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It has been said that there is no such thing as writer's block. It makes sense because we never seem to get eater's block, or having fun block. Yet, sometimes it is difficult to come up with a fresh, new idea on a moment's notice. Here are some tips on what to do when you can't think of what to write about: - Go for a walk. Getting out in the fresh air can clear your mind and give you some ideas. Don't walk too far in one direction because when the ideas hit you will want to get back home quickly and write them down. - Look through a book on the topic you want to write about. Just glancing through the table of contents or one chapter of a well written book on your topic will generally trigger some...

Do ever struggle with Writer's Block? Do you stare at the blank screen (or that blank piece of paper), wondering where to start? EFT tapping might be able to help you overcome writer's block fast. Read on for the details. EFT, EFT Tapping, or Emotional Freedom Technique can help with a huge range of problems. It's often used for things like anxiety, stress reduction, overcoming money blocks, and more. But it also works great with writer's block. If you think about it, writer's block is simply anxiety flying under a different name. You're anxious that you don't know what to write. You're stressed about the fact that you haven't written anything (or enough) yet. You're concerned that what you'll write...

iv id="body"> I think I can say that every writer at some time experiences writer's block. It's that time when our writers' brains seem to shut down and refuse to work. You may experience it frequently, or almost never. Still, it's a problem every writer faces at some point. Because it causes so many problems so often, it takes some creativity to conquer it...or at least work around it. One of the most difficult steps to take during writer's block is also the best--sit down and write. Free Writing To get through writer's block, some authors advocate free writing. Free writing is the process of putting pen (or pencil) to paper and writing anything that comes into your head. The idea is that, after...

If you are interested in becoming an author and are interested in learning how to write a good novel, begin by reading good novels in the genre that you are interested in writing about. Reading novels from great authors within the same genre that you are interested in will give you ideas on how to structure the plot of your novel, how to develop a theme, setting scenes, writing dialogues and how to write good characters. The characters of any novel are central to the plot of the novel. Readers connect with the characters first before they pick up the theme of the book and start following its plot. If you want to learn how to write a good novel therefore, you must begin by learning how to create good...

I have to say that I am pretty fortunate as a writer that my mind is constantly spinning with creative ideas. But, inevitably, we all hit the wall - the wall of writer's block. That's when you sit down with your pad of paper or plop down in front of the computer and nothing comes. When that happens, you can't sit and will your brain to spew out lovely prose. It just won't happen. In the world of true creativity, you can't force things. That's when you have to tap into some Divine creative power. During a trip to California, my husband and I visited the Monterey Aquarium. There was an exhibit with 32 different varieties of sea horses. I had no idea there were that many kinds of sea horses. One...

Do you write? Would you like to be able to use your skills as a writer to boost your business, gain credibility as a writer or just write for the sheer fun and pleasure of seeing your work in print, maybe inspiring someone else along their journey? If this sounds like you, have you ever sat down at your desk, or favourite writing spot and tried to write, only to feel stuck, not sure what to write or how to write it? The longer you stare at the empty page the harder it becomes for you to write. When you feel like this, when you face 'writer's block' what do you do? How do you feel? Do you feel tense, frustrated, anxious or worried as the time passes by and you haven't written anything? How does your...

Writer's block can be devastating to those you have limited time to write. When you sit down for an hour and no words come to you, it can feel like you will never be a successful writer. It doesn't have to be this way. Here are some things to remember when you are trying to write and the page is still blank. By forcing yourself to write on command you are giving your brain something called performance anxiety. Almost no one does well under pressure. When you want to write, whether it is articles or ebooks, you should not feel pressured to perform during a specific period of time. The best writing flows naturally, so give yourself the opportunity to write when you are inspired to do so, not when you...

Plan Ahead: The dreaded phenomenon known as "Writer's Block" can happen to anyone. It can come silently into your writing room, fiddle with your brain and taunt you for hours. So, before the terror of Writer's Block appears in your writing room, take a minute, breathe and get ready to write! You are going to create a list called "My Authority List." The Authority List: Often writers don't realize all the things they actually know something about. Whether you know a lot or a little, start writing your list by naming all the things you know something about. Stumped already? Don't be. You are either a son or daughter to begin with. Do you have siblings? If so, you are also a sister or brother and have...

