you can become a successful writer
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You Can Become A Successful Writer: IntroMarch 28, 2008 by48 Comments
You Can Become A Writer !!
We are happy to note your interest in becoming a writer. You are invited to study the course
in this Ebook and also share them with others to your hearts content. We want to assureyou that if you are willing to commit at least thirty minutes every day for this profession,
you will see success very soon. (All CRG Ebooks can be shared with others without making
profit).
Before you begin your studies, do take the self-test shown below and note down your score
somewhere as we will be asking for it. This Creativity Self Test will show you exactly where
you are on the spectrum of creativity in writing. The higher the score, the faster you can
succeed, and the lower your score, we urge you to work the harder towards attaining your
goal.
Here is your Creativity Self-Test. Please answer YES or NO to following questions:
1Have you ever written letters to others ?
2Have you ever taught in Sunday School ?3Have you ever participated in any extra-curricular activities during school or college ?
4Have you ever participated in debate competitions ?
5Have you ever participated in extempore speeches ?
6Have you ever delivered any kind of lectures ?
7Have you ever participated in any kind of symposium ?
8Have you ever participated in any kind of poetry recitation ?
9Have you ever participated in any activity that required you to speak in front of a group
of people?
10-Have you ever performed in dramas.
11-Have you ever taught a Bible class in your church, hostel, or any other place?
12-Have you ever preached in church, in a smaller group, or in a camp or conference?
13-Were you able to write essays without much difficulty during your student life?
14-Do you ever wonder about the boring speakers ? Has it ever occurred to you that you
could have presented the subject in a more interesting way ?
15-Are you good at narrating jokes ?
16-Have you been longing for God to use your time in a meaningful way ?
17-Do you want to use your pen to glorify God ?
18-Do you want to have a ministry that blesses thousands of people every month ?
19-Are you a pastor who wants to bring blessing to a greater number of people ?
20-Are you a missionary or evangelist who wants to bring the message of salvation to a
greater number of persons ?
21-Are you a housewife, retired person, physically handicapped person, or anyone mostly
confined to home but with a desire to do something for the Lord?
22-Are you a student who can spare some time now for the Lord ?
23-Are you employed and yet desirous of using a small amount of time every day to help
others?
24-Are you good at imitating others ?
25-Are you able to see the funny side of things ?
26-Have people ever told you that you have very interesting ideas ?
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27-Have people ever told you that they were blessed by your message, conversation,
counseling, advise, suggestions?
28-Do people enjoy your letters ? Do they feel blessed, excited, encouraged, or motivated
by reading your letters ?
29-Do your friends ever seek your advise ?
30-Do you think that you can discipline yourself to shell out at least 30 minutes every dayto glorify God through your pen ?
EVALUATION:
1For each of the questions you answered YES, give yourself two points; For each question
you answered NO, give yourself one point. Find out the total points.
2Add 20 points to it if you love reading.
3Add 40 points to it if you love writing.
4Add 20 points if you have written more than 5 articles, poems, stories, or other items
but not published yet.
5Add the following points if you have already published anything (articles, stories, poems,
tracts, or anything else in print):
Up to 5 published works, 20 pointsUp to 10 published works, 40 points
Up to 20 published works, 60 points
More than 20 published works, 80 points
Now Assess Your Creativity Level:
1If your score is below 50 points: please forget about becoming a writer. Your gift lies
somewhere else, and you should better be exploring those things.
2If your score is between 51 and 100, then you are a creative person. Do not wait. You
can become a successful writer with training and self-discipline.
3If your score is between 101 and 150, then you are a highly creative person. What are
you waiting for? Get on to training and you will achieve unbelievable success through your
pen.
4If your score is above 151. Wow ! You are an exceptionally creative person. With training
and self-discipline you will be able to do things you could never imagine.
Even Clumsy People Become Outstanding
Craftsmen With Proper Training !!
Syllabus: Some of topics discussed In our Ebooks are shown below. This is not exhaustivebecause the course material is subject to constant revision to make it better. Thus new
subjects are added regularly.
(Introduction To The Art Of Writing)
1Introduction
Why should you become a writerWho can become a writer
How to become a writer
2Communication
3Types of writing
4Manuscript preparation
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5How to get published
6How to improve your language
7A writers reading habits
8A writers note keeping habits
9A writers obligations
10-A writers self-discipline(Development And Training)
1Let us fix the goals
2What is good writing
3Christian writing and its importance
4Improving your language
5Improving your sentences and paragraphs
6Improving the presentation of ideas
8Improving the article (story, essay, etc.) as a whole
9How to develop themes for writing
10-Editing your work
This Course, Properly Taken, Has Helped Many To Discover The Pot Of Gold !!
(Consolidating what you have learnt)
1What can the printed page do
2Marketing your writings
3Managing your time
4Choosing the stationary
5Using published sources
6Rules, regulations, conventions, and ethics
(Specialization)
1Specializations and fields of writings
2Christian writer in the no Christian marketplace
3Biblical writing
4Apologetic and creationistic writing
5Newspaper journalism
6Creative writing (stories, poem, fiction)
7Technical writing
8Script writing (TV, Radio)
9Evangelistic writing
10-Other specializations
This Course, Properly Taken, Has Helped Many
To Discover The Pot Of Gold !!
Some Questions ! (FAQ)
Question: Who are the people who offer these courses ?
Answer: These courses have been initiated by Dr. Johnson C. Philip, ThD, PhD, DSc. In
addition, he was trained in journalism in India and abroad. He has over 2500 articles and 50
books to his credit, in addition to numerous courses that he has developed in the fields of
apologetics and communication. He is also the chief editor of Insight India, Science And
Faith, and Biblical Expositor three professionally published magazines. He is on the editorial
board of numerous other magazines.
He has in past served on the editorial boards of the following periodicals: Quest, Jigyasa,
Anjali, Vaichariki, Brethren Voice, Asian Christian. He writes a regular column on computers
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in one of the leading computer magazines of India. A group of writers and editors help this
work as advisers. All of them have vast secular as well as religious writing and publishing
experience in India and abroad.
Question: What is your affiliation ?
Answer: Calvin Research Group is theologically conservative. We will want the students to
show the same attitude of reverence to the Bible. The certificate and diploma granted by usstand upon the merit of our own achievement and excellence. We refuse to affiliate it with
any institution or movement that does not embrace the same respect for the Bible.
Question: Are you sure that I can become a writer ?
Answer: If you speak a language, if you are able to express yourself using that language,
and if you have scored more than 50 points on the Creativity Self-Test, then you have all
the ingredients to become a writer. With training and self-discipline you can definitely
become a writer.
Question: Who will ever publish me ?
