BITE FIRST! –Ask Questions Later

Disjointed Jottings by Robert Smith (A.K.A. TyCobbsTeeth)

Your novel must open with bite.

One doesn’t hook a voracious reader, one creates a voracious reader by stimulating appetite.

I can tell you, as an avid reader, that I–so badly–want to be invited in. I crave an invitation that cannot be refused.
That opening must build appetite and by appetite I mean, the desire to read –felt as hunger. Appetite exists in all bibliophiles, and serves to regulate adequate literary intake to maintain creativity, imagination, and contentment.
Once you’ve stimulated that appetite, your reader wants to sit down at your table and devour your book. They’re hungry and they need to eat.

How do you stimulate appetite? Well, as a reader, I want — nay, I need something to grab my attention. If it’s properly presented the reader won’t just skim across it — their pupils should grow as they soak it in. You need a statement of…

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3 Keys for Learning to Write

I think we can simplify this even further and say there are 2 keys to learning to write (or improving your writing).
1. Spend more time writing.
2. Obtain feedback.
Without a doubt, writing improves writing and the more you do it, the better you will become. Editing your own work is a crucial ingredient in this recipe, but help from editors and beta readers can certainly enhance the process.

Disjointed Jottings by Robert Smith (A.K.A. TyCobbsTeeth)

1. Spend more time writing: (Practice makes perfect)

It makes sense right –you will not become great at a sport unless you practice that sport–a lot. There is strong evidence that this is true for writing too. Five studies of exceptional literacy teachers found that great teachers ask their students to write frequently. In nine separate experiments with students, 15 additional minutes of writing time a day in grades two through eight produced better writing. Seventy-eight percent of studies testing the impact of extra writing found that student’s writing quality improved.

Not only did writing quality improve, so did reading comprehension.

2. Write on a computer: (Instant feedback)

In 83 percent of 30 studies on the use of word processing software, students’ writing quality improved when they wrote their papers on a computer instead of writing by hand. The impact was largest for middle school students…

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3 Keys for Learning to Write

1. Spend more time writing: (Practice makes perfect) It makes sense right --you will not become great at a sport unless you practice that sport--a lot. There is strong evidence that this is true for writing too. Five studies of exceptional literacy teachers found that great teachers ask their students to write frequently. In nine …

The NaMos are Coming! The NaMos are Coming!

Could not be more amped up for November 1st!

WordPress.com News

November is one week away, and that means NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo are, too!

If you’ve been thinking about reinvigorating your blogging or are finally ready to stop procrastinating on that book you’ve always wanted to write, these two great events (and communities) can give you the jolt of motivation you need.

NaMo what now?

NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo are short for “National Novel Writing Month” and “National Blog Posting Month,” respectively. In the first, writers commit to writing a 50,000-word novel between November 1 and November 30; in the second, to posting every single day in November.

310,095 participants started the month of November as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

– NaNoWriMo 2013 at a Glance

Although the two events are separate, they share a history: NaBloPoMo started in response to NaNoWriMo, when a group of bloggers who lacked the time or inclination to write…

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Ty Cobb’s Teeth

The base paths belonged to me, the runner. The rules gave me the right. I always went into a bag full speed, feet first. I had sharp spikes on my shoes. If the baseman stood where he had no business to be and got hurt, that was his fault. Ty Cobb   If it's something …

Quote of the day

Day Parker

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
― Marthe Troly-Curtin, Phrynette Married

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inspiring quotes

clarescomments

these are just a list of some of my favourite inspirational quotes,

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ~Lao Tzu

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~Gandhi

“There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.” ~Christopher Morley

“Make each day your masterpiece.” ~John Wooden

“The best dreams happen when you’re awake.” ~Cherie Gilderbloom

“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” ~Muhammad Ali

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” ~Jimmy Johnson

hope this helped one of you xx if it did let me know 🙂

whats your favourite inspirational quotes?

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I Believe

Life with a Voice

Life with a Voice

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Essential writing skills: understanding points of view and other novel-writing puzzles

Matthew Wright

The other week someone asked me how many points of view it’s possible to have in a novel. It’s a tricky question. The best answer – certainly for novice or learning novelists – is ‘one’. That’s the simplest.

It’s simplest because the author is dealing with but one major character arc, and a single point of view can be handled from various writing angles – first person singular (‘I’), as if the novel was a personal narrative. The reader only gets to see what the narrator sees. It’s closely related to ‘third person singular’ – which is the same as first person, but where the author steps back and refers to the lead character as ‘he’ or ‘she’.  But they don’t reveal anything that anybody else sees.

Both angles offer differing advantages, depending on what the author has in mind. With first person singular, for instance, it’s possible to play…

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