Thursday, April 30, 2009

Guidelines For Reviewing Writing

Guidelines For Reviewing Writing
by: The StoryMaster

Writing detailed reviews is time well spent.

Reviewing itself is a writing exercise. At Writing.Com, creating detailed feedback for a fellow writer is one of the best tools available for improving your own writing. That said, if you're going to spend the time to do it, helping the author is important. There is a better chance for the ideas in a review to get through to an author if they are well presented.

Key Characteristics For Reviews

* Reviews should be honest. Helping writers improve their craft should be the mission of any reviewer. Honest opinions are what help writers improve. Giving false feedback doesn't help anyone and can lead an author down a long road to bitter disappointment.

* Reviews should be encouraging. Everyone at every level should be encouraged to continue writing! Encouraging reviews are more likely to be used by an author which means the time creating the review was well spent. Whether the author decides to use the reviewer's honest suggestions or not, the review should be motivating and encourage the author to keep writing.

* Reviews should be respectful. Regardless of an author's level of skill or talent, a reviewer should always respect that the author is an individual person. A reviewer flaunting that they are better than the author they're reviewing is not respectful and is counter productive.

* Reviews should be well rounded. While honesty is very important, a review that points out only flaws without any mention of an item's positive points is not nearly as helpful to an author as a well rounded review with both positive and negative remarks. Don't forget, the same goes for reviews that only point out positives! Even the greatest pieces of writing have room for suggestions and opinions.

* The rating should reflect the review. If you're sending a review full of corrections, it's important to consider that with your star rating selection. 5.0's shouldn't need any corrections. On the other extreme, a 1.0 should have endless errors and you couldn't possibly list them all. Offering to return and rerate the item after a round of updates makes it more likely your suggestions will be considered.

* Reviews should make good use of color, bold and italics. When reviewing, presentation is very important! Color can be used to make corrections stand out or quote small portions of the work. Emoticons can highlight important points in the review and can be creatively used to make the review feel more friendly.

The Content Of A Review

Keeping in mind the six (6) points highlighted above, a review should contain your opinion. While grammatical, typographical and other errors can be included within a review, don't forget to tell the author how the piece made you feel. Give them your thoughts about the inside of their writing, not just the outside.

Some example questions you may ask yourself about the piece to help you get your opinion across are as follows: Did the plot interest you? Were the characters believable? Did the story fit the time, place and other setting characteristics? Is there anything you would change within the story?

Incorporating these thoughts within your reviews will expand your own analytical skills allowing you to better analyze your own writing. Whether the author agrees with any of your suggestions or ideas is not relevant. You have given them another perspective on their work they would not have otherwise had. They may hear the same thoughts from a number of different people which may give them a better understanding of their readers as a whole.

Use "copied and pasted" portions of the item you are reviewing as little as possible. Posting sections of an item within your review leads to "review bloating" and takes away from the impact your comments and suggestions will have on the author.

Your Own Review Format

Developing your own format for reviewing can be a great asset. Determine what aspects of writings you like to focus on most, create a short outline to follow and start reviewing. Following this process will help keep your reviews honest and consistent. As your experience grows, you'll find ways to improve your format and your skills.

Get into the good habit of using a custom tag-line of encouragement within your reviews. Including a "Keep Writing!" or something unique and individual within your reviews goes a long way to motivating an author. We know you mean it, so don't forget to say it!

Make Reviewing a Daily Creative Writing Exercise

Remember, reviewing grows your own writing skills unlike any other writing tool. Critically analyzing and reviewing others' writings makes a writer stop and think about what works and what doesn't. Putting that into words and communicating that to another writer, ultimately helps the reviewer to improve his or her own writing skills, as well. So it's about helping others, but it's a valuable way to help ourselves!

Have Fun & Happy Reviewing!

About The Author

The StoryMaster is WebMaster @ Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests. Whether you're a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you!