Answer: The Christian world is flooded with magazines. India alone has an estimated 2000
Christian magazines and newsletters. It has several thousand unregistered periodicals. In
addition to all that, there are over 40,000 registered periodicals. Thus the worldwidenumber of Christian and secular periodicals desiring articles is mind boggling. There is no
shortage of opportunity. (In addition, there are several thousand net-based periodicals on
the Internet, and most of them invite article submissions).
Question: But I have not seen many of these magazines ?
Answer: That is because you have not been looking for them. They are there, and plenty of
them are facing a shortage of quality writings. You will discover them when you start
looking for them. In one of the lessons we will explain this subject in great detail.
Question: Can I get published in both spiritual as well as secular publications ?
Answer: Yes, if you are willing to discipline yourself and if you are willing to look for
opportunities, you will be able to publish in Christian as well as secular publications. Many of
our students are already doing it.
Question: What is the use of becoming a writer ?
Answer: Writing is a special hobby, ministry, and profession. It enriches both you as well as
the thousands of people who read you. What is more, almost anyone can develop into a
writer.
Systematic Training Can Help You Communicate Your Ideas Better, More Accurately, And In
A More Acceptable Manner !!
Systematic Training Can Help You Communicate Your Ideas Better, More Accurately, And In
A More Acceptable Manner !!
Question: Will you help me to get published ?
Answer: We have put a lot of information in the lessons to help you get published. Most
students start publishing even before they complete the first module !! We will be happy to
give additional help when needed by suggesting additional free resources.
Question: In what all languages can I publish in future ?
Answer: Even though we offer this course in English, the principles that we teach apply to
all languages. Therefore using these principles you will be able to write in any language that
you know.
Question: Can I earn a living through writing ?
Answer: The purpose of our training it to develop your God-given talent of communication.
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People Everywhere Are Looking For Answers, So How Can A Christian Neglect So Great A
Need !!
FIFTH, you should become a writer, and become one now, because these days a
tremendous explosion is taking place in the print media. A few decades ago many prophets
of doom predicted that the death of printed material is at the door. On the contrary, the
explosion of TV, VCR, photocopiers and computers has brought a simultaneous explosion ofbooks, magazines, bulletins, souvenirs, and handbills. So much so that today the available
opportunities are far more than the number of available writers. This means that there are
plenty of openings everywhere, waiting to be filled by the right kind of writer. If you make it
to the print media now, you will be a well known writer in less than a decade !
Think of the five points above ! No other hobby or occupation in the world can promise all
these things together. If you become a writer, you will be able to help and motivate others,
you will be able to earn a name, fame and money too. Whats more, you will be the proud
owner of a unique hobby that enriches not only you but also others. All the while it enriches
and sharpens your thinking, understanding, and expressions. The best time to develop this
hobby is NOW because the exploding number of printed periodicals has created an unusual
demand for writers with all kinds of specializations.
Who Can Become A Writer ??
Many people harbour this erroneous idea that only special and uncommon people, who live
in ivory towers and who speak only the exotic languages of angels, can become writers.
They couldnt be mistaken more. While it is true that a minority of writers live in seclusion,
and a few do not speak in comprehensible language, they do not represent the majority.
Most of the successful writers are just common people like me and you, but with one
difference: they exploited the opportunities available to them, and became well known or
well loved writers.
Only about five per cent of the successful writers were born that way. They did not need
external training or motivation. However, the remaining 95% of the writers did not come
equipped from their mothers womb. They learnt the art, science, and economics of writing
through the hard way. Therefore, you do not have to be born a writer to become a
successful author.
Anyone who is literate, has the desire to write, and is willing to pay the cost, can become a
successful writer. Not all of them can become millionaires, but all of them can become
successful and well respected writers. The cost is to be paid not in terms of money because
that makes up only a minor fraction of what one spends. The major cost comes in the form
of self-discipline. The person aspiring to become a successful writer has to discipline himself
in three matters.
First of all, you should be willing to invest time to get training. You should join a good
correspondence or regular course where you acquire the linguistic tools that writers need.
Second, you should be willing to spend time regularly to put your training into practice.
Third, you should be willing to keep studying all your life. You have to continue studying
both the craft of writing as well as the subjects on which you write. You will agree that this
is only a reasonable cost for the mental and spiritual blessings, self fulfilment, and the name
that your writings will bring you.
Many Writers Stumble At A Good Opening, And End Up Losing Potential Readers !!
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You might wonder if there is any special profession to which most writers belong. When it
comes to specialized writings like textbooks and monographs, the writers must surely be
connected to that discipline of study. However, there is a great diversity among people who
write material for day to day reading. The majority of writers fall into this category.
Among the successful writers you will discover students, housewives, businessmen, office
clerks and people from almost any profession that you might imagine. Self discipline andcommitment is what goes to make a good writer, irrespective of his profession. Thus,
whatever your profession, you can become a writer !
How To Become A Successful Writer
March 28, 2008 by6 Comments
The explosive increase in the number of newspapers and magazines and the resulting
shortage of good writers will allow almost anyone to publish something good or bad! If you
want to become just an average and mediocre writer, you can churn out any amount of
trash and can get published somewhere or other, but the net result will be a waste. Carelesswriting wastes both your as well as your readers time, and in the long run you lose the
name and respect that you could have received by helping others through good writings.
You must follow certain sensible practices if you want to rise above mediocrity. You must
always keep you eyes upon success as well as excellence, and both of these goals are within
the reach of any writer willing to pay the cost. Ill now give you six tips on how to enter this
profession. These are tried and proven methods, and you should give due weight to each
one of them. They are:
1-Start writing immediately.
2-Develop your skills through a course and apprenticeship.
3-Desire perfection but be practical.
4-Begin humbly and progress.5-Develop supportive habits.
6-Persist.
Let me explain each of the above points in some more detail.
I-Start Writing Immediately: Many people would like to wait till they achieve perfection
before they begin. This is foolish because none can achieve perfection without first
beginning to write. Further, by the time an aspiring writer might feel that he is ready to
write, he might have lost several special opportunities.
I remember the story of a friend who aspired to become a famous writer. Over the years he
collected a host of interesting clippings for illustrating his writings. The material was
sufficient to provide two lifetimes of quotations. All the while he kept dreaming for a greatassignment, insisting that he would begin writing only when this dream materializes. This
was a stupid approach, but by a rare stroke of luck he got a coveted assignment one fine
day.
Time And Opportunity Wait For None.
So Do Not Wait. Start Immediately !
He immediately purchased a filing cabinet, enlisted the help of his wife and children and
embarked upon a massive campaign to classify his clippings. The collection was so massive
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4-Begin Humbly And Progress: Some people aspiring to become writers set their eyes too
high. They dream of publishing directly in Readers Digest or publications of only that level.
They will never succeed in this profession till they start thinking more realistically.
Just as writers range from beginners to achievers, publications also range from amateur to
professional in level. Obviously a magazine of high standard will publish only writings that
come up to their level. Writers new to their profession should, therefore, aim humbly atamateur publications first. They can then gradually work their way up to the level which
their abilities would allow.
