Have a question? Agree, disagree, with me?
Leave me your opinion.
Here are 60, free, writing topics, ideas. They can
be used in fiction, non-fiction, poems, and essays.
Look at a writing topic. How would you write about
it? Turn the topic upside down. Any new ideas come
to mind? What popped in your mind when you looked
at a specific topic? Write from the viewpoint of another
person in regard to an idea.
Allow your creative side to mold the topic. Let all
your senses in.
1. The birds chirped at dawn, everyday
2. He toppled backward after witnessing the murder
3. Someone hollered, "Fire."
4. The actions of a few made them, all, look guilty
5. The rabbit and cat napped together
6. Memories of that day haunt me
7. When I look at the ocean it reminds me
8. That sound took my mind
9. The smell of flowers
10. The worse day in history
11. Depression is
12. Writers
13. When the cow
14 A friend stands
15. Blue reminds me of
16. Celebration happens
17. Winter
18. Hats are made
19. It's time to
20. Waste disposal is
21. Coffee drinkers
22. Tea is best brewed
23. Beer is taken
24. Cola tastes
25. Milks flows in a
26. Alcoholic beverages are better during
27. The lemon juice splatter
28. Grape juice is
29. Water swirls in
30. Chocolate milk tends to
31. My last encounter with him showed
32. The last breath he took sent
33. She delivered several
34. They swung
35. People, first, must stand for something, or
36. The activities planned by them
37. She trembled with
38. The child broke all the
39. It wasn't him
40. Someone or something took over
41. Darkness melted into
42. The quiet summer night
43. The Spring breeze tapped against my
44. The warmth of the sunshine didn't help
45. Fear caught us in the cold, damp, basement
46. The snow rumbled, rolled, toward us
47. Rain fell on the tree as it hit the
48. The wind blasted the door open as we slept
49. Ice dropped from the sky
50. Froth slid across the beach as we
51. The day my sister arrived
52. The brothers in that family is
53. Brothers and sisters
54. His younger sister slapped
55. Their sisters caught the
56. We laughed at her brother at first
57. Only, his sister enabled
58. The brothers are
59. My sister had a long walk before
60. Sisters in name only
Take the idea, make it yours.
I'm going to take an idea and develop it.
I'll work with idea 2.
I dragged in after a long day at work, dug in my
hand-bag for the keys. I glanced up to see the
front door open.
"What is going on?" I ran toward the steps.
A man, unknown to me, stepped out of my house.
My brother, Jack, backed out of the front door.
He stared at me, and toppled down the stairs.
"Jack! Jack!" I shook him.
I rushed in the house to dial 911, but...
See how one idea spins off into a chapter
start, opening, in fiction?
Stir in more than one idea in your plot. Make
it interesting.
Start Writing
Stop Writer's Block
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
How To Critique And Write
Have a question? Agree, disagree, with me?
Leave me your opinion.
Non-fiction and fiction demands to be
critiqued. Of course, this eliminates
those who get it perfect on draft one.
Some never have the task of critiquing
their work, for the sixth time.
Most of us must strengthen our editing
abilities.
"How do you edit?" You coughed.
Read through your article, essay, poem,
chapter, or term paper once. Put it down.
Take a walk. Read the book you meant
to last year. Clean off your desk, start
an exercise program, or telephone someone
you've wanted to.
On day two, read it out-loud. You're
checking for mis-statements, typos,
omissions, syntax errors, grammatical
slip-ups, and weak writing. Is the
correct phrases situated in your
writing? Take notice of run-on
sentences. Form every sentence according
to standard English.
Reading out-loud allows you to hear words.
Say them slowly. Did the sentence(s)
sound right? If not, find out why.
Determine if the subject and verb match.
"I stand to get a better look at who
screamed, but it was a prank."
In order for the subject and verb to
agree, stand should be changed to stood.
Are there too many adjectives? Use strong
verbs where possible. Did you use the
wrong word?
"What do you mean?" You sighed.
I'm referring to typing a word you didn't
have in mind. You typed bear instead of
bare, for example. It isn't hard to tap
out hear when here is the intended word.
Walk through the editing process slowly.
It's better to do a good job when you
critique than get a rejection.
Write as if you're talking to an
acquaintance, friend, in non-fiction.
Provide easy to understand wording,
and be direct.
When non-fiction or fiction is read,
questions arise. So, look for
possible questions as you critique.
Anticipate questions, and answer them.
