By Tommy Johnson
If you are looking for an article writer software you are in the right place. Creating top quality content on subject areas that you know little about can be very difficult. Think of how much time you would spend in creating articles! If your articles have an excellent quality but it costs you a fortune you need to find a quick way to get out of it.
This software package makes article writing quick and easy. You can create high quality articles on any subject in just minutes. You can for example: Create multiple niche web sites and continually post new content on them or submit to free article sites and get hundreds of back links to your web sites! You can also get into the business of writing articles for other webmasters on any topic they want!
With this article writer software you can create high quality, keyword-rich content to get quickly on the major search engines. Create your own writing style and use this article writing software to build your articles containing synonyms & millions of crossed related high quality words." Discover profitable keywords in any niche imaginable. It will help you get on yahoo, msn, google and all major search engines easily. More Traffic, Links, Affiliates & Sales. See by yourself how powerful this article writer software can be for your online business. you would like to have a solution to increase your productivity and accelerate your article writing speed.
If you create Websites you also know how time consuming it is to research information on a topic you know nothing about and how difficult it is to write when you don't have any passion in this field; your websites get stuck in google's supplementary results because of duplicate content and you want a quick solution to fix that. If your your english sucks you probably want a software to automate the article writing procedures and make you appear as a excellent writer. Now you can try this ultimate and superb article writer software.
www.Sixmarket.com/marketing
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tommy_Johnson
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Article Writing Secrets - A Simple 4 Step Formula for Writing Lots of Great Articles
By Jeff Herring
Many people wonder, "How am I going to write my first article? How am I going to write enough to make this worthwhile to get enough traffic?"
Here's how. I'm going to give you five simple words. It's a four-step formula. The first step has one word. The second step has one word. The third step has two words. The fourth step has one word.
Step 1: Begin
Remember, I told you this was simple and powerful and profound when you use it. Just begin, start. Write your first article and get it out there. So start, begin. You've got to if you're going to do anything with this.
Write this down, especially you perfectionists out there.
You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
Get going!
Step 2: Continue
After you've begun, continue. What I have found to be very very true now that I've been doing it for many years is that writing is not hard. It's sitting down to write that can be difficult, in the midst of everything else going on and how good we are at putting things off. That's the other twin of the two P's - perfectionism and procrastination. So after you've started, continue. That's why when I send out those emails about write your first article, the subject line is "Write your first or next article this weekend or today."
So begin...continue (that means you stay in the flow). Here's what will happen to you. I want you to watch for it. I want you to trust that it's coming. I want you to anticipate it and I want you to grin when it comes.
Once you've begun and once you continue to stay in the flow, here's Step 3.
Step 3: Article eyes
You will begin to see, if not the entire world and everything in it that you experience, but at least your niche through article eyes.
Once you get into the flow of this - you don't have to do it full time and live it, eat it, breathe it, living like I do - just start and just stay in the flow, continue, and you'll begin to see at least your niche, your area of expertise, through article eyes.
Step 4: Article-ize
Step 4 is a little corny but it works, because when you start and when you continue and when you've been able to see the world through article eyes, you're able to do Step 4, which is article-ize your experiences, your niche, what people say to you, what people ask you.
I challenge you, I dare you to take me up on this and do this - begin, continue - and watch what happens when you start to see things and think "I can write an article about that." I want you to grin when it comes and send me an email.
And now I would like to offer you free access to 2 of my Instant Article Templates when you subscribe to my free Article Marketing Minute, a 52 week audio/video newsletter on Article Marketing. You can get your instant access at http://www.ArticleMarketingMinute.com
From Jeff Herring - The Internet Article Guy & the Great Article Marketing Network
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring
Many people wonder, "How am I going to write my first article? How am I going to write enough to make this worthwhile to get enough traffic?"
Here's how. I'm going to give you five simple words. It's a four-step formula. The first step has one word. The second step has one word. The third step has two words. The fourth step has one word.
Step 1: Begin
Remember, I told you this was simple and powerful and profound when you use it. Just begin, start. Write your first article and get it out there. So start, begin. You've got to if you're going to do anything with this.