5-Develop Supportive Habits: The art of writing can be enhanced by developing habits that
support the creative activity that writing is. For example, many people know that one gets
inspiring thoughts, ideas, and expressions, etc., suddenly and in a moment of illumination.
But such thoughts vanish as fast as they come. Good writers should therefore develop
strategies to record such inspiring thoughts before they are lost.
As you progress with writing, you will discover numerous supportive habits, but you dont need all of them at this
stage. The beginner should try to develop three very important practices mentioned below.
FIRST, you should try to read as much as possible. This is necessary to stimulate your mindand make you mature. The more you read the better it is. No amount of reading is over-
reading for a writer.
SECOND, you should ALWAYS keep a diary and pen with you. Note down every inspiring
thought, quote, anecdote or data that comes to your attention. Do not allow the idea be
lost, and do not let the presence of others discourage you from writing it into your diary.
THIRD, make it a practice to write one full page every day. Write whatever comes to your
mind. It could be a summary of an argument you heard, an observation you made, or an
inspiration that hit you. Whats important is to write something regularly, not the subjects
upon which you write. A stage will come in about three years of such practicing when you
will be unable to find time to write down all the inspiring thoughts that you get every day.
Start it today itself. Buy a diary and a lot of paper or notebooks. Then, Read, Record and
Write!
Persistence Is The Secret Of Success In Any Competitive Field !
6-Persist: Whatever your profession or hobby, you cannot succeed in it without persisting.
This is much more true of becoming a writer. Most people harbour this misconception that
everything written by a writer gets published! Nothing could be farther from truth. Not
everything written even by famous writers gets published. Further, many of their writings
see the light of the day only after repeated submissions or revisions.
Thus, right from the beginning you should expect a lot of rejections. Do not be discouraged.
This happens even to the most experienced writers. Persist and one day the rate of
rejection will decrease to tolerable levels.
Rome was not built in a day, nor is successful writing developed in one sitting.
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How To Begin Writing
March 28, 2008 by8 Comments
Even the best instruction in the world is worthless till it is put into action. Therefore,
beginning with this lesson, we will ask you to write a lot. Do not be discouraged by the
initial difficulties. Persist, and you will be a different person by the time you reach the last
lesson.
In this lesson we will first tell you about the types of writing, and then guide you into how
to begin writing.
All writings (essays, poems, stories, novels, etc.) can be classified into two broad
categories: factual writing and creative writing. All factual writing will have a lot of creativity
going into it and all creative writing will be aided by factual information, yet they are clearly
distinguishable one from another. One does not read a novel and a dictionary alike because
they belong to two entirely different categories of writing.
Factual Writing
Essays, news, textbooks, research reports, any other kind of writing that deals with facts is
called factual writing.
Almost everything in print that can be classified as non-fiction is factual writing. The aim
of factual writing is to present facts in a captivating way. The purpose is to educate,
entertain and even motivate the readers towards a specific action.
All Factual Writing Begins With Collection And Statement Of Factual Information. Creativity
Is Limited To The Way Information Is Presented Which In Itself Is A Great Art !!
The field of factual writing is very broad. The number of subjects available are uncountable
and the opportunities to write upon them are unlimited. These statements might puzzle or
surprise many who have not launched yet into the field of writing, but I assure you that the
above statements are not exaggerations.
Consider a very simple and commonplace topic like Water. A beginner might consider it
nonsense when I suggest that dozens of articles can be built around this subject. But before
you become too sure that I am wrong, consider the following titles:
Water: The source of all life
Water: The greatest tonic for health
Water Pollution: Causes and effects
Water-loss (dehydration) the greatest killer in summer
Drinking Water: How to purify it
The chemistry of water
The physics of water, the wonder liquidI have suggested only seven topics, and that also by spending only three to five minutes for
thinking. Further, I have not mentioned many obvious and interesting subjects like,
Conserving Water For Summers, Water As Source Of Hydro and Tidal Electricity, Water And
Industries, Water And Transportation, etc.
Thinking up for an hour or two per day will bring up at least a hundred interesting subjects,
and just a month of such effort will swell up the list to at least 3000 subjects ! Believe me,
even the most successful writers find that too many titles for their whole life.
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Im not suggesting that you spend the next month filling your diary with possible subjects.
On the contrary, the above illustration has been given to show you that the field of factual
writing is so vast that all the writers of the world together will never be able to exhaust the
available subjects.
All what you need is a bit of self-confidence, a little creativity, and a desire to find subjects.
I guarantee that in three to five years you will wish that you could write with all four of yourlimbs. Believe me, you could still not exhaust your own list even if that wish were granted!
Creative Writing
All writings classified as fiction come into this category. Songs and poems can also be
placed into this category because their creative part is more dominant than their factual
one.
Stories, novels, most poems, songs, many satires, dramas, etc. are included in creative
writing. They have been given this title because they are created almost out of non-
existent material. While the main attempt in factual writing is to explain pre-existing facts,
the main attempt in creative writing is to produce an entity that did not exist previously.
Creative Writing Begins With Brainstorming, Assimilating, Writing Down, And Polishing The
Output !!
Even though the creative writer creates a story that did not exist before, he needs an idea
or a plot to create it. Since plots for stories do not drop from the skies, the creative writer
has to develop skills necessary to capture, conceive, and develop new ideas.
Both factual as well as creative writing are challenging jobs, and each has its own unique
difficulties. Most writers confine themselves to one of these fields, and only very few try to
produce both kinds of materials.
You must evaluate your natural talents, inclinations, and abilities before you choose whether
you will write fiction or non-fiction. Whatever the field you choose, you should never ignore
the techniques of the other side. Non-fiction writers can always benefit from the techniques
used by the fiction writers and people who produce fiction can always benefit from people
who produce factual writings.
In the present course our stress will be upon factual writing. These are two reasons for it.
First, the majority of writers produce only factual material. Second, creative writers have to
follow most of the basic principles of factual writing, and therefore this is the right starting
point for writers of all kinds. We will offer you specialized information about producing
fiction in another module of this course.
How To Begin Writing
Beginners in the field of writing feel that the most difficult part of writing is taking the first
step. Theres nothing very surprising about this. In any game the first move is the most
tense one and the opening batsman bears the most intense pressure. Even in human life
the first step of a baby is always more difficult than the next one.
However, as the baby grows, walking becomes so natural to him that he does it without any
special effort or without even being conscious of it. It is the same way with writing. The first
step will be difficult, but the more you hesitate, the more the time that you loose. I
therefore urge you to start writing immediately ! Do not worry at this stage about the
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quality or usefulness of the first few writings. Nor should you worry about who is going to
publish them.
