Arts | Writer's Pad

Be the Best Writer that You Can Be

August 11, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

A common trademark among good writers is doing efficient research. Some writers do a lot of research which takes up a lot of time and they may end up using a small fraction of what’s collected. Likewise, another writer may do almost no research and her writing lacks the depth of a well researched article and isn’t an enjoyable read. Research the questions you need to answer but do so efficiently to become a better and more diverse writer.

A good editing job will also help you to become a better writer, such as online paper editing sites. An impartial set of eyes is nice to have and these proofreading and editing duties are well handled by the professionals while you concentrate on other aspects of your paper. This should include double-checking all the facts in your article and omitting anything you can’t verify as fact from at least two sources. The integrity of your written pieces demands that facts are checked for accuracy.

Also, do not limit yourself to a certain time for writing. Instead, e-mail yourself ideas or write them on paper and shove it in your pocket until a time you can work the piece out. Often times, writers will have some great ideas throughout the day and expect to remember them later. Unfortunately, we get busy during the day and can’t always remember these ideas later when we want them. Write yourself little prompts so that you never forget an idea.

Accepting criticism is perhaps the most important aspect to becoming a great writer. There are some fabulous editors out there who can help you to get the most from your ideas. Instead of getting frustrated at editor suggestions, embrace them and see if they bring out the best in your written work.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Chechnya Tagged With: Arts, Research, Writing

Writing: The Importance of Second Opinions

August 9, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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You are – in your most humble opinion – brilliant. Your writing reflects a superior collection of thoughts and theories, the academic wonders that are certain to be recognized by all. You are daring with your dissections of history and philosophy, able to conjure intrigue from dull statistics. Your papers are experiences, not mere pages. Words are your carefully chosen allies, meant to sway others and prove genius.

That genius means little, however, when it’s revealed that you left a substantial amount of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in your work. This was an unfortunate and avoidable consequence.

Your inspiration cannot be denied; but it can be tamed. Your papers are praised for their inventiveness but their grades still reflect the all too easy flaws – a confusion of words, improper substitutions and poorly constructed contractions. Your cleverness cannot be questioned. Your basic language skills, however, can.

And this is why it becomes so vital for you to seek the aid of others. Don’t assume your research will compensate for weak writing. You can’t rely on a perfect theory to make readers forget the imperfect presentation. You must instead find an editor – an individual who can decipher your meanings and shape them accurately. You can go to 411.ca and search for the kind of service that you need to make your life easier.

You worry, though, that this will be impossible: your papers are complex affairs, able to be understood only by those who are as familiar with the topics as you are. This is rarely a concern, however. Unless your research is filled to technical explanations, there should be no difficulty in pointing out the problems. Language is the purpose, not what it is trying to prove.

Academia is not meant to be solitary. Just as you rely on others to for theories and experimentations, you must also rely on them to offer advice. Your work cannot suffer from improper writing. It must instead be edited. Look to those who will not simply praise your ideas but will instead make them fully logical.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Arts, Education, Language, Linguistics, Social Sciences, Word, Writers Resources, Writing

Ways to End A News Article

February 23, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Whether you a writing a hard news article or a soft news article, you must at some point finally end the article. Many journalists and news story writers often have a hard time figuring out exactly how to end their article. Do you just stop writing when you think you’re done? Do you create a conclusion as if it were a regular school report? Here is a look at how you should end a news article.

Summary of Facts. One of the popular ways to end a news article is to create a summary of the facts that are presented. While you don’t have to write every fact in the article in the summary you will want to re-write all the information that you want the article to answer. A great example of this is a story on a crime that the police are looking to resolve, you can wrap it up by talking about what the police are looking for and will do in the future.

Eye to the Future. Another great way to end a news article is through the eye on the future approach. This can be talking about what will happen in the future and what possible events the news article might lead to. Articles can end with any solutions that might come from the topic of the article or what people are doing to work to a solution.

Light-Hearted Ending. A light-hearted ending is a great way to end a soft news piece. Writers can end their article talking about a story that is related to the topic, a cute quote or a small amusing reference that is related to the topic. This type of ending will help the piece appeal to the reader’s emotional side and create a great soft news piece.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Article (publishing), Arts, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Mailing Lists, Soft media

Editing Interludes: Writing

November 29, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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It’s the temptation of commas, the struggle of hyphens – sentences are offered to a page, structured again and again. They mock with their imperfections, demanding constant revision. An introduction has been changed. A thesis has been narrowed, broadened and then shaped into an entirely different ideal. Adjectives are offered and then quickly retrieved (they offend with their lackluster descriptions, the too common meanings). You edit; you ponder; you edit once more. Hours are given to the cause of perfection and, when it’s finally achieved, you scribble out the next paragraph – and the process begins again.

This is an all too frequent mistake made by academics. The need to revise is overwhelming; and time is devoted to searching over sentences, trying to discover what can be improved. One simple replacement of a semi-colon can turn into an entirely new block of text. And minutes that should be offered to research are instead given to the too involved proofreading.