Have you ever thought of being a romance novel author? Do you want to learn how to write a romance novel and actually get it published? If you have a good command of language and a story to tell, you can probably write a romance novel. But you may be wondering how to write a romance novel that will be published. Do not be cheated. There are no tips that can assure you the publication of your romance novel, no matter how good they are. The tips in this article will help you produce good quality work and therefore increase the probability of your book being published. It takes more than simple inspiration to write a good romance novel that is worthy of publishing. You need to do your homework before...

Do you want to know how to write a romance novel? Is it your life's desire to see your name of the cover of a best-selling historical romance in your local bookstore? Or maybe you are more interested in the contemporary "chick lit" type of novel. It's a great time to get started on your book. People are looking for something to take their minds off of their troubles, and a great romance is certainly something that would accomplish this. Here are a few tips for you. 1. Your hero and heroine should have something in common besides chemistry. If not, your story won't be believable. They don't have to love everything the same but give them some common interests to build on. 2. Your heroine does not need...

If you can create great characters, then you can learn how to write a romance novel and avoid all the clichés that readers are tired of hearing. Romance seems like one of the easiest genres to write, but if you want to do it well then it actually can be quite difficult. The biggest problem with a lot of beginning romance writers is that they follow the same old formulas that have been around for centuries. If you want your work to resonate with readers today, you will have to dig deep into characterization and come up with a story that offers something unique. Instead of the usual cheesy scenes that readers have come to expect, you need an original spin that will take them by surprise and...

Anyone who embarks on writing a romance novel does so with the intent of making big sales and having thousands of readers. It isn't always the case with many novels that are published. This is because many authors mistakenly think that writing a romance novel only requires inspiration and a good word processor. The following tips will help you not only understand how to write a romance novel that sells. If you want to make big sales you must begin by learning from the masters of the art. The best way to learn how to write a romance novel is by reading the works of great romance novel authors from the olden days and modern times. Observe how they develop their plots and how the characters and events...

The most common question that people ask when it comes to turning their story idea into a book is: how do you begin writing a novel? There is no denying that actually sitting down and starting a story is the hardest part of writing a novel. More writers have a hard time and struggle with starting a story then they do with filling in the middle and creating the ending. There are many reasons why people have a hard time beginning their novel. One of the main reasons is fear. They are fearful that the story idea they have in their head will not play out well in writing. Additionally, many of them are fearful that if they don't create a mind-blowing beginning they won't be able to hold the attention of...

Structuring a novel involves taking all your ideas and placing them in chapters and sections. Many 'how to write a novel' guides state that structuring determines whether you will keep your reader turning the pages or not. Below is an introduction on how to write a novel structure. The first part of a novel is the prologue also known as in the introduction. Here the reader learns of events that took place before your story began. It could be many years ago or some authors state something that will happen in the future. This prologue should not be long and a maximum of 2 pages is the widely accepted limit. You can grab your reader's attention by giving him a taste of what might happen later in the...

When first time authors are just getting into the business, they really want to learn and be sure they know how to write a good novel. The advice they usually get is to read as many books by successful authors in the same genre as that which they are interested in. This is the best advice you can get. Reading novels written by successful authors is the best way to learn different aspects of writing. One thing you can learn from reading novels is how to structure a good plot. The structure of your plot depends on the conflict in the novel. As you learn how to write a good novel you will discover that the action in the plot will rise as the conflict in the story develops and builds up. The conflict in...

So you want to know how to write a romance novel. That's great! What most people don't know is a huge portion of average readers are romance readers (whether they admit it or not). A lot of beginning authors think there is a magic "formula" for writing romance fiction. This may be due to the series romances like Harlequin which seem to follow specific guidelines. Actually some of those series novels do have some guide sheets you can ask for but there is not one formula that encompasses all of romance writing, and nothing that you can follow that will guarantee fame and fortune as an author. Even the "formula" series novels are a lot harder to write than they appear to be when reading them. Ask...