Have you ever seen a trainee potter, tailor, typist, or cook at work ? Their initial output is
usually so crude, childish, abnormal, or deformed that nobody buys it from them. Yet they
keep working because they know that the initial output is not meant for others. Their first
product is meant for practice.In the same way, you should assume that the first few (six to twelve) articles that you
produce are meant for your training and not for publication. If will be a joy if someone
publishes them, but you should not be discouraged if something meant for practice does not
get into print.
With these points in mind, the first few steps that you have to take can be listed as follows:
1-Choose a subject
2-Make an outline
3-Collect information
4-Refine outline, if needed
5-Write
6-Rewrite
It is obvious that one cannot write upon a subject that has not yet been chosen. The first
thing to do, therefore, is to choose a subject. I have already explained some methods for
discovering useful and exciting subjects. You should choose a subject using the same
technique.
Essentials Of CommunicationMarch 28, 2008 by3 Comments
I do not have to convince you about the importance of communication, specially if you have
ever struggled with an intimidating or boring book. Unless the writer communicates in the
proper manner, it is impossible for anyone to enjoy his creation.
In the field of writing, communication is the art of expressing information in such a way that
it captures the readers attention and produces the desired results. This kind of
communication requires more than using simple words. We will definitely talk a lot about
using words, but even before that you should consider the role of your personality in
communication.
For genuine and successful communication, you should be sincere and a man of conviction.
Further, you should know your audience and should have a genuine desire to help them. Let
me explain:
I-Conviction: If you do not write with conviction on different issues, your writings will
dissipate into a good for nothing acrobatics. Instead of communicating a clear cut message,
your writing will soon become themeless and immediately the readers will reject you.
2-Sincerity: Being sincere is different from having a conviction. One might have a clear
conviction about any number of issues, but that does not guarantee that one will sincerely
want others to be convinced as well. There are many who know the truth but who have no
desire that others also discover truth. Unless a writer is sincere, he will not be able to
influence and change his readers.
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3-Know The Audience: A person changes his tone, vocabulary and attitude even when he
discusses one and the same subject with different people. A child cannot enjoy an adult
vocabulary, nor can an adult accept a childish vocabulary or expressions coming from other
adults.
The purpose of all writing is communication with the reader. And for the sake of correctly
relating it with your readers, it is necessary for you to know beforehand who they are. Youshould then use language and expression that suits this group of people.
4-A Genuine Desire To Help The Reader: If you have ever struggled with science
textbooks, then you know the difference. All textbooks are written for students, but only
few writers write them in a way that makes the subject alive to the students. Some of them
write merely because they want to produce a textbook while others write because they want
to help the student, and that makes all the difference.
Unless you are possessed with a genuine desire to help the reader, you will not be able to
put things at his level. Your writing will be neither easy nor persuasive.
Mind The Language
In additional to your personality, you should train your language too for achieving effective
communication. The study of language and communication is so vast a subject that one willnever be able to exhaust it. However, instead of giving a comprehensive discussion, we will
introduce the most important features that you should develop at this stage.
Every beginner in the field of writing should strive to make his language simple, natural,
and accurate.
I-Use Simple Language: Many writers believe that the more tough or complex their
language, the more superior their writing would be. However, they are greatly mistaken. Of
course, if they are writing to show off their abilities then they might use any type of
language, but if they are writing to be read then they must keep themselves simple.
If a given idea can be expressed in two ways, a simple one and a complex one, then you
should always choose the simpler expression. This will captivate your audience, will
communicate the subject better and whats more, it will bring you untold amount of loyalty
from them. Believe me, reader-loyalty is very important for a writer to enjoy demand from
editors and also for getting a good price for his writings.
Contrary to what many think, using complex language, where simpler choices exist, is a
sign of incompetence, inferiority complex, or an unresolved mind. A writer who uses
complex and hard to understand language does so either because of his incompetence, or to
hide his weaknesses. Such writers never go far.
Complex expressions and highly technical vocabulary does have a place in scholarly
journals, but no beginner is going to write for such publications. Further, even in such
publications the editors and readers abhor writings that are unusually difficult.
Further, complexity is not the same as ambiguity. Even if a complex expression becomes
necessary, it should be kept straight forward and not ambiguous. Since your expressions
are the result of your thinking, ambiguous expressions are obviously the sign of sloppy
thinking. No sloppy thinker can ever become a writer of substance.
You should use not only simple expressions, but also easy vocabulary. All languages offer
you simple as well as difficult words to express the same or similar ideas. You should always
choose the simpler word unless there is a compelling reason to choose the difficult one.
Beginners in this field should even try to restrict themselves to the common vocabulary.
Lists of such words are available for English and also for many other languages.
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2-Use Natural Language: Most people speak without becoming conscious about their
language. This makes them natural. On the other hand, the same people become too
conscious when they write, and this makes their writing tense, choppy and jerky. The
smooth motion of a well designed car versus the jerky motion of a tractor is a good analogy
for comparing natural expressions with jerky ones.
Your language should show the same smoothness of flow in writing that you exhibit in theday to day conversation. Written language might at times be more serious or polished, but
that is no excuse for rendering it unnatural or artificial. Good writing should sound as
natural to the reader as a spontaneous conversation does to the listener.
One should not mistakenly think that simple language is automatically natural. While
simplicity is an important part of naturalness, it is not sufficient in itself to make ones
language natural. You must consider the subject matter, the capacity of the listener, the
urgency of all task, etc. and then express in a way that is natural in this situation.
Remember, all successful communication takes place in a natural manner. The way a
nursing mother talks with her infant, a lover talks to his beloved, a grandson talks to his
grandpa, and the way a policeman talks to a criminal are all different from each other, yet
are natural in their particular settings. In the same way your language should be natural forthe occasion for which you write.
3-Use Accurate Language: Careless use of language can make a person inaccurate and
ambiguous. All ambiguity produces communication handicaps, but one does not notice this
kind of handicaps while engaged in oral conversation. Even if a person tends to be
ambiguous in conversation, mutual interaction and questions raised by the listener often
clarify what the speaker wants to communicate. However, mutual interaction is impossible
in written language and therefore you cannot escape with ambiguities.
You should write in such a way that listener should not have to strain to understand your
meaning. Nor should he have to guess or interpret the intended meaning to arrive at a
conclusion. Consider the following statement, for example: At the age of thirty my father
revealed this secret to me. Can you deduce, without uncertainty, who was thirty years old,
the father or the son, when this incident took place ? A definite deduction is not possible
here. This illustrates the problems created by ambiguous statements.
You must take care of several things to make your language accurate, and the first is the
vocabulary you use. You must meticulously avoid ambiguous vocabulary. Only a regular and
critical reading of others writings will help you to recognize ambiguous words. Reading
articles related to language usage is also very helpful.
