Tag: writing
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Writing for the Web
Former LA Times writer Cathy Curtis believes that writing for the web has improved her skills as a copywriter. She shares some of what she has learnt and some advice about web copywriting in an eminently readable article for AIGA, the American Institute for Graphic Art. [In my journalism days] I wasn’t terribly concerned with the…
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Writing for a Living
Award-winning author Colm Tóibín claimed earlier this year that he gains no enjoyment from writing. The Guardian asked a slew of other authors whether or not they enjoyed writing for a living, and the answers were surprisingly mixed. This from the original interview with Colm Tóibín: I write with a sort of grim determination to deal with things…
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Obsession and Writing on the Web
At SXSW 2009, John Gruber and Merlin Mann held a panel on “building a blog you can be proud of, trying to improve the quality of your work, reaching the people you admire, and maybe even making a buck”. The talk, available as a 43f Podcast on Mann’s site, is worth your time whether you…
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Growing Sentences
How to develope sentences in the style of David Foster Wallace (visit Jason’s post to see an example of how powerful this can be for prose): Begin with an idea, a string of ideas. Use them in a compound sentence. Add rhythm with a dependent clause. Elaborate using a complete sentence as interrupting modifier. Append…
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Writing ‘On Writing Well’
William Zinsser—author of 17 books—talks in length on the trials and tribulations of writing ‘On Writing Well’. My initial fear of immodesty was misguided. The best teachers of a craft, I saw, are their own best textbook. Students who take their classes really want to know how they do what they do—how they grew into…
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Most Borrowed Author in Britain
For the second year in a row James Patterson has been announced as the UK’s most borrowed author. Interestingly, all is not as it seems: in calling Patterson “less a novelist than a literary factory”, The Guardian notes that he actually employs a large number of writers to do the majority of his writing. Patterson and the…
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The Storytelling of Ian McEwan
I’ve never read any of Ian McEwan’s novels, but after reading a lot of intriguing stories about his writing style (specifically, this article discussing McEwan’s Enduring Love) I think I may have to add him to my reading list. This comprehensive look at Ian McEwan’s life and writings—full of insights and observations—will hopefully pique your interest too. via Arts…
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Kurt Vonnegut: Advice to Writers
Author of Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, offers us advice on How to Write With Style: Find a subject you care about Do not ramble, though Keep it simple Have guts to cut Sound like yourself Say what you mean Pity the readers
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Writing a Novel – The Snowflake Method
I’ve started writing a novel. I don’t have ideas of grandeur or dreams of retiring from novel royalties; I write because I enjoy doing so and because I find it therapeutic. Still, it’s nice to produce legible prose and to do so requires at least a bit of forethought.That’s where The Snowflake Method comes into…