CornerScribe

Archive for October, 2007

I started to title this, Passive Voice, why it should be avoided, but that’s just a bit much, don’t you think?

It’s not a half-bad example of passive voice though. In short, passive voice is when the subject is not doing the action. Above, “it” isn’t avoiding anything, right? Here are some more examples of the passive voice, as well as better ways to write them.

The mailman was bitten by the dog.

The mailman (subject) isn’t doing the biting. Often, the passive voice will use the word “by,” or will at least include the idea of “by.”

The dog bit the mailman

You can see how that’s clearer!

Your luggage was lost.

Passive voice is often used when you don’t want to state the subject. Imagine an airline saying “We lost your luggage.” Probably not, right? Passive voice allows you to say that something happened without saying who did it.

Joseph was murdered in the study with a candlestick.

You could tell who murdered him, but that wouldn’t exactly add to the suspense, would it?

Remember, unless you have a very specific reason for using it, you should avoid the passive voice. It tends to make your writing clunky, not to mention wordy.

I ran across an interesting blog tonight, which covers self-publishing through Lulu. I’ve linked to her most recent post, but I’d recommend exploring the site further. She gives some good tips and insights into how Lulu works and what some of the pitfalls are.

I know a lot of us will have a novel rough draft in a month or so, and if print-on-demand is what you’re thinking of, then you’ll want to check this one out.

Just in case you’re feeling a little less than inspired, here are some links to get the creativity going, help with your writing style and give you a chuckle. Enjoy!

Dreams as Inspiration for Writing

This one really speaks to me since the idea seed of this year’s novel came to me on the verge of sleep. Has that ever happened to you?

Writing Inspiration, or Sex on a Bicycle

You probably have lots of great stories to tell. Why not turn some of those into actual stories or novels?

110 resources for Creative Minds

Great creativity tips.

How to Write a Book 

A humorous look at writing a book, with “tips” that point out exactly what not to do. Definitely good for a laugh.

50 Tips which can Help you in Writing

Lots of tips for better writing, definitely a must-read.

Advice to Writers by Vonnegut

A concise list of tips for writing success.

For all the bloggers who are doing National Novel Writing Month, I’m curious about how you’re preparing for it. I’m posting this quiz here and on the NaNo forums, and I’ll post the answers here as well.

The poll…

1. Will you continue to blog during NaNo?
2. Will you try to keep your normal posting schedule/frequency?
3. Are you writing any posts ahead of time to use in November?
4. If so, then how many do you have so far?
5. Will you blog about your NaNo experiences?

To kick things off, here are my answers.

1. Will you continue to blog during NaNo? Yes
2. Will you try to keep your normal posting schedule/frequency? Yes
3. Are you writing any posts ahead of time to use in November? Yes
4. If so, then how many do you have so far? Only five!
5. Will you blog about your NaNo experiences? Yes

That’s it! I’ll be putting together a list of bloggers blogging about NaNo and linking from here, so if you’re interested in a link, let me know so I can include you.

If you haven’t tried it out yet, then give Google’s Blog Search a try.

Type in keywords that relate to a topic you’re interested in, and you can see what’s being talked about in blogs on the subject. If you’re looking for others in your blogging niche, then type in keywords that describe your blog. You can also try the search terms that are used most often by people finding your blog (check your stats for these).

You’ll see a list of blogs that are talking about the same things you are. This can be good for you in several ways.

1. You can get an idea of how popular your topic is. You might think that finding few entries is a good thing, but it really isn’t. If few people are talking about it, then it may not have enough interest to support a blog.
2. You can quickly review others’ opinions. Remember to discuss these in your own posts with links back to the authors.
3. You can find a fresh approach to a popular topic. Maybe you have some personal experience or an interesting take on the topic.

If a post (or posts) inspires you to write a blog entry, then remember to link back to that blog! It’s better for your readers, and the blog author will appreciate the traffic. Often, this is a good first step to building friendships with other bloggers.

NaNo is only a bit over a week away, and if you’re also a blogger, you’re bound to be wondering where the time and ideas for the blog will come from. To help you out, I’ll be posting some blog idea lists.

