The Cuckleburr Times » improve your writing

Method Point of View

A Guest Article Writer — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:45:50 +0000

Have you been told your POV transitions are rough? That your POV head hops? That your characters lack depth? If so, perhaps this article may help you.

Consider the method-acting process developed by Constantin Stanislavski of the Moscow Theatre and continued by Leo Strasberg in Hollywood. That method is one in which the actor wills himself to become the character he’s playing. Some actors/actresses meticulously research their roles prior to filming/stage. Rene Zeilwegger worked two weeks in a London office to train for her role in “Bridget Jones’ Diary.”

What’s the point of this information in an article on writing? Thank you, I’m so glad you asked. Because in writing, the author must mentally become the character in whose point of view the author is writing the scene. Whether writing from the POV of the hero, heroine, villain, or a secondary character, the author must become that character and experience the scene from that character’s body and mind. Record only those things the POV character could experience.

Elementary example when writing from Mary’s POV:
Instead of: Mary could see John wondered what she meant.
That phrase from Mary’s POV might better read: John stared. Didn’t he understand what she meant?
Mary cannot know what John is thinking, she can only guess from his facial expression and body language.

Life experience determines a character’s thoughts, dialogue, and actions. The same is true for an internal dialogue—the character’s impressions reflect these past experiences. How would your character react differently than another in the circumstances of your scene? For instance, in my out-of-print story, The Most Unsuitable Wife, the heroine Pearl bakes pastry and bread to sell to the townspeople. When she meets a brown-eyed man, she thinks his eyes are the color of cinnamon. On the other hand, a storekeeper might think brown eyes the color of the new boots that just arrived. In my June 2010 release, Out of The Blue, heroine Deirdre thinks Mildred’s hair is like a sunset. Deirdre is a naïve young woman who’s been transported from 1845 Ireland to 2010 Texas and doesn’t realize the other woman’s hair is a freakish sight. In the September 2010 release,The Texan’s Irish Bride, heroine Cenora O’Neill believes rancher Dallas McClintock is wealthy because she saw the cash in his money belt from horses he’s sold. Living the life of a vagabond Irish Traveler, she has no concept of the funds required to operate a large ranch. Keep your POV character’s life condition in mind as your write each scene.

Don’t forget to surround the character with the senses. What does the character see, feel, taste, hear, smell, sense, and perceive as reactions from the others in the scene? Immerse the reader in the character’s impressions. Remember, though, express only what you as the POV character experience. No bouncing around. Yes, I know Nora Roberts can hop from one character to another in the same scene or paragraph. If you have her fan base and wonderful creative skill, you may too. Otherwise, follow the rules! No more than one POV change—with a smooth transition—in any scene.

Recapping, each of us is the sum of his or her experiences. Those life experiences color how we interpret and react to incidents. Keep that in mind when creating your POV character’s internal and external dialogue. If you master Method-POV, you will eliminate head hopping. More importantly, because you are deeply in the character’s POV, you will draw the reader in as well. That’s what we want, isn’t it? Readers who can’t put down our books! And, as they say on the movie set, that’s a wrap.

Article by Caroline Clemmons. As long as she can remember, Caroline Clemmons has made us adventures. Her career includes stay-at-home mom, newspaper reporter and featured columnist, assistant to the managing editor of a psychology journal, and bookkeeper. She and her husband live on a small acreage in rural North Central Texas with their dog and two cats. When not writing, Caroline loves spending time with family, reading, family history, travel, and browsing antique malls and estate sales. To learn more about Caroline and her books, please visit Caroline’s blog at http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com and her site at www.carolineclemmons.com.

Author Interview: David Bowman, Author of 300 Days of Better Writing

Kay Elizabeth — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:47:26 +0000

The interview below is conducted by Kay Elizabeth, Editor/Co-Owner of The Cuckleburr Times.

Q: Please welcome David Bowman, owner and chief editor of Precise Edit and author of 300 Days of Better Writing, which was just released for Kindle readers. Thank you for agreeing to this interview with The Cuckleburr Times. Please give our readers an overview of 300 Days of Better Writing.

A: Thank you. I am very excited about 300 Days of Better Writing. In short, this e-book provides writers with 300 daily strategies for improving writing. The general concept behind this book is simple. If writers learn one new writing strategy every day, over time their writing will greatly improve; their writing will get better for each of 300 days. As a whole, 300 Days comprises our best strategies, advice, and instruction for writing well.

Q: What is your biggest hope for this book?

A: (Laughing) What does every author hope for? Lots of money from book sales and get on Oprah! Ok, I’m joking. Some books are for creating social changes or helping people live happy, healthy lives; others are for promoting services, and so forth. It’s not just money. Sure, I’d like to make income from this book. But we only make money if we are truly providing something of value, something people want. Let me be even more serious for a moment. This book is about communication, and I am passionate about communication. Communication is how people interact. It’s how people reach their goals. It’s how we grow as individuals and societies. Many people struggle with communicating, particularly in writing. So my biggest hope is that people will use these strategies and learn to communicate effectively.

