WRITING TIPS: THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO PROOFREADING

You heard me. However lazy you feel today, never ever submit any piece of writing be it an article or a novel without reading it one more time. While I have always advised that the writer is the first reader, the same writer should also double up as the number one critic as well.

Do not pass over to the editors or publishers any writing that is still unpolished or one which would do with some proofreading. Kindly save yourself the pain of rejection by going through your work word for word, comma after comma until you are satisfied that it is the best you can achieve.
When editors return any writing project and request for specified or unspecified changes, kindly agree to making the changes requested. The editors may not be fright, the editors may be out-rightly wrong, but they still have the last word on whether you are published or not.
What should you do? Whether it takes one hundred years or more for you to finish writing your present writing, take fifty more years to go through your work one more time.

WRITING TIPS: WRITERS ARE BORN, BUT GREAT WRITERS MAKE THEMSELVES

Did you know that almost everyone can write? Well forget the fact that writers are born. It may just be a notion to dissuade you from trying your hand at writing. Writing may be tough, writing can be hard, writing can be difficult, but it doesn't mean that great writing can not be accomplished.

All you have to do is learn so language. It doesn't have to be English, it doesn't have to be french or Spanish but you will surely need some working knowledge of Punjabi, Swahili or whatever language you decide to write in.
If you feel the compulsion to write, if the ability to communicate via writing comes naturally to you, then you are a born writer. But then, being born a writer is not enough. Of the millions of men and women who are born writers, 75% give up before graduating from high school. Of the remaining 25%, another half will give up when they find something easier or better to. The remaining half toil on and on, trying to put their thoughts into writing.
But even of this number, about another half are just comfortable calling themselves writers. only a small percentage end up doing the actual writing and doing it well for they never give up. Are you one of them?

WRITING TIPS: PLOTTING AND SUBPLOTTING YOUR NOVEL

A novel should have at least one major storyline known as the plot. The plot can be simple and liner or more complex and intertwined with other smaller stories known as sub plots. Complexity of the plot depends on the readership a writer expects to gain, or his or her target market.

Writers who target children or the youth must have very simple and therefore linear plots woven around a main character, the protagonist and another main character, the antagonist who stands in the way of the antagonist’s success. Such story lines targeted at younger readers must have a limited number of supporting characters.
Writers targeting advanced readers have greater control over their storyline and can afford more complex non linear plots, sub plots and a large number of characters. Novels such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and The Brothers Karamazov by Feodor Dostoevsky have hundreds of characters almost competing with real life town life.
How then should the writer go about this? Identify your target readers, pick on your main characters, and plot your story outline, first in a linear manner before introducing any twists and turns.

WRITING TIPS: NETWORKING WILL DO YOU SOME GOOD!

What is the need of writing if you wont be read? Being read has very many advantages, one being the ability to market yourself even more. If you are in the business of writing anything from children's bedtime stories, novels and even article, belonging to a writers circle or some form of association or social networking forum may be the best way to gain a footing and improve your writing. Are you a member of a writers' group? If not, join here.

Writers groups help with writing tips, writing ideas, editing and marketing and they all come free of charge. Writers groups do not come with stringent rules like those offered by professional editors that work for publishing firms but if you are lucky to be part of a very good group, all the services that a writer may need will be at your door step. Are a member of a writers forum or group? Join Triond or The Writers' Facebook for a start and enjoy the fun!

WRITING TIPS: PROOFREADING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH

Just how many times should you read through your writing before submitting? I have always argued that as much as it may appear a very hard task, proofreading can not be done away with. Imagine Leo Tolstoy rewriting War and Peace, the close to 1500 pages almost 8 times! Why not read through your 300 pages, why not write and rewrite such a short novel? There is no short cut to proofreading but however careful we are, however good we are at editing our own work, we sometimes need a third party, a fresh pair of eyes to go through the stuff that we have written and see what we didn't see.

