Plagiarism: One of the Biggest Ills of Writing

What makes people copy others without properly recognizing the original author? Does it have something to do with how society functions? How people are educated? Read more in this article, and take heed:

DON'T COPY WITHOUT CITING!

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Pick Up a Bit of Thursday Next

Jasper Fforde's stories on the adventures of Thursday Next are more than just tales of a parallel universe - they are a tribute to the most unforgettable characters in literature. Read them for the sheer pleasure of revisiting characters and settings, and see what a world full of fiction-obsessed people would be like.

For information, you can download or buy the first book here: http://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thursday-Novels-Penguin/dp/0142001805

Wisdom from a Published Author

Published author Jasper Fforde, of Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes fame, did not have an easy life. He faced rejections and had to work another day job if only to get his savings in order. He has been writing for far longer than he has been published.

Read his NaNoWriMo pep talk here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3437712.

Life is not all rosy for the writer, but with perseverance and an openness to actually sitting down and writing, the art of writing becomes more fun and less tedious.

Look Back on Your Year

2010 is coming fast - but don't let 2009 fall behind without looking back at what you've accomplished.

Today, your job is not to soak yourself in Christmas work; you don't need to read writing tips and tricks either. Your job is to look back on all that you've written and ask yourself: how far have I come, and where should I go?

How has my writing improved in 2009? What else should I do to improve my writing?

Are there bad writing habits that I still haven't shaken off? How will I shake them off? What good writing habits have I picked up this year? How will I keep these habits up, into 2010 and beyond?

Writing may be an art and a craft, but it's also a lot of work. See how much you've learned and plodded through in 2009, and you can get a good idea of how good 2010 will be for your writing life.

Happy Reading!

A Good Tool for Writers: The E-Book Search Engine

A lot of good writers are also good readers: they expose themselves to authors of varied styles, and they know which books to go to for research or improving their craft. But if you're a writer with a lot of work on your hands, can you still find time to read books?

If you're online a lot, you can still get electronic books, or e-books. However, e-books can be difficult to find online if you don't know where to go. Thankfully, you can search pdf files and books through the E-Book Search queen at http://www.ebook-search-queen.com/.

You can use your precious time to write more and read more, instead of spending hours looking for a download link that works. All you need to have is the book's author, an extract from the book, or simply the book's title.

The good thing about E-Book Search Queen is that it has books from all over the world. If you love reading fiction from a host of different countries, this is your chance to search pdf files for them. And if you haven't read books from a wider variety of cultures and expertise, now is the time to do so!

Reading books can be both enjoyable and educational. With the advent of the information age, reading books can now be as easy as searching, clicking, and downloading.

Happy reading and happy exploring!

Some posts on this blog have been sponsored by third parties. This entry is one such post. For more information, you can visit this blog's disclosure page.

Something to Read for Inspiration, Especially Number Plate Fans

Personalised Number Plates can make a story more interesting. Think of James Bond traveling down the winding roads of the French Riviera, his 007 plate shining in the sun. Think of any big celebrity, any holder of public office, and all the names and numbers attached to them. Such plates can define characters and add a wee bit to how quirky or exacting they can be.

Why not add a little pizazz to your writing life? Visit Northumbria Numbers, a website where you can pick out (and even register!) the plate of your choice. The website is easy to use: when you come to the front page, you can simply type in your name, your nickname, or your car model.

You can also choose to format the plate number in which way you choose. This can be advantageous if you want more flexibility in choosing your personalised number plates, since you don't need to scour through a computer-generated list of possible plates.

You can even sell plate numbers on the website, make your own plate; and, when all else fails, contact the owners. The site can also give you suggestions on which plates might work best for you. This is good on two counts: you are provided with flexibility and the opportunity to automatically register your plate; and you now have a source of information for your lead character's number plate!

This website should part of the entire package that consists in you learning how you can fashion your stories around a single concept. In this case, you can use a personalised number plate to drive your story forward (no pun intended)or add spice to your characters. Some search results that come up, however, might seem unimaginative, but don't let the results stop you. Even ordinary plates can carry extraordinary stories.

How to Not Write Weird

Sometimes, a comma or an apostrophe can make all the difference. You could also change the order of a few words until you’re sure you’ve gotten your point across without your readers first going, “Huh?”

Misplaced modifiers can turn your work inside out. If you say “the purple blouse buyer is here,” am I supposed to expect someone painted violet from head to toe? Look for more misplaced modifiers (and possible remedies) at http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/mismods.htm. By exposing yourself to discourse on common mistakes in writing, you could end up a better writer yourself.

Is This Really a Word?

Is “texting” really a word? Or is it better to use SMS-ing? There are many words that you might encounter from day to day that will make you go, “Is this really a word?”

For more perspectives on new additions to the English language, as well as the different ways that words evolve and finally make it to the official lexicon, visit http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/isthisaword.htm. Whether the word was coined, appended to an existing one, or simply made up, you can be sure that tomorrow’s writing will be chock-full of words that we never even dreamed would exist.

You, writer, are master of language. Learn its origins as you seek to be the best in your field.

Just How Many Words Are there in the English Language?

Ten years ago, you would have gotten blank stares if you had said “blog”. Fifty years ago, the “Internet” was not a place that you could go to. A hundred years ago, we had words that we no longer use as much today. Just how many words are there in the English language?

Visit http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/howmany.htm for a new perspective on the matter. English, after all, now has its own little dialects, and you could be speaking a variant of English, writing in yet another, and understanding more than just one kind of English.

