A well-written short story can pack a punch. In a short amount of time, a writer can create a relatable character, a unique setting, and an intriguing plot. Writers can practice all types of genres from dystopias to romance and more. But as anyone who’s attempted to write a short story without success can attest, crafting a great short story isn’t easy. There’s a reason that short stories are often taught as an after-thought, not a core part of a writer’s curriculum. And yet, a well-written short story can make a powerful impact on a reader. So how do you write a great short story? Write a hook Your audience will forgive a lot of flaws in a short story, as long as the story is interesting from the first line. Remember, one way they’ll be judging your story is based on how long you can sustain their interest. That is, aside from the riveting plot and glorious prose, you have to make them believe that your story is necessary, relevant to their lives, and entertaining. If your plot doesn’t have a hook from the very beginning, an episode that entices your reader, a set-up for the rest of the story, then your story is all but doomed to failure. Following the character’s thoughts, a place description, a hook maxim, or a conversation is an excellent way to start a story, no matter what plot might follow. If nothing screams ‘here’s why you should read on!’ then you are in trouble. And if you do begin with an enticing hook as described above, but your introduction isn’t 100% clean and tidy, then your reader will notice. And from there, they won’t be forgiving exactly where your short story falters. Make sure that your hook doesn’t slow the pace significantly and… read more →
Do you know why freelancing sounds like a really attractive option for those outside the industry’s bubble? – It looks easy. “Maya works from home. She can work whenever she wants to. If she doesn’t like a project, she simply seeks another one. Her job is fun and she never gets bored. She takes a vacation whenever she needs one. And she makes more money than me. I wanna be like Maya!” That’s the motivating factor that drives people towards freelancing. When you look at those digital nomads, you want that life. But it’s not as easy as most outsiders imagine. Many profiles on Upwork appear, remain inactive, and get blocked after a while. Most of these people are overwhelmed by the competition and they don’t expect to work a lot to earn decent money. But in some cases, they simply don’t know where to start. No one taught them that. That’s what we’re here for today: to show you where to get started as a freelancer. We’ll list the right websites, and we’ll guide you through the steps that will deliver actual results. Start from Your Own Website/Blog Do you know why so many people on freelancing websites find it hard to land their first gig? They haven’t established their reputation yet. They may only say they can do a great job in the niche they target, but the clients won’t believe until they see actual results. That’s why you need your online portfolio if you’re a graphic designer or a photographer, and your own blog if you’re a content writer. You don’t have to work too much on the site’s design. Its sole purpose is to show few of your samples, which have the power to convince a client that you can deliver great work for them. If… read more →
When most people hear that someone is a writer, the first idea that pops into their heads would the image of a person which is tortured by their personal demons, but which turn that pain into a literary masterpiece, or at the very least the image of a struggling wordsmith who is working some dead-end job, waiting for a call from one of the publishers. So, basically, it’s either Dostoevsky, or Bradley Cooper’s characters in “Limitless”. However, the reality doesn’t have to be as grim if you are a writer or aspiring to be one. In this day and age, there are plenty of jobs which allow you to make use of your writing talents, and which, according to key industry figures, pay really well. Let’s take a look at some best and most lucrative jobs for people who love writing. Technical Writer According to Matthew Childs, who works as writer for Essay Writing Lab, when it comes to technical writing, you need to be able to turn complex technical concepts and terminology into simple and understandable language. For example, technical writers are usually required to put together software user guides, manuals, complex technical documentation, and specifications, among other things. Also, if you are interested in this sort of gig, your soft skills will need to be on point, since you will be working closely with other professionals, such as developers, engineers, and designer, just to name a few. Not only is technical writing a fast-growing profession, but it also pays upwards of $70,000 per year. Proofreader Proofreading is especially important nowadays, since the demand for online content is bigger than ever. Content gets produced fast, but it still needs to be flawless, which is where proofreaders come in. Whether it’s books, novels, columns, articles, or blog post, it doesn’t… read more →
