatted in pretty charts and graphs, making them both a pleasure to view and ponder. You’ll even receive various ‘awards’ in the form of animal icons for maintaining streaks of daily writing, and you also have the option to participate in the monthly challenge, whereby you strive to write every day for a month and give yourself a big fat pat on the back at the end.

You’ll find my name on the ‘Wall of Shame’ for the May’s challenge. I don’t want to talk about it.

All in all, 750words is a pretty nifty tool for writers. Rant about your ex, fiddle with flash fiction, or keep progressing on your latest novel – 750words provides a perfect home for your output, one that encourages a lazy author like me to keep writing every day of the week. Putting pen to paper on a regular basis is one of the best practices a writer can follow, so consider this a heartfelt recommendation to check the site out.

Image courtesy of 750words Facebook page.

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As a writer, I try my best to avoid using clichés and worn out turns of phrase such as ‘lost in translation’. However, working as an English Language Editor in Saudi Arabia has opened up a wealth of new meaning for the phrase that using it as a title for this piece is not clichéd but perfect.

Editing text can be challenging at the best of times, especially text for a specific field such as engineering, medicine or education, all of which I deal with regularly. However, when that text was originally written in a different language and then fed through a computer before it lands on your desk you’re faced with an entirely different challenge. Meaning can truly be lost between the author, the translator and the editor. For example, one of the more interesting mix-ups I have come across is suggesting a doctor step in and help if your infertile husband cannot get you pregnant…

Many freelance jobs for editors are translated texts, and many freelance editors looking for work will choose to skip over them. Anyone who knows the job will tell you that it is a minefield that is best left alone unless you really know what you’re getting into. However, I believe that with a few tips and pointers to set you on the right course you could open up a whole new income stream. Following these steps should help you make a success of editing translated text from any language:

Start with the basics

As with writing, you should start with what you know. By correcting the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors first you will not only ease yourself into the document and familiarize yourself with the text, you will also begin to notice the obvious confusions of meaning.

Never assume!

Take my previous example, it would seem a safe bet to assume that the author of the text did not mean for the doctor to call around while the husband was out with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to set the mood! However, while you may think that the author meant to tell patients to visit their doctor for medical solutions to infertility you should not just change the text. Leave a comment or suggestion, or better still contact your client and ask what was meant.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Chances are your client is the one who translated the text, meaning they read both the native language of the author and English. If you are unsure about something, then they are the person to ask. They will have access to both the original and the English version of the document, and talking to them will clear up any misunderstandings. Being in constant contact also helps break down the barrier that working via the Internet can often create, which will lead to a better finished piece at the end and may also open up the possibility of future work.

Double-check everything

In some languages, such as Arabic, there aren’t words for certain technologies or medicines. Instead of simply naming a new machine or procedure it will be described. A good translator will at least make a stab at what the machine or procedure in question is, however, that does not mean that the name or the spelling is correct. Having a good dictionary, specific to the field the text is aimed at, is a must. For example, I frequently make use of TheFreeDictionary.com’s medical dictionary for any medical text I edit.

Once you have ferreted out what you believe to be the right name, phrase or term and inserted it into the text you MUST make a comment, or contact and inform your client that you have done so. Remember, you are an editor; not a doctor, engineer or expert in metaphysics! Besides, there is a very good chance that during the course of translation meanings were lost again, leading you to the wrong conclusion.

A full copy edit is a must

When you think you’re finished, even if you have been through the text one hundred and fifty four times always, always perform a final full copy edit before you send it to your client. When providing your client with time frames for completion add an extra day. Even if it can be done in two days, tell them three.

Here’s why: you need to sit back and read something else before a final edit. By moving away from the project you ensure a more thorough final read, rather than simply skimming because you’re sick of reading the same thing over and over and over again. It will be the little things like confused spellings such as weather when it should be whether, or a comma where there should be a semicolon. Read each word slowly, and out loud, to make sure you miss nothing.

DON’T PANIC!

So you’ve read this post, done some more research and won a bid for a translated text. Then it arrives and you read it. Suddenly you feel that you would be able to make more sense of Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky than you could of the document on the screen. This is normal. Every day I get sent a booklet that I am utterly convinced was translated into Swedish instead of English. Words are back to front, grammar is non-existent, there are absolutely no full stops, and only 1.5 words out of 10 are spelled correctly.

Step away from your computer, make a cup of ~insert favorite beverage here~ and take a few steadying breaths. You CAN do this. Start with step one of step one, spelling. Then tackle the lack of proper punctuation, and before you know it the grammar is starting to take care of itself. Work one paragraph at a time this way and you’ll be finished before you know it.

Good Luck!

