The Book Of Awesome

It's the little things in life we savor. It's snow days, a cool pillow on a hot summer night, or finding money in your pocket. These are the things that bring a smile to our face, if only for a fleeting moment. And while we all can relate, it took an office worker by the name of Neil Pasricha and his award-winning blog, 1000awesomethings.com to write about them.
When the blog hit the 13 million page-view milestone, a swarm of literary agents pursued Pasricha to consolidate life's simple pleasures into a full-blown book on the topic, titled, The Book of Awesome. Described by the publisher as "a high five for humanity and big celebration of life's little moment," The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are truly free.

Whimsical, and childlike, thousands of awesome things are highlighted in the book. Some of my favorites are:

• Popping Bubble Wrap
• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding
• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick
• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

The Book of Awesome can be found at Amazon and other online bookstores. Enjoy, and don't forget to wake up and smell the coffee… that is, after you take a spoonful of peanut butter straight out of a freshly opened jar!
The Book of Awesome

Written by Ron Callari
Social Media, Semantic Technology, Digitial Media & Trends Writer
InventorSpot.com


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Writing Tips: Five Steps for Turning Your Idea Into a Manuscript

Turning an idea into a manuscript isn't rocket science. It is actually a step by step procedure and, in the end, all you have to do is... well, do it! Here are five steps to turn your idea for a story into an actual story:

1. Describe your idea in a few words. If you don't have an idea, think of one right now (it's about time you made this dream come true!). Think of words, phrases, characters and events. Keep it brief and limit yourself to a few sentences or short descriptions.

2. Fill the gaps below to see how it goes:

The protagonist of my story is...

What he/she wants to do is... his/her purposes are... he/she craves for...

He/she is hindered by

because...

In this story, the ending is impressive because...

Once you cover these gaps, you immediately have the outline of an interesting plot.

3. Are there any gaps in the plot? Consider the questions that may arise in the head of your readers. Make a list and answer each question "reasonably".

4. Make a brief description for the following list. Keep the descriptions short and to the point. Do not write scenes and details... just the general plan.

Ordinary world - The protagonist's everyday life where everything begins.

Different new world - where things evolve.

Characters (protagonist / supporting roles)

Antagonist (one or more)

Allies (of the "good guys" and the "bad guys" of your story)

Enemies (again of the "good guys" and the "bad guys" of your story)

Note: Antagonists, allies and enemies can be - besides real persons - situations, emotions, spiritual realities, psychological issues, etc.

5. Answer the following questions:

The beginning

How will you introduce your protagonist in an interesting way?

What is your story's "world" like?

Write down some things about the place, setting, time and the initial scene.

What will your tone be like? Try to write your first paragraph or your first page to realize the tone and style of your narrative.

What is the disturbing / unsettling incident that will make your protagonist "flee" from his/her everyday life and keep the reader interested? Make a list.

Who or what are the hindrances and predicaments your protagonist faces? Write a few things about that.

The Middle

How will you go deeper into the relations and situations your protagonist experiences?

Make a list your protagonist's "battles", with everything he/she will need to confront.

What could be the final showdown?

What is that incident that will lead things towards the end and mark the final showdown? Make a list of these potential events.

The End

Write a rough sketch of the protagonist's final "battle" - the showdown.

Consider how to close any remaining "open fronts" and tie up loose ends.

What could be the story's impressive finale? Make a list of possible finales.

That's it. Your story is ready. To put it simply, you have created your story manual and now all you have to do is follow the instructions to write it down. So, stop waiting around for that great inspiration to visit you. Writing is an actual job, with steps and procedures. Get to it!

Hi. My name is Maria Gousiou and I am a published author in Greece. Visit my website on Writing for greek speaking aspired writers.

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Light Writing: A How To Guide

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How to Get Your Book Published

Make it a good read! Ah, easier said than done, I hear you say. Not really. If you have a way with words, and are prepared to tackle this matter with discipline and intelligence, you, too, can write and publish a book. I know, because I've done just that, and I'm no Shakespeare, or Grisham, come to think of it. There are thousands of truly dreadful books published every year, which should give you hope, and the occasional gem, which should tell you something else: publishers are snowed under with manuscripts from new and aspiring writers and are always on the lookout for the glint of something special. Book editing services can support you once you are into the writing itself, but first you need to buy the land, and draw up some plans.