Fiction yearns for an exciting plot.
Plot is the steps taken to solve a
story's problem.
Characters grab, hold, the reader's
attention. Often, readers escape
into the story world, because it's
written well. Many times, people
identify with a character, dislike,
a character's best friend, know a
person similar to the villain, and/or
something in the story makes him/her
angry, happy.
The critiquing of any piece of writing
is complete when every word has been
checked.
The editing process is more challenging
than the writing.
Spend time on dialogue. It mirrors
speech. It's an imitation.
Let's look at examples.
How many people say?
"Who is going with us?"
They'd probably utter.
"Whose goin' with?"
or
"Whose goin' with us?"
What is most likely to be said?
"I have been around."
or
"I've been 'round."
I'd use the second sentence.
There are books on writing
dialogue, but I learned, more,
by listening to people talk.
Editing is a segment, part, of
writing. The act of editing
will make you better at the craft.
Leave me your opinion.
Non-fiction and fiction demands to be
critiqued. Of course, this eliminates
those who get it perfect on draft one.
Some never have the task of critiquing
their work, for the sixth time.
Most of us must strengthen our editing
abilities.
"How do you edit?" You coughed.
Read through your article, essay, poem,
chapter, or term paper once. Put it down.
Take a walk. Read the book you meant
to last year. Clean off your desk, start
an exercise program, or telephone someone
you've wanted to.
On day two, read it out-loud. You're
checking for mis-statements, typos,
omissions, syntax errors, grammatical
slip-ups, and weak writing. Is the
correct phrases situated in your
writing? Take notice of run-on
sentences. Form every sentence according
to standard English.
Reading out-loud allows you to hear words.
Say them slowly. Did the sentence(s)
sound right? If not, find out why.
Determine if the subject and verb match.
"I stand to get a better look at who
screamed, but it was a prank."
In order for the subject and verb to
agree, stand should be changed to stood.
Are there too many adjectives? Use strong
verbs where possible. Did you use the
wrong word?
"What do you mean?" You sighed.
I'm referring to typing a word you didn't
have in mind. You typed bear instead of
bare, for example. It isn't hard to tap
out hear when here is the intended word.
Walk through the editing process slowly.
It's better to do a good job when you
critique than get a rejection.
Write as if you're talking to an
acquaintance, friend, in non-fiction.
Provide easy to understand wording,
and be direct.
When non-fiction or fiction is read,
questions arise. So, look for
possible questions as you critique.
Anticipate questions, and answer them.
Fiction yearns for an exciting plot.
Plot is the steps taken to solve a
story's problem.
Characters grab, hold, the reader's
attention. Often, readers escape
into the story world, because it's
written well. Many times, people
identify with a character, dislike,
a character's best friend, know a
person similar to the villain, and/or
something in the story makes him/her
angry, happy.
The critiquing of any piece of writing
is complete when every word has been
checked.
The editing process is more challenging
than the writing.
Spend time on dialogue. It mirrors
speech. It's an imitation.
Let's look at examples.
How many people say?
"Who is going with us?"
They'd probably utter.
"Whose goin' with?"
or
"Whose goin' with us?"
What is most likely to be said?
"I have been around."
or
"I've been 'round."
I'd use the second sentence.
There are books on writing
dialogue, but I learned, more,
by listening to people talk.
Editing is a segment, part, of
writing. The act of editing
will make you better at the craft.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
How To Use Writing Prompts
Have a question? Agree, disagree, with me?
Leave me your opinion.
A writing prompt is a technique, word(s)
association, to ignite your creative process.
It's for the times you're at your desk, and
can't write a word. You looked out the
window, tapped a tune out with a pen, threw
balls of paper in the waste-basket, drank four
cups of coffee, and couldn't come up with a
single writing idea. You sat, dozed, and wasn't
able to write anything.
Some people keep prompts by their beds
to start the day off. Yes, I'm referring to before
they are seated in their writing places.
"How does that work?" You turned the
television off.
--Some use quotes
--Remarks they've heard
--Something a relative use to say, or says
--Make-up their own
They write them in a journal, for example.
People awake from a night's sleep, and
look through the journal. They go through their
routine. The quote swirls around the mind,
forming writing ideas.
By the time they reach their desks, they're
geared up, and ready to paint word pictures.
The condition has a name.
"What condition?" You asked.
The condition of sitting with a blank mind,
not being able to put five words together.