Write this down, especially you perfectionists out there.
You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
Get going!
Step 2: Continue
After you've begun, continue. What I have found to be very very true now that I've been doing it for many years is that writing is not hard. It's sitting down to write that can be difficult, in the midst of everything else going on and how good we are at putting things off. That's the other twin of the two P's - perfectionism and procrastination. So after you've started, continue. That's why when I send out those emails about write your first article, the subject line is "Write your first or next article this weekend or today."
So begin...continue (that means you stay in the flow). Here's what will happen to you. I want you to watch for it. I want you to trust that it's coming. I want you to anticipate it and I want you to grin when it comes.
Once you've begun and once you continue to stay in the flow, here's Step 3.
Step 3: Article eyes
You will begin to see, if not the entire world and everything in it that you experience, but at least your niche through article eyes.
Once you get into the flow of this - you don't have to do it full time and live it, eat it, breathe it, living like I do - just start and just stay in the flow, continue, and you'll begin to see at least your niche, your area of expertise, through article eyes.
Step 4: Article-ize
Step 4 is a little corny but it works, because when you start and when you continue and when you've been able to see the world through article eyes, you're able to do Step 4, which is article-ize your experiences, your niche, what people say to you, what people ask you.
I challenge you, I dare you to take me up on this and do this - begin, continue - and watch what happens when you start to see things and think "I can write an article about that." I want you to grin when it comes and send me an email.
And now I would like to offer you free access to 2 of my Instant Article Templates when you subscribe to my free Article Marketing Minute, a 52 week audio/video newsletter on Article Marketing. You can get your instant access at http://www.ArticleMarketingMinute.com
From Jeff Herring - The Internet Article Guy & the Great Article Marketing Network
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring
Goal Setting For You And Your Writing
By Shannon Evans
Goal setting is a difficult task to make time and energy to do. Goal setting is a significant task that a good writer will force themselves to do on a regular basis. Writing goals down makes them real, in-your-face, and easier to commit to actually doing. You know this. I know this. Then why do so many authors struggle with creating goals and objectives for their writing projects? Because they are afraid to decide what they want and make a plan to get whatever it is they want.
Goals define who you are. They act as the map to where we want to go and help us to choose the right highways and by-ways that get us to our destination. Goals are not just dreams hastily scribbled down. Goals are focused purpose-filled ideas that we want to bring to fruition.
Your written goals should follow the SMART test:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
So, what are you going to do? Are you going to write a killer novel or perhaps a non-fiction self-help book. Why is this something that is important to do at this time? What do you want to accomplish with this writing goal for the long range plan you might have? How are you going to do it?
Perhaps you plan to write a book about professional style day planners. It is important because there is much that goes into deciding what day planner to purchase for all types of professional people. You need to write this book because you intend to launch a speaking career next fall on planning and scheduling in the corporate world. You have set aside 6 months for writing, editing, and revising the book. You know it takes 4 months to get your book from that final draft to bound copy in your hands.
Here is a sample goal written to help you meet that plan:
I will develop and write a first draft of a 120 page book on professional style day planners beginning January first and ending March 31. I will edit, revise, and rewrite my initial finished draft between April 1 and June 30. I will have the final finished and printed copy of my book in hand by December 31.
Can you create sub-goals and objectives to make this happen? Absolutely! A writer's sub-goals are generally related to how long they will write or edit or conduct research each day and each week for their project.
When you write down your goals you are far more likely to follow through and take action. Having copies of your goals handy for regular review keeps your commitment to your project fresh. Measurable specific terms for your goals are important to gauge your progress. Giving your goals definite start and finish times keeps you focused and moving forward.
Devise a realistic writing plan with attainable goals that are realistic. Review your list of goals often to keep them fresh in your mind. Remember to set the bar high enough that achieving the goal is a satisfying experience. "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going " says Earl Nightingale in his personal development course outline. Decide what you want in your writing and make a plan to get it. Goal setting can significantly increase your personal probability of success.