If you are one of those persons which liked to read a lot in college and loved to write fantasy novels, you have some writing skills. If you often find you thinking about stories, what to read next or your next essay, you might have a talent. And you should start to discover it piece by piece and start making it your job, not just your hobby. Of course, it’s not so easy to resign from your actual job and start writing without a plan. You should implement this decision slowly and with baby steps. The first one you could do is to make writing a part-time job. And if you have a talent, why not use it? Besides the reward that comes from this, you could also start monetizing it. And, step by step, you can become one of those people who love their job. But, firstly, let’s see how you can start monetizing your talent: Create a Blog Even though there are lots and lots of blogs, you can spot the one of a talented writer. You can use your blog to post your thoughts, your analyses or your stories. It’s up to you. But you should see it as a playground, a way to learn new things about you and your skills. Besides this, you can easily be remarked by the right person. You will be able to start monetizing your skills easier. Become a Contributor There are some magazines and newspapers that have collaborations with contributors. Even though it is not a full-time job, you can write articles for some publications. It is a good start for you, especially because your articles can be read by lots of people. And, step by step, you will become known and writing will become your primary job. Freelancing If… read more →
What’s a writing competition? Why is it different from other writing things? Well, quite simply; it’s a competition that you enter with a piece of your own writing, and hopefully you win it! There’s a prize (usually money, but sometimes just the pride of being chosen as winner) and the winning piece will usually get published somewhere. Sometimes there’s an entry fee, and sometimes the competition is directed towards something – some publishers or magazines run competitions for the first chapter of a story, or a book proposal. However, there are a very wide variety of competitions – from poetry inspired by Shakespeare, to themed short stories, to flash fiction, to novel extracts. What are the pros and cons of writing competitions? Pros: Winning gets you fame and fortune! You get noticed, get money (or other prizes), and you can put the win on your writing CV. A deadline and word count are often good motivators to write. You’re often in with a chance to be published. The competitive element can be inspirational; you’ve got to be good to win! It’s an immediate satisfaction – or at least, better than six months of silence from an agent or publisher. There’s a wide variety of competitions to suit all levels of experience. You can write what you want, in your style – although if you want a theme, there are competitions with prompts and themes. Cons: You don’t get paid unless you win. You often have to pay to enter. Not all writers like the competition element, or see winning as a worthwhile prize. The lack of a theme or direction (as opposed to submission calls) can be off-putting. You don’t get feedback, so it can be hard to know why your work didn’t win or how close it did get… read more →
When people are looking for new books to explore, there are three elements that get their attention: The cover The text at the back of the cover The introduction You’ll think about the first two elements after you write the book. The introduction, however, has no time to wait. All great books start with greatness. Do you remember the first sentence of Anna Karenina? “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” After reading that first sentence and the entire introduction, you just know that something extraordinary will follow. You know it’s more than just another love story. How do you get there? How do you craft the perfect introduction to hook the reader? We have few tips to offer. 1. Don’t Skip the It Your first chapter may be the introduction. May writers do that. Tolstoy did it. Does that mean you should do it? Not necessarily. An introduction is where you make the case. You tell the readers what this book is about and you explain why it’s an important book to read. It’s what convinces the readers your book has value. Do you know how George R.R. Martin started A Game of Thrones? With a prologue. The author gets straight into the story, but this feels like an introduction we definitely need for the complex plot that follows. 2. Find the Hook Your first sentence is a hook. When a book’s cover gets someone’s attention in the store, they will skip through the text on the back of the cover. Most people will then get to the first page of the introduction. They will read the first sentence. Will it make them pick up the book? Let’s check out an example: Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin. This is how… read more →
You’ve written a book, and it’s the best thing ever! So, now you want people to read it. How do you get it to them? In our current publishing world, there’s three major options. You can contact a traditional big publisher, who – if everything goes well – will buy the rights to your book, edit it, put a cover on it, market it and send you money when it sells. You can contact a smaller independent (indie) press, who have the flexibility to take chances on unusual work, and who are more likely to involve you in the details of publishing – but who don’t have the same marketing reach as the big publishers, and won’t sell quite as many as the big traditionals. Avoid anyone who asks you for money to publish (known as ‘vanity press’) with the promise of royalties in the future – it’s very likely that you’ll pay a lot and not get nearly as much back. A publisher should always cover things like editing and cover art for you, even if that means your royalty share is smaller. Or you can self-publish. This means you’re the one responsible for everything – editing, cover art, formatting, releasing, marketing, selling – so you’re putting the book out under your name, and you keep the profits from it. You can sub some of the work out (eg. hire a proofreader, purchase cover-art) but it’s down to you to sell your book to the world. And the great thing is that there are plenty of ways to do that! In this article, we’re going to briefly cover some alternative methods of getting your writing out there to your readers. While we tend to think of self-publishing as being a hard copy or ebook version of a book, that’s… read more →