Q: Many books are available to help people become better writers, though not so many for Kindle, at least not yet. What makes 300 Days of Better Writing different?

A: Yes, there are. I own some of those books, and I’ve read through many others. Some are good; others are not so good. This book is different in several ways.
1) Practical. This book addresses a comment from a writing student many, many years ago: “Just tell me what to do.” That’s what this book does. It provides 300 answers to the question “What can I do to make my writing better?”
2) Easy-to-grasp. This book takes big topics, such as paragraph structure, and breaks them down into individual strategies. For example, instead of telling writers, “Here’s everything you need to know about clear sentences,” it says, “Here’s one thing you can do right now to make your sentences better.” I will add that the book contains a topic index for those readers who wish to read many strategies on a specific topic.
3) Instructional, not “fluffy.” Many books include cute cartoons, or tell stories about the author, or discuss the history of writing styles, or talk about various writers. Those authors are trying to entertain instead of trying to teach. In respect for the reader, 300 Days of Better Writing stays focused on instruction. 300 Days of Better Writing contains over 70 thousand words of instruction, and that’s a lot of instruction on how to write well!
4) No English degree needed. Let me toss in one more difference. This book doesn’t expect readers to have English degrees and know a lot of grammar terms. If I needed a term to explain a strategy, I first explained the term. However, readers with English degrees will find this book valuable, too. Much of the content in 300 Days of Better Writing is not taught in English programs.

Q: How would you characterize this book? Is it for novelists and story writers, or is it for a more general audience?

A: I get this question often. Who should read this book? The simple answer is “everyone.” The purpose of writing is to communicate, regardless of the document or genre. This book is for all writers who wish to communicate well, whether they are writing a business letter, writing a novel, or writing a funding proposal. The issues addressed in the book are the same for all writers.

Q: I like how you characterize writing as communication. So often we forget that that’s what we’re really trying to do. What types of information will readers find in this book?

A: This book contains 3 types of information: 1) Writing well. These are editing strategies for communicating clearly, directly, and purposefully. This category contains the most strategies by far. For example, the book has 33 unique strategies on effective sentence structure and 33 strategies for using descriptions and modifiers. 2) Writing correctly. These are techniques for using correct grammar, punctuation, and usage. 3) Writing to accomplish a purpose. These are strategies for engaging readers, persuading them to believe you, and emphasizing your ideas. I have interspersed the various types of strategies. One strategy might be about punctuation, the next about choosing powerful subjects, and the next about tone.

Q: I see that you have several e-books available as PDFs at Hostile Editing (http://hostileediting.com), including Precise Edit Training Manual and Bang! Writing for Impact. Why did you decide to write this one, and why are you making it available for Kindle?

A: The answer to both questions is “market research.” Another way to say this is “paying attention to what readers want.” Subscribers to our “Writing Tips for a Year” service asked for a single document with the strategies. We had the content already, so why not? We modified the content from the subscription service and created this book. Why Kindle? We did what every writer should: we paid attention to what readers want. The PDF of 300 Days is nearly 200 8.5” x 11” pages when printed. That’s too much for most folks to print. They will use an electronic version, and this means PDF and Kindle. I did my market research. Are people buying instructional books for Kindle? Are writing titles already available? Is the Kindle market flooded with writing books? What price range is acceptable? And so forth. We decided to publish a Kindle version as a result of our research.

Q: How did you create the Kindle version?

A: The Kindle format is simplified HTML, like a web page. We did the conversion ourselves, and we learned a lot about the process. The instructions from Amazon are lousy, I mean really lousy. But we did some research, made a few mistakes, and we figured it out. Amazon will do an automatic conversion of PDF and Word documents, but this book relies on special formatting, italics, indents, etcetera, and I read that the automatic conversion isn’t accurate. The process took about two weeks, including figuring out the conversion and publishing process. Now that we know what we’re doing, though, the next one will be much faster.

Q: Do you have a website where readers can find out more about 300 Days of Better Writing? And can readers get a sample?

A: Sure. I recommend people head to Hostile Editing, which is the site for all of our writing resources. The URL is http://HostileEditing.com. Our free e-book, Your Writing Companion, contains a sample from each of our books. I have to edit that statement. The PDF version is free, but the Kindle version costs 99 cents. That’s the lowest price Amazon will sell books.

Q: Are you planning to write any more books about writing?

A: I keep saying “No more!” but then I write another one. Yes, I have at least one more book coming out. I’m preparing a short reference guide on commas and only commas. From my 19 plus years as an editor, I found that commas are the biggest problem people have with the mechanics of writing. As with the other books, we’ll do a PDF and Kindle version.