Setting Goals for You and Your Writing
Shannon Evans
Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of http://www.mywritingmentor.com lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a "ferry ride from Seattle."
She works with her two Labrador assistant editors, Mocha and Luke, and her feline copy edit assistants, Caesar and Yoda. Shannon is widely recognized as one of the top writing coaches for non-fiction authors. With over 17 years teaching composition and technical writing to native and non-native English speaking students she knows how to help every writer make every word count.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Evans
Goal setting is a difficult task to make time and energy to do. Goal setting is a significant task that a good writer will force themselves to do on a regular basis. Writing goals down makes them real, in-your-face, and easier to commit to actually doing. You know this. I know this. Then why do so many authors struggle with creating goals and objectives for their writing projects? Because they are afraid to decide what they want and make a plan to get whatever it is they want.
Goals define who you are. They act as the map to where we want to go and help us to choose the right highways and by-ways that get us to our destination. Goals are not just dreams hastily scribbled down. Goals are focused purpose-filled ideas that we want to bring to fruition.
Your written goals should follow the SMART test:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
So, what are you going to do? Are you going to write a killer novel or perhaps a non-fiction self-help book. Why is this something that is important to do at this time? What do you want to accomplish with this writing goal for the long range plan you might have? How are you going to do it?
Perhaps you plan to write a book about professional style day planners. It is important because there is much that goes into deciding what day planner to purchase for all types of professional people. You need to write this book because you intend to launch a speaking career next fall on planning and scheduling in the corporate world. You have set aside 6 months for writing, editing, and revising the book. You know it takes 4 months to get your book from that final draft to bound copy in your hands.
Here is a sample goal written to help you meet that plan:
I will develop and write a first draft of a 120 page book on professional style day planners beginning January first and ending March 31. I will edit, revise, and rewrite my initial finished draft between April 1 and June 30. I will have the final finished and printed copy of my book in hand by December 31.
Can you create sub-goals and objectives to make this happen? Absolutely! A writer's sub-goals are generally related to how long they will write or edit or conduct research each day and each week for their project.
When you write down your goals you are far more likely to follow through and take action. Having copies of your goals handy for regular review keeps your commitment to your project fresh. Measurable specific terms for your goals are important to gauge your progress. Giving your goals definite start and finish times keeps you focused and moving forward.
Devise a realistic writing plan with attainable goals that are realistic. Review your list of goals often to keep them fresh in your mind. Remember to set the bar high enough that achieving the goal is a satisfying experience. "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going " says Earl Nightingale in his personal development course outline. Decide what you want in your writing and make a plan to get it. Goal setting can significantly increase your personal probability of success.
Setting Goals for You and Your Writing
Shannon Evans
Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of http://www.mywritingmentor.com lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a "ferry ride from Seattle."
She works with her two Labrador assistant editors, Mocha and Luke, and her feline copy edit assistants, Caesar and Yoda. Shannon is widely recognized as one of the top writing coaches for non-fiction authors. With over 17 years teaching composition and technical writing to native and non-native English speaking students she knows how to help every writer make every word count.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Evans
Creative Writing Prompts Can Help You Get Started - Re-started & Finished In Your Writing Projects
By Dan Goodwin
Whether you've been struggling for ideas for new creative writing projects, getting stuck with where to take existing work, or trying to find the best ways to finish off your writing, using writing prompts can help.
A writing prompt is just a phrase or idea that gives your imagination a little boost to get going, and sets you off in a new direction, that you may not have thought of yourself. Think of writing prompts as a squirt of fuel on the fading embers of your writing that you thought were were about to die out for good.
Here's how prompts can help at each of the following stages of a writing project:
Getting Started
As writers we often complain of a lack of ideas, having nothing to get us going. How to have more ideas is a topic for another article, and in the mean time, a great way to get your creative juices flowing again is to use a writing prompt.
It's best to be spontaneous and go with what inspires you at the time, so scan through a few prompts you've found, or compiled yourself, and go with the first one that grabs your attention. Then start writing. The important part is to get going, don't worry about where your writing is heading, focus just on enjoying the story and ideas that are unfolding before you.