Writing a novel is a tantalizing daydream, but it you have get a firm grip on the reality of the task, before you get started. A novel is going to require more than a half-hearted effort-and that is just to get started. Create a work space. In order to get going on a novel, you have to disrupt your routine. One of the best ways to do this is to literally disrupt your surroundings. Writing a novel will often require you to work in a variety of inconvenient situations, but if you have even a small area dedicated to your novel, it can often serve as a reminder that you are serious about getting it done. A work space will also provide a safe haven for your novel, so it does not end up getting lost in...

When you’re learning how to write a good novel, it’s critical that you understand how very important it is to come up with a really great initial idea.  You want to make sure your idea intrigues and inspires you and you want it to hook your readers from the first page to the last.  The best way to come up with a good novel idea that accomplishes both of these things is to begin your story with a major crisis.  If you choose the crisis using the guidelines I give below, I think you’ll find the resulting story idea will crackle with tension and excitement and will help you write a page-turner that readers and publishers will love.  A good crisis will compel your main character to make a...

Why does writing a novel have to be so hard? If we could sit down right now, snap our fingers, wiggle our nose, or clap our hands to see a sprawling coat of text coat the screen, wouldn't that be great! Unfortunately for us, this isn't how it works. Novels can be one of the most self disciplinary tasks in the world, and in the next few paragraphs, I'm going to explain why! No immediate money! That writing you spend hours on daily may never be worth a dime. Of course we all have dreams of writing the next New York Times best seller, but we have to be realistic here. There is a chance we will never see our book on the shelf, so making millions and having thousands of loyal fans who love what you do...

Among writers, there are often arguments about writer's block and whether it even exists. However, all writers will experience it at some stage. Here's how to handle it. Writer's block manifests itself on a continuum which ranges from mild resistance to writing at one end, to the complete inability to even think about writing at the other end. If you're experiencing resistance to writing, it's the mild form of writer's block. It often happens when you're missing a step in the writing process. For example, you may not know enough about a subject to be able to write about it with authority. Do more research, and you'll become enthusiastic and your block vanishes. At the extreme of the continuum, when...

"Writer's block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity. There are alternative actions or specific strategies you can work with to overcome the blank slate in your head." Wikipedia All writers deal with writers block. The best activity you should start with is to take a break and relax. There are many things you can do to let your thoughts gather themselves. Did you know that some of the most unrelated activities allow you to start producing meaningful ideas. Alternative Activities -Taking a shower or bath or sit in a sauna or hot tub. Psychologists do say water has a mentally cleansing and stimulating quality...

People who give private art lessons say the question they most dread from their students is: 'What shall I paint,today?' Even professional artists sometimes run out of ideas and are faced with the same question. I have never had that problem. So, am I some kind of a genius? Oh boy, I know the answer to that better than my worst critic. But early in my career, I stumbled on the secret to a never-ending source of inspiration that leads unfailingly from one painting to the next. I call it The Power of a Series and it comes in three forms. 1. The first is the obvious: Specialize in a Category. For example, you might decide to become a Landscape painter and, within that genre, you may specialize in the...

One of the most serious issues facing many writers is the ability to maintain the action throughout the narrative. Unfortunately, the mere creation of a dramatic occurrence does not guarantee plot movement. The literary critic for The Palm Beach Post, Scott Eyman, has written many outstanding books on the legends of the cinema. In an article he wrote some years ago pertaining to a trend in film making that was conceived to sustain an audience's attention span, he stated, "Action has become confused with movement." I was so taken by what I felt was an exceptionally acute and accurate comment, I asked for and received his permission to cite his line, since I am of the opinion this issue applies...

Since this article about the importance of professional editing is written by someone who edits text for a living, it would be quite easy to assume this information is self-serving. And while this would be justifiable, this writer can assure any skeptic that this is an honest treatment of what is necessary to have work considered by a bona fide royalty publisher. Using an Editor Does Not Mean a Writer is Inept, but Just the Opposite One of the greatest difficulty some people have is the stigma that the use of an editor implies incompetence on the part of the writer. Frankly, it's just the opposite. Check the Acknowledgments page in novels by some of the most respected novelists of our generation and...