You may want to write up one or two of these now and put them away for November! Even better, go ahead and schedule them to post so you won’t even have to think of it during NaNo.

1. Top posts.  Post a list of your most popular posts for the last month, year, or whatever. Use your RSS  or web page stats to see where most of your traffic is coming from.

2. Top search terms.  It can be fun to look at what search terms bring people to your site. Problogger even turns this into a fun contest.

3. Run a poll. You can even make it NaNo related if you like. Get help with the plot, naming a character or even picking a title.

4. Link to your favorites. What are you reading? Link to some of your favorite blog posts. Don’t forget to use trackbacks so the bloggers realize they’ve been linked to.

5. Update us on your novel.  Talk about what’s working and what isn’t. Tell us what your novel is about.

Don’t let NaNo catch you unprepared!

As writers, we often don’t want to  think about finances. That’s too “practical” and we tend to be the artsy, creative types. Right?

Wrong. If you want to write for a living, you have some serious financial planning to do now.

Walking away from a 9 to 5 job with benefits is going to be tough when the time comes, regardless of the planning you’ve done. However, it will be impossible if you haven’t done any planning at all. Imagine it, you get your first book deal, and you still can’t afford to quit work and write! Not exactly what you’re dreaming of, is it?

Let me say that once more…. Unless you plan financially now, you’ll never be able to quit work and write for a living.

So, what are you doing about it?

Over the past year or so, we’ve been working on our finances and planning/hoping that my writing career can be my main source of income eventually. Here’s what we’ve done.

• Stop going into debt. This one really is a no-brainer. We don’t charge gas, food, clothes, etc. We don’t even charge bigger items, like furniture.
• Pay out of debt. If you’re not going INTO debt, then paying off the debt you have becomes much easier, and faster. If you’re able, add a little extra to one of your bills each month so you can see it disappear even more quickly.
• Layaway is your friend. Many stores still offer layaway plans. This is great for larger purchases you might put on a credit card otherwise. We bought a home recently, and we’ve been furnishing it with layaway. It feels great bringing a piece of furniture home knowing it’s paid for!
• Cut expenses. Sit down with your last few bank statements and track where your money is going. You don’t have to do a fancy spreadsheet, just look. Are you paying for a service you no longer need or use? I recently found a subscription I hadn’t logged in to for over a year, and it was costing me $15/month. Other easy techniques are searching online for coupons before you shop (online or in-store!) and asking for interest rate discounts from the credit cards you currently hold. If you can talk them into even a small decrease, it will make paying the balance off that much quicker.
• Save! Sign up for one of the online savings accounts and start putting something in every payday. Once you’re used to saving that amount and you no longer miss it, up the savings by a few dollars. When you get a raise, put at least half of it in the savings.
• As time goes on, put more of your paycheck into savings and practice living on your spouse’s income only, if you’re in a two-earner family. Start slow and gradually put away more and more of your income as your expenses and debt decrease.

Yes, living on an erratic source of income can be scary, but it’s also very doable! Plan on making just one financial change this month that can put you closer to that goal. What will yours be?

Note: This entry is part of a group writing contest being held at Get Rich Slowly, which happens to be a great site for finding advice on living more frugally, budgeting, getting out of debt, etc.

National Novel Writing Month is only two weeks away, so it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to get through what may very well be the most hectic month of the year. Even though you’ll be churning out 50,000 words in 30 days, writing isn’t the only thing you have to be concerned about.

Household Tasks 

Delegate and plan now. Start telling your family what you’re going to be doing, and ask for help. Remember to be specific. Ask someone to take over handling dinner, doing dishes, taking care of laundry, etc.

Take a few minutes and jot down everything you’ve done so far this week that you might want to ask for help with. Your list might look like mine.

• Cook meals, pack lunches
• Clean house
• Look after pets
• Walk dog
• Laundry!
• Pay bills
• Buy groceries
• Drop off mail, bills
• Caulk bathtub

First, ask yourself if anything can be put off. Can you order pizza one or two nights a week instead of cooking? Can everyone be responsible for his/her own laundry next month? How about buying paper plates to cut down on dishes?

