Fun Blogging

As writers, we’re always pushing the envelope to express ourselves better than we did before. However there are times when we plateau, when our writing just doesn’t feel natural. Worse yet, there are times when we can’t get a good paragraph out. Those are times when we start thinking about pushing ourselves and our writing. When you need to tweak and boost your writing up a notch, it’s always good to try something constructive.  For those who could use a couple of tips, here are a few that are sure to help improve your writing and keep it from going stale. 1.Imitate Different Authors If you read other writers for inspiration, why not actively imitate their writing? Once you walk in another writer’s shoes for a bit, writing as they write, you get an idea on how to approach writing about things in ways you normally wouldn’t.  Moreover, it will force you to pay attention to what makes someone else’s writing style unique which, in turn, will help you find ways to make your own sty...

[A guest post by Nathalie Raben from NYC Midnight] Get those ball points ready to roll with NYC Midnight's 2009 Creative Writing Championships . This flash fiction contest invites writers from all regions to compete against one another in a World Cup-style writing race. For each challenge, writers are placed in different heats and assigned a specific genre and object. They then have a specific amount of time to pen their 1,000 word short stories, which will then go before a panel of esteemed judges in the professional writing world. Feedback will be provided for each story, and winners will be ranked challenge by challenge in a point system that mirrors the World Cup. All participants are competing for a chance to win up to $2,000 in cash and prizes. Devising creative contests in nothing new for NYC Midnight, an organization that derives its' name from the all nighters often associated with creative thinking. Registration for the Creative Writing Challenge closes on Wednesday,...

Once you start into creative writing and novel publishing, you may have to send many many typescripts to various publishers or literary agents. You need to track these submissions somehow. Keeping a list, spreadsheet, or a notepad of submissions will soon tire you out. Here is a better way. A software program, made just for this task: Sonar Submission Tracker . The important thing to note is this software is completely free. May it be short stories, novels, or novellas, or even articles to article directories or freelancing websites, Sonar can track their progress pretty well. Here is a screenshot of Sonar: Using this program, creating list of submissions and tracking their details is pretty easy. Go ahead and download the app free. If you like it, try more applications from Spacejock, which are all free, and give a tiny donation to the website. You can read my other review about Spacejock writing software, yWriter here .

[Contributed by Natalie Raben from NYC Midnight (www.nycmidnight.com)] NYC Midnight's ( www.nycmidnight.com ) Short Story Challenge 2009 is a creative competition that challenges writers to think outside of their comfort zones. In 2002, two New Yorker's founded NYC Midnight as an LLC to play host to several different yearly writing and screenwriting challenges. For the Short Story Challenge 2009, the cloak of anonymity will be removed for writers on January 16, 2009 when the mystery genres and subjects are revealed to each participant or group. Writers, who have the option of working in teams, will then be given seven full days and nights to burn the midnight oil and crank out a 2,500 word-count original short story. The published authors and professors that compose this year's panel of judges will then select up to 100 winners to advance on to the final heat, which takes place in March. During this, writers will compete for a chance to win thousands in cash and prizes by w...

We haven't been updating about creative writing for some time due to readers' interest in various other topics, and my exploring them further. Here is a revisit to it. We will see why you can be unsuccessful in writing business. Here are eight of the severest mistakes creative writers can do. 1. Not Writing at All If you are a writer, not writing is like not breathing and still looking to live. Most of the time, the writer's block may be the reason why you are not writing. In that case, use my writer's block tips to fight it. But keep writing always, no matter how crappy what you come up with is. 2. Not Reading at All Reading a lot gives you inspiration and words to write further. Refraining from it will simply make your writing stale and uninteresting at the least. At the most, you will simply lose your writing skill. Hence, keep reading without fail. 3. Taking Negative Comments Personally A mistake any budding writer can do. Negative comments always come when you are...