Internet Slang and Writing

The phenomenon you are about to read of is an atrocity that is being faced in classrooms across the US, from middle school through college, and it a blight upon the fair face of good writing conventions.  What could be so terrible as to warrant such a response?  Why, only the use of internet slang and text-speak in formal writing.  It has become so problematic that some students are actually using emoticons on test papers for essay question responses.  Emoticons.  Yes, really. (more…)

Fan Fiction: Where Stories Never End

Fan Fiction is a type of writing where fans of a certain book or series of books, movies, or other serialized entertainment keep the story going, even after the original author has finished writing.  It is written by fans, who mostly try to stick as closely to the way things were in the original works as possible, especially when it comes to characterization and motives.  Fan fiction writers call the established way an original author portrays things and characters “canon.” (more…)

Wholesale Fiction Writing Elements

Writing is something people can be taught to do well. Many will argue that there is no way to teach writing, but that simply isn’t true. Writing at it’s most basic is just another skill a person can have, like flower arranging, or gardening. Some people have a an affinity for painting, a natural sense for how different colors and shades blend together. With writing, it can be almost exactly the same. Nearly anyone can be taught to put the right words together in a way that makes sense, and is simultaneously entertaining to read. Storytellers have been made, not born, despite what you may have heard. Here are a few steps involved in telling a good story. (more…)

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is not normally a very lucrative career for a writer, but it can be a great source of additonal income for anyone who has a day job, or who maybe writes full time as a staff writer for a newspaper or magazine and just wants to earn a little extra cash.  Payments for freelance work tend to be somewhat irregular in terms of both timing and the rates of pay you can expect to earn.  Much depends on who you are writing for. (more…)

Writing a Novel Outline

A new beginning, for me, is always embarked upon with an impatient eye for the new ending that necessarily glows in the distance with all the allure of a warm, crackling fire on a lightless, chilling winter’s eve.  What lies between page one and the end is at once a hindrance and a challenge to traverse — but the journey must be made if a story is to be the result.  I don’t really adore the idea of writing a novel outline.  It seems to limit the direction the story or characters may want to take.  Jumping in with both eyes closed is like writing “by the seat of your pants.”  It’s spontaneous, fun, and ridiculously more complicated than it has to be.  But that’s the many writers prefer to write. (more…)

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