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#amFreewriting Blog
10 Writing Submission Strategies to Get You Published
Some of the most brilliant writers fail to get published, and not because their work isn’t ready for publication, but because they fail to submit their work. Maybe you’re one of them. Or maybe you’re one of those who submits a short story, essay, or query once in a blue moon, hoping for the best (but, more likely than not, getting rejected).
How Great Writers Develop the Theme of a Story
For many writers, upon hearing the word “theme,” our eyes tend to glaze over and our mouths grow slack-jawed. The word may set off flashbacks to high school English, in which teachers forced us endlessly analyze a story’s theme, images and motifs when all we wanted to do was enjoy the writing and the characters. “Can’t a story just be a story?” we might have cried out as we did our homework, shaking our fists at the heavens.
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Outlining for Writers Who Hate to Outline
Outlining. It’s just a word – but, oh, can it leave you shaking in your chair, staring at a blank screen, sweat trickling down your back. I’ve been where you are – multiple times. Every time I read an article about outlining, I squelched the desperate cries of my pantser, and tried the latest technique. The result was always the same: wasted hours, and miserable failure.
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Story vs. Plot: Definitive Differences Between Them
Reckoning with the nature of imagination can be intimidating. But half the battle is understanding the elements. Aren’t story and plot synonymous, though? Can’t we count on those items for automatic symbiosis, happily married in a thrilling rush of prose? Well…nope. Learn more inside.
18 Irresistible Types of Travel Writing
Finally, you’re ready to take the plunge into the travel writing sphere. Now what? What types of travel writing are right for you? Well, whether you’re a novice or seasoned writer searching for something new, there are multiple avenues from which to turn an aspiration into a part-time gig or full-time career. Modern travel writing appears in many forums, from travel blogs and websites, in-flight magazines, trade magazines, newspapers, free periodicals, books and more. But before all that comes the decision as to which one(s) suits you best.
There are No Failed Books: 3 Ways to Save a Trunk Novel
We call them Trunk Novels—novels that start off with so much promise, so much excitement, and then proceed to consume hundreds of thousands of words and huge tracts of time without ever coalescing into something resembling coherency. Every author has at least one. Most of us have several.
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The 9 Absolute Best Books on Writing by the Pros
One great way to find free (or at least cheap!) advice you can learn at your own pace is to read books on writing. Many prominent writers, publishers, English professors, and grammarians have written books on their craft intended to help writers improve their craft. And who better is there to learn from than the experts?
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5 Ways to Establish Your Writing Practice
If you struggle to establish a writing practice, don’t despair. While writing will never be a completely painless process, there are ways to make it easier on yourself (not to mention more fun). First, though, some real talk: Most people who want to write never do. Or, at least, they never make writing enough of a habit to finish any of the big projects they have in mind, be it a novel, a memoir, or a chapbook of poems.