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Writing Help for College Students

Writing Help for College Students
by: Tamara Owen

Your literature professor has asked you to write a 7-page essay comparing Medieval and Renaissance poetry; your economics professor wants 15 pages on how globalization is affecting the economy in three different countries; and your mathematics professor has forgotten this is a mathematics class, and wants 5 pages on the quadratic formula. And you have been staring at the computer screen for over an hour wondering how on earth you are going to do all of this in the next four days.

This is an all-too-familiar scene to many students. Many students learn of these large assignments at the beginning of the semester when they receive their class syllabi, and immediately forget about them because November seems like years away. Other students are busy with extracurricular sports, trying to adjust to being away from home for the first time, and other events and issues. Still other students are quite frankly terrified of the writing process, believing the blank page to be worse than their worst nightmare, and so these assignments get shoved aside to remain untouched until the last minute.

It is an interesting fact of college life that all students, regardless of major or discipline, are asked to write about their subject matter -- often quite extensively. While it is certainly important that all individuals be literate, and know how to read and write in a variety of capacities, styles, and genres, it is also the case that not everyone has to be a professional academic writer (www.korepetycje.com/join_us.html). Engineers need to know how to design bridges or better towel racks; pilots need to be able to take off and land safely and smoothly; and physicians need to be able to diagnose illnesses and injuries and to prescribe the correct medical interventions. None of these people needs to know how to write a term paper.

What, then, are the options for the poor student struggling in the first paragraph? What will happen to the student who is a prodigy on the piano but is facing failure because she cannot write 10 pages on Beethoven? What will happen to the next Frank Lloyd Wright who is stuck in his psychology seminar, unable to write a series of vignettes portraying various mental illnesses?

There are a few options. Most college campuses have writing labs, where many students are helped with researching and writing their papers. Many students form study groups, where they help each other through the tough assignments. Some students write their custom essays and term papers (see: http://www.korepetycje.com/indexam.html) and then pay an editor to polish them. Still others turn to professional writing services for assistance with their assignments. This is where services such as CustomPapers.com come in. We have a large staff of professional writers who specialize in writing papers about a wide variety of disciplines ranging from economics to ecology, marketing to Mozart, Hemingway to heart murmurs. We can also assist students with related projects, such as PowerPoint Presentations. In the many years of our existence, we have found tremendous success helping students with assignments of all sizes, all levels of difficulty, and all subjects.

Regardless of what type of help you choose, the important thing is that you get through college as quickly and effectively as possible. College is a step leading up to the rest of your life -- don't let a term paper be the skateboard in your path.

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

You Could Be An Author!

You Could Be An Author!
by: Joaquin de la Sierra

I started writing when I was 16 years old. To this day I love writing; I love the fact that we can translate words into images. It is incredible when I think about it. Everyone should write, writing is a way to express your feelings, what you want, what you are.

There is no excuse. With word processors, which are a godsend by the way, you can just start writing and you don’t have to worry about spelling mistakes, having to retype anything, and many other things. If you are reading this is probably because you want to write, but for some reason you haven’t done so.

If you think that writing will only take time away from you, you are wrong. Writing improves you in every way you can imagine. So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of Microsoft Word, and start writing!

Before you do that, there is something you must ask yourself. Would you write even if nobody read it? If you answered yes to that question, you can be a great author. It is true that writing doesn’t become real until you have an audience, but remember that at first no one will want to read what you have to say. Perseverance is the key. If you want to write well, you have to practice, practice, and practice.

For your writing to be successful, you also need to read a lot. Reading is great. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. If you are deciding whether you want to be an author or not, keep reading.

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about authors such as Stephen King and Dan Brown. You probably think that they are the only authors that really make $$$, well that’s simply not true. When you go to a bookstore, you see thousands of books. That means that there must be at least a few thousand successful authors out there. That’s without counting e-books, online articles, newspapers, etc. And you can be part of that! The internet is growing like never before, people from all over the world are starting to read whatever you write. It’s just an incredible opportunity.

So what do you think now? Writing is not only good for making money. Writing is also good for advertising purposes. A teacher of mine once told me “There are only two useful skills in life; to read and to write.” That’s one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard.