Getting Re-Started
There will always be writing projects you've begun that have come to a standstill for some reason. Sometimes they've reached a natural conclusion, but often you'll know that there's more potential there to explore. Which is where creative writing prompts come in.
Re-read the last section of your writing, then browse through a few prompts and take the first one that interests or inspires you. Just start writing. You don't have to begin from the precise point where your writing project ended. As you set off on your new piece of writing, because your unfinished piece is fresh in your mind, you'll naturally find ways of connecting the two. It may take 10 words, it may take a few hundred, but the energy inspired by the writing prompt will connect with the point where your writing project paused, and you'll be off again.
Getting Finished
Maybe you're someone who finds it easier to begin writing projects than to end them? This is the case with many other writers, you're far from alone. Again you can use a creative writing prompt to help you, but in this scenario it's a little back to front.
Familiarize yourself with how your current piece of writing ended. With this fresh in your thoughts, pick a writing prompt that catches your interest. Now imagine this prompt being the final sentence or point where your writing will end. How can bridge you the gap between where your writing finished and where the prompt is? Just asking this question will spur your creative mind into action. Try this with a few different prompts and you build up plenty of possible endings for your writing. Then go with what feels best.
Creative writing prompts are a very valuable tool for any writer, and can help whichever stage of a writing project you're at.
To get started with some creative writing prompts and exercises right away, head over to http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.com now for your free 5 part ecourse.
From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Goodwin
Whether you've been struggling for ideas for new creative writing projects, getting stuck with where to take existing work, or trying to find the best ways to finish off your writing, using writing prompts can help.
A writing prompt is just a phrase or idea that gives your imagination a little boost to get going, and sets you off in a new direction, that you may not have thought of yourself. Think of writing prompts as a squirt of fuel on the fading embers of your writing that you thought were were about to die out for good.
Here's how prompts can help at each of the following stages of a writing project:
Getting Started
As writers we often complain of a lack of ideas, having nothing to get us going. How to have more ideas is a topic for another article, and in the mean time, a great way to get your creative juices flowing again is to use a writing prompt.
It's best to be spontaneous and go with what inspires you at the time, so scan through a few prompts you've found, or compiled yourself, and go with the first one that grabs your attention. Then start writing. The important part is to get going, don't worry about where your writing is heading, focus just on enjoying the story and ideas that are unfolding before you.
Getting Re-Started
There will always be writing projects you've begun that have come to a standstill for some reason. Sometimes they've reached a natural conclusion, but often you'll know that there's more potential there to explore. Which is where creative writing prompts come in.
Re-read the last section of your writing, then browse through a few prompts and take the first one that interests or inspires you. Just start writing. You don't have to begin from the precise point where your writing project ended. As you set off on your new piece of writing, because your unfinished piece is fresh in your mind, you'll naturally find ways of connecting the two. It may take 10 words, it may take a few hundred, but the energy inspired by the writing prompt will connect with the point where your writing project paused, and you'll be off again.
Getting Finished
Maybe you're someone who finds it easier to begin writing projects than to end them? This is the case with many other writers, you're far from alone. Again you can use a creative writing prompt to help you, but in this scenario it's a little back to front.
Familiarize yourself with how your current piece of writing ended. With this fresh in your thoughts, pick a writing prompt that catches your interest. Now imagine this prompt being the final sentence or point where your writing will end. How can bridge you the gap between where your writing finished and where the prompt is? Just asking this question will spur your creative mind into action. Try this with a few different prompts and you build up plenty of possible endings for your writing. Then go with what feels best.
Creative writing prompts are a very valuable tool for any writer, and can help whichever stage of a writing project you're at.
To get started with some creative writing prompts and exercises right away, head over to http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.com now for your free 5 part ecourse.
From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Goodwin
Lost, Metamorphosis, Riverworld, and the Theme of Enigma in Writing
By Will Kalif
You might be wondering what these three very different pieces of writing have in common. They share a common and very important theme and behind that theme is a secret.