Your initial task is to have a cracking theme to work with. And, as a professional book editor, I have to tell you something. Many new writer have difficulty grasping the difference between theme and plot. A theme can cover a lot of ground, but its essence is a generalisation that sums up a human condition or attitude about life.

A few examples: lies can come back to haunt you; affability often masks a sinister character; you can't teach an old dog new tricks; the meek shall inherit the earth; conflicting loyalties; my family or my country; one law for the rich, another for the poor. The trick is to keep your theme general in nature, yet one that is universally accepted or capable of being accepted.

Every writer, often unknown to themselves, has a personal arsenal of themes just waiting to be tapped into. Not surprising really, when you think that life is so rich and varied that no two human beings are going to experience the same things, in identical ways, and be similarly influenced.

To explore this goldmine of themes just beneath the surface, ask yourself what really moves you, infuriates you, arouses strong feelings. Cruelty, physical or mental, might be high on the list, or brutal games of sport, like rugby. Talk to yourself when nobody's around and list a couple of dozen of these themes. You'll soon have a shortlist of candidates for a theme that can act as the bedrock upon which the next stage in the writing journey will be launched: the search for a plot.

Let's say that you hate money, and what it can do to people who have either too much of it . . . or none. Your possible theme, a bit hackneyed I admit: money is the root of all evil, or a variant of same. Now you need a plot; a structured sequence of events that involves a few central characters. And of course, your plot revolves around money and what it does to them. You want to be creative? Now is your chance. Come up with a great plot that will mystify, intrigue and enthral. All you then have to do is write it. It can be done, and after your patient planning it will be far easier than you imagined.

Of course once you have produced a well planned and executed 'masterpiece' that pulls all the right strings and presses all the right buttons, then the publishers will take it seriously. Because that is exactly what they are looking for.

Writeaway provides help and advice on how to write and publish a book. You will also have access to a dedicated team of people who can provide a comprehensive book editing service having had personal experience of the book publishing process.

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Writing in the Dark

I used to be a public writer and would spend hours describing my surroundings while at parks and coffee shops. Some may have called me a poser with my black spiral notebook and leather jacket, yet I feel my public writing phase helped me learn to write with all my senses.

At 17, I was more preoccupied with making observations and sharing my opinion than writing poems or a novel. Some of my blurbs read more like rants and I almost stopped writing when one of my high school English teachers told me that I was wasting my time and talent because publishers would never print a diary or journal unless the person was famous.

Although the internet was already around, this was a time when a blog was thought to be a hard-to-remove stain and Altavista was the ultimate search engine. Thanks to AOL, I created my first homepage which I populated with thoughts from my black spiral notebook. Amazed with the Instant Messages from strangers online that found my writing funny, or agreed with my view point on a topic, I continued to develop my thoughts on paper and used the web as my editor.

When I lost my sight in 2007, learning to read and write in the dark reminded me of my teenage phase of learning to use words to decipher my world. I traded my black notebook and mechanical pencils for a laptop with talking software for the blind called JAWS (Job Access with Speech), a pair of headphones, digital recorder, and electronic dictionary. At the beginning, the robotic voices that read my writing back to me seemed flat allowing me to only write a few sentences at a time. My first short story of five pages took months to complete because of the constant interruptions I call "ear breaks" between my writing sessions that involved listening to the radio to help refresh my eardrums. However, just like with many things in life, JAWS became tolerable and eventually my friend. Learning to focus solely on my content and ignore JAWS was the first step in mastering writing in the dark.

Attempting to reclaim my roots, I ventured to public places with my laptop and guide dog Madge; I found that chatty crowds and buzzing cars kept me from hearing my inner and computer voice. Most of my writing is now done at my house and my writing breaks consist of playing with Madge or listening to an audio book. Breaks now serve more as an acknowledgement that I achieved an editor's deadline or writing goal for the day. I also find that taking breaks to stretch or get a snack can reduce writer's block. For editing, I rely on spell check, my writing group, and mentors in the San Francisco literary community. Writing in the dark definitely requires a deeper level of concentration that allows me to see my writing utensils not as tools, but extensions of my body and mind.