It's called writer's block. We have, all,
faced the problem at one time or another.
Let's look at quotes.
1. "I wish they would only take me as I am."
Vincent Van Gogh
2. "History repeats itself, and that's one of the
things that's wrong with history."
Clarence Darrow
3. "Ideas are the root of creation."
Ernest Dimnet
4. "You must, first, believe in yourself
to soar."
Marcella Glenn
Remarks open the doors to writing ideas.
Have you heard a remark that plays over in
your mind?
**Try, or you're always wonder what if.
**Money follows money.
**Success comes after an action has been
taken.
A family member, often, says,
5. "Read or your brain will starve."
6. "Chalk it up to life."
7. "Keep trying."
Let's discuss Ernest Dimnet's quote: "Ideas
are the root of creation."
Read it out-loud, several times. What does it
mean to you? Are ideas the root of creation?
What do you want to write about the quote?
Write anything, everything, that comes to mind.
Don't worry about grammatical, syntax errors,
etc.
Correct them at a later date. The idea is to
write. Try to write five hundred words about
the quote.
Stir in characters, plot, and dialogue. Use
more than one quote in your writing idea.
Allow yourself, at least, two hours for
writing, more if needed. It's up to you,
determine how long to spend on it.
The goal was met, and that was to start
your creative flow.
Use writing prompts to spark your creative
side. A word, sentence, or quote will stir-up,
break through writer's block.
Leave me your opinion.
A writing prompt is a technique, word(s)
association, to ignite your creative process.
It's for the times you're at your desk, and
can't write a word. You looked out the
window, tapped a tune out with a pen, threw
balls of paper in the waste-basket, drank four
cups of coffee, and couldn't come up with a
single writing idea. You sat, dozed, and wasn't
able to write anything.
Some people keep prompts by their beds
to start the day off. Yes, I'm referring to before
they are seated in their writing places.
"How does that work?" You turned the
television off.
--Some use quotes
--Remarks they've heard
--Something a relative use to say, or says
--Make-up their own
They write them in a journal, for example.
People awake from a night's sleep, and
look through the journal. They go through their
routine. The quote swirls around the mind,
forming writing ideas.
By the time they reach their desks, they're
geared up, and ready to paint word pictures.
The condition has a name.
"What condition?" You asked.
The condition of sitting with a blank mind,
not being able to put five words together.
It's called writer's block. We have, all,
faced the problem at one time or another.
Let's look at quotes.
1. "I wish they would only take me as I am."
Vincent Van Gogh
2. "History repeats itself, and that's one of the
things that's wrong with history."
Clarence Darrow
3. "Ideas are the root of creation."
Ernest Dimnet
4. "You must, first, believe in yourself
to soar."
Marcella Glenn
Remarks open the doors to writing ideas.
Have you heard a remark that plays over in
your mind?
**Try, or you're always wonder what if.
**Money follows money.
**Success comes after an action has been
taken.
A family member, often, says,
5. "Read or your brain will starve."
6. "Chalk it up to life."
7. "Keep trying."
Let's discuss Ernest Dimnet's quote: "Ideas
are the root of creation."
Read it out-loud, several times. What does it
mean to you? Are ideas the root of creation?
What do you want to write about the quote?
Write anything, everything, that comes to mind.
Don't worry about grammatical, syntax errors,
etc.
Correct them at a later date. The idea is to
write. Try to write five hundred words about
the quote.
Stir in characters, plot, and dialogue. Use
more than one quote in your writing idea.
Allow yourself, at least, two hours for
writing, more if needed. It's up to you,
determine how long to spend on it.
The goal was met, and that was to start
your creative flow.
Use writing prompts to spark your creative
side. A word, sentence, or quote will stir-up,
break through writer's block.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
How To Write A Business Letter
Have a question? Agree, disagree, with me?
Leave me your opinion.
A business letter represents you,
your business. Everyone can't afford
the services of a secretary. The business
letter is simple to write.
It can be as many pages as you like.
Often times, a business letter is written
to offer a service/product, to get information
about products/services, and/or, just to
understand terms between two parties.
The business letter is single spaced,
except between paragraphs.
Your name, business name, address,
city, state, fax, and telephone number
starts the letter off. Those lines are single
spaced.
Next, double space to date it.
Again, double space. In single spaces,
write the name, title of the person its
intended for, address, city, state, and
zip code.
Double space, Dear Mz. M., is the
person its intended for.
