In Other Words
Where authors and readers come together!
Category Archives: People
Why Do Writers Write?
Why do writers write? Is it because of passion, need, desire, or want? Do they have some noble plan? Do writers write for fame and fortune? Do they write to impress the boss or further their career in other ways? The answer to all of these questions is yes. How can that be? Not everyone is true all of the time, obviously, but some can be true simultaneously. Some writing is purely words on a page, ramblings with no direction … Continue reading
The Selfish Freelance Writer: Write Whatever You Please, And Get Paid
Freelance writing is paid writing. You write what the customer – publisher, magazine, business – requires, and get paid. However, the boom in Web writing has changed all that. There’s now a vast, unlimited market for freelance writers: the Web. And the beauty of writing for the Web is that you can be a selfish writer. You can write about whatever interests you, and if the topic interests others too, you can get paid to write. Web writing is perfect … Continue reading
Wanna Be a Better Fiction Writer? Write Poetry
When I was in college, I majored in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. In this particular program, there was a further emphasis between fiction and poetry. Most of us majored in English with Emphasis in Creative Writing (Fiction), but we had to take some poetry classes and, speaking for myself, if I could have made a living writing poetry, I would have switched, because the poetry writing classes taught me how to play with words. And that is … Continue reading
Writers Write
So you say you are a writer. Writing is your lifelong dream. Don’t let anyone fool you – following a dream is for those who are encouraged by little things in life. Staying on course is for those who are boosted up by teeny weeny signs of success. Or, no signs at all. Following a dream is not for the faint hearted. It is not for the easily discouraged. Writing is a dream path like that. It is hard at … Continue reading
Writers Write – And Publish
Writers write. Right? We’ve heard it a bunch of times. What does it mean? Does it mean you just write and write and write and hope somebody reads it? Does it mean that, no matter what, you keep on writing? Really. What the heck does it mean? What if nobody seems to be reading what you write and you are like Emily Dickinson, writing poem after poem and at the end of life having fewer than a dozen published? This, … Continue reading
Helping Writers Write
Whoever coined the phrase pay it forward was a genius. If you have achieved anything in your life, someone helped you, guided you, mentored you. You can’t pay that person back; you can only pass the gift along. No one succeeds alone, no matter how talented, intelligent, or lucky that person may be. There is always another person–usually, many people–along the path who open a door, share words of encouragement, or in some way make it possible to take the … Continue reading
How Real Writers Write
I am writing today and believe me there is no magic to it. Mine may not be profound or a literary great work, but the point is that I am sitting down to put words to paper and I am writing. Does this make me a writer of the Edgar Allen Poe variety? Of course not, but it makes me more of a writer than a couch dreamer. I am making a serious attempt, I have goals and dreams, and … Continue reading