Thought for the day...

How does technology inspire/hinder your writing? How can you add or delete it from your life to foster a better writing environment?

Typos, Grammar Woes, and Your Credibility as a Blogger

A blog post is not a school paper or a newspaper article. So, if you have a few typos and grammatical errors it doesn’t really matter, right? Wrong. One of the most important things for a blogger is establishing credibility. If we really want people to read our blog and keep coming back to it, we have to be credible. There are so many factors that contribute to credibility that it’s easy for some to get lost in the shuffle. It should go without saying that we have to know what we’re writing about and present our content in the proper way. This means not spouting off generalizations or random “facts” without backing them up or explaining our reasoning. But, it’s also about how we present our content physically.

Campfire Writing: Why Stories are the Writer’s Elemental Tool

The Magic and Power of Story

As a writer, it is not words, but stories, that are your elemental tool. Stories are an enchanting magic that grip the reader to the page.

Here is the power of storytelling: People make sense of the world through stories.

Stories are fundamental to being human. Without stories, life would appear as a meaningless jumble of facts and ideas. Stories make facts, and great ideas, meaningful. They connect with the everyday life and experience of their listeners or readers.

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”
~ Muriel Rukeyser

Typescript

A friend I've known since college (fellow English major) created a great website called "Typescript" that you may want to check out:

"At Typescript, I share with you my own writing in the form of a character collection. The Annie Summer Series began in May 2008 as a challenge to start writing again, using song lyrics and titles as prompts for new stories. What began as a single short story has resulted in a character with plenty to say and even more to experience, opening up a fictional world and leading to a collection of short stories based around her summer of 1979. Enjoy her Twitter profile and get some insight into her life leading up to her summer adventures."

The site also features writing challenges and giveaways.

Is the Semicolon Worth Saving?

reblog from The Thursday File

by Richard Nordquist -- April 13, 2009

The author of The Gutenberg Elegies, English professor Sven Birkerts, once said in an interview, "I never see a sentence with a semicolon in it anymore. People don't tend to read the kind of writing that has semicolons. We tend to read the prose of the age, and the prose of the age, influenced by the ethos of electronic communication, is almost overwhelmingly flat, punchy and declarative.''

Birkerts made that observation a decade ago--well before the arrival of such punctuation killers as Facebook, Twitter, and the iPhone.

What we'd like to know is whether you have any use for the semicolon and if you think the mark is worth preserving.

Some Say Yes

Not many people use it much any more, do they? Should it be used more? I think so, yes. A semicolon is a partial pause, a different way of pausing, without using a full stop. I use it all the time.
(British novelist Beryl Bainbridge)

With educated people, I suppose, punctuation is a matter of rule; with me it is a matter of feeling. But I must say I have a great respect for the semi-colon; it's a useful little chap.
(President Abraham Lincoln)

You practically do not use semicolons at all. This is a symptom of mental defectiveness, probably induced by camp life.
(George Bernard Shaw to T.E. Lawrence, on The Seven Pillars of Wisdom)

Sometimes you get a glimpse of a semicolon coming, a few lines farther on, and it is like climbing a steep path through woods and seeing a wooden bench just at a bend in the road ahead, a place where you can expect to sit for a moment, catching your breath.
(American essayist Lewis Thomas)


Some Say No

Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.
(American novelist Kurt Vonnegut)

As readers require information in segments that are shorter and easier to read, semicolons are becoming a less desirable form of punctuation. They encourage overlong sentences that slow down both reader and writer. You can virtually eliminate semicolons and still be a fine writer.
(Deborah Dumaine, Instant-Answer Guide to Business Writing, 2003)

Did you know by the way that this book [Coming Up for Air] hasn't got a semicolon in it? I decided about that time that the semicolon is an unnecessary stop and that I would write my next book without one.
(British novelist and essayist George Orwell in a letter to his editor at Secker & Warburg)

Too many semicolons are tedious for the reader. Semicolons are also more characteristic of formal or literary writing, which means that some readers may not be accustomed to them. If your readers don't understand the semicolon, it will be more of a distraction than an aid.
(Jill Meryl Levy, Take Command of Your Writing, 1998)

For new readers of this blog:

A few months ago, we gave you info about the opportunity to get free books from Thomas Nelson Publishing if you agree to become one of their online reviewers. Here is the link again: http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

Vonnegut's Third Rule of Writing

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
-Kurt Vonnegut

The jump from actor to author isn’t as large as it may seem. When crafting your story, how often have you asked yourself, “What is my character’s motivation?”

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

I want to live other lives. I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances.
- Anne Tyler, novelist, Washington Post, August 15, 1976

Spring has (almost) sprung?

It's getting a bit warmer out there, but there are still some days that chill us to the bone! The fickle days of spring!

I hope to see all of you at Border's on Wednesday. As always, any of your writing will be welcomed and critiqued by members, but I'm also interested in reading any work that members have about spring time. If you have anything, please bring it with you to the next meeting! I want to read poems, short stories, and so on about your take on the upcoming season of Spring.

-Alyssa

39 Ways to Live and Not Merely Exist

As writers, we all go through those tough periods where we are either uninspired to write or we want to write, but are experiencing the ever-dreaded writer's block. I came across a website that I think could help inspire writing through making positive changes in our lives. Check it out to see 39 Ways to Live and Not Merely Exist. From "breaking out of ruts" to "watching sunsets, daily" there is surely something to inspire you.