Belo Cipriani writes both creative non-fiction and short fiction across several genres with the help of adaptive technology. To read and edit, he uses a talking computer that runs a screen reader called JAWS and a talking dictionary device called Franklin.

Belo holds a Masters Degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Notre Dame de Namur University, where he studied under award winning poet Jacqueline Berger and fiction writer Kerry Dolan.

He is heavily involved with the San Francisco literary community and is a member of Litquake, The California Writers Club, and a contributing writer for Bay Area publications. Belo and his guide dog Madge live in San Francisco. Learn more at http://blindamemoir.com/.

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How to Beat Writer's Block

Writer's block happens all the time. It is almost always a signal that you aren't as mentally prepared to write as you should be.

Ask yourself: "What is my purpose in writing?"

Say, for example, you are writing to inform your customers of a new product your company is offering. Your purpose is: "I want to tell you about an exciting new product we offer." The letter builds off of this. But let's go further. What is the product, and why should the reader care? Most importantly: What do you want them to do about it? Answer these questions and pretty soon you have the outline, and possibly first draft, of your letter.

Writer's block can usually be solved by answering these questions:

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Of the five questions, "Why?" is the most important. Writing without a purpose is, by definition, pointless.

"Who?" is an important, but often overlooked question. Who are you writing to? Visualize them in your mind and then write to them. If it's a large group of people, find someone you know who would belong to that group, and then picture that person in your mind as you write. In this way, writing becomes like a comfortable conversation.

"What?" is another important question to answer. What exactly are you trying to say? Write it down. If you find you can't, then you've also found the reason for your writer's block. You'll need to take some time to better formulate your thoughts before the writing can continue.

Some projects might not have a "when?" or "where?" to answer. So be it. As soon as you can get back to writing, do it. But when the words won't come, it means that somewhere there is a question you need to get answered.

On the other hand

Sometimes the trick to beating writer's block is to simply get words on the page.

Write out exactly what information you want to get across to your reader:

"I want to tell you about the new service my company offers."

"I want to convince you to buy a new car."

"I want you to donate money to our organization."

Make sure you are as detailed as possible. Write it down like this:

"I want you to know -- about our product."

"I want you to feel -- about it."

"I want you to do -- about it."

Once you have written down everything (and I mean everything) you want your writing to communicate, you can revise it into a more appropriate form. You'll often find that working through this process provides you with a fairly good rough draft. Most importantly: It breaks your writer's block.

Andy is a professional freelance writer specializing in web and marketing copy. He maintains a site at http://greenbaycopywriting.com and also at http://gbcopywriting.wordpress.com
or visit him on Linkedin

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Don't Let Good Grammar Spoil Good Writing

Author: Philip Yaffe

by Philip Yaffe

If saying that good grammar can spoil good writing sounds like heresy, it was meant to.

When I search the Web for writing tips, all too often the first bit of advice that comes back is "Be sure to use good grammar". But that's putting the cart before the horse. It's like telling a carpenter which hammer to use to drive in a particular type of nail. Very useful advice. However, this is a detail. It is valid only if the carpenter knows why he is putting the nail there and what will follow.

There is a second reason why this bit of advice is misplaced. One person's idea of good grammar is not necessarily another's.

The English language is not blessed (or cursed) with the equivalent of the Académie Française, a more or less official body in France that regulates the French language. Differences about correct grammar are sometimes hotly argued within the Académie, but outside their decisions are accepted as law.

English grammarians also are continually arguing with each other. There is of course broad agreement on many things. However, when there isn't, you can pretty much do as you like.

Over my 40-year career as a writer, I have purposely chosen to "violate" some aspects of English grammar that many people consider to be inviolable. Why? Because I believe their rigorous application often impedes emphasis and/or understanding.

I would like to share some of these with you. You may never have thought about them before, so here is your opportunity. Once you have reflected on the matters, you may accept or reject them as the mood takes you.

Although a native of Southern California, I have been living in Brussels, Belgium, for the past 34 years. In Europe, British English is generally preferred to American English, so I am quite accustomed to seeing the language used somewhat differently from what I knew before I came here.

Past vs. Present Tense

One of my particular pet peeves is something I hear daily on the BBC, the prestigious British Broadcasting Corporation. This is not a condemnation of British vs. American English. It's just that I became aware of the practice while listening to the BBC. Americans do pretty much the same thing.