Consider the word typical for example. The word typical means something that is
common. But most English-speaking Indians use this word to refer to something that is
peculiar. Therefore if you use this word in an article without adequate explanation, most of
the readers will interpret you just the opposite of what you intend to convey. To be safe,
you should substitute another word for it.
Not only should you avoid using ambiguous words but should also avoid ambiguous
phrases. We have already given you an example in the statement that begins with, At the
age of thirty. Consider another example, picked up from the Classified Advertisement
columns of a newspaper:
Needed adoptive parents for a dog, by a man, with a dozen offsprings.
The meaning hinges precariously upon the two commas placed in the sentence. If the
second of these is lost (as it often happens during composing), the statement will look like:
Needed adoptive parents for a dog, by a man with a dozen offsprings.
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Here it is difficult to decide whether the man or the dog is blessed with half a dozen
offsprings. A non-ambiguous restatement is given below:
A man needs adoptive parents for his dog which has a dozen offsprings.
Another care to take is to eliminate ALL hasty generalizations. Statements like, All
politicians are cheats and All lawyers are liars should not find a place in your writing.
Hasty generalization makes you unreliable, ambiguous, and unbelievable. It is the mark ofan impulsive person. Use only those generalizations that can be supported with plenty of
data. For example, you can safely say that crows are black, elephants are strong, and tigers
are ferocious. But claiming that fairer people are more intelligent or dark people tend to
be cruel is neither right nor motivates accurate thinking.
Since words are the ultimate building blocks for all written communication, you should
definitely take up a vocabulary-building program. A richer vocabulary will help you to
express your ideas accurately using simple words. You should not be content with labelling
a person (who has difficulty with knowledge) as fool when you could choose from
innocent, ignorant, fool, idiot, imbecile, or unteachable. You compromise with accuracy
when you label every pleasing woman as beautiful when you could have chosen from a
range like, good-looking, attractive, seductive, charming, homely, sweet, or beautiful tomake your description more accurate.
When a choice of synonyms like the one above is given to people, many of them exclaim
with surprise. They say they didnt know that so many words were available to choose from
! Clearly, the problem is not with language or vocabulary, but with people who are not
willing to master it.
You should keep increasing your word power throughout your active life. It is not to show
off and dumbfound others, but to increase your comprehension and improve your
expression. The more your vocabulary, the clearer will be your thinking and the more
accurate will be your expression.
Essentials Of Communication
I do not have to convince you about the importance of communication, specially if you have
ever struggled with an intimidating or boring book. Unless the writer communicates in the
proper manner, it is impossible for anyone to enjoy his creation.
In the field of writing, communication is the art of expressing information in such a way that
it captures the readers attention and produces the desired results. This kind of
communication requires more than using simple words. We will definitely talk a lot about
using words, but even before that you should consider the role of your personality in
communication.
For genuine and successful communication, you should be sincere and a man of conviction.
Further, you should know your audience and should have a genuine desire to help them. Let
me explain:
I-Conviction: If you do not write with conviction on different issues, your writings will
dissipate into a good for nothing acrobatics. Instead of communicating a clear cut message,
your writing will soon become themeless and immediately the readers will reject you.
2-Sincerity: Being sincere is different from having a conviction. One might have a clear
conviction about any number of issues, but that does not guarantee that one will sincerely
want others to be convinced as well. There are many who know the truth but who have no
desire that others also discover truth. Unless a writer is sincere, he will not be able to
influence and change his readers.
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3-Know The Audience: A person changes his tone, vocabulary and attitude even when he
discusses one and the same subject with different people. A child cannot enjoy an adult
vocabulary, nor can an adult accept a childish vocabulary or expressions coming from other
adults.
The purpose of all writing is communication with the reader. And for the sake of correctly
relating it with your readers, it is necessary for you to know beforehand who they are. Youshould then use language and expression that suits this group of people.
People Are Automatically Drawn To Those Who Wish To Help Them !!
4-A Genuine Desire To Help The Reader: If you have ever struggled with science
textbooks, then you know the difference. All textbooks are written for students, but only
few writers write them in a way that makes the subject alive to the students. Some of them
write merely because they want to produce a textbook while others write because they want
to help the student, and that makes all the difference.
Unless you are possessed with a genuine desire to help the reader, you will not be a
ble to put things at his level. Your writing will be neither easy nor persuasive.
Mind The Language
In additional to your personality, you should train your language too for achieving effective
communication. The study of language and communication is so vast a subject that one will
never be able to exhaust it. However, instead of giving a comprehensive discussion, we will
introduce the most important features that you should develop at this stage.
Every beginner in the field of writing should strive to make his language simple, natural,
and accurate.
I-Use Simple Language: Many writers believe that the more tough or complex their
language, the more superior their writing would be. However, they are greatly mistaken. Of
course, if they are writing to show off their abilities then they might use any type of
language, but if they are writing to be read then they must keep themselves simple.
If a given idea can be expressed in two ways, a simple one and a complex one, then you
should always choose the simpler expression. This will captivate your audience, will
communicate the subject better and whats more, it will bring you untold amount of loyalty
from them. Believe me, reader-loyalty is very important for a writer to enjoy demand from
editors and also for getting a good price for his writings.
Contrary to what many think, using complex language, where simpler choices exist, is a
sign of incompetence, inferiority complex, or an unresolved mind. A writer who uses
complex and hard to understand language does so either because of his incompetence, or to
hide his weaknesses. Such writers never go far.
Complex expressions and highly technical vocabulary does have a place in scholarly
journals, but no beginner is going to write for such publications. Further, even in such
publications the editors and readers abhor writings that are unusually difficult.
Further, complexity is not the same as ambiguity. Even if a complex expression becomes
necessary, it should be kept straight forward and not ambiguous. Since your expressions
are the result of your thinking, ambiguous expressions are obviously the sign of sloppy
thinking. No sloppy thinker can ever become a writer of substance.
You should use not only simple expressions, but also easy vocabulary. All languages offer
you simple as well as difficult words to express the same or similar ideas. You should always
choose the simpler word unless there is a compelling reason to choose the difficult one.
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Beginners in this field should even try to restrict themselves to the common vocabulary.
Lists of such words are available for English and also for many other languages.
2-Use Natural Language: Most people speak without becoming conscious about their
language. This makes them natural. On the other hand, the same people become too
conscious when they write, and this makes their writing tense, choppy and jerky. The
smooth motion of a well designed car versus the jerky motion of a tractor is a good analogyfor comparing natural expressions with jerky ones.
Your language should show the same smoothness of flow in writing that you exhibit in the
day to day conversation. Written language might at times be more serious or polished, but
that is no excuse for rendering it unnatural or artificial. Good writing should sound as
natural to the reader as a spontaneous conversation does to the listener.
One should not mistakenly think that simple language is automatically natural. While
simplicity is an important part of naturalness, it is not sufficient in itself to make ones
language natural. You must consider the subject matter, the capacity of the listener, the
urgency of all task, etc. and then express in a way that is natural in this situation.