If you have written a story book, a novel or a play and have done everything to perfect it, its time you gave it out to a trusted friend, a critic who will see the faults that you the creator didn't. Do not run away from this reality. None of us is perfect, none of us can write so beautifully and without the slightest of mistakes and that is why editors exist. Minimize their work and your chances of getting another rejection slip will be slim.

WRITING TIPS: ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL WRITER? BEHAVE LIKE ONE!

Most writers not only write for money but also work towards improving their earnings time and again. Earning from your writing, however little you earn, means you are a professional and need to behave like one. A professional writer is paid for writing. Start by treating your writing seriously if you really want to earn from it.

A professional teacher teaches everyday, a professional salesman/woman sales everyday, and when he or she isn't selling, he or she is planning his or her next sale. Why not so for a professional writer.
Read and write everyday however little, thoroughly proofread your work before submitting it to the editors, and remember, make efforts to market your work. That is how professionals behave in other fields, and writers are no different.Respect the noble profession that writing is. It educates, it entertains and it informs. What else can do that?

WRITING TIPS: ALWAYS OBEY THE BASIC RULES OF WRITING

Many young writers think they can do away with the basic rules of writing after enjoying some form of success. They struggle with their writing till they make a mark on the writing scene, they stick to the rules of writing, always reading, researching their writing projects, proof reading before submission and trying hard to market their work after publishing.
Do not stop following these rules when you finally enjoy some form of success. Success is always hard earned; success is always a product of very hard work and determination on the work of the writer. The greatest writers you read about, the great men and women who have succeeded in the world of writing never ever, they never take these basic rules of writing for granted.
a) Read for inspiration
b) Research into what is unknown to you
c) Never let a day pass without writing
d) Proof read as many times as possible before submission
e) Market your work after publishing!

WRITING TIPS: WRITING ARTICLES NEED NOT BE A STRUGGLE

Do you ever struggle with finding themes for your articles? Well article writing need not be stressful. Unlike novels and dramas that shouldn’t be over autobiographical, article ideas can come from everything and everyone around you from your spouse, to your children, your parents and even your pets. Keep your eyes open and your pen ready. If you don’t have a pen and a paper with you, always note any new ideas that come to your mind, wherever you are as a short message and store this in your phone. Do so every time you are surfing the net, talking to colleagues at work and even when sitting at home with your family. Get those articles rolling, and let them roll on whatever issue there is under the sun. Article writing need not make you sweat, article writing need not stress you, it needs to calm you down instead.

WRITING TIPS: YOUR WRITING POTENTIAL LIES IN DIVERSITY

The greatest writers of all time never concentrated on one genre throughout their writing. William Shakespeare wrote Drama, Sonnets and epic poetry as well. Ernest Hemingway was not only a journalist of high repute but also a novelist and short story writer. D.H. Lawrence wrote poetry, short stories and magnificent novels while Tolstoy penned significant plays, novels and short stories.

While many people will associate you with a particular genre, you really shouldn’t pride yourself in writing in that particular genre for the rest of your writing life. If you are basically a novelist, its time you learned writing some short stories or some poetry. Ask Michael Ondaatje, the Sikh Canadian author of the English patient. Being a highly successful poet did not stop him from penning some of the best novels in the English language!
Fill the void that comes with a writer's block by writing numerous articles, poetry and short stories. They may form a reputable collection of their own.

WRITING TIPS: WHAT ARE YOU READING?

What you read determines what you write. If you want to write great stuff, you rather read great stuff. If you want to write useless stuff, go ahead and read useless stuff. While saying this, I know that nobody wants to write useless stuff but those who do not want to put any effort into reading end up writing what I just called useless without ever knowing it. If the only books you know are the Harry Potter series, if the only authors you know are Dean Koontz, Sidney Sheldon and the like, its time you felt sorry for yourself.
Pick up ancient texts such as The Analects of Confucius, The Iliad and the Odyssey, Plato’s republic, the bible, the Koran and any classics that you can lay your hands on. Try reading Leo Tolstoy, Feodor Dostoevsky, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. It’s only by reading the masters that you can become a master; it’s only by studying the giants that you become one.