The first question some people might ask is why any writer would need to learn techniques related to Point of View. Doesn't POV automatically synchronize with the character's thoughts as soon as these feelings are expressed by the writer? And isn't the POV of a scene easily identified by an attribute or obvious implication? If it were just this easy. Shifting POV is Only a Problem When People Notice It Some writers possess the skill to seamlessly shift from one person's thoughts to another. As readers, we won't give this the slightest concern--as long as we don't realize when it's occurring. But even some of the most well-respected novelists have at times jarred readers with ineffective POV shifts...

State of Being Verbs Avoid using the "to be" verbs which are: am, is, are, was, were, be, been and being. Any sentence that uses these verbs is "telling," rather than "showing," which is what we want. For example, instead of saying: "Sally is a funny girl," you could say "I like Sally's sense of humor," or "Sally makes me laugh." Even better, you could portray her being funny - maybe have her telling jokes, or making witty comments, which will completely negate the need to say she is funny in the first place, because the reader will already know. Excessive Adverbs Try to avoid using adverbs in your writing, especially after dialogue. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, other adverbs...

Early In the early middle, the protagonist is confronted with the event in the first plot point and begins to get involved in the plot problem. The beginning of the middle will have exciting events as the hero or heroine deals with obstacle created by the plot point. His or her reactions to this obstacle will show how he or she grows or changes, or if he or she will grow or change. Do not use this section to bore the reader with interesting diatribes based on your research. At this stage, the reader should have begun to really care about the protagonist and the focus should be on the main characters. Begin contrasting and comparing the lead characters and show hints of how they will deal with the...

Many fledgling writers have trouble figuring out what to write about. This frustration is understandable, because these same writers often have the talent to write a great story, and really want to produce some work. Step one for figuring out the topic for you is to write regularly. If you do what are called 'free writings' every day, and write about whatever occurs to you, your mind will get the flexibility and creativity needed to produce a novel. The daily practices encourage your brain to think in a way that is important for novel writing. You start to think about what you might write about for extended projects. Essentially you are playing a numbers game. If you try out enough ideas, sooner or...

When you begin to write a novel, you may already have something in mind. Maybe you've had a story in your head for months or years, just waiting to get out. Or maybe there's a certain character you've been creating over time, and you'd like to create a story around him or her. Maybe you have nothing in mind, and have just always wanted to write a novel. Well, here's your chance! There are two types of novels: story driven and character driven. Story driven novels happen when you have a specific story you'd like to tell, and you let the plot set the pace of the novel and define the characters. Character driven novels are the opposite - you begin with a character or several characters, and you build...

Your novel needs a setting. The setting must be strong and suitable for your story. However, it must not overwhelm the story. Sprinkle it in as you go. Do not write travelogues. If you do research, as hard as it might be, don't use it all in the book. I have a manuscript set in France just before the Revolution. It's a great heap of a manuscript with pages and pages and pages of all the fascinating things I found in researching what they ate and drank and wore and said and did. My punishment for not being discerning in choosing what bits to use is that I have to go back and rewrite it, slashing out pages of description. Sigh! Wisdom holds that we should write what we know. This is especially true in...

Writing your novel online is a great idea. People will see your work, publishers may see it and you get the personal satisfaction of having your work read. There are just a few problems with this. People don't like reading entire novels from their computer screen. In fact, anything over 1500 words becomes a stretch for most people. Another problem is getting people back after they leave. Then there is the small matter of earning money from your writing. So how does understanding that television and online novels being similar help and how are they similar? Firstly, television has stories that go on for years. Some of the best series would take weeks to watch from start to finish. Think of the great...

For the writer who wishes to have his or her work published, making sure the submitted manuscript is formatted correctly is as important as completing the work. A poorly — or wrongly — submitted manuscript will not even be considered, and all the hard work wasted as a result, hence understanding the requirements for submission and formatting is absolutely essential... Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para...