Remember, all successful communication takes place in a natural manner. The way a
nursing mother talks with her infant, a lover talks to his beloved, a grandson talks to hisgrandpa, and the way a policeman talks to a criminal are all different from each other, yet
are natural in their particular settings. In the same way your language should be natural for
the occasion for which you write.
3-Use Accurate Language: Careless use of language can make a person inaccurate and
ambiguous. All ambiguity produces communication handicaps, but one does not notice this
kind of handicaps while engaged in oral conversation. Even if a person tends to be
ambiguous in conversation, mutual interaction and questions raised by the listener often
clarify what the speaker wants to communicate. However, mutual interaction is impossible
in written language and therefore you cannot escape with ambiguities.
You should write in such a way that listener should not have to strain to understand your
meaning. Nor should he have to guess or interpret the intended meaning to arrive at a
conclusion. Consider the following statement, for example: At the age of thirty my father
revealed this secret to me. Can you deduce, without uncertainty, who was thirty years old,
the father or the son, when this incident took place ? A definite deduction is not possible
here. This illustrates the problems created by ambiguous statements.
You must take care of several things to make your language accurate, and the first is the
vocabulary you use. You must meticulously avoid ambiguous vocabulary. Only a regular and
critical reading of others writings will help you to recognize ambiguous words. Reading
articles related to language usage is also very helpful.
Consider the word typical for example. The word typical means something that is
common. But most English-speaking Indians use this word to refer to something that is
peculiar. Therefore if you use this word in an article without adequate explanation, most of
the readers will interpret you just the opposite of what you intend to convey. To be safe,
you should substitute another word for it.
Not only should you avoid using ambiguous words but should also avoid ambiguous
phrases. We have already given you an example in the statement that begins with, At the
age of thirty. Consider another example, picked up from the Classified Advertisement
columns of a newspaper:
Needed adoptive parents for a dog, by a man, with a dozen offsprings.
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The meaning hinges precariously upon the two commas placed in the sentence. If the
second of these is lost (as it often happens during composing), the statement will look like:
Needed adoptive parents for a dog, by a man with a dozen offsprings.
Here it is difficult to decide whether the man or the dog is blessed with half a dozen
offsprings. A non-ambiguous restatement is given below:
A man needs adoptive parents for his dog which has a dozen offsprings.Another care to take is to eliminate ALL hasty generalizations. Statements like, All
politicians are cheats and All lawyers are liars should not find a place in your writing.
Hasty generalization makes you unreliable, ambiguous, and unbelievable. It is the mark of
an impulsive person. Use only those generalizations that can be supported with plenty of
data. For example, you can
safely say that crows are black, elephants are strong, and tigers are ferocious. But claiming
that fairer people are more intelligent or dark people tend to be cruel is neither right nor
motivates accurate thinking.
Since words are the ultimate building blocks for all written communication, you should
definitely take up a vocabulary-building program. A richer vocabulary will help you to
express your ideas accurately using simple words. You should not be content with labellinga person (who has difficulty with knowledge) as fool when you could choose from
innocent, ignorant, fool, idiot, imbecile, or unteachable. You compromise with accuracy
when you label every pleasing woman as beautiful when you could have chosen from a
range like, good-looking, attractive, seductive, charming, homely, sweet, or beautiful to
make your description more accurate.
When a choice of synonyms like the one above is given to people, many of them exclaim
with surprise. They say they didnt know that so many words were available to choose from
! Clearly, the problem is not with language or vocabulary, but with people who are not
willing to master it.
You should keep increasing your word power throughout your active life. It is not to show
off and dumbfound others, but to increase your comprehension and improve your
expression. The more your vocabulary, the clearer will be your thinking and the more
accurate will be your expression.
Make The Presentation Attractive
March 29, 2008 by2 Comments
Christian Writer Training Course 1, Lesson 6
One is successful in the task of communication when one is able to convey information in
such a way that if captivates the audience and produces the desired effects. I have told you
so far that for successful communication you must develop sincerity, conviction and agenuine burden to help your readers. Also, you should know who your audience is. In
addition to all the above, you should use appropriate language.
Using the correct language includes using simple, natural, and accurate expressions. I have
already given you several suggestions about how to make your writings simple, natural, and
accurate. The next thing to enhance communication is to use an attractive
presentation.
Make Your Presentation So Attractive That People May Not Feel Like Keeping It Down !!
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You should use an attractive presentation to capture their attention. It is true that the
increasing literacy levels is producing many new readers every day, but this does not mean
that they will automatically read anything and everything presented to them. Even though
there is now a large number of literate people in our country, we should realize that more
and more printed matter is competing with each other every day to get a share of their time
and money. By the time you become a successful writer, a still larger number ofpublications will be chasing the same market which is not growing at the same rate.
Consequently, only those publications will get read that are attractive enough to capture
their attention.
The first thing which captures their attention is the title of your writing. Whether it is a brief
article or a multi volume book, the title is the starting point. If it is attractive, your writing
gets a second glance. If it is uninteresting, then you lose the potential reader even if you
have created a masterpiece. Consider the following pairs of title. Each pair shows two ways
in which the same article or book has been titled.
a-A Collection Of Proverbs
b-Wisdom Of The Ages
a-A Guidebook To Encourage Everyoneb-Yes, You Can Do It !
a-Developing An Awareness About The Aborted Fetuses
b-Children Things Thrown Away !
a-An Account Of The Sins Of Omissions And Commission In Government Offices
b-Wickedness In High Places !
Each pair talks about the same subject, but in each one the second title is more catchy.
Making your titles attractive is not very difficult. Spend a little time to think up a good,
attractive, or catchy way of expressing it and the job is half done. The remaining half of the
task is to make the body of article equally attractive.
The text of your article should be written in such a way that it keeps your reader awake and
glued to it till the end of your writing. This is not impossible, but it does require regular
effort from you. You will learn a lot about it in forthcoming lessons, but the best thing to do
till then is to read and reflect upon the writings of those who have already mastered the art.
Write On Subjects Of Common Interest: If your writing is to communicate with people, not
only has it got to be attractive, but should also be of some interest to the intended
audience. (Many Crusaders write upon subjects in which no public interest is seen. But such
activity belongs to the experienced writer, and you will study this kind of writing only at a
more advanced stage).
So much printed material is competing for the readers attention today that only what
touches upon their concerns will be picked up and read. Every generation and every
community of people have their own needs, interests, problems and pains. Any writing that
touches upon these subjects will, obviously, get immediate attention. The rest will, in all
probability, get ignored.
Have you ever noticed how the common man reacts to a philosophical monograph ! He does
not touch it. Even the name philosophy is enough to scare him away. Yet when a
philosopher spots the same book, his eyes sparkle and his face betrays excitement. The
difference can be explained by ones relation to the subject. Whats related to ones needs
gets attention, but whats of no immediate concern gets rejected even if it is written in the
most brilliant manner.