Has anyone had any difficult experiences editing translated texts? How did you manage? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Images courtesy of ippbooks.com and abc.net.au

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As most of you already know, writer’s block can be cripplingly detrimental to your creativity — sometimes even reaching the point where you simply can’t think, which leads to frustration, depression, and in some cases even a negative perception of the art and craft you once loved. Once you encounter writer’s block, it’s likely that you’ll spend most of your energy trying to overcome it – either by forcing yourself to write or by fidgeting in your seat uncomfortably as the blank page wins an epic staring contest.

Fortunately, you don’t have to force yourself to write (that’s actually one way to bring on writer’s block) or wait for the muse to rescue you from that staring contest.

But first, it gets worse.

Though most writers fear writer’s block for the obvious reason, there’s something else happening on another level that most writers don’t acknowledge.

Writer’s block stunts your growth as a writer.

Because you’re not able to produce work, you’re not able to grow from experience. And if there’s one thing we can all acknowledge as a community, it’s that the more we write, the better we get … I mean, who isn’t embarrassed by their earlier work?

If you’re not writing, you’re not growing.

Here are three quick things that help avoid stunted growth during writer’s block.

Try Writing For Another Medium

Though most of us aren’t as talented as Niel Gaiman, it’s good exercise for writers to try their hand at other mediums. If you’re a novelist, try writing a children’s book; if you’re a screenwriter, try writing a poem; if you write fiction in general, try writing a helpful article or starting a blog.

The idea here is to expand your horizon by trying new forms of writing. You never know, you might find you’re a horrible poet, but an awesome blogger. Regardless if you find another medium you enjoy, you’ll at least know where you stand, and where your strengths and weakness are.

Push yourself into new areas of the craft and explore your abilities. You might find that you really enjoy a medium you weren’t interested in before.

Read the Work of Your Idols

For me, this is the single most important things to do when struck with writer’s block. Not only does it create inspiration purely because of the how exceptional the work is in nature, but also because it slingshots you into places you otherwise might not have explored.

This applies across all mediums — whether working with poetry, creative fiction, blog posts, and more.

Look to your idol for inspiration by reading their work — chances are you’ll develop a better understand of the craft and pick up on their style.

Quick Note: If you find yourself unable to read the work of your idol, let alone others, you might want to consider asking yourself if you’re writing for the right medium. Be honest with yourself and move on if needed.

Read the Back Cover of 10 Neighboring Books

Similar to when you used to spin a globe, wait a moment, then stop it with your finger — the place you pointed to being the place you would eventually live — writers should randomly select a spot in their local book shop and spend some time reading the back covers of 10 or more neighboring books.

It’s a great way to gain a refreshed sense of story, and see just how different, yet the same, most stories are.

What Keeps You Growing During Writer’s Block?

Those three suggestions work for me, but how about you? Is there anything you think works in terms of continuing to grow as a writer, even in the face of writer’s block?

Please share your own methods of beating writer’s block and growing and improving your writing in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Crimey, paulb, and neilhimself.

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For the past couple of years, all people have heard about is networking. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Wave, Google Buzz, various blogging platforms… it’s amazing the number of websites that connect complete strangers with the click of a few buttons.

For most, it’s just a fun way to pass the time. But for writers, networking can be both an essential tool to success and a source of endless information.

It’s a tool because a steady platform can only help you in the search for an agent, an editor or publisher. Have no cause for doubt: they will Google your name. Seeing that you have a regularly updated blog, a good following on Twitter, connections on LinkedIn — it takes pressure off them because you are already marketing yourself. They see that people know your name, and they won’t have to worry as much about trying to sell a completely unknown person, particularly if you write non-fiction, such as self-help books.

It’s also a great research source if you’ve ever tried to find information on the Internet and just could not find it. You can go to these networking sites (Twitter, especially) and you are almost guaranteed to find someone who knows something about it, or where to find the information.

As a confessed Twitter addict, let’s take this a bit further. For those of you not on Twitter, you join and set up your profile. Your updates are confined to a 140 character limit. You follow whoever you like, provided their profile is public, and anyone can follow you unless you block them.

Agents are on Twitter. Editors are on Twitter. Publishers and other writers are on Twitter. Not only is this an opportunity for you to learn what these industry professionals are looking for, it’s a chance to meet other writers. News travels at impossible speeds with the click of a “ReTweet” button. You’ll hear about the newest agents, the newest book deals. What’s in, what’s out.

As a bonus, you might even make some really good friends. I know I have.

Is networking for everyone? Not at all. Would it work for you? That’s entirely up to you – what you put in is what you get out. But I do believe that every writer should give it a shot.

Like anything else, it’s hard to build something without a foundation.

How much do you network? Please let us know how networking has benefited you in the comments below!

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