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Freelance Writing

First Writer & The Written Road

I came across two websites that I think you’ll find interesting and useful – FirstWriter.com is packed full of publishing resources while The Written Road provides a wealth of information on how to go about becoming a travel writer.

FirstWriter.com

This site does require a subscription but it is very modest at only $2.99 but you get full access to a whole range of literary services. I particularly liked the very neat search engine for picking out magazines, newspapers and agents that may be interested in your work. With the search engine facility, you can narrow down a publication that accepts unsolicited approaches, work out how much you’ll be able to charge for your work – personally I think this alone is worth the subs.

Fiddling around the site, I checked out the writing competitions on the search facility and I was simply stunned at the number of poetry competitions that are being run both in the UK and the US. In the UK alone, for the month of December I counted over 20 before giving up and there were even greater numbers of fiction writing contests. Unfortunately for me, I don’t produce fiction and wouldn’t know a haiku if it stood up and bit me.
[Read more…] about First Writer & The Written Road

Filed Under: Advice for Authors and Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With: Freelance Writing, writing

Knowing Your Literary Terms

When you are constantly going from one project to another, you’ll hear different wants and needs. If the writing projects you are viewing are more like novels and documentaries, you may hear some terms that you have never known at all. So, let’s hone your knowledge of literary terms you may run into from time to time.

Imagery

 

Imagery is an expression of images you would see in a literary work. But, it’s not merely mentioning how people look or how places look. It’s getting the reader involved in the scene. Certain scenes have significance to each of us as individuals and then there are scenes that carry similar significance to each reader.

For instance, most people would feel warm and comfortable if you were to talk about an autumn scene with the sun shining down on a yard full of fallen leaves. While most of us would welcome a description such as this, others might be distracted by their own experiences. A kid who was once homeless and had to sleep on park benches throughout the year would actually have a different reaction.

No matter what reaction a reader has to the imagery, the writer can’t be preoccupied. The art of meaningful imagery is all that matters. Create a picture with words and make it as descriptive as possible. How your readers receive your writing is their own issue.

Symbolism

 

Symbolism is a very close concept to imagery. In fact, symbolism can evoke images. And while those images mean the same things to certain people, they mean different things to different people. For instance, the swastika is a symbol of anti-Semitic sentiment to Jews. But, it’s a symbol of unity and power to neo-Nazis. The ironic fact is that the swastika was a symbol of peace before being adopted by Hitler.

That one symbol holds all that meaning. But, symbolism can be a bit more complex than that in literature. A bridge is a road built over a waterway or a deep valley, but in literature it can be a connection between people, families or communities. A pair of glasses is merely a looking device, but it can mean the ability to see in the future or see things more clearly than others. Anything can be given a greater meaning if the writer is masterful enough to bring the meaning into light.

Point of View

 

In each story, there is some kind of persona telling it. It is from that vantage point that point of view comes into play. There is of course a god-like persona who sees and knows all. Omniscient point of view knows the thoughts and actions of others. There is no limit in omniscient point of view.

But, a person who is telling one’s own story is talking in First Person point of view. A story told from a person’s own perspective is more informative on the main character in the story. The person knows why such actions were taken or such ideas were thought because they belonged to that person.

I might venture to say that most stories are told in Third Person. The Third Person perspective is one that stands at a distance and witnesses the story as it unveils. There might be some limit to thoughts, but often the Third Person perspective can see so much more than any character in the story.

You might ask, what about the Second Person point of view? It is a more difficult way of writing. The word “You” is used to describe the persona of the story. Some stories have actually accomplished it successfully. But, it’s a difficult concept. In other words, the reader is the subject of the story. So, think about that for a second and then figure how hard of a novel that would be to write.

There are plenty of literary terms. This is just a small sample of the kinds of concepts you would be expected to know if you ever decide to write on a professional level. From time to time, I’ll revisit this topic and talk more about other literary terms. But for now, start feeling more comfortable with doing research and learning certain terms for yourself. You can only make yourself a more qualified writer by understanding the terms your clients may use.