In the television series Lost our group of characters are on an island and they have no idea where, why, or what is going on. In Kafka's metamorphosis the main character wakes up one morning to discover he is an insect, and in Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld saga every person that ever existed one day wakes up on the bank of a 12 million mile long river. So what do these three have in common?
The writer in each case has taken a very common theme and delivered it in a unique way. The theme is enigma and mystery. Why is all this happening and what is going on? Now, you can look at it from this level and be done with it. But the real point of the writing and of the circumstances of the characters in each piece is to mirror our human existence. Each work makes you look at your life and your existence and hopefully makes you think twice about it. Is your life no less enigmatic than just crashing on a mysterious island? Do you take for granted that your physical being is "human" in shape? Wouldn't it be normal if you were, we all were, insects? And for all purposes didn't you just kind of wake up one day? Might not have been on the side of a river but that's not really relevant. You just kind of came into existence and awareness. And well isn't it all kind of strange?
This is the real task and goal of the writers in these three pieces of work. By posing a set of circumstances that are really bizarre, enigmatic, mysterious and puzzling they are saying to us "Isn't the life we consider real just like this?" An enigma isn't it?
Will Kalif is the author of two epic fantasy novels and is currently working on four more. He finds his need to write a bit enigmatic. Visit his website: StormTheCastle.com - Creativity Unleashed
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Kalif
Will Kalif - EzineArticles Expert Author
You might be wondering what these three very different pieces of writing have in common. They share a common and very important theme and behind that theme is a secret.
In the television series Lost our group of characters are on an island and they have no idea where, why, or what is going on. In Kafka's metamorphosis the main character wakes up one morning to discover he is an insect, and in Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld saga every person that ever existed one day wakes up on the bank of a 12 million mile long river. So what do these three have in common?
The writer in each case has taken a very common theme and delivered it in a unique way. The theme is enigma and mystery. Why is all this happening and what is going on? Now, you can look at it from this level and be done with it. But the real point of the writing and of the circumstances of the characters in each piece is to mirror our human existence. Each work makes you look at your life and your existence and hopefully makes you think twice about it. Is your life no less enigmatic than just crashing on a mysterious island? Do you take for granted that your physical being is "human" in shape? Wouldn't it be normal if you were, we all were, insects? And for all purposes didn't you just kind of wake up one day? Might not have been on the side of a river but that's not really relevant. You just kind of came into existence and awareness. And well isn't it all kind of strange?
This is the real task and goal of the writers in these three pieces of work. By posing a set of circumstances that are really bizarre, enigmatic, mysterious and puzzling they are saying to us "Isn't the life we consider real just like this?" An enigma isn't it?
Will Kalif is the author of two epic fantasy novels and is currently working on four more. He finds his need to write a bit enigmatic. Visit his website: StormTheCastle.com - Creativity Unleashed
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Kalif
Will Kalif - EzineArticles Expert Author
How Do I Write A Book About My Life?
By Azhar Victor
A Book About Life. Is it Only For The Rich And Famous?
How do I write a book about my life? It is certainly not a question posed only by the rich, famous and powerful. Actually, those who belong to this group of people, need not really bother much about such a question because they can readily get all the help they would need if ever they wish to write a book about their life. They have all the means to do so. All it takes is for them to express their intention and others will get the job done. This may even include the hiring of a ghost writer. Sounds familiar? I would rather like to believe that the question is more often asked by ordinary folks who have extraordinary stories to share. However, In sharing such stories through writing a book, there are many challenges to be overcome. The first of these is, to start writing.
The 6 Essential Steps To Getting Started
1. Talk about it and think it through
2. List the things you want to write about
3. Gather the required information. Verify it
4. Mark and organise the information by topic or chapter
5. Start writing the first sentence, paragraph or page
6. Put aside perfection. It causes blockage and even paralysis
Why Write And What Do You Write About?