It is an easy assumption that all editing is to be done as words are inked out. Writers believe they can craft far better prose if they transform it as soon as it’s begun. This will leave no time for errors to settle onto the page, they think. It will instead offer convenience.

This is wrong.

Too often do these attempts at revision only distract – inspirations are lost; style is shifted into dull grammar; and the purpose of a paper is forgotten. There is no chance for genius, only the mechanical approach to forcing its appearance.

It is therefore strongly recommended that all writing is allowed to simply exist. Form a first draft that is drenched in mistakes to ensure it is also drenched in creativity. Do not pause to edit. Do not stall a sudden clever notion to adjust dashes. Instead offer every idea you wish to have and then redefine them. It enables you to utilize your own mind and create stronger papers.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Arts, Business, Business Services, Communications, Semicolon, Style Guides, Writers Resources, Writing and Editing

Forced Genius: Writing

November 26, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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It’s the most tragic of diseases, an infection that plagues the mind – you stare at a blank screen, with its infinite possibilities, the documents waiting to be formed. It should be such an easy thing to create prose, to turn nonsense into fact; and yet you can think of nothing to offer. There are no words that seem admirable. There are no ideas that seem worthy. All thoughts instead shape themselves into fickle creatures, unwilling to reveal themselves to you or your deadlines. You… have writer’s block.

And this was always assumed to be a myth. You’ve never struggled with sentences before. You believed such a thing could never occur – but it has. And you are left now with nothing but the looming hours, the assignments meant to fill them.

This an common complication, experienced by most would be writers within their scholastic careers. The mind betrays all intentions, leaving an individual helpless to craft the needed pages. And the temptation is to simply walk away – to leave all work behind and replace it with easier pastimes. There can be no gain, after all, in tapping out occasional ideas, dull words.

This is not true.

The only way to cure the dreaded writer’s block is to refuse to accept it. Whether you are trying to create fantastical worlds or are proving theories with research papers, you must continue to type; even when all efforts are clumsy. Force yourself to attempt a sentence. When that is finally completed, try to conquer the concept of a paragraph. The process will be undeniably tedious but it will still offer the reward of progress: you will have pages to show. This is important (not only for your deadline but for your own certainty).

Inspiration is too often confused to a swift thing, formed only under the ideal circumstances. It can, however, be instead the effect of slow rhythms and patience. Write and do not stop.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Arts, FAQs Help and Tutorials, Mind, NaNoWriMo, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing, Writing Exercises

Style or Structure: Writing

November 24, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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You have received an insult, a red ink smear. Your pages were branded inaccurate – all clever phrases deemed weak, all inventive punctuation refused. The stylish form you crafted (letting lyricism flow throughout the paragraphs, the perfect meet of fact and fantasy) has been noted as wrong; and the grade it’s received is far from the expected perfection. Your professor has named you instead a failure, and your paper is to be ignored by all.

There is far too great of an appeal is spicing history with sensationalism, in transforming dry text into a fascination. You wish to make writing interesting; and so you choose unexpected words and unique devices. You manipulate commas and colons. You change the accepted rules of grammar. This is not meant to be a slight against language. It’s instead to be an embracing of it. Your research is to become dynamic.

Too often, however, is it also to become a mistake.

Style over structure is a source of contention within the academic world. While most understand the desire to layer pages with the techniques of novels, more still understand the disaster this can bring – the purpose of a paper is lost, shaped into a fiction instead of a truth. It becomes an excess of punctuation changes and nonsensical ideas: entertaining but ultimately flawed.

It is therefore recommended that all writers choose to follow the established patterns, instead of forging new ones. While poetry and prose can allow you to experiment, research is meant instead to be given respect – and this includes taming all of your wilder grammatical instincts. The pages do not have to be brittle, simple recitations of statistics and percentages; but they do have to remain unbiased. Avoid the hyperbole and exclamations. The purpose is instead to convince through fact, not dazzle with empty style.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Arts, Grammar, Linguistics, Punctuation, Social Sciences, Style guide, United States, Writers Resources

Writing Without Distraction

November 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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The computer is a fiend – you have learned this all too well, have been led astray by its many possibilities. When you are meant to craft a simple paper, you are instead enamored by the virtual playground, the chats initiated by friends, the streams of music and films. Hours quickly pass and you have gained little knowledge of a topic. You’ve instead devoted yourself to enjoying the Internet. Writing, you’ve discovered, has been replaced to the avoidance of it.

This cannot continue – there are deadlines to meet and assignments to answer. You must refuse the ease of the computer and instead utilize it purely for research.

This is, of course, often believed to be impossible. There’s simply too much to do online (all of which is far more appealing than any dry topic); but writing without distractions can be achieved. It’s simply a matter of diligence and careful planning:

One: Schedule. Give yourself a specified amount of time to work on pages. During this block, don’t allow yourself to answer calls, scan channels, play games or do similar activities. Instead simply write.

Two: Create a proper space. Your bedroom is meant to be a retreat from the world. It’s therefore rarely suitable for research. It holds far too many pleasures and far too little urgency. If possible, create a separate space for your work – one without the collection of posters, photographs and bookmarked web pages.