Filed Under: Advice for Authors and Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With: Freelance Writing, writing

$600 in One Day for Research You Could Do

I was hired to perform research and present the results in a format provided to me by my client and in return I received my second highest pay day yet. I have just completed this GetAFreelancer project which did not involve much in the way of writing. In fact, I probably delivered less than 500 words as most of the work product was in the form of statistical information.

Research forms the major part of my working day, indeed I spend far less time writing than I do surfing the internet for material to support my scribbling.

Delivering good quality content and copy requires good research. I frequently read articles that demonstrate a clear lack of understanding of the subject matter, and this comes through even with those pieces on subjects I have practically no familiarity with to begin with. If I can identify a poorly researched piece of writing then so can other readers. If you are seeking to persuade a reader to adopt your point of view, or indeed, buy a product or service, then you need to deliver well researched content.
[Read more…] about $600 in One Day for Research You Could Do

Filed Under: Current Projects Tagged With: Freelance Writing

How to Make the Donuts: Being a Writer

Being a successful writer isn’t that hard. You just have to be very creative, no pun intended. You have to see the opportunities that are available, but don’t always seem so obvious. That’s how you stand out and forge your own way in this world.

There are so many writers on the internet and they all go to the same job hunting sites. Guru is a major powerhouse for writing projects. Professional writers create profiles where they display their work and list their skills. But, a writer has to find a way to make a project proposal really stand out because they will be bidding against professional writers who are coming by the handful for any good project that is posted.

This of course means gaining experience. But, you can simply get away with creating a portfolio of your best work. In other words, just write. Write an article example. Write a book example. Write pieces that exemplify your skills and put them on display. If you are good enough, you can take a contract away from a high powered writing team with professional work on display. I do it all the time!

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Filed Under: Advice for Authors and Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With: Freelance Writing, writing

Fighting Writer’s Block

I wrote about getting started in writing, that sometimes the beginning is the hardest part. But, writer’s block is a completely different monster. See, getting started is often difficult but at least the writer has something to say. Writer’s block is where you hit a mental wall and you have absolutely nothing at all.

Some people would look at you crazy and wonder why you would want to write if you have nothing to write about. But, a writer has a need to write. And sometimes, things just need said even when a writer can’t seem to form the words.

How do you get through it is the question? There are several ways to combat writer’s block. Force yourself through or gradually get back into it, there’s always a way.

Freewrite

 

You may have been taught this before, but it works rather well. Freewriting is a method in which you start writing all of your thoughts down on a piece of paper. You don’t think about grammar or spelling errors. You don’t worry about punctuation. You just write, and write, and write. Before long, you’ll actually have something to write about.

Anything and everything that comes across your mind, that’s what you write. Don’t censor yourself. And if you have absolutely nothing going on in your mind, write about that.
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Filed Under: Advice for Authors and Writers, Freelance Writing Tagged With: Freelance Writing

How to Establish a Web Presence for your Writing Services

As my time has become increasingly taken up with writing website content these past few weeks, I’ve decided to take the plunge and set my own website up to showcase my wares.

I purchased for the princely sum of $7.99 (about £4) the domain name www.ghostslair.com through GoDaddy.com, a domain name registrar and hosting company in the US. I now have a website design company putting together a rather simple website within which I can showcase my talent or lack thereof.

My budget for setting up GhostsLair.com is $200 or about £100 and this is certainly within everyone’s budget.

Here’s my “How to..” guide for creating your own web presence.

Step One : Choose and Buy a Domain Name

A domain name is simply the name given to your site, so www.supaproofread.com is the domain name for SupaProofRead and www.ghostlair.com is the domain name for GhostsLair. Domain names are unique and you should take some time in choosing a name that suits you and your services.

Registering a domain name is very easy and is extremely cheap unless you go after a seriously popular domain name e.g. www.madonna.com. I personally use GoDaddy for my domain name purchases, but you can find many, many others simply by inputting “domain names” in google and I have even purchased domain names off eBay.

[Read more…] about How to Establish a Web Presence for your Writing Services

Filed Under: Advice for Authors and Writers, Freelance Writing, Resources Tagged With: Freelance Writing

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