You are probably thinking that if you want to write, then you will have to put aside other activities. That’s completely wrong. This day I write, I work, I have a beautiful wife, I study and I’m as happy as anyone can be. You tell me if you can’t do anything other than writing. I consider writing a hobby.

So now you are probably thinking what kind of author you want to be. That’s totally up to you. Remember that you must write about a subject that is familiar to you. Ideas will just flow through your mind if you write about something you like. If you decide that you want to write a book, do so. Perhaps write about something that happened to you, or about something that you thought about at some point in your life. The things you can write about are endless! If you write a good war book, be sure to tell me, because I’m going to buy it.

Remember that success is achieved by 99% of failure. So if you were to fall, remember this and keep writing. Never stop writing. One thing that the world lacks of are good authors, there are so many open positions. If you start now, who knows, in a few years you could be making more money than Bill Gates can count. There are more and more people every day that like to read. Not because of the TV, which doesn’t help at all, but because education is greatly increasing all around the world. And since you are reading this you know how to read English and therefore, you can take advantage of this revolution.

So the bottom line is that you should start writing, and keep writing until you think about writing when you are not even writing.

About The Author

I write for a hobby, I worked for a newspaper company in the past, and I consider myself to be good at it. My website is www.truewebsite.com my e-mail is ngi@truewebsite.com.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

How Can You Find Freelance Writing Jobs?

How Can You Find Freelance Writing Jobs?
by: Niall Cinneide

Do you think that there is a big sign that reads, “Freelance Writing Jobs, Apply Within”? There just is not. In fact, you may have a hard time finding writing jobs of any type advertised in any employment magazine or newspaper either. So, how do you find freelance writing jobs? Let us talk about this for a moment and see if we can't find an idea or two that will work for you.

1. Begin at the beginning. Get the education you need to have. Learn what there is to know about the field in which you are looking for job vacancies. Having knowledge itself can open doors. This can help with step two as well.

2. When you do have that knowledge, do not forget to look towards the teachers you got it from for help in finding a niche to work in. They may have more resources than you realize.

3. Create a portfolio. Even if you never have any published work, you can still write, right? Write to fill your portfolio. Then, when a prospective employment opportunity arises, you’ll have something to provide in the way of samples.

4. Look online. Vast amounts of freelance writing jobs are offered there. If the work can be submitted online, why not look worldwide? Try doing a websearch for "freelance writing jobs".

5. Keeping striving to meet the needs of your clients 100%. When you make them happy, they will come back with other jobs for you. And, they will provide you with testimonials and referrals as well.

All of these things can work for you when you allow them to. You need to provide yourself with all the tools you need. Most importantly, this is writing. You must be able to meet your client’s needs and therefore will need to present your talents in the right light each time. When you are looking for freelance writing jobs you’ll find them across the world when you look in the right places.

About The Author

Niall Cinneide

Visit http://www.FreelanceWritingResource.com for more Articles, Resources, News and Advice about Freelance Writing.

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Friday, April 10, 2009

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle
by: Katey Coffing, Ph.D.

Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in shape.

I realized how true that saying is when I took what I called "a well-earned break" after I finished my first novel. The last few days of writing that novel felt as sweet as whipped cream--I was in a writing groove, humming along. I figured I'd take a little hiatus for a few days, then start my second book. No problem.

Those few days stretched into a week. Soon two more weeks wandered by and thumbed their noses at me. I felt guilty every time I passed my PowerBook. Then I began to avoid the computer altogether, a beautifully self-defeating habit.

Finally, twitching with dread after more than a month away, I sat down at the screen and began my next novel. Trying to write after that time away was torture. My neglected writing muscle had become flabby and whiny. It protested my sudden demands and resented being drafted to work.

For many people, the key to productivity is making writing a habit. Consistent writing breeds easier writing. If that's true for you, create a new habit.

