So I Looked in a Book
By Annette Rey
Where do you get inspiration when a day seems dry and auto-repeating? I looked in a book for a cue, Great Toasts, by Andrew Frothingham. I found this inspiring quote by Oscar Wilde,
“Work is the curse of the drinking class.”
What writing ideas do you pull from that?
Continue reading
Try This Technique
By Annette Rey
For the third time in less than a year, a person close to me has died. This has left me feeling fate knocking at my door. For protection from these outer influences I crawl into my writer’s hole and find memoir to be the perfect subject to contemplate.
Take a peek…
Try Really Cutting Your Work (With Scissors)
By Annette Rey
I suppose you have heard of flow-of-thought writing. That is when you write like the wind, putting down your thoughts and making no pauses for corrections.
For me, this works best when I have a subject in mind. Take a word like alcoholism. If you are familiar with that, have family members afflicted, have put on a few hangovers yourself, you can take that subject and roll with it.
Write. Write. Write.
A Lost Practice
By Annette Rey
I believe if you have a familiarity with diagramming sentences, you will create better sentences. And where a sentence just doesn’t seem right, diagramming can be a great tool to lead you in the right direction to correct your sentence.
The tool is:
Finding Subjects for Your Site
By Annette Rey
These thirteen ideas just scratch the surface for finding ideas for posts. This method will work for any blog subject matter. If your blog is about sewing, then list all the types of stitches, needles, hoops, cloth, trim, how to measure, how to cut, patterns… You will get dozens of ideas to elaborate upon.
Since my site is about helping writers write and write better, the following list is related to those goals.
Avoid Wandering Distractions
By Annette Rey
So many blog posts have so much to say. And that can be a problem. The writer has a good point he wants to make, he has the information behind him to add to the post, and he uses the right words and punctuation to convey his thoughts.
So what’s wrong with the piece? Let’s take a look.
Targets, Goals, and Scheduling
By Annette Rey
I’m always pressed for time. How about you?
Most writers have a real life they must live before they can nurture their writer’s life. And the tasks required to engage in their writing life are many and demanding. How do we find a workable slot in which to fit these tasks?
Conversation Is Story.
By Annette Rey
Are you – short on ideas – stumped on character development – unable to complete dialogue – at a loss on detailing scene? Answers for these areas are a car trip away.
A Useful Tool
By Annette Rey
A book I support for writers and for just any person who wants to increase their vocabulary is: The Penquin Rhyming Dictionary. On first glance, a person who is not a poet might think this book has no use for them. But this is a great source for expanding your knowledge of words.
Who’s (oops) Whose Grammar Book Is This Anyway? by C. Edward Good
The Big Ten of Grammar by William B. Bradshaw, PhD
Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner
The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White
The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing by Thomas S. Kane
Punctuation, Plain and Simple by Edgar C. Alward and Jean A. Alward
Prentice Hall Reference Guide by Muriel Harris
Getting the Words Right, How to Rewrite, Edit, and Revise by Theodore A. Rees Cheney
Writer's Block No More 