Apart from monetary gains, you should do it as an invaluable contribution to your children, grandchildren, your extended family and even society. There are lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared. Others can learn about how you met and overcame the many challenges in your life. How did you stay motivated to cope with the trials and tribulations of life? Write about the good and bad, the happy and sad, the sweet and bitter, the pain and gain. Like the song goes "so much to do, if we only had the time, only the time". It is the same with writing a book about your life,you will be constrained only by time. Therefore, it is important that you decide what you want to write about right from the start.
Getting Assistance
Apart from professional writers or those who write well, there are many people who may be held back by concerns over details such as spelling, grammar as well as the appropriate use of adjectives and verbs. In this regard, we can certainly ask someone who is good at writing to help us. This again depends on whether they would they be willing to do so in addition to the question of payment for services rendered. A better alternative would be to use a good Dictionary or Thesaurus. Yet another option would be to use software to assist us with our writing. There are many available online offering a variety of features. To learn more about one such software, click here
Congratulations on having decided that you want to write a book about your life. Do not fret about the little things like grammar, alternative words and phrases and things like that. To view a software that may be the answer to your needs, visit this site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Azhar_Victor
A Book About Life. Is it Only For The Rich And Famous?
How do I write a book about my life? It is certainly not a question posed only by the rich, famous and powerful. Actually, those who belong to this group of people, need not really bother much about such a question because they can readily get all the help they would need if ever they wish to write a book about their life. They have all the means to do so. All it takes is for them to express their intention and others will get the job done. This may even include the hiring of a ghost writer. Sounds familiar? I would rather like to believe that the question is more often asked by ordinary folks who have extraordinary stories to share. However, In sharing such stories through writing a book, there are many challenges to be overcome. The first of these is, to start writing.
The 6 Essential Steps To Getting Started
1. Talk about it and think it through
2. List the things you want to write about
3. Gather the required information. Verify it
4. Mark and organise the information by topic or chapter
5. Start writing the first sentence, paragraph or page
6. Put aside perfection. It causes blockage and even paralysis
Why Write And What Do You Write About?
Apart from monetary gains, you should do it as an invaluable contribution to your children, grandchildren, your extended family and even society. There are lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared. Others can learn about how you met and overcame the many challenges in your life. How did you stay motivated to cope with the trials and tribulations of life? Write about the good and bad, the happy and sad, the sweet and bitter, the pain and gain. Like the song goes "so much to do, if we only had the time, only the time". It is the same with writing a book about your life,you will be constrained only by time. Therefore, it is important that you decide what you want to write about right from the start.
Getting Assistance
Apart from professional writers or those who write well, there are many people who may be held back by concerns over details such as spelling, grammar as well as the appropriate use of adjectives and verbs. In this regard, we can certainly ask someone who is good at writing to help us. This again depends on whether they would they be willing to do so in addition to the question of payment for services rendered. A better alternative would be to use a good Dictionary or Thesaurus. Yet another option would be to use software to assist us with our writing. There are many available online offering a variety of features. To learn more about one such software, click here
Congratulations on having decided that you want to write a book about your life. Do not fret about the little things like grammar, alternative words and phrases and things like that. To view a software that may be the answer to your needs, visit this site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Azhar_Victor
The Imagination Principles
By Joshua Corin
The bookshelves at your local brick-and-mortar bookstores are teeming with how-to-write manuals. For the young fiction writer, there are classics such as E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and John Gardner's The Art of Fiction, plus whole series devoted to specific prose concerns like plot construction and character development. For the budding playwright, notable must-haves include Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing, with its dialectic approach, and Jeffrey Hatcher's The Art and Craft of Playwriting, with its more Aristotilian approach. For the up-and-coming screenwriter, some selections would have to be Syd Field's nuts-and-bolts Screenplay and Christopher Vogel's hugely influential The Writer's Journey.
But what about someone like me? I've always wanted to excel as a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Surely, I thought, there has to be some tools which apply to all three. And so over the years, I distilled a list of ten hard-and-fast principles that can apply to all contemporary storytelling, both prose and scripts:
1. Show, don't tell. Audiences (and readers) are always much more engaged in action than they ever are in speeches. Show your characters in pursuit of their goals. Show them succeed. Show them fail.
