Notes from Minnesota
Hey
Freelancer!
Wow. It's been a busy spring... and it's
not even spring yet! Despite the few feet of snow piled up outside my window, I can tell spring's in the air. After
all, the cold doesn't take my breath away every time I step outside. I actually SEE cement under the
streets, I don't have to worry about slipping (as much) during my walk.
And at Filbert Publishing? Yeah. Fun
things going on there, too.
We just released Billie Williams' new
book, The Writer's Vehicle. It's a FUN title paralleling
building a quality car with creating quality writing. It's so new, Amazon doesn't have the cover pic up yet, but
they will. Be sure to check 'er out.
Our first contest is closed, but we have
more. Keep an eye on my blog to find out who our first “Make
Your Writing Sparkle” award goes to.
Thanks for your congrats on my now 70+
weight loss. To answer all your questions, yes. I'll spill the beans on how I did it, why it was so easy. Keep your
eyes peeled for more information.
Beth :)
P.S. Be sure to check out our best sellers. Here's the
link
P.P.S. Share Writing Etc. with your freelance friends
by clicking here.
Beth's Hot Pick of the Week
Want to sell your writing? Marketing for Writers... Made
Easy
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studied the craft. But if your version of success is still eluding you, it's time for something
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Make Your Writing Sparkle
First, keep an eye on my blog to find out who
is the winner of last time's “Make Your Writing Sparkle” contest.
:)
In
the mean time, here's your next assignment:
I
recently received a query that read:
Dear Editor,
I'm a freelance writer from [country name]. I want to write for your
company.
I
look forward to hearing from you.
[Freelance Name]
Considering what you know about queries, (check out the last issue
of Writing Etc.) how would you critique this query? Journal about
it. Have
fun!
'Til next time. :)
Prompts for the Week
If you need to jumpstart your journaling, these prompts will give you a fresh
perspective and (hopefully) help your mental journey to new territory. Here are the
rules:
First, read the prompt and ponder it a
minute.
Second, get writing. Don't stop. Even if you can't think of anything, just keep the fingers
moving.
Third, write a minimum of one page per
prompt.
Let's get started:
-
You are a stray animal. Describe one day in
your life
-
You are a pampered pet. Describe one day in
your life.
-
You are an animal in the wild. Describe one
day in your life.
-
You are a wild animal in a zoo. Describe one
day in your life.
-
You are a fish. Describe one day in your
life.
-
You are a blade of grass. Describe one day in
your life.
-
You are a bird. Describe one day in your
life.
Have fun!
Feature Article
Following The Rules For The Genre
Whether you are writing articles,
non-fiction, short stories, movie or play scripts, poetry or novels, all have rules or principles unique to
their type that should be followed, especially, by the beginner. Each type of writing has scores of books
outlining and enlarging, enlightening you on these issues. Here we will look at them briefly as Henry Ford might
look at the aspects of his vehicles.
Remember earlier we classified the written
word as a vehicle type:
Articles – Sports Car
Short Story – Sport Utility Vehicle
(SUV)
Essays/Letters – Sedan
Autobiography – biography – Station
Wagon
Poetry – 4-door, hard-top,
convertible
Novel – 4-wheel drive, Heavy-duty, stretch
cab, pickup truck
Let’s examine them closer. Articles as
sports cars are compact, concise, charged with and designed for speed. Readers scan magazines. If an article title
grabs their attention, they’ll pause to read the first sentence. In the car, color, style, ease of handling apply
to the car and the article. Color, the first sentence hook. If it doesn’t provide the keys, your reader likely
won’t take it for a test drive. Think zero to sixty in under a minute. It needs to jump off the starting block,
give the reader a reason to step on the gas and keep going. Quick and to the point. Once the reader has proven to
him or herself that the versatility, and validity of the car, the read; she can relax, ease up on the throttle and
watch the scenery unfold as she reads. Remember parts of an article after a dynamite title are introduction—the
hook, Body—the scenery, and conclusion—a good ride.