Appreciate the richness of the English language, and if you know a language other than English, appreciate its richness, too. You, as a writer, are the master of language, and you need to understand your tool before you can use it.

And Now, Read About Politics

But not quite!

Are you incorporating a lot of politics and government in your novel? Then you may want to visit World Wide Words and read up on how words as common as poll, politician and election have gotten flak over the years. Did you know that poll comes from an Old Germanic term meaning “head” – so literally, polling is counting heads? And that voting, as it comes from the original Latin, is actually the process of making a vow?

For more information, read http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/elections.htm. You’ll find interesting facts that should show you how words have developed over the years. Yes, politics is just getting dirtier and dirtier.

Differing Perspectives, Different Stories

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http://www.songmeanings.net/

This isn't a site strictly for writers. It's a place where people critique song lyrics and interpret them. There are enough cryptic songs out there to fuel speculation and debate on this site, and it's a wonderful place for writers to get an idea of how mere words can be interpreted differently.

Try your hand at it: look for a song, look at its lyrics, and then interpret them. Look for that song on the Song Meanings website, and then see how other people have interpreted the words. Do their interpretations match yours? Do you find yourself going, "Ah!" as you read the different interpretations and discover things that you did not get in your first reading of the song's lyrics?

The Song Meanings site is not meant to be a tutorial on how to write to please all people - but it's a way to see how people have so many different perspectives and opinions. Not everyone is going to understand what you write in the way that you want them to. Moreover, not everyone is going to understand what you write, PERIOD.

You just have to be prepared to face these possibilities as a writer and you can be a better, not to mention stronger writer with this kind of mindset.

In Tears? Then Write a Journal!

http://www.journaltherapy.com/articles/cjtsec08_i.htm

It may sound kooky, but tears have to go somewhere - and your grief has to find a refuge. Why not try journal writing? In this article, Kathleen Adams gives us tips on how to maintain a journal to manage sadness and tragedy.

A journal allows you to get your emotions out - and if it's the traditional journal of ink, black lines, and white paper, you don't need to write for an audience. All you need is to let it all go, to speak from your heart, and not to worry about being judged. The best writers, after all, are those who turn their lives around and use their personal tragedies to make themselves - and their world - better.

So, what's your point of view?

We're not talking about your opinion, but the view that your novel takes as you tell your story. Are you looking at the world through the eyes of your main character, or are you an all-powerful Grand Observer? Are you writing as though things already happened, or are your stories written so that they happen as they are chronicled?

Read this entry from Plot Whisperer, which briefly gives examples on points of view (POV). The concept can apply whether you are writing a novel, short story, or essay. You may also need to have a consistent POV, as this guides your story along and makes it understandable - not to mention compelling!

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2009/01/choosing-pov.html
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Here's Something to Help You with Photo Prompts

http://diarydoor.typepad.com/diary_door/when-pictures-speak-writi.html

or: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2601415/

This blog has shown a few pictures and asked you to write. But sometimes, photos don't really push you to tell a story. Thanks to Kelly DuMar, you now have a few pointers to help you on your writing way.

Read the article posted through the link above, and you can get more info on how you can turn that photo into a story. By breaking the process down into the components of what your story might turn out to be, as well as what makes up your photo, you could have an easier time getting the photo to speak how you like.

Grammar is Your Friend

You might think that good grammar is a myth, a pipe dream, and something out-of-date in this day and age of shoot now, apologize later. Indeed, when text language seems to litter the forums and mailing lists of the Internet universe, and where writers and editors are readily available, grammar doesn't seem so important anymore.

Despite all these, however, good grammar is a must anywhere. Think: how would you react if you received a poorly-worded, poorly-constructed application for a post at your company? Would you let the person in if his or her job demanded great writing skills? Now start getting your grammar skills working!

Not everyone knows everything about good grammar, so you can use the Purdue Owl Website as a guide (access it through http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/). When in doubt, do research. You may have to work harder to get your writing finished, but hey, at least you can say you did your best, right?

Be Original!

The world hasn't run out of ideas for you yet. You can write that next great novel, that next great short story, that great essay you've planning for decades - and you don't have to copy the idea from someone else. True, someone else's work might spark your interest in writing, and you might find yourself scouring the library shelves on your latest research spree after you put that historical fiction novel down. But you need original ideas, and you certainly can't copy someone else's work.

But how do you avoid plagiarism? The Writing Place at Northwestern University shows us how through their "Avoiding Plagiarism" page. The page begins by telling us about the pitfalls of plagiarism, and what writers can do to avoid it. These tips involve changing your wording so that you properly acknowledge your sources, as well as acceptable paraphrasing so that you say things in your own words.

If you are planning to write a report, or if you need to do essays for work or school, read this page. You can also consult the Purdue Online Writing Laboratory for more information on how to write formal reports, and how to format them according to different scholarly styles.

Plagiarism can be harder to deal with in the world of fiction. Lawsuits have been raised over stolen plots and copied characters. In your opinion, how might such trouble be avoided? Is it possible, at all, to be plagiarism-free in fiction?

A New Class of Inspiration: Stuff to Read

I will be posting article summaries from time to time, along with links to the original article. I hope you can get inspiration on how you can write better, or simply get started with your writing. We writers are here to help each other, and you may find that the best writers on the planet are not just those who can open the eyes of your heart, or amaze you with their word-smithing - they're the ones who are willing to help other writers succeed.

Happy reading!

(after all, it takes a lot of reading to make good writing happen)