2. Keep it simple. Our most memorable stories are our simplest ones. Romeo & Juliet. Jane Eyre. It's a Wonderful Life. Note the difference, however, between simplicity and simpleness.
3. Even if you don't know where you are, always know where you're going. Would you get in a car and drive aimlessly for three hours a day every day? Sitting down to write without a benchmark in mind is nothing more than a creative exercise. You must always have a goal (even if it's as mundane as Write for Three Hours or Get Protagonist Off-Stage).
4. Begin late, end early. By which I mean this: always start your play at the precipice of the exposition, right before the inciting incident. Give us a few minutes to know your characters and then dump them head-first into your plot pit. Or begin in medias res and force the audience to catch up. And by all means, when your protagonist has achieved his objective, End Your Story. Anticlimaxes are so...anticlimactic.
5. Nobody cares about someone who does nothing. Despite critical misinterpretation, Hamlet is very much not a play about a man who does nothing. The Danish prince in fact does many, many things. He's just tremendously neurotic (which is why he was such a perfect character for our tremendously neurotic 20th century). Always have your main character in pursuit of a goal. Goncharev's Oblomov, the most slothful character ever created, is assertively slothful.
6. Change is good. This applies to both plot and character. Keep your plot twisting in an organic and ingenious fashion and your audiences will be enthralled. Similarly, show your characters twist as well. Have them change through the course of the tale. High Noon's sheriff is very much not the same person he was at the beginning. Neither is A Doll House's Nora Helmer or Great Expectation's Pip.
7. Save your best for last. Just as anticlimaxes are anticlimactic, climaxes must be the absolute peak of audience engagement in your material. Save your best lines, best moment, best twists for your finale. End with a bang. Leave them breathless.
8. If you wouldn't want to read it, don't write it. Like most of these rules, this is fairly self-explanatory. "Write what you know" is the mistaken form of this adage. Write what you want to know. Write what you need to know. Just as audiences love an active, engaged character, so will they love the work of an active, engaged storyteller.
9. Plot = character = theme = style = setting = genre. This is my favorite rule on the list, and the one most easily forgotten. Just as form should balance content, content must in turn balance itself. It's no coincidence that the chaos of A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place in a labrynthine forest. In a great work of literature, every element should directly relate to each other. It's not linear; it's circular.
10. All rules are made to be broken. But you must understand why the rules work in order to understand the circumstances in which they can be bent. James Joyce didn't write Ulysses in a vacuum.
Finally, the best preparation any person can have to be an artist of any kind is to be an audience. Read and view everything. Ask yourself what works. Ask yourself what doesn't. And then ask yourself what's always the most important question: why? Let curiosity lead your imagination and you will never, ever be at a loss.
Joshua Corin spent seven years at the State University of New York at Binghamton, and all he got to show for it was a Bachelor's degree, two Master's degrees, three consecutive assistantships, and mononucleosis. Some of his credits include the screenplay WINDFALL, which won first place in the Open Door Contest co-sponsored by Dimension Films; the one-act play "Eventually" which was a finalist for the Heideman Award at the Humana Festival; the two-act comedy Vagrants in Love which has been performed in states as politically varied as Texas and Massachusetts; the three-act drama POP APOCALYPSE, which holds a special place in his heart; the two-act drama NIGHTLIGHT, which doesn't; the screenplay SNOWJOB, which is circulating Hollywood; and NUCLEAR WINTER WONDERLAND, which is being published in October 2008 by Kunati.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Corin
The bookshelves at your local brick-and-mortar bookstores are teeming with how-to-write manuals. For the young fiction writer, there are classics such as E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and John Gardner's The Art of Fiction, plus whole series devoted to specific prose concerns like plot construction and character development. For the budding playwright, notable must-haves include Lajos Egri's The Art of Dramatic Writing, with its dialectic approach, and Jeffrey Hatcher's The Art and Craft of Playwriting, with its more Aristotilian approach. For the up-and-coming screenwriter, some selections would have to be Syd Field's nuts-and-bolts Screenplay and Christopher Vogel's hugely influential The Writer's Journey.