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Subjects related to spiritual, social, academic, nationalistic, or personal concerns always
capture peoples attention. Subjects of immediate interest like entertainment, politics,
political crisis and hobby development also get immediate attention from people.
Subjects that require long-term involvement from the readers also capture attention, if
chosen with insight. For example, subjects like managing ones finances, overcoming
depression, becoming socially attractive, and capturing the attention of people, alwaysmanage to catch reader attention.
Even in this materialistic world plenty of people will take interest in spiritual and moral
themes if the subjects are presented properly. Many articles on spiritual themes are finding
place in present-day secular publications because they have some substance, and are
written in a professional manner. Since mans quest for spirituals is never-ending, this
theme will never go out of demand.
Many Successful Writers Have Discovered That Food, Health, Relaxation, Etc. Are Subjects
Of Great Interest. Christians Can Discover Similar Ever-abiding Biblical Subjects !!
Different audiences have different immediate concerns. The housewife is worried about
nutrition, the teenage boy about acceptance by peers, the teenage girl about her excess
weight, and the newspaper editor about the important news of the day. What is food to onemight be poison to the other. Therefore you should know your audience first, lest you end
up praising to horrified vegetarians the benefits of meat eating.
The best thing to know your audience and their interests is to study the publications for
which you write. Study their emphasis, the direction of the editorials, letters to the editor,
and most important the guidelines to authors issued by those publications. Once you
identify the audience, it will be relatively easy to identify subjects that interest them.
A beginner in the field of writing might find himself struggling to discover subjects for
writing, but if you implement the suggestions given in this course you will discover lots of
interesting topics. In fact a time will come within three to five years of writing when your
diary will be flooded with so many suggestions and topics that you will not be able to do
justice even to half of them.
Once you are submerged in reading and writing material, it will be good to choose a few
fields for concentrated writing. Do not try to become a jack of all trades because soon you
will be reduced to a master of none. With that you will lose your market appeal as well as
value. Further, if you
do not focus upon a few areas, the direction of your writings will disperse so much that your
name will not be attached to anything. Do not underestimate the importance of such an
attachment. If others can associate your name with at least a couple of subjects, your
writings will be read with greater eagerness.
Develop A Rapport With Your Readers: No one-way communication in the world can last
very long. Some sort of mutual interaction, howsoever little it might be, is necessary to
keep the relationship alive. Since all writing is communication, a certain minimum
interaction with the readers is essential. Unless this mutual communication is there, the
writer has no way of knowing whether his writings are relevant and whether people are
benefited by these writings.
A two-way communication between the writer and his audience is easier said than done, but
there are many tried and proven methods to overcome this difficulty. The easiest way is to
keep an eye on the Letters To The Editor and similar columns where feedback from
readers is published. If any of your writings touches their needs, helps or motivates them,
they will mention it. You should watch such feedback for quite some time because
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sometimes people start writing to the editor only after reading several of your writings, or
even several months after a particular writing helps them.
Researches estimate that for each person who writes to the editor, there are ten to fifty who
want to do the same but do not find it possible. This means that each letter represents at
least ten to fifty of your readers who have similar feelings. If it is a letter of appreciation,
good; if it expresses disapproval or hostility, consider whether you did something wrong.Above all this, try to see what else they want to read from you. Sometimes the clue might
be hidden in a single phrase buried somewhere in that letter.
Some editors, specially those of small-circulation or newly published publications, will be
very happy to pass on information about reader-response to you. The best way to get this
information is to write a polite letter of inquiry to the editor after a few of your writings are
published by his publication.
It Is Great To Develop A Rapport With Your Listeners !!
Another way to interact with your readers is by reading about their problems and
aspirations. Read all letters, feedback, and comments published in the periodical of your
choice. Study what they say and what problems and pains hurt them most. Then seewhether your present writings touch upon these subjects, or whether you might be able to
write something significant on those topics.
Last, but not least, keep your eyes and ears open to people. Even social conversation or a
passing compliment paid by a friend (about one of your writings which he happened to see)
can give you a lot of information.
Keep striving. Communication is your ultimate aim, and that you must do if you want to be
a successful writer.
How To Begin Writing
March 29, 2008 by6 Comments
Christian Writer Training Course 2, Lesson 1
Even the best instruction in the world is worthless till it is put into action. Therefore,
beginning with this lesson, we will ask you to write a lot. Do not be discouraged by the
initial difficulties. Persist, and you will be a different person by the time you reach the last
lesson.
In this lesson we will first tell you about the types of writing, and then guide you into how
to begin writing.
All writings (essays, poems, stories, novels, etc.) can be classified into two broad
categories: factual writing and creative writing. All factual writing will have a lot of creativity
going into it and all creative writing will be aided by factual information, yet they are clearlydistinguishable one from another. One does not read a novel and a dictionary alike because
they belong to two entirely different categories of writing.
Factual WritingEssays, news, textbooks, research reports, any other kind of writing that deals with facts is
called factual writing.
Almost everything in print that can be classified as non-fiction is factual writing. The aim
of factual writing is to present facts in a captivating way. The purpose is to educate,
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entertain and even motivate the readers towards a specific action. All Factual Writing Begins
With Collection And Statement Of Factual Information. Creativity Is Limited To The Way
Information Is Presented Which In Itself Is A Great Art !!
The field of factual writing is very broad. The number of subjects available are uncountable
and the opportunities to write upon them are unlimited. These statements might puzzle or
surprise many who have not launched yet into the field of writing, but I assure you that theabove statements are not exaggerations.
Consider a very simple and commonplace topic like Water. A beginner might consider it
nonsense when I suggest that dozens of articles can be built around this subject. But before
you become too sure that I am wrong, consider the following titles:
Water: The source of all life
Water: The greatest tonic for health
Water Pollution: Causes and effects
Water-loss (dehydration) the greatest killer in summer
Drinking Water: How to purify it
The chemistry of water
The physics of water, the wonder liquid.
I have suggested only seven topics, and that also by spending only three to five minutes for
thinking. Further, I have not mentioned many obvious and interesting subjects like,
Conserving Water For Summers, Water As Source Of Hydro and Tidal Electricity, Water And
Industries, Water And Transportation, etc.
Thinking up for an hour or two per day will bring up at least a hundred interesting subjects,
and just a month of such effort will swell up the list to at least 3000 subjects ! Believe me,
even the most successful writers find that too many titles for their whole life.
Im not suggesting that you spend the next month filling your diary with possible subjects.
On the contrary, the above illustration has been given to show you that the field of factual
writing is so vast that all the writers of the world together will never be able to exhaust the
available subjects.