Your query letter can be a deal maker or a deal breaker. So, if your query letter just lies there, you've killed the sale immediately or your story or novel immediately. If you want that story -- your baby -- to be read, reach out of that query letter, grab the publisher, editor or literary agent by the neck and say, "Hey, you absolutely have to have this story!" Query letters that begin with "Hello, My name is. . ." have as much chance of selling as vacation trips to Baghdad. Remember, your query is like a résumé's cover letter, and if you're in a competitive industry, that cover will sell you far more than the resume will. So, you have to grab the reader with your first sentence...

So you're writing a book with chapters, and you want to know how long the chapters should be. Cool. You've spent all day looking without success. Should have been simple to get an answer. But it wasn't! Why not? The answer and the reason for the difficulty are related. The answer is "It depends". And that wasn't the answer you wanted. But don't get discouraged, I'll give you a more precise answer shortly. But first, I need to explain why you've been having difficulty and why it depends is the answer. First off you need to realize that what you are writing will affect the length of chapter you want to use. The more formal the book, the longer the chapters can be. A text book can have chapters as long...

There's power in your pen (or your computer keyboard, if you prefer). The words you write will have consequences, either positive or negative, just like the words you speak. And, like the words you speak, the words you write are out of your control once they are out in the open. Why does this matter? Because the riches don't flow as a result of negative consequences. Why Are You Writing This Booklet? This is a question you must ask yourself before you begin to write your manuscript. Are you writing to help a particular niche, to offer information, to entertain, to give an opinion? When you are motivated to act on an idea, that motivation comes from somewhere. Where does yours come from? Is...

In the last few weeks, I've run into an issue three times. Now writing isn't a big subject, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised. But I was. You see writing also isn't a subject that evokes passion in people -- especially professionals. Or maybe I should say excessive emotions rather than passion. You see writers tend to put their emotions onto the paper, not into their real lives. Maybe that's one reason writers are such a laid back bunch -- we expend the noisy emotions on paper and keep the quiet ones for real life. In any case, two of these cases involved people claiming that eBooks weren't real books. And that only printed books were worthy of serious consideration. I must be honest; one...

From our deconstruction of hundreds of Hollywood blockbusters at The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the Hollywood movies we have deconstructed are based on this template. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. The Hero's Journey:a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.c) Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be...

Sometimes you'll get to a point in your novel when you don't know what comes next. We've all been in this situation, and it can be frustrating. This is the point when many aspiring authors will be tempted to quit, or just put it down for a while until inspiration strikes. Don't allow yourself to stop. Inspiration is much more likely to strike you while you are writing. It's best to work through the block. The easiest way to do that is to write with the end in mind. Figure out how you want your story to end, and work towards that. The twelve-scene diagram is a tool that is very helpful in determining what needs to happen next in your story. The best part about it is that you can do it yourself. Here...

Have you ever noticed how quickly some persons resort to name-calling and demonizing when referring to others who hold contrary views? Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. It seems they are all guilty of such actions at one time or another. I consider such actions rhetorical bad manners. Worse, they are indicators that the person making the statements is merely attempting to bolster otherwise weak arguments. Stated differently, if you can't match the other side's facts, reasoning and logic, then attack him with outrageous criticism. Call him unpatriotic, a criminal, a threat to the community-remarks that are untruthful and which never come close to addressing real issues. Recently...

Anytime you decide to write anything, whether it's an article or a manuscript, you should congratulate yourself. Some people find writing easy, while others feel less sure about the process or their skills. Either type of writer is courageous. You know that when you write, especially if you intend to share it in any way, you open yourself to comments from readers. One of the best things you can do for your writing is to have someone read and critique it. You may feel hopeful the person will like the story, perhaps even anxious that she or he may not; but your primary goal is to get feedback that will help you create a quality result. You want someone who will take this effort seriously, and need to...

