50 Writing Tools
It is not recent news–these have been online since quite a couple of years–but since they were recommended to me by a fellow writer, I’ve never stopped checking these Fifty writing tools by Roy Peter Clark on Poynter Online. Perhaps they’ve been most useful to me due to English not being my mother tongue. Regardless, I think they may be of interest to anyone wanting to perfect their use of this language, and not only in the domain of journalism. Beware of adverbs? Why, it’s amazing, how irritating to the eye they now seem when I proof-read my texts and find a handful of them in the same sentence! This series of articles was a treasure chest for me, and I hope it can be one for you as well.
Expensive Books That Shouldn’t Be
I am still in the process of trying to find old children’s novels I loved and have been doing a good job. My biggest problem besides not being able to find the books on a certain website is the price.
I can find the book I’m looking for and I can see it on sale for $0.01, yet I can also find it for more than $30 elsewhere. This is a good reason to shop around because especially for older books that are hard to find, people will not hesitate to screw you over big time.
Writing Help
Walden University Website has a great section on writing. You can get more help with more writing tips like:
Da Vince Code Sequel Delayed
Millions of readers have been waiting for the sequel to Dan Brown’s bestselling novel the Da Vince Code will have to wait even longer. The publisher has said that they were hoping for October or November 2006 but it now looks as though the book will not be released until 2007.
A major factor in the delay is the big courtroom battle that Dan Brown was in recently in which he was accused of plagiarizing to write his Da Vince novel, a case that he won but in which ultimately may have taken away from him completing the sequel.
There were rumors that the book would be titled The Solomon Key but that title has since been scrapped it was announced.
Don’t Look At The Word Count
A few years ago I was writing a novel and was frustrated because I had an eye on the word count. It was for an ebook publisher and I needed to have a novel size at 60,000 words and I was literally keeping count after every sentence I typed. So it was pretty slow going.
Another author I chatted with in email gave me some of the best advice I think about to this day. She told me not to pay attention to the word count. Each novel will be the size it can be, don’t force it. If I concentrate on the amount of words I need to put it in the novel will seem forced.
She said keep writing until I have a novel that is roughly the size I need and she was right. It was much easier after the advice she gave me. So don’t spend all day looking at the word count and don’t force a 40,000 word novel into a 100,000 word book because your readers just might notice.
Getting Help With Illustration
A large majority of books needs to be illustrated, be it just the front cover, children’s books or cook books. Even if your doing self-publishing, if you can’t draw a stick figure then you need to find someone who can illustrate your novel. Here are a few places that you can begin at.
- Illustration Web
- RABZ Illustration (Fantasy Illustration)
- Dragon Pencil
- Author House
The New York Round Writers’ Conference
Regardless of the level you in writing you are welcome at the New York Round Writers’ Conference which takes place at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in Midtown Manhattan on April 28-29, 2006.
They hope to attract the beginner to the professional writer and they in turn will meet and speak with the top editors, agents, publicists, reviewers, bestselling authors and publishers in the business.
Planning for this year’s conference is proceeding rapidly. Programming for 2006 will include best-selling keynote speakers, gala Saturday evening dinner, performance by the Bowery Poetry Club, two cocktail receptions and two lunches and panel discussions on the following topics:
- Writing Book Proposals
- Negotiating Contracts
- Getting a Job in Publishing
- Under Twenty Literature
- Online Publishing
- PR and Marketing
- Independent Publishers
- Magazines and Journals
- Book Reviewing
- Writers’ Organizations
This is a great way for a new author to meet people in the book industry and learn more about this craft.
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