Wriging Clips

Vonnegut Is Genius

shadowsun7 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:30:23

A wonderful excerpt from Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, about World War Two. Powerful prose.

Three Statistics That Lie

Tyme — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:40:22

I love the line about lies; "there are lies, damned lies, and statistics". You can use numbers to tell any story you want.

In the realm of web statistics, there are three numbers that are great to use if you want to tell lies. They are:

- RSS subscriber numbers
- Facebook app install numbers
- Follower numbers on Twitter, Friendfeed, Tumblr, or some other social media service

Overcoming writer's block

Menthos — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:11:38

Do you have to complete a piece of writing but are putting it off? A report, a blog article, or a letter? Are you finding that the moment you sit down to write, your mind seems to go blank? Crap! Writers block! What can you do about it?

How to Publish a Book in 2 Weeks for $200

Tyme — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:50:10

Here’s a technique you can use to publish a non-fiction book in a fortnight. I recently wrote a book in a few days and had a published version in one week. To do this, you must use a print-on-demand self-publisher and not a traditional publisher. Business books work best with the method. Fiction requires an entirely different approach.

The Top 7 Secrets to Writing a Cracked.com Top 7 List

Scrivs — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:48:25

As editor of a pop culture blog and a former writer for Cracked.com, I deeply understand that The Amusing Top 10 List is possibly the most effective vehicle of internet comedy delivery in the universe. But while these posts might seem like Digg-baiting link lay-ups, a certain art and a craft goes into writing them. And like most fine arts, list writing can be totally encapsulated in an easy-to-digest eight step guide.

How to Increase Engagement and Authority With Quotations

Scrivs — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:22:46

A great quotation is gold to a perceptive writer. You can instantly boost reader engagement with the right bit of wisdom or wit. And when writing to persuade, you can bolster your arguments by pointing to the words of the well regarded.

110 Best Books: The Perfect Library

Scrivs — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:26:58

From classics and sci-fi to poetry, biographies and books that changed the world… we present the ultimate reading list.

Seven Deadly Words Of Book Reviewers

shadowsun7 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:55:23

The seven most used words in book reviews. Hilarious.

Top 15 Science Fiction Book Series

Scrivs — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:45:51

Nothing is better than finishing a brilliant science fiction novel knowing that it is only the first in a series. Some of the greatest minds in sci-fi have used the series format to create complex and thrilling universes for their story characters to exist in, while others have created dystopian (and utopian) future environments on earth. This list takes the best of the science fiction series genre and attempts to rank them - a difficult (and obviously subjective) task. For your reading pleasure, here are the 15 greatest science fiction book series.

CYOA Book Graphed

Scrivs — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:01:50

Who knew that there were so many possibilities?

The Age Of Essays

Scrivs — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:57:21

Popular magazines made the period between the spread of literacy and the arrival of TV the golden age of the short story. The Web may well make this the golden age of the essay. And that's certainly not something I realized when I started writing this.

Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimers

wrttnwrd — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:22:19

Handling it with his usual humor and aplomb...

Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing

SimplyJessica — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:14:15

Roy Peter Clark from Poynter Institute has posted up 50 tools that can help you when you do any kinds of writing.

Remembering Norman Mailer - (1923-2007)

Tyme — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:37:53

Norman Mailer, one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth Century who co-founded The Village Voice in 1955 died on November 10th in New York City at age 84 from complications of Renal failure.

The Greatest Punctuation Mark You Never Use: Interrobang

Scrivs — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:39:20

The interrobang (/ɪn'tɛrəbæŋ/) (‽) is a rarely used, nonstandard English-language punctuation mark intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the interrogative point) and the exclamation mark (known in printers' jargon as the bang). The typographical character is a superimposition of those two marks. The same effect is also frequently achieved by placing the exclamation point after or before the question mark; e.g., "How could you do such a thing?!"

Enders Game: Original Short Story

Gnorb — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:46:59

This was the original "Ender's Game" short story from whence the franchise of books came.

Cory Doctorow Abuses Fair Use Copyright Law?

Mike — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:08:59

In a nutshell: I quoted, in its entirety, a one-paragraph story that Ms Le Guin sent to the fanzine Ansible, in which she made fun of a book review in Slate that said that Michael Chabon "has spent considerable energy trying to drag the decaying corpse of genre fiction out of the shallow grave where writers of serious literature abandoned it." Le Guin's paragraph was a long one, about 500 words, and I pasted the whole thing in, because I thought it was delightful.

Not something you see everyday. Similar to Gandhi getting arrested for beating up a child. Some things just don't happen, and when they do, it's probably not what it appears.

Kurt Vonnegut's Eight Rules for Writing Fiction

inadvertentgardener — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:43:56

Kurt Vonnegut breaks it down for new and experienced writers.

Instant Cowboy: Fat Daisy

Gnorb — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:37:18

A story about Fat Daisy, the comic book shop owner, and the two boys who find a powerful, deadly secret.

Who writes Corporate Blogs

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:11:37

Making a blog truly corporate can become quite a challenging task when you're looking to provide insight into the company for the outside world.

Figure out confusing words before publishing that article

Tyme — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:06:40

A database of 3000+ commonly mis-used words.

What Ails the Short Story

Tyme — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 04:13:06

Stephen King: American short story alive? Check. American short story well? Sorry, no, can’t say so. Current condition stable, but apt to deteriorate in the years ahead.

How to Use English Punctuation Correctly

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:13:51

The following is a list of common English punctuation marks and their usage.

How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:20:34

While it may be acceptable in friendly e-mails and chat rooms, excessive colloquialism is a major pitfall that has brought down the quality of formal, written text. Here are some steps/tips that you can follow to help to improve your overall writing.

How to Write Research Papers that Rock!

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:22:19

Looked at properly, research papers can be a great way to deepen your understanding of your chosen field, and may be the first step towards developing a specialization that will serve you well as you move into your career or advanced education.

George Orwell's 5 Rules for Effective Writing

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:25:16

By following Orwell’s 5 rules for effective writing, you’ll distinguish yourself from competitors and clearly communicate your ideas.

50 Tools that can Increase your Writing Skills

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:26:59

f you are writing anything at all, odds are you'll improve your skills by spending some time at the Poynter Institute. A list of a whopping 50 articles that we should all read

57 Tips for Writing Your Term Paper

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:29:14

A few tips handy to help improve your chances at a high-scoring term paper will no doubt help - along with a few general study and college life tips.

How to Write Good

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:30:19

Tips to improve writing.

7 Ways To Speed Up Your Writing Time

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:44:48

Make the most of your writing time.

What to write? 12 Tips to Get Your Article Writing Going

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:47:20

Are you running short of ideas for your articles? Is generating fresh ideas for writing becoming difficult? By following the techniques discussed in this article, you will be an article generating power house.

Improve Your Business Writing

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:53:57

If you are going to use your words to build a career or use it as a form of marketing then you should know some basic business writing tips.

How To Write A Resignation Letter

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:55:24

There's more to resigning from a job than just how to write a resignation letter. In fact, next to getting hired, how you resign might just be the next most important event in your tenure at a particular job.

How Writing Can Help You Cope With Difficult Events

Tyme — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:57:43

The results: Those who wrote about their anger and disappointment found new employment much more quickly.

The Art of Writing: 10 Tips from the Masters

Scrivs — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:05:56

As the world becomes increasingly digital, writing becomes more important. This is especially true for non-writers. If you work in an office, the majority of your communications are made with text by email or IM. Here are 10 timeless tips to help you improve style and substance, straight from the pens of humanity’s finest authors.