What am I talking about? The annoying, even ludicrous stricture that if a sentence starts in the past tense, it must remain in the past tense.

For example: The United Nations this morning reported that malaria "was" still a worldwide health menace. To me, it makes much more sense to say: The United Nations this morning disclosed that malaria "is" still a worldwide health menace.

Or what about this: The President asserted that the economy "was" going to remain strong at least until 2011. Again, it makes much more sense to say: The President asserted that the economy "is" going to remain strong at least until 2010.

This practice is relatively harmless; nevertheless, I cringe at it. Clearly, the speaker didn't mean to suggest that the situation was likely to change almost the instant he had uttered his statement. He was projecting into the future. So while he may have said it five minutes ago (past tense), it seems ludicrous to paraphrase his statement in the past tense, which only diminishes its force.

If you believe that casting the beginning of a sentence in the past tense, then the rest in the present or future tense is bad grammar, you are in poor company. When the logic of the situation calls for it, many good writers and speakers ignore the "rule". The above examples were in fact taken from two the world's leading international daily newspapers.

Capitalizing Bullet Points

The purpose of bullet points is to make thoughts and information stand out. So why go against the current by not capitalizing the first letter of each point? For example:

A.

Our system helps people:

-- write better;

-- write faster;

-- write persuasively;

-- reduce errors;

-- reduce formatting problems.

B.

Our system helps people:

-- Write better

-- Write faster

-- Write persuasively

-- Reduce errors

-- Reduce formatting problems

You will notice that in addition to capitalizing each bullet point, example B also eliminates the semi-colons and the period. What logic is there for putting in commas semi-colons, and periods? The fact that the next line is a new bullet point, i.e. clearly a new thought, makes such punctuation unnecessary, and even distracting.

Of course, it can be contended that each bullet point is a continuation of the main sentence, so starting with a capital would be incorrect. Likewise, each bullet point is the end of a thought, so punctuation is necessary. Valid arguments, for a grammarian. However, for a writer whatever weakens the power of bullet points negates the reason for using them in the first place. Failure to capitalize and inserting punctuation both tend to weaken bullets points, and therefore should be avoided

Names and Titles

My final grammatical pet peeve may not be grammatical at all. It has to do with how people are introduced in a document. I am not certain there is any "rule" governing this; it is more a matter of choice.

A.

The president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, John Jones, has just celebrated his 18th year of service

B.

John Jones, president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, has just celebrated his 18th year of service

Both A and B are legitimate ways of introducing John Johns. Some good writers choose the one, some choose the other. I would like to argue that in most cases, B is probably preferable because it is more "natural". After all, at a party you wouldn't say to someone, "I would like to introduce you to the president of the International Federation of Tuba Players, John Jones." Preferably you would say, "I would like to introduce you to John Jones, president of the International Federation of Tuba Players."

Paragraphing

This article is full of a heresy that many grammarians would be happy to chastise me for -- and have.

You may have noticed that many of the paragraphs are quite short, even only one sentence. I am certain that you didn't learn paragraphing like this in school and would have been marked down if you had tried it.

Some people who use "ungrammatically" short paragraphs claim that they help maintain reader interest, because readers dislike large blocks of text. This is true. However, there is an even better reason for using them. Short paragraphs help to dramatize certain key idea, thereby enhancing clarity.

This first paragraph of this section is a case in point.

The sentence starting "This article is full of a heresy that . . ." could easily have been combined with the next sentence starting "You may have noticed that many of the paragraphs are quite short . . ." to form a single paragraph. This is probably what most grammarians would do and insist that others do, as well. However, some of the emphasis of that first sentence would have been lost, to the detriment of clarity.

If you have doubts about using such unorthodox paragraphing, look any leading newspapers and magazine for reassurance. Short, dramatic paragraphing is one of the things that make these popular publications so easy and enjoyable to read.

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com, phil.yaffe@gmail.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/dont-let-good-grammar-spoil-good-writing-527414.html

About the Author

Philip Yaffe is a former writer with The Wall Street Journal and international marketing communication consultant. Now semi-retired, he teaches courses in persuasive communication in Brussels, Belgium. Because his clients use English as a second or third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. He is the author of In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional. Contact: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com.

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