If things can’t be put off, then get someone lined up now to help you with it. Even a couple days help a week can take a lot of stress off.

Blogging 

If you’re a blogger, start lining up extra posts now. You have two problems with blogging and NaNo-ing. The first is time (obviously). It’s going to be tough enough to find time to write your novel without adding the pressure of keeping up with a blog schedule.

The second issue is one I have to be careful not to succumb to. Blogging is often a very tempting distraction from the stress of the novel, particularly in the long second and third weeks.

One option is to write some extra posts now, if you haven’t started already. Set aside a few hours this weekend or a little time each night, and put together some posts for your blog. Most blog software will even let you schedule the post now to appear some time next month, so it’s truly something you can do now and forget.

Another option is to ask for a guest poster to contribute to your blog next month. If you have a person who frequently posts good comments, then ask if she’s open to guest posting. Another alternative is simply to ask (gasp!). Of course, you’ll want to read the posts before you post them on your site, but it can be a great time saver.

Thanksgiving 

In the U.S., we have the added challenge, and excitement, of having Thanksgiving fall during NaNo month. Cooking and family time are important, and you don’t want to miss thanksgiving dinner. My best solution is to plan on missing a couple days’ writing during the holiday.

Yes, as hectic as it will already be, I’m telling you to plan on writing your 50,000 words in about 28 days, not 30.

By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you’re going to be exhausted. I know the respite from writing actually does me a lot of good. I rest, eat too much, and then start writing frantically the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Writing the Novel 

Which brings me to the core of the challenge. How do you keep your writing momentum through the month?

The short answer, you won’t.

In my case, I usually start and finish strong and struggle during weeks two and three. You may experience something different, but I doubt that many people can maintain their momentum through the entire 50,000 word trek.

I do a couple of things to make sure I don’t get too far off track during the rough times.

• First, I write more than my daily quota every day that I can. I know that even a few hundred words here and there will come in handy when I’m struggling to fill even one page.
• Second, I write every day (except Thanksgiving). Even if I don’t even come close to quota, something is better than nothing.
• Third, I don’t make myself write the novel in order. If I’m stuck on a scene, I skip it and move on to something a little easier.
• Finally, when I start wondering if I’m going to make it, I think about how great it feels to hit that 50,000 word mark. Believe me, it’s worth it.

What are your tips for making it through NaNo month?

Note: This post is a part of the group writing project at The Writer’s Manifesto Blog. The entry deadline isn’t until the 20th, so head on over and participate.

There’s a great review contest running at Online Tech Tips.

In short, you enter and review other entrants blogs. You’re also asked to do a review of Online Tech Tips as well.

You can win one of three prizes, a review on John Chow’s site (that’s a BIGGIE), $100 or $50.

The real “win” here, in my opinion, are the links. Every time I’ve participated in something like this, my traffic has really jumped, and some of those people stick around. Once the contest is underway, look for my review to show up here, and I hope you jump on board too.

You’ll notice a couple of changes to the sidebar, I’m sure. First off, I have two RSS subscription links. One for a reader and one for email.

If you’re unfamiliar with RSS, it provides an easy, automatic way to keep up with blogs you read regularly. If you subscribe using something like Google Reader or Bloglines, you’ll use an account there (free) to subscribe to feeds. Then, you can view all feeds in one window. It’s much quicker than visiting each blog individually and checking to see if it’s been updated.

If you prefer, you can also subscribe via email. Each time a blog is updated, you’ll receive an email notification. Either way, you don’t have to worry about missing posts.

I’m using Feedburner to handle both types of feeds. The biggest reason is the ability to track subscribers. Without feedburner, I’d have no idea how many people are reading my RSS feeds. Because people using feeds don’t usually visit the site and don’t show up in the stats there, I’d get an artificially low estimate of how many readers I really have.

Another reason for using Feedurner is the fact that I’m a member of a feedburner ad network. You can see the three most recent posts by members in the sidebar.

If you’re not already subscribed to my feed, please take a second to do so now. And remember, if you use the email subscription option, you’ll need to confirm your subscription.