Five years ago, neither Facebook nor YouTube existed. Now Ehow, Squidoo, and other digital publishing sites saturate the Internet world. Digital storytelling, reporting, or teaching is no longer limited to content writing. Article distribution has become its own business. Ghost writing is a growing source of income. Dozens of websites exist for the sole purpose of connecting writers to article vendors. Pennames are an everyday Internet occurrence. But in the process, author accountability sometimes slides to the background. Writers are working cheap. Quality suffers. Facts get jumbled. The sorting out of sound content becomes more difficult. Look for the balanced digital magazine. Find the one that...

Each year thousands of authors publish thousands of books; fiction, no fiction reference and more, books sell in varying numbers but one thing that can strongly influence how well a book sells is its reviews. Reviews are published in industry publications, newspapers, magazines and on the internet, and you could make money by writing book reviews! If you think you would be good at writing book reviews you need to know the basics; a review is brief overview of the book - plot or content included in synopsis - with your personal opinion of its overall feel, and a final recommendation. It is to be read by those who may be interested in buying the book with a view to getting someone else's idea of how...

ting a book review can be challenging. A book review is a description of the book in question. It is basically a critical analysis of the book. Book reviews are an evaluation of the quality and content of the book. If you are writing a book review, you need to consider the meaning and significance of the book. You need to focus on the purpose of the book. You need to highlight the positives and negatives of the book. If you are looking to recommend the book, you need to present evidence to support your evaluation. Book reviews basically reflect the opinion of the reviewer. However, the review should be a fair and brief description of the book. It should help a book reader make a wise decision. When...

Whom Do You Wish to Serve? When you write an ebook, you are serving the needs of a target market, in other words the people in your chosen niche. So ask yourself the question, "Whom do you wish to serve?" Many people overlook this very important aspect of the ebook writing activity. When you know who you are writing the ebook for, you're headed off in a purposeful direction. For example, suppose you desire to write an ebook for employees experiencing stress. An ebook containing stress reduction ideas for one company may be completely inappropriate for another company. for more detials:- company may encourage the submission of an ebook for the benefit of employees, while others would minimize this...

I wrote my first novel almost 15 years ago. I had never written anything except as a school assignment. So, what qualified me to write? Well, I had read a lot; the classics, sci-fi, adventure novels, and a variety of everything else. But I also thought I had a vivid imagination that could translate well into the written word. The problem was, I had no idea where to begin. I had a few plots knocking around in my head but no clear-cut direction. So I decided to tackle a much smaller project first. I wrote a short story about my days growing up in London, and later, New York. It was only five pages, but it got me started. I still needed an opening, a storyline, and a conclusion. With that out of the...

Have you ever considered filling you time by writing? Are you a Stay-At-Home-Mom, retiree, or just someone looking to develop a part time income? I don't need to tell you about the phenomenal success of J.K. Rowling (Joanne Murray) and her Harry Potter books. She ranks as the 12th richest person in Britain with her 400 million copies in print. What an imagination! And there seemed to be no end to it. But is Ms. Rowling more imaginative than the rest of us? As children we possess an innate, vivid imagination. We had imaginary friends, we day-dreamed of imaginary places, we created our own secret worlds. But then we grew up and reality set in--the reality of school and careers; husbands or wives...

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" What does this have to do with an author that wants to learn to write? This is a classic line, that begins a classic joke; a little bit of humor that almost everyone can recognize. In fact, it's so cliché that it has been re-worked and re-done hundreds upon hundreds of time. The answers to this simple joke varies depending upon the mood of the teller and the specific situation. However, it is humor- plain and simple- basic and understandable. This concept can add value to your children's book. Here are a few simple tips that will help you incorporate humor into your manuscripts. Simple is Better When you are dealing with children, they often have a hard time...

p>Generally speaking, the passive voice of the verb (the subject has the action done to it) is weaker than the active voice (the subject does the action) in involving the reader in your story. That is crucial because as a memoir writer you are not sharing ideas but recreating life experiences to share. "Mary baked a cake" is active. Mary, the subject of the verb baked, is doing the action of baking. On the other hand, "A cake was baked by Mary" is passive. Here Mary is not the subject. The cake, which is being baked by Mary, is the subject. The action is being done to it. The passive voice has less impact than the active voice. The reader will experience it as an evasive attempt on your part to not...