All what you need is a bit of self-confidence, a little creativity, and a desire to find subjects.
I guarantee that in three to five years you will wish that you could write with all four of your
limbs. Believe me, you could still not exhaust your own list even if that wish were granted!
Creative WritingAll writings classified as fiction come into this category. Songs and poems can also be
placed into this category because their creative part is more dominant than their factual
one.
Stories, novels, most poems, songs, many satires, dramas, etc. are included in creative
writing. They have been given this title because they are created almost out of non-
existent material. While the main attempt in factual writing is to explain pre-existing facts,
the main attempt in creative writing is to produce an entity that did not exist previously.
Even though the creative writer creates a story that did not exist before, he needs an idea
or a plot to create it. Since plots for stories do not drop from the skies, the creative writer
has to develop skills necessary to capture, conceive, and develop new ideas.
Both factual as well as creative writing are challenging jobs, and each has its own unique
difficulties. Most writers confine themselves to one of these fields, and only very few try to
produce both kinds of materials.
You must evaluate your natural talents, inclinations, and abilities before you choose whether
you will write fiction or non-fiction. Whatever the field you choose, you should never ignore
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the techniques of the other side. Non-fiction writers can always benefit from the techniques
used by the fiction writers and people who produce fiction can always benefit from people
who produce factual writings.
In the present course our stress will be upon factual writing. These are two reasons for it.
First, the majority of writers produce only factual material. Second, creative writers have to
follow most of the basic principles of factual writing, and therefore this is the right startingpoint for writers of all kinds. We will offer you specialized information about producing
fiction in another module of this course.
How To Begin Writing
Beginners in the field of writing feel that the most difficult part of writing is taking the first
step. Theres nothing very surprising about this. In any game the first move is the most
tense one and the opening batsman bears the most intense pressure. Even in human life
the first step of a baby is always more difficult than the next one.
However, as the baby grows, walking becomes so natural to him that he does it without any
special effort or without even being conscious of it. It is the same way with writing. The firststep will be difficult, but the more you hesitate, the more the time that you loose. I
therefore urge you to start writing immediately ! Do not worry at this stage about the
quality or usefulness of the first few writings. Nor should you worry about who is going to
publish them.
Have you ever seen a trainee potter, tailor, typist, or cook at work ? Their initial output is
usually so crude, childish, abnormal, or deformed that nobody buys it from them. Yet they
keep working because they know that the initial output is not meant for others. Their first
product is meant for practice.
In the same way, you should assume that the first few (six to twelve) articles that y
ou produce are meant for your training and not for publication. If will be a joy if someone
publishes them, but you should not be discouraged if something meant for practice does not
get into print.
With these points in mind, the first few steps that you have to take can be listed as follows:
1-Choose a subject
2-Make an outline
3-Collect information
4-Refine outline, if needed
5-Write
6-Rewrite
It is obvious that one cannot write upon a subject that has not yet been chosen. The first
thing to do, therefore, is to choose a subject. I have already explained some methods for
discovering useful and exciting subjects. You should choose a subject using the same
technique.
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The Art Of Outlining 1
March 29, 2008 by3 Comments
Christian Writer Training Course 2, Lesson 2
The next thing to do is to make an outline. This should always be brief yet sufficiently clear.
There should always be a suitable introduction, an informative and absorbing body, and a
challenging end. The structure (in theory) would look something like the following.
1-Introduction.
2-Body
3-Conclusion.
The body of the article should contain the points that you want to stress. These points
should be limited to as few as possible. Most writers show the tendency to pile point upon
point till they reach infinity, with several sub-points attached to each point. While this might
give them some mental satisfaction, or even pride, the practice is foolish.
The average reader cannot keep that many points, or their intricate relationship with each
other, in his head. You should therefore use only three to five points in the body of your
writing, unless you are going to write it for a bunch of your classroom students. Threepoints is optimum and five is about the maximum. If you think that you have more than five
points for inclusion, many things could be wrong with you. Either you are overenthusiastic
(because of your inexperience) or you have unnecessarily split the subject into too many
points.
Yet another reason could be that you have chosen too broad a subject. If that is so, and if
you have a great desire to use all those points, then split up your write-up into two or more
articles.
Thus, the theoretical outline of a properly designed article would look something like:
1-Introduction
2-Body
A-Point no.1B-Point no.2
C-Point no.3
3-Conclusion
This is only a guideline, and not a rigid rule. Other approaches are also possible. What is
important is to keep the outline COMPACT. Look at another compact outline below.
1-Introduction
2-Point no.1
A-Subpoint no.1
B-Subpoint no.2
3-Point-2
A-Subpoint no.1B-Subpoint no.2
4-Conclusion
So far the above outline is only theoretical. In practice you should write down what these
points are and what the emphasis of the introduction and conclusion are going to be.
Once this much is done, you must collect all the information on this subject that you can.
You might at first be baffled about how to collect such information, but I assure you that if
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you go in the right direction you will get so much information that you will never be able to
use all of it.
One of the best sources of information is books. You can look into your own collection (if
you have one), ask other book lovers, go to a public library, or even go to any other kind of
library. Most people tend to under estimate and even downgrade these sources of
information, but a writer should not be too foolish to do that. Even if the library in your cityis too small or too outdated, you should still visit it to see what it has to offer you. Do not
worry about what it does not have to offer; whats important is what it HAS got. Never
underestimate the value or importance of a source.
Once this much information is available, you might sometimes want to modify the outline.
Feel free to make any change that you deem necessary at this stage. Further, if you feel
that you should expand the outline by adding a few more sentences to each line, then do so
freely.
Once all this is over, you are ready to write. Start as soon as you can, and write your first
draft as FAST as you can. Even if your mind prompts you to make changes here and there,
do not pause. This is time to put the article on to paper, not for correction, polishing or
amplification.
Once the first draft is ready, you should read the entire article carefully and make whatever
changes, additions, and deletions you want. You will notice several omissions, unnecessary
repetitions, and abrupt statements, and you should iron them all out. This is now your semi-
final draft and this should be sent for publication only if there is a pressing need. If there is
no such emergency then keep it away for few days and work on some other article. After a
reasonable break, read the article once again and make whatever corrections come to your
mind.
At no stage should you compromise with this process of writing because all compromise
affects quality. On the other hand, this is not a rigid guideline, and therefore you should feel
free to modify this process occasionally to suit your special needs.
The above discussion is complete in itself, but to give you a greater understanding of the
process I have included a detailed example in the next section. Once you see a writer in
action, you should feel greater confidence to do the job yourself.
If A Battle Can Be Won Without A Plan, An Article Can Be Produced Without An Outline !!
The Art Of Outlining 2
March 29, 2008 byLeave a Comment
Christian Writer Training Course 2, Lesson 3
Let me now illustrate what I said in the previous section. I said that the first thing to do is
to choose a subject. Suppose I