A short story can be action packed,
driven through with sports car verve or SUV ability that only a Sport Utility Vehicle can deliver. It can take you
pretty much anywhere you want to go in style and comfort. Sometimes over rough terrain along roads less traveled or
sometimes, down the highway with family and camping trailer in tow. Compact, yet rugged, a short story like the
article hooks with the first sentence or paragraph. Economically and reliably it holds all the necessary elements
of Goal, Motivation and Conflict, all the short story family necessities. It’s a quick start. It introduces the
road map, the driver, the passengers and any necessary baggage right away so the reader is up to speed. At the end
of the short trip, arriving at the destination, the reader should feel satisfied that the trip was successful and
worth his while. The SUV carried its load and delivered its passengers, changed or the journey in some significant
way.
Essays and Letters, the family sedan,
usually with four doors so that passengers and whatever they carry can enter and exit with ease. Great gas mileage
and comfortable seating, a healthy sized trunk to hold all the baggage out of sight until needed a reliable vehicle
for travel. The less formal structure of the essay or letter can be seen in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing or Jane
Austin’s. However, an essay has the prerequisites of beginning, middle and end. It takes a more leisurely drive
through incident, experience, or quandary of thought, always with a goal—a destination.
By the same token, a letter has a more
general approach, yet still has a goal. It may be staying in touch with a loved one, replying to an inquiry,
seeking answers to your own query or a myriad of other reasons. Some books are written in this style or as a
journal such as The Diary of Ann Frank. There is room to take passengers, allowing them easy entrance and
exit in a sedan manner, and in essays or letters taking them on a journey long as is necessary to reach your
destination.
Autobiographies and Biographies are
the Station Wagons, the family cars, if you will. This genre is all about a person and the passenger he or she
piles into that car on a trip, plus all their baggage.
It’s a historical and most often a
chronological telling of a life past and present. It usually is hinged on some culminating event. Henry Ford’s
autobiography takes us from him as a young man with an idea, through his struggles and creative striving to build
and maintain his idea as it grew to a multi-million dollar business. Autobiographies are sometimes written by ghost
writers’ with control for content always in the subjects hands.
Biographies are written by others with
or without authorization of the person they’re written about. It is your obligation as an author/writer, to make it
interesting as possible for your reader. With these genres you must clearly focus on your ideal readers. There’s
plenty of room for extra passengers if you choose to include them to help reach the story goal, the roadmap to your
destination is yours.
Poetry is the elite, one of a kind,
eccentric use of medium to convey an idea with beauty, rhythm and style. The 4-door, hard-top convertible Ford
built, or you build around a single idea. There are nearly as many styles of poetry as there are makes and models
of cars available to the buying public. There are books, courses and classes that can enlighten you as to their
requirements or rules.
The novel is the 4-wheel, heavy-duty,
crew cab, pickup truck of the writing world. It has all the characteristics of all the other vehicles mentioned and
yet, it is different. For instance there are rules for and reader expectations for all the genre’s within the broad
canopy of novel, just as there are trucks of every color, size, shape, and engine design. Sized from novella as in
a mini-truck – to a historical saga like our heavy duty pickup truck with all the bells and whistles. The genre,
the story, determines the rules. What you can haul in your truck and where the journey should take you and the
roads you will take. Hook, beginning, middle and end are all still present. No matter what style it’s written in,
mystery, romance, thriller, horror—it’s your choice—as long as the vehicle is reliable, but that’s another
chapter.
Bon Voyage and Happy Trails to
you
~~~
This was an excerpt from Billie William's latest
nonfiction title, A Writer's Vehicle: Henry Ford's Way. You can check it out here.
P.S. You can use this article free of charge on your
own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include the entire byline. Enjoy!
~~~
P.S. You can use this
article free of charge on your own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include the entire
byline. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
Recommend:
Writing For Dollars!
The FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. Receive the FREE ebook, 83
WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com
-*-
http://www.WritingForDollars.com
~~~
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