The competition a writer has to face has drastically increased in the past decade, especially since the amount of people reading for pleasure is decreasing. While methods of publication on the internet have grown exponentially, publishing by traditional print means is becoming more difficult. For this reason, as a writer who seeks a print publication you need to be more competitive - simply because the writing market is decreasing.
Here are some ideas to give you an idea you need to stand out from the hordes of writers. Develop Your Own Style Many writers work hard to make their style match well known authors. In my opinion, this harms the writer rather than helps them, because in the long run it’s really not a unique style. It’s someone else’s. As a reader, what I love most is an author who’s style is unique and distinct. I’ve noticed that some authors have developed their style or techniques to the point that readers can recognize the writing as the authors without knowing it’s the author’s piece of writing to begin with. This is difficult without an established fan base, but it’s something all writers should strive for. Get Your Hands Dirty Don’t be afraid to try new things. Try creative styles, new genre’s and new techniques. You might just like it. Experiment and find out what works. The best writers never stop experimenting; they’re not afraid to try something new. Make Your Characters Real If not the #1 thing that attracts readers, characterization is #2. Impersonal characters put a reader off. Personally, if the characters are personally, I’ll end up not finishing the book. Create characters that draw the reader in; make characters that the readers want to know more about. Most importantly, make characters that people can relate to, but also characters that surprise the reader.
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As a reader, there’s little that will annoy me more than poor grammar.
Using correct grammar, including spelling and punctuation, gives you a bit of credibility. It makes you seem much more professional than if you’re mistaking “you’re” with “your” and a colon with a semicolon. If you use correct grammar you make your writing appealing to the reader, which should be your goal. It also makes the reader think you know what you’re talking about, or at least more than if your writing is littered with errors. You should never use poor grammar. Typically, making grammatical errors shows one of two things: ignorance or laziness. If you have troubles with writing, you can use a Persuasive essay outline service provided by Edusson Blog. Neither should be an excuse. If you consider yourself a writer, it’s your duty to know if a usage is correct or not; if you are unsure, it’s still your duty. Moreover, it’s your job to proofread your own work. Likewise, laziness can’t be an excuse; if anything, it’s worse than not knowing how to use a grammatical situation correctly. It shows that you don’t care. If you don’t care, i don’t care; if I don’t care, I’m not going to read your writing. To summarize, grammar lets the reader know how serious you are about writing. It tests your perseverance and demonstrates your willingness to work and learn. The more grammatically sound your writing is, the more professional it will be. A somewhat debated topic amongst writers, character profiles have both their pros and their cons. Some writers choose to create character profiles or brief biographies about their character to help them learn more about the character themself. In a character profile, the idea is to write as much about the character as you can, even things you may not use in the actual writing. Your intent is to create a personality for the character.
Some writers find this technique very helpful; other writers find that this restricts the character too much. The second type of writer prefers to create the character as they write, shaping them to the story as opposed to shaping (the events) of the story around the character. If you choose to do a character profile, include the following:
Keep in mind that this technique is used by some writers, but other writers resent it. My best advice would be to find out if it works for you; if so, use it. If not, then find something else that works. For me personally, I never had any success with creating character profiles. However, I do know several people who have; for that reason, I’ve chosen to write about it briefly. |
Timothy A. LawsonFootball fan, maker, DJ, International Swiss style practitioner and TDC honorary member. Operating at the intersection of beauty and computer science to create not just a book, but a feeling. I sometimes make random things with friends. ArchivesCategories |