Q: I have to ask this. You run an editing company and, I suppose, do much of the editing work yourself, you teach university writing classes, you write grants, you write books and a blog on writing. You’re busy. How do you find the time?

A: The short answer? I work hard for long hours, and I take time to refresh my mind when needed. It’s a balance, but it’s not a chore. The long answer? I love what I do and find it very satisfying. When a client says, “Gosh, this is so much clearer!” or a book reader writes, “This book has really helped me write better!” I feel pretty good about all those long hours.

Q: Thank you for taking the time to discuss 300 Days of Better Writing. Do you have any last thoughts to share with our readers?

A: Just one point about the writing in general. Writing is about three things: passion, compassion, and technique. Passion is what you want to communicate, the content you want to express. Compassion is knowing what the reader needs and wants from you. What 300 Days of Better Writing does is help people learn the techniques to merge passion and compassion. It provides the techniques for communicating the content in a manner that meets the readers’ needs and accomplishes the writers’ goals.

KE: And that concludes our interview. I wish you success with your book and thanks again for joining us here at The Cuckleburr Times.

300 Days of Better Writing can be found in the Kindle Store at Amazon.com here.

Researching The Setting For Your Novel

Thomas Ajava — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:01:27 +0000

Picking the setting of a novel is obviously a critical step. Writing a classic detective novel set in a tiny town in Siberia is going to be a struggle. That being said, picking the setting is only a small step. Next, you need to build story credibility by getting the setting right.

What is setting credibility? It is credibility derived from accuracy. Let’s say you are writing a story that is set in New York City. It’s our detective story. In the second chapter, you have the detective walk about the World Trade Center. Unless you’ve set the time of the story before 9/11, you’ve just described buildings that no longer exist. Not only is it bad taste, but the inaccuracy has shot a hole in the credibility of your story. So, how do you avoid this problem?

Many writers will only go with settings that they know. This approach has its benefit in the fact that your inherent knowledge of the area means mistakes should be easily avoided. There is, of course, a secondary benefit in that you really don’t have to do much research on the setting since you already know it. For us lazy writers [we know who we are!], this cannot be understated!

What about settings you don’t know? What if you’ve never been to New York City, but are ready to write the greatest detective novel ever? The simplest answer is to go to New York and spend a few months there to get familiar with your setting. The problem, of course, is few of us have the money or time to do this. Being a writer may be touted as glamorous, but it hardly pays well unless you are a big name.

This makes research the best approach for the majority of us. There are obviously many different ways to do research. The Internet is a great tool, but just make sure the information you have is both timely and accurate. Another great tool is, believe it or not, to rent travel documentaries on the location. You can get them through Netflix or your service of choice. Again, make sure you know when the film was shot.

To add extra credibility to your setting, try research unique characteristics about specific locations in your setting. Let’s say an important part of your story takes place in a hotel. Try to pull up pictures of the hotel online by searching the “images” function of any search engine and order brochures from the hotel. Once you have all the information, note as many unique, small details as you can about the hotel. Now write them into your story. Readers will note those details and your story will become far more credible. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

The setting of your story is incredibly important. Collecting the details surrounding it is not always the most glamorous task, but it is a critical one. Get it right and your story will benefit.

Author Bio
Thomas Ajava is with NomadJournals.com – makers of writing journals for writers and readers alike.

Marketing Questions to Improve Your Writing

David Bowman — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:02:11 +0000

One of the central tenets of marketing is that you should understand your target market segment–your intended customers. Who will buy your product or engage your service? What do those people want? What expectations do they have? How will they use your product? Most importantly, what needs do they have that your product/service satisfy?

How does this relate to writing? Actually, it’s pretty simple. Assuming that you are not just writing for your own benefit (e.g., journals, diaries), you want other people to read what you write. You have a market segment, which we will call your intended audience. Who are your readers? What do they want to read, and what type of writing characteristics do they expect? When, where, and how do they read? Why would they want to read what you have written?

As you can see, these are the same questions as mentioned in the first paragraph above. When our editors at Precise Edit work with authors, these are the questions that we ask. Let’s look at each one briefly.

1. Who are your readers? To answer this question, you need to think about such issues as age, social/cultural background, level of education, experience in reading various styles of writing, vocabulary, ability to understand complex ideas, and reading level? The answer to this question will help determine content, complexity, vocabulary, and style.

2. What do they want to read? To answer this question, think about the preferred genre of your target readers and the characteristics of the books they read, especially those books that have become popular. What characteristics do those books have in common? The answer to this question will help determine content and complexity.