Anything over a short story (so over 10,000 words) ideally needs chapters. They break the story up, provide helpful stopping-points, and allow the reader to skim the front page to get a feel for where the story’s going – and pick up where they left off, if needed. It’s also a good way for the reader to get a feel for how long they’ve got left in the book – especially for anyone reading on an e-reader, who can’t just check how thick it is! But that doesn’t make chapters all that easy! How long should they be? Where should you split things? Numbers or name? How long? Ideally, you want to make your chapters all roughly consistent. For example, I write novellas and make mine 3000-4000 words long. For novels, somewhere around 6000-8000 words is good: if you make one suddenly shorter it jarrs the readers, and makes them think they’ve missed something. However…learn the rules then break ‘em. You can get some very good effects with short chapters, particularly if you’ve got something dramatic happening. imagine if you suddenly switched back to one character, only to have a dramatic murder – and then that’s it, you’ve switched away again! Frustrating, yes, but I’d keep reading to find out what happens. You don’t need chapters? The standard response to this is either “well, duh!” or “really?!” No, you don’t have to use chapters! However, good idea to break it into sections, at least….and chapters are helpful and expected. They make nice chunks of text, and the titles act as signposts to tell the reader what’s happening, let them return to it from the front page if they lose their place. On which note… What to title chapters? You’ve got a couple of options: Plain: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. This doesn’t… read more →
In this article, we’re going to briefly cover the printing options for self-publishing – that is, if you want a hard copy of your book. Step 1: The Finished Text This means the book needs to be edited and proofread, with all the chapter headings in the right place, a preface and acknowledgements (if you want them) and any copyright disclaimers done. Make the text as perfect as you can. However, you don’t need to make sure the layout is perfect – if fact, it’s easier if it’s not! Make the margins all standard, and the font standard. This makes the next stage a lot easier. At this point, you can either turn the text into a print book or an ebook (or both!) Step 2: Typesetting This is the point that the text is put into a printable format. The important thing here is that typesetting is not word processing; it’s closer to artwork than it is to writing. The text positioning needs to be exact, and word processors (such as Microsoft Word or OpenOffice) tend to skip the little details that make the text look nice on a printed page. There are several different pieces of software that can be used for this; one popular one is Adobe InDesign, but there are various free systems available as well. You can actually now use Word, but it’s a very different process to writing, and you usually need to use a template. Alternatively, there are a number of professionals out there who offer a typesetting service to self-publishers, often with additional services such as cover creation or proofreading as well. If you’re not too sure you want to get into the details of the typesetting process, it’s worth paying for this stage. Step 3: Thinking About The End Result There… read more →
In this article, we’re going to briefly cover the ebook creation options for self-publishing – that is, if you want an ebook copy distributed through any of the major stores. There are a couple of steps to think about before you can start with the creation process: Step 1: The Finished Text This means the book needs to be edited and proofread, with all the chapter headings in the right place, a preface and acknowledgements (if you want them) and any copyright disclaimers done. Make the text as perfect as you can. However, you don’t need to make sure the layout is perfect – if fact, it’s easier if it’s not! Make the margins all standard, and the font standard. This makes the next stage a lot easier. At this point, you can either turn the text into a print book or an ebook (or both!) Step 2: Formatting This is the point that you put the text into an ebook conversion software, and turn it into something that an e-reader can decipher. The text needs to be able to change size, font, color and layout, but still have breaks before chapters; the reader needs to be able to find the chapter headings on their navigation, and skip forward or backwards; and the book needs a cover and metadata attached to it in the file. While you can do this creation process yourself via software such as Calibre, Jutoh or Scriviner, this can be very time-consuming and you have to get the details right, as well as ensure you have all the formats needed (for example, Kindle uses a .mobi format, while most other ereaders need an .epub). Most self-published authors prefer to use an online platform such as CreateSpace or Lulu. We’ve provided some suggestions below, along with a… read more →