Make a commitment to a certain amount of writing every day--a length of time or a number of words or pages to reach before you lift your butt off your chair. Each day when you've reached your goal, do something nice for yourself.

One of my published clients who loves email has chosen to write five pages each weekday before she can log in. She made getting her email a reward for completing her writing goals, and every time she slows down with her writing she remembers how much she wants to read her newsgroups and see her friends' replies. That spurs her to complete her pages, and she feels doubly triumphant when she hears "you've got mail!"

Is email not a good enough carrot for you? Find one that is, then earn it. Setting goals and rewards that make you want to keep writing create a great habit that's win/win.

Write away!

About The Author

Katey Coffing, Ph.D. is a novelist and book coach who helps women delight in writing (and finishing!) their books. Visit her at http://www.Women-Ink.com/.

To receive additional articles and tips for women writers, subscribe to Katey's ezine, The Write Calling, at http://www.Women-Ink.com/the-write-calling.htm.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?

Have You Plotted Your Story Before Writing It?
by: Nick Vernon

Creative Writing Tips –

The writer, who doesn’t have the time to plot, always finds the time to rewrite.

Sound familiar?

I’ve been guilty of this too, back in the early days of my writing apprenticeship. I was so eager to get stuck into writing my story that I wouldn’t bother with plotting.

Plotting gives you a sense of direction. It’s your map, which will lead you to write your story. Leaping into the unknown rarely works. Without a plot several things can happen….

* Our stories aren’t focused
* We lose our way
* Our characters don’t come to life because we don’t take the time to develop them
* We get stuck
* The story strays from us

And all this happens when we haven’t figured everything out first.

Your plot is the foundation of your story. It’s the skeleton, which will hold your story together. Your plot is there to work everything out first – to see if it can be worked out, and then flesh out that skeleton with other elements that make a story.

Plotting is the difference between writing a story for yourself and writing one for an audience. Writing for ourselves doesn’t require too much strain because we only have ourselves to please. It’s when we have to please our readers that the hard work begins.

If you are aiming to sell your stories, plotting is a must.

Have you plotted your story before writing it?

About The Author

Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

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Saturday, April 4, 2009

Where to Find Writing Jobs Online

Where to Find Writing Jobs Online
by: Abdallah Khamis Abdallah

A freelance writer’s best resource of finding jobs online are Job boards or sites. While some boards are geared specifically to the freelancer, many others also list other type of jobs.

Some job boards allow freelancers to register their profiles and credentials for prospective employers to peruse, others allow resumes and classified ads to be posted. Other sites such as www.elance.com enable employers to post jobs and freelancers to bid fees for the jobs. The site earns a place for any jobs awarded. There are other sites similar to www.elance.com such as www.contractedwork.com.

There are many writing job boards online and it is not that difficult to discover them. Some Jobs boards provide links to other job sites and the list could be a bit long.

Searching through the major search engines can also provide an exhaustive list of writing jobs. Use key words such as:

* Freelance writing Jobs boards
* Writers Wanted
* Writing Jobs
* Copywriting Jobs
* Technical writing Jobs
* Submission guidelines.

To make your task of searching for writing jobs online, we have provided you with the following list of sites. We hope you will find what you want.

* http://www.emoonlighter.com
* http://www.elance.com
* http://www.burryman.com/freelance .html
* http://www.recruitmedia.co.uk/jobs.asp
* http://scriptlance.com
* http://www.ants.com
* http://www.e-work.com
* http://www.freeagent.com
* http://www.freelancejobs.com
* http://www.freelancers.com
* http://www.careerpath.com
* http://www.monster.com
* http://www.sunoasisjobs.com
* http://www.ajb.dni.us
* http://www.employmentall.com
* http://www.epclassifieds.com
* http://www.freelanceexperts.com
* http://www.copyeditorjobs.com
* http://www.mediabistro.com
* http://www.journalismjobs.com
* http://www.newsjobs.com
* http://www.freelancebbs.com
* http://www.freelancers.com
* http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com
* http://www.writergazette.com/jobboard.shtml
* http://www.freelancejobsearch.com
* http://www.freelancebank.com
* http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com
* http://www.smarterwork.com
* http://www.codelance.com
* http://www.looksurf.com
* http://www.csne.org/jobs/postings.html

If you have checked the above sites a number of times in two or three months and you have not got any job. I suggest you assess your skills and consider taking some relevant writing courses. You may also supplement these with a college degree in a relevant field to enhance your marketability. While doing so do some writing exercises and write articles on a wide variety of topics and post them on to articles submission sites online.