But what about someone like me? I've always wanted to excel as a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Surely, I thought, there has to be some tools which apply to all three. And so over the years, I distilled a list of ten hard-and-fast principles that can apply to all contemporary storytelling, both prose and scripts:
1. Show, don't tell. Audiences (and readers) are always much more engaged in action than they ever are in speeches. Show your characters in pursuit of their goals. Show them succeed. Show them fail.
2. Keep it simple. Our most memorable stories are our simplest ones. Romeo & Juliet. Jane Eyre. It's a Wonderful Life. Note the difference, however, between simplicity and simpleness.
3. Even if you don't know where you are, always know where you're going. Would you get in a car and drive aimlessly for three hours a day every day? Sitting down to write without a benchmark in mind is nothing more than a creative exercise. You must always have a goal (even if it's as mundane as Write for Three Hours or Get Protagonist Off-Stage).
4. Begin late, end early. By which I mean this: always start your play at the precipice of the exposition, right before the inciting incident. Give us a few minutes to know your characters and then dump them head-first into your plot pit. Or begin in medias res and force the audience to catch up. And by all means, when your protagonist has achieved his objective, End Your Story. Anticlimaxes are so...anticlimactic.
5. Nobody cares about someone who does nothing. Despite critical misinterpretation, Hamlet is very much not a play about a man who does nothing. The Danish prince in fact does many, many things. He's just tremendously neurotic (which is why he was such a perfect character for our tremendously neurotic 20th century). Always have your main character in pursuit of a goal. Goncharev's Oblomov, the most slothful character ever created, is assertively slothful.
6. Change is good. This applies to both plot and character. Keep your plot twisting in an organic and ingenious fashion and your audiences will be enthralled. Similarly, show your characters twist as well. Have them change through the course of the tale. High Noon's sheriff is very much not the same person he was at the beginning. Neither is A Doll House's Nora Helmer or Great Expectation's Pip.
7. Save your best for last. Just as anticlimaxes are anticlimactic, climaxes must be the absolute peak of audience engagement in your material. Save your best lines, best moment, best twists for your finale. End with a bang. Leave them breathless.
8. If you wouldn't want to read it, don't write it. Like most of these rules, this is fairly self-explanatory. "Write what you know" is the mistaken form of this adage. Write what you want to know. Write what you need to know. Just as audiences love an active, engaged character, so will they love the work of an active, engaged storyteller.
9. Plot = character = theme = style = setting = genre. This is my favorite rule on the list, and the one most easily forgotten. Just as form should balance content, content must in turn balance itself. It's no coincidence that the chaos of A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place in a labrynthine forest. In a great work of literature, every element should directly relate to each other. It's not linear; it's circular.
10. All rules are made to be broken. But you must understand why the rules work in order to understand the circumstances in which they can be bent. James Joyce didn't write Ulysses in a vacuum.
Finally, the best preparation any person can have to be an artist of any kind is to be an audience. Read and view everything. Ask yourself what works. Ask yourself what doesn't. And then ask yourself what's always the most important question: why? Let curiosity lead your imagination and you will never, ever be at a loss.
Joshua Corin spent seven years at the State University of New York at Binghamton, and all he got to show for it was a Bachelor's degree, two Master's degrees, three consecutive assistantships, and mononucleosis. Some of his credits include the screenplay WINDFALL, which won first place in the Open Door Contest co-sponsored by Dimension Films; the one-act play "Eventually" which was a finalist for the Heideman Award at the Humana Festival; the two-act comedy Vagrants in Love which has been performed in states as politically varied as Texas and Massachusetts; the three-act drama POP APOCALYPSE, which holds a special place in his heart; the two-act drama NIGHTLIGHT, which doesn't; the screenplay SNOWJOB, which is circulating Hollywood; and NUCLEAR WINTER WONDERLAND, which is being published in October 2008 by Kunati.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Corin
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