Double space, the first line states why
you're contacting her. The paragraph
should be clear. People are short on time,
and if the first paragraph is confusing, the
rest of it will not be read.
The second paragraph is more specific.
Expand on major points, any contact that
you've had with the person.
If there is something you need to mention,
write it in the third paragraph.
Is a fourth paragraph necessary?
Close the letter. I'd like to thank you for
your time.
Double space. Sincerely is typed.
Double space, twice. Type your name.
Sign the letter above your typed name.
Your position with the company is typed
below your name.
Example
Marcellag.Blogspot.com
1234 Main Street
Anywhere, USA 1234-4567
Fax: 123-456-7890
April 8, 2008
Mz. M.
Business Editor
567 Race Drive
Anywhere, USA 8900-1234
Dear Mz. M.
This is where you explain why you're
contacting Mz. M.
The second paragraph gets specific.
Paragraph three includes what needs
to be mentioned.
A fourth paragraph necessary?
Close the letter. I'd like to thank you
for your time.
Sincerely,
Marcellag.Blogspot.com
New Products Manager
Leave me your opinion.
A business letter represents you,
your business. Everyone can't afford
the services of a secretary. The business
letter is simple to write.
It can be as many pages as you like.
Often times, a business letter is written
to offer a service/product, to get information
about products/services, and/or, just to
understand terms between two parties.
The business letter is single spaced,
except between paragraphs.
Your name, business name, address,
city, state, fax, and telephone number
starts the letter off. Those lines are single
spaced.
Next, double space to date it.
Again, double space. In single spaces,
write the name, title of the person its
intended for, address, city, state, and
zip code.
Double space, Dear Mz. M., is the
person its intended for.
Double space, the first line states why
you're contacting her. The paragraph
should be clear. People are short on time,
and if the first paragraph is confusing, the
rest of it will not be read.
The second paragraph is more specific.
Expand on major points, any contact that
you've had with the person.
If there is something you need to mention,
write it in the third paragraph.
Is a fourth paragraph necessary?
Close the letter. I'd like to thank you for
your time.
Double space. Sincerely is typed.
Double space, twice. Type your name.
Sign the letter above your typed name.
Your position with the company is typed
below your name.
Example
Marcellag.Blogspot.com
1234 Main Street
Anywhere, USA 1234-4567
Fax: 123-456-7890
April 8, 2008
Mz. M.
Business Editor
567 Race Drive
Anywhere, USA 8900-1234
Dear Mz. M.
This is where you explain why you're
contacting Mz. M.
The second paragraph gets specific.
Paragraph three includes what needs
to be mentioned.
A fourth paragraph necessary?
Close the letter. I'd like to thank you
for your time.
Sincerely,
Marcellag.Blogspot.com
New Products Manager
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
How To Out-Line
Have a question? Agree, disagree, with me?
Leave me your opinion.
An outline will keep you on the
focal point of your paper, article,
essay, fiction, or non-fiction. It's
easy to jump from what you meant
to a distant point.
"Yeah, I've done that." You smiled.
Most likely, all writers have.
An outline introduces itself. It
acquaints the reader with the
subject, grabs their attention. The
beginning promises to be interesting,
not boring, and advances the reader on.
The body pin-points issues, problems,
a writer wants to make. This is where
anything relating to the main point
comes into being. Sometimes, it's
necessary to divide your outline into
parts, for better understanding.
Conclude by repeating, in different
words, your introduction.
The, above, outline will keep your
work flowing smoothly, you'll be less
stressed out, and able to write better.
The Outline Format
I.
II.
A.
B.
III.
A.
B.
1.
2.
V. Conclusion
Leave me your opinion.
An outline will keep you on the
focal point of your paper, article,
essay, fiction, or non-fiction. It's
easy to jump from what you meant
to a distant point.
"Yeah, I've done that." You smiled.
Most likely, all writers have.
An outline introduces itself. It
acquaints the reader with the
subject, grabs their attention. The
beginning promises to be interesting,
not boring, and advances the reader on.
The body pin-points issues, problems,
a writer wants to make. This is where
anything relating to the main point
comes into being. Sometimes, it's
necessary to divide your outline into
parts, for better understanding.
Conclude by repeating, in different
words, your introduction.
The, above, outline will keep your
work flowing smoothly, you'll be less
stressed out, and able to write better.
The Outline Format
I.
II.
A.
B.
III.
A.
B.
1.
2.
V. Conclusion
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