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Write From Home
Kim Wilson
P.O. Box 4145
Hamilton, NJ 08610
Tel: (609) 888-1683
Fax: (609) 888-1672
E-mail:
kim@writefromhome.com
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Featured Book of the Month
Write Faster, Write Better
by David A. Fryxell
Writer's Digest Books
250 pp
Writing faster plus writing
better equals increased productivity and more money. This fundamental equation
is the foundation of David Fryxell's book
Write Faster, Write Better.
Throughout the book, Fryxell
teaches readers how to maximize their focus, self-discipline and organizational
skills. He shares techniques for structuring articles and stories, overcoming
writer's block and effective interviewing strategies. Each chapter concludes
with practical exercises. To increase the odds of gaining an acceptance, Fryxell
teaches readers how to "think like an editor."
As the author of more than
1,000 published pieces and the former editor-in-chief of Writer's Digest
magazine and Writer's Digest Books, Fryxell's expert advice and wisdom stems
from years of experience. He's actively doing what many writers aspire to do:
write for a living!
If you want
to increase your writing productivity and income
Write Faster, Write Better
shows you how.
Excerpt
Too many writers simply can't write a solid first draft straight
through. It's agony to them, a psychological and sometimes physical war they
keep losing. Their first drafts are a chaotic mess of starts and stops,
backtracking and second-guessing. Not until many time-wasting drafts later, with
90 percent of the hard-won first draft tossed out, do these writers begin to
create a manuscript they can show anyone.
Such writers think they are being
quite noble, of course—wrestling with the muse, looking writer's block straight
in the eye hour after hour. They think this kind of inefficient stewing is the
essence, the bitter heart and soul of the writer's art. They may never finish
anything, but by golly, they sure do suffer like writers! They've got the bleary
eyes, caffeine stains, and pencil nubs to prove it.
If that sounds all too familiar, by
now I trust you've begun to realize it doesn't have to be that way. You can be
organized, efficient and systematic, and still be a good writer—in fact, you'll
be a better writer.
Buy
Write Faster, Write Better
Table of Contents:
Introduction by Terry Brooks
Chapter 1: Planning to
Write Faster and Better
The hard road to easy...Developing (ugh) discipline...Why bother to get
organized?...Breaking the speed limit...Knocking out a novel...From faster to
better...Exercises
Chapter 2: Organizing Your Writing Life
The 10-minute novelist...Moonlighting in a new light...Writer,
interrupted...Living with deadlines... Beyond the messy desk...Exercises
Chapter 3: The Secret of Structure
Focusing your idea...Thinking like Hollywood...Headline grabbers...From
focus to form...Building walls, finding fenceposts...Exercises
Chapter 4: Finding Ideas—Fast
Cutting ideas down to size...I know
nothing!...Finding your audience...Shaking the idea tree...No place like
home...Trying ideas on for size...Exercises
Chapter 5: Thinking Like an Editor
What do editors want?...Getting to yes...Reading between the lines of the
contents page... Cheating by clicking...Looking forward...Who's who on the
masthead...Exercises
Chapter 6: Strategies for Research and Interviewing
Getting the right stuff...The 80/20 rule...From focus to strategy...Cooking
up a plan...Finding instant experts...Your most important tools...Exercises
Chapter 7: Speedy Research, the Old-Fashioned Way
Setting your brain to "scan"... Hitting the books at the library...Mastering
the catalog...Exercises
Chapter 8: Working the Web
Matching your mission...Solving a problem like "Maria"...Finding your
"magnet"...Expert opinions...Computer smarts...Exercises
Chapter 9: Maximizing Your Interviews
Phone, e-mail, or in-person?...To tape or not to tape?...The interview as
first date...Cracking the toughest cookies...Keeping 'em talking...Knowing when
to quit...Exercises
Chapter 10: Goodbye, Writer's Block!
Working hard or hardly working?...Pulling together the pieces...The "O"
word...Making it work for you...Making connections...Getting from here to
there...Making it up as you go along: outlining your novel...Eight tips for
outlining success...Exercises
Chapter 11: Starting Your Story
Aliens and tailfins...Starting in the middle...Focusing your
opening...Building from a collision...Setting the pace...Setting the
scene...Speaking metaphorically...Clearing your throat...Exercises
Chapter 12: Writing a First Draft That's Almost Your Final Draft
Getting into the flow...A good enough draft...Putting perfectionism in its
place...Writing one paragraph at a time...Writing today and tomorrow...If the
story fits...Exercises
Chapter 13: Writing Fiction Faster and Better
Finding a process that works for you...Focusing your fiction...Creating
quick characters...Hatching your plot...Storytelling by scenes...Making your
fiction flow...Exercises
Chapter 14: How to Finish What You Start
Coming full circle...Problem solved, question answered...Living happily ever
after...Getting to the finish line...Closing in on closure...Turbocharging your
completion drive...Exercises
Chapter 15: From First Draft to Final Draft
Bare-minimum revision...Revision—the big
picture...Little things that mean a lot...Sharpening your basic tools...The
grammar black hole...Now what?...Exercises
Appendix: Essential Web Sites
for Every Writer
Index
Buy
Write Faster, Write Better
| |
Have You Read...
I Wanna
Win
by Cheryl Wright
If you want to win writing contests and earn that elusive tag of
'award-winning writer' or if you just want to hone your skills, this book will
point you in the right direction.
New to freelance writing?
Read
this informative article.
Read
Glossary of Writing Terms
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