About The Author

Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghostwriter. To learn more about how you and your business can benefit from viral and credibility marketing solutions visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com.
quantumpro@lycos.com

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Promoting Your Online Writing Portfolio

Promoting Your Online Writing Portfolio
by: The StoryMaster

Dear Writing Reader,

One of the most popular questions from Authors on my site, Writing.Com, is: "How do I promote my Online Writing Portfolio outside of Writing.Com?"

Here are my top five tips for increasing the amount of exposure to anyone's online Writing Portfolio:

Tip #1: Add your Online Writing Portfolio URL to your email signatures.

The simplest way to promote your Portfolio's URL is to add it to the email signature of any and all email accounts you have. With just a few minutes of your time, you'll turn any correspondence you have into referral generating machines! Here's a couple quick examples:

Check out my portfolio!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

or

I'm an Author @ Writing.Com!
http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

Tip #2: Link to your Public Portfolio from your homepage or other sites you control.

Next on the simplicity ladder is linking to your public portfolio from your personal homepage or business website. You can provide your site's visitors with a text link or create a logo for your online portfolio.

Ebay and other auction sites are also great places to get added exposure. The next time you list something for sale, don't forget to add your portfolio URL and you'll have your site's visitor count on the rise in no time!

Tip #3: Directly invite family, friends, teachers, coworkers, publishers, agents, editors and more to visit your online writing portfolio.

Inviting your own family and friends doesn't always have the highest appeal... Afterall, its not necessarily their opinion you want and you can ask them to read your writing any time you want. But, reading something online is different and often opens up someone to provide a better and more realistic critique of your work.

Plus, these real life contacts may be the one to forward your portfolio URL to someone else's friend or family member who lends that helping hand or offers the right word of encouragement to brighten your day.

Teachers, co-workers, editors, publishers and other associates are also great people to refer!

Tip #4: Create business cards with your online writing portfolio URL and hand them to friends, associates and other people you may meet who are interested in reading or writing.

Anyone can create their own business cards. The least expensive route is to purchase ready-to-print business card paper sold at stores such as Staples, OfficeMax, Walmart and others. The paper is heavy cover stock and is perferated which makes each business card clean and easy to separate! If you'd like the whole thing done for you, Staples, Kinkos and others business shops offer complete and inexpensive business card creation services.

When you design your own cards to hand out, include basic information about your portfolio. Your Portfolio URL and email address are two things that everyone should include. You might also include a 'tag line' about your writing style or favorite genres. For example: "Specializing in Horror and Science Fiction" or "Writing Romance and Mystery Novels of Young Adults" or "Featuring the action packed adventures of 'Jack Rubble'".

Tip #5: Include your Portfolio URL when posting in relevant newsgroups, groups or discussion forums.

Posting your Public Portfolio URL on non-Writing.Com message boards, clubs and newsgroups can bring tremendous amounts of interest. There are countless online gathering places that focus on specific genres such as romance, sci-fi, fanfiction... or more general writing such as poetry or short stories.

Remember: Internet etiquette states that you should not post in a newsgroup or forum unless your post can stay on topic. Bulk emailing and other "spam" like tactics are NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated by most websites and webmasters!

Otherwise... Good luck and have fun promoting your writing portfolio!

~~ The StoryMaster
http://StoryMaster.Writing.Com/
http://www.Writing.Com/

About The Author

The StoryMaster is WebMaster of Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests.

Whether you're a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you! Over 295,000 members have joined and posted over 825,000 literary items.

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