http://www.action-ink.com Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:01:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As most writers know, finding time to sit and write as you have a great idea is unlikely. Keep a pen and notebook with you AT ALL TIMES and you can jot down any particular inspiration or sentence/line that you have thought of. You can then refer back to your ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-writers-journal-42 A great writing lecturer once told me that, in order to write your best work and effectively edit and take criticism, you have to be fully prepared to kill your babies. What he meant (rather than brutal child murder), is that your favourite line in a poem, or paragraph in a ... http://www.action-ink.com/kill-your-babies-41 If you were a high quality editor, who got sent hundreds of manuscripts a month, or even a week, which ones do you think you’d reject without even reading? None – do I hear you say? Rubbish! Why waste the time of reading event the front page of someone’s work, ... http://www.action-ink.com/how-long-do-you-spend-making-sure-your-manuscript-is-presentable-39 Most full time authors (think J K Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Bernard Cornwell etc) will tell you that they have to treat writing as you might any other occupation: you need to have work time, and home time. Obviously if your writing doesn’t pay the bills (and, given you’re reading ... http://www.action-ink.com/workin%e2%80%99-9-to-5-37 It may be a cliché, but it is still valid advice. You need to give your readers some credit, and let them do the work: imply and suggest without blatantly spelling everything out. Your readers won’t enjoy reading your work if it seems as though it is written for people ... http://www.action-ink.com/show-don%e2%80%99t-tell-35 Edit any written work thoroughly Writers should always read over the text they have just written to check for inconsistencies or grammatical errors. Those who think that they can type away forever and not make a mistake are only kidding themselves. A good technique for reading over text is to leave your ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-top-five-writing-tips-number-5-32 Be descriptive Readers always want to feel like they are part of the story so they can visualise the experience. This way they can create a picture of the story being told or the surroundings of the descriptive text. If you use descriptive words and terms throughout your text, including references ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-top-five-writing-tips-number-4-30 Don’t be boring You need to keep the readers of your material engrossed in what you have to say. Your writing style can of course change depending on your subject matter. But if you want people to read what you have written and you want to be successful – don’t be ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-top-five-writing-tips-number-3-28 Aim your writing style at your target audience If you are writing a thesis on particle physics you may have to adapt your writing style for your target audience. If you are however writing for your local newspaper, you may have to change your style so the people who are going ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-top-five-writing-tips-number-2-26 Over the next five articles we are going to focus on five key areas that may help you to become a more proficient writer. If you are struggling to find the perfect writing job or perhaps just starting out on the path to your new career, taking heed of a ... http://www.action-ink.com/the-top-five-writing-tips-number-1-24