3. When, where, and how do they read? To answer this question, you need to think about the reading habits of your intended readers. For example, some readers browse a few lines on the way to work while others lie in bed at night and read 40 to 60 pages. Even others may spend a couple of hours on Sunday afternoons sitting and reading. Of course, others read what they are required by their professors. This question becomes important when you think about sentence and paragraph length, as well as grammatical complexity. The answer to this question will help determine complexity, paragraph length, and structure.

4. Why would they want to read what you have written? To answer this question, you have to think carefully about your readers’ needs. For example, some people read to be amused, others to be informed, some to escape the discomfort of their own lives, and still others to find sympathy and a reflection of their own struggles. The answer to this question will help determine content and tone.

If you want to write the next best-seller (or create the most popular blog site, or become a well-read article writer), you must answer each of these questions about your intended readers. Otherwise, one of two things will likely occur, one acceptable and one disappointing. The acceptable outcome is a different group than expected reads what you write. You might be a little surprised, but at least people are reading it. The disappointing outcome is that not enough people read what you write (or none) to make the effort worthwhile.

Our recommendation: before you first put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, think carefully about your audience and answer these marketing-type questions. You will greatly improve your chance to “sell” your writing.

David Bowman is the Owner and Chief Editor of Precise Edit, a comprehensive editing, proofreading, and document analysis service for authors, students, and businesses. Precise Edit also offers a variety of other services, such as translation, transcription, and website development.

Five Ways to Shine as a Professional Writer

Dana E. Blozis — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:30:53 +0000

With the growth of social media and marketing techniques like online article marketing, it seems that everyone is a writer of one sort or another. In fact, I’ve read a handful of articles that assure the reading public that anyone can write. While this may be technically true, those of us who write for a living know that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. There is much more to the craft than meets the eye.

With this new realm of competition at our doorstep, I’ve created a list of ways that can set you apart from those who are merely dabbling in writing or writing simply for marketing’s sake.

1) Develop a website. If you don’t already have one, confirm your legitimacy as a writer or journalist by creating your own website. It can be as simple as one page which tells who you are, what types of writing you specialize in and how people can contact you. At the other end of the spectrum, it can be a multi-page site that contains bio information, a professional profile or résumé and clips of your work. Regardless of your site’s level of complexity, your site will confirm that you are a professional writer with a portfolio and published clips.

2) Create a professional profile. Unless you graduated from j-school and have been a professional writer since your career began, I’ve found that a traditional resume doesn’t cut it. Instead, I developed a two-page professional profile. It looks similar to my résumé, but it only briefly summarizes my irrelevant career prior to becoming a freelancer over four years ago. It contains sections like relevant skills (writing, editing, marketing); a sample of my client list; my relevant education; and a list of publications and websites for whom I’ve written. I have this document posted on my website so, when replying to a freelance posting or ad, I can refer the editor or prospective client to my profile without sending an attachment (hint: unless they know you, they won’t open an attachment anyway.).

3) Prepare an online portfolio. Whether you include this information on your website or use one provided by an organization like Media Bistro, you’ll need an online portfolio of your published work. It can be organized any number of ways, depending on what types of clips you have. On my site, portfolio samples are broken down by type (articles, marketing materials, and web copy). You could also break them down by publication or media type (broadcast, print, web, newspaper, magazine, etc.) Clips can take virtually any format: you can post them directly to a web page, add a *.pdf or *.doc/*.docx attachment, link to a URL, etc. As long as your portfolio is well organized and the clips are relatively current, site visitors (a.k.a. prospective clients) will be able to find what they’re looking for.

4) Proof and edit your own work. Have you ever received an e-mail or letter from a colleague or prospective client riddled with mistakes? Did it make you cringe? This is a common pet peeve of professional writers and editors, including me. I always tell (read: nag) business professionals from all industries but particularly writers and editors to make sure they proof and edit their own work prior to submission to an editor or client. Of course, the materials are likely to be proofread and copyedited by someone else, too, but if you want repeat business or additional assignments, your work must be top notch and error-free. Because so many “article marketers” are focused on selling their products and services and NOT on punctuation and spelling, your writing will be superior.

5) Hone your craft. Whether you are a self-taught or college-educated writer, continue to expand your talent by investing in quality resources (a good dictionary and thesaurus; Chicago Manual of Style; Writer’s Market; The Copyeditor’s Handbook, etc.); taking continuing education classes; and trying out different genres (business writing, creative writing, fiction, horror, romance, etc.). You’ll not only fine-tune your skills, but you’ll have a better sense of where your voice best fits in the writing world.

If you follow these five tips, you will stand out as a professional writer—not as a fly-by-night blogger, forum poster or article marketer—and you will gain confidence in your ability to market yourself and your writing and editing services. Happy writing!

You can visit Dana at her website, Virtually Yourz. She offers professional freelance writing, editorial and marketing services honed by over two decades of experience in these roles within the financial services industry.