Three: Reward yourself. Once a respectable amount of time has passed (more than mere minutes, the crafting of a singular sentence), give yourself a chance to relax. Take a break; move about your home; enjoy the – short – interlude. You will then be re-energized when you must return to writing.

It’s all too easy to distract yourself with the computer and the many surrounding interests. You must instead, however, distance yourself from these and simply focus on academia.

It is possible. It’s merely dependent on you.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Arts, Goal, IPad, NaNoWriMo, Train, Word count, Writers Resources, Writing

Becoming a Freelance Writer

November 21, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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Instead of using Canada 411 to look up information on writing, why not become a freelance writer yourself and make money doing it. Being a freelance writer isn’t easy. You have to have good writing skills as well as perseverance in order to succeed.

Many people start out writing for free in order to build their credit list, but you don’t have to do that. Send out query letters to different magazines or publishers for ideas you have for them. Instead of wasting your time writing an article, story or book, sending a query letter lets them know your idea so that they can accept it or reject it.

If accepted, you may be sent a contract to write the article or story. They may also have you provide other previous things you have written so they know that you can put a sentence together.

If you have never written an article or a story, now is the time to start. Make sure you write every day. It doesn’t have to be about anything; you can write about your feelings or even write a letter to someone. Once you start writing every day, you will then get into the habit of doing it and will look forward to continue writing.

Find all the books about writing that you can and read them. The best way to learn is by doing research. There are many books out there offering excellent advice. The authors of those books wrote them for a reason; because they’ve succeeded and want to help you succeed as well. Make sure you take notes so that you can go back and remember the important points that stuck out at you.

Becoming a freelance writer can be quite a rewarding experience. Learn everything you can and write every day.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Chechnya Tagged With: Arts, Business, Canada, Freelancer, Query letter, Writers Resources, Writing, Writing and Editing

The Concerns of Outlining: Writing

November 19, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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It seemed wise at the time: you crafted an outline, filled it to all possibilities, all intended ideas. A dissertation was carefully detailed, left without the common errors, the refusal of needed sources. You noted all research materials; you created a thesis that could be proven (easily); and you charted out the direction pages would follow and their eventual conclusion. It was to be the easiest of processes and you were fully prepared for it.

As you began to write, however, you found yourself controlled by your outline. New notions could not be placed within it; the structure was limiting; and, though your research had led you to doubt your proposed outcome, you knew you could not change it. It was too deeply embedded within the paper. You were trapped within your own misconceptions – and your sentences were suffering for it.

There can be no doubt that outlining lengthy assignments is a worthy idea. It helps to ease confusion, allows an individual to avoid wandering prose. The concepts are instead actualized before they are even began, enabling a topic to be more thoroughly understood.

The great difficulty in this, however, is that understanding a subject does not guarantee being inspired by it. An outline forces an individual to follow a highly specified path. Any deviation from notes and their rules can cause an entire conclusion to be lost. The paper was created for a singular purpose. There can then be no injection of creativity. It’s forced instead to preconceptions.

This is both a frustration and a futility.

It is strongly encouraged then that academic writing be governed instead by generalities. Understand the intention of a paper, the resources that will be used; but do not cage yourself to any outcome. Allow for possibilities to instead be given to any page. This will ensure that you are able to prove the point you wish, rather than settling for the point you can no longer deny.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Academic Papers, Arts, Business, Education, Paper, Thesis (academic document), Writers Resources, Writing

Writing With Focus

November 10, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

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You have a passion for all things historical: your time is dedicated to learning all of the little truths, the unexpected secrets of the past. You scour texts, hoping to find what others may have forgotten, to discover all of the clever notations that can be offered to your research. Your most recent paper has sprawled beyond its original intention – an assignment called for meager pages, an easy thesis. You have instead stuffed it with happy digressions, the not quite requested facts. These are to be expected, however. You believe they are necessary to establish your meanings (and even your brilliance).

Your professor, however, does not agree. He quickly destroys all the asides you have created: deeming them unneeded, unwanted and tedious.

Academic writing is often difficult for the enthusiastic student to master. There is always the assumption that others share the same interests, the same desires. This can lead to wasted efforts and too long papers, however – which can in turn lead to waning grade point averages.

It is therefore vital that all research (and subsequent writing) be conducted with one purpose: focus. All details should support a singular argument; all conclusions should be derived from solitary theses. There shall be no tangential pages, the wandering of sentences. This only serves to weaken a theory and frustrate the reader. There is far too little patience in the world to offer to rambling prose. It will simply not be tolerated.

Writers must instead channel their energies into specific ideas. All components should be relevant, proving a point rather than offering new ones. Words must be concise, technically accurate and without diversion. This will help to ensure a more competent style and a far kinder reception.

It’s all too easy to be overwhelmed by a notion. It must become common, however, to define those notions instead to simplicity.

Filed Under: Academic writing, Writing Tagged With: Academic Papers, Arts, Dropbox, Education, Free writing, Microsoft Word, Writers Resources, Writing