New Website

 
I have been working at creating a new look for my writing blog as well as a new website over the last few weeks. The website was created to be a central hub for all my information concerning writing. I plan to use the writing resource page of my website as a tool to accumulate helpful writing information for myself and other writers. My new website can be found at www.cynthiagriffin.net. I also added a link from this blog to the site, which can be found at the top left hand corner of my blog. Enjoy!

5 Writing Blogs to Check Out!

Writing is my passion and something I try to do as much as I can. I like all types of writing and have done everything from fiction to nonfiction. My love of writing doesn't necessarily make me good at it, however, so I'm continuously seeking ways to be better at what I love. I have found writer's blogs to be a wonderful source to do just that. Below you will find the top 5 blogs that I read on a regular basis. I have found each inspirational and a great help to expanding my knowledge as a writer.

Beginning Writers: What You Should Know

You've decided that you have a love of writing and would like to pursue it further whether it be as a hobby or a career, but you just don't know where to start. As someone who has "been there and done that", I can sympathize with your predicament, so decided to compile some basic information that will help on your journey to discovering the imagination inside.

Dorchester (Leisure) Boycott

Some disturbing news was brought to my attention today by a fellow writer, and it is the worst kind for a writer. It seems that the publisher Dorchester has begun the dangerous game of cutting authors out of their rights. They are in the process of converting to a complete digital format for their product and in doing so are trying to find ways to infringe on the rights of authors. In some cases, they are even selling books that had the rights already returned back to the author. In response to this outrageous behavior, people are starting to take a stand. I urge others to join in on this and do what you can to help support those being victimized by this company. If  you want more information about the specifics of what is happening and ways to help please visit the blogs of Robert Swartwood and Brian Keene. I have already send in an email of protest to Dorchester and plan on not purchasing any of their books. Please help us make a stand.

Feedback: A Double-Edged Sword

This blog was inspired by two individuals frootbat 31 and J. Timothy King and their recent posts on feedback. I thought the topic intriguing and something I happen to have very strong feelings about, because of the power that feedback has given me to become the writer I am today.

It is interesting to see the variety of opinions that exist over such a topic as supplying feedback to fellow writer's. I never truly realized the great contention that seems to stem from this particular subject, which I always considered a boon to help writer's reach a different level of understanding with their own craft, though, it seems that others mark critiques as a creature bloated with personal attacks, and still others consider the art of critique a matter solely focused on the negative. This is a blog to dive into the topic of feedback and my belief that getting constructive feedback on your work can help you find true understanding of your own work if you are willing to listen.

Writing Challenge: A Challenge for All

Writing is something that I truly love to do, but even that love can falter by my personal shortcomings, so I find that in challenging myself to be better I can plow through some of my procrastination and self doubt. Every once in a while I like to come up with challenges for myself that gets me motivated, drives me forward, and expands my experience that much more.

Right now my challenge to myself is to write 50 articles for www.associatedcontent.com by the end of April. I started at the beginning of March and so far I have 12 articles and have a multitude of others in the works as well as a notebook full of ideas. I'm not sure if I'll reach my magical number of 50, but I've enjoyed the challenge so far. It will not only help me work on a deadline, but it will give me a library of articles to use to help promote my writing abilities, and with every word I write I become better at my craft. If you wish you help support my efforts go to my contributor page to check out a listing of articles.

I also want to throw out a challenge for all fellow writer's everywhere to actively challenge yourself to be better in your craft. You can only become better by doing. Whether it be submitting for a writing contest, writing articles for an online site, or some other self imposed challenge, it is important to constantly try to find ways to motivate yourself to be better. I implore you to take up a torch and let it shine!

Getting Your Article to Standout

“Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head.” ~ From the movie Finding Forrester

You’ve completed the first draft of your article, pouring it out onto the page with reckless abandon, but now as you polish it up, it’s time to put on your thinking cap to find ways to make it standout and be seen. Here are 5 ways that you can get your article to standout with a pop!

Write It Down or Lose It

"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by.  How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?  For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone.  That is where the writer scores over his fellows:  he catches the changes of his mind on the hop."  ~Vita Sackville-West

It's a rare thing that you sit down to write and some of your best ideas actually come while your writing. If you're like me an idea will come to you out of the blue when your driving the car, making dinner, working-out, or maybe even watching Television, and if you are also like me and don't write that idea down right away it will disappear into the haze of your memory. It is important to catch those thoughts and place them somewhere so that they don't drift away to be lost forever, because chances are they won't come back. I can't tell you how many great story ideas or ideas period that became lost to my forgetful brain. So what is the cure to this dilemma?

Does Nonfiction Have Plot?

Nonfiction and plot, do they really need each other? Can nonfiction dance alone, by itself without being partnered with plot? Some believe that because of the nature of nonfiction that it does not require plot, but you have to have a focus, don’t you? So wouldn’t the focus be the plot? In short, plot works in nonfiction to present a uniformed piece that draws the reader in and tries to convince them of something specific. 

In order to have good nonfiction then you must have a clear purpose. If you do not have a clear purpose then your nonfiction it is doomed to fail. A bunch of directionless information isn’t going to make the piece hold strong and it will falter.  It’s the purpose that keeps interest and gives it a driving force.

How to Write Nonfiction

You have found a topic you want to write on, but aren’t quite sure how to proceed next. You probably already know that nonfiction writing is essentially the organization of facts into a complete piece that presents those facts to a reader. But how can you do it so that it makes sense and is something that’s interesting to read?  Here are five steps to get those facts from head to page, and dazzle the reader with your repository of knowledge.

Dig a Little Deeper

Are you stuck and not able to move forward in your writing? Do you find that no matter what you do those words just won’t come, even when you bang your head up against the wall? Are you feeling completely abandoned by your muse and not sure he’ll be making an appearance ever again? Then it just might be time for you to dig a little deeper.