Writing Tips - From the Internet

Today's post is about various writing tip sites I've found on the Internet. I wanted to share them with you and hope that you get as much out of them and maybe even bookmark them like I did.

10 Writing Tips from the Masters

Daily Writing Tips

Webster University: Writing Tips

Writing Basics: Daily Writing Tips

Writer's Helper: Writing Tips





Did you find these sites helpful and interesting?

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Expectations

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2. Write about your expectations. Write about the expectations that you have for yourself and the people around you. Do your expectations define a part of who you are? Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about your expectations?

Why or Why Not?

Give Me 250 - Faith

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button

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4/24/13 Prompt - Faith

Today's prompt asks you to write about your early memories of faith, religion, or spirituality; yours or someone else's.



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?

Writing Tips - Ten Tips for Aspiring Authors

Everyone has a tip for an aspiring author. For the next few weeks I'm going to share with you tips I've collected over the years. I hope they will inspire you as much as they have me. You may not find every tip helpful, but hopefully you'll find something to take away that will help you with your writing.

My first "guest" advisor is Karen Kingsbury, a Christian writer from Tennessee.

She offers these ten tips for aspiring authors:

1. Keep Writing: If there is a book inside you, do everything you can to get that story out. Write, write, write. Get it finished and make sure it is written to the best of your ability.

2. Join a Writer's Group: There are many Christian or other kinds of writers groups for aspiring authors. In order to make your manuscript the best book it can be, you should join one of these groups and learn from others. Do an Internet search for the kind of book you are writing. Many writing or author groups or organizations will display. Find the one that works best for you. You may find local groups where you can attend in person or online groups for extra help.

3. Join a Critique Group: Once you've connected with a writers' group, you should be able to find a Critique Group. Either through the writers' group or in another Internet search. If you don't know what occurs in a critique group you usually read one another's work and offer feedback. Everyone writes at a different level, thus various levels of expertise is provided.

4. Read Other Books Similar to Yours: There's an old adage that says "write what you know." If you want to write Romance stories, read Romance books. Editors and agents will expect you to be well versed in the genre you intend to write. Read, read, read.

5. Get a Copy of Writer's Market: This informational book releases a new version every year chock full of editors and agents acquiring new material.

6. Write a Brief Synopsis for Your Book: Once you've finished your book and it's the best it can be, write a very brief one or two sentence synopsis describing the story. This will go a long way in helping you convey the story to an editor or agent.

7. Write Back Cover Copy: After the synopsis, you'll want to create back cover copy for your book. To do this, you'll expand the synopsis until it's long enough to work as back cover copy. In order to help you, read back cover copy from various books to get an idea about the type of back cover copy needed.

8. Write a 2-3 Page Synopsis: Expanding on your brief synopsis and back cover copy, you will create a synopsis that contains all the information about your story. You will not hold anything back in this synopsis, whereas you might have hinted or intrigued your reader of the back cover copy or brief synopsis. It will contain information about characters, plot points, conflict and resolution in a concise version of the novel.

9. Submit: After you've edited your manuscript, written your brief synopsis, the back cover copy, and a 2 - 3 page synopsis, you are ready to submit your package to an agent or editor. Do your homework. Stud the Writer's Market. Find agents or editors looking for the kinds of stories you write. Take into consideration exactly how they want your package delivered. Each agent or editor will probably want your work arranged differently. Follow their requirements. Overall, make sure you include the following:

   * Cover letter introducing yourself and your idea
   * Brief bio of yourself
   * All forms of your synopses
   * First three chapters of your book

10. Pray! Nothing written or done for God will happen without your diligent prayer. Pray and seek God's will.

Thank you to Karen Kingsbury for her insight and tips for aspiring authors. We appreciate the help.

Keep Writing!

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Pick a Word

Friday Five Minute Exercise - Pick a Word

1. Set your clocks/timers for Five (5) Minutes.

2.Choose from one of the following words: dream, believe, inspire, peace. Write whatever comes to your mind about one of these words. Get into as much detail as you can for the next five minutes.

3. Ready?

4. Go.

5. Finished? Review and be amazed.

I hope you had fun. Come back next Friday for a new writing prompt.

Was this exercise helpful?

Did you succeed with this writing exercise? Was it helpful? Were you able to write about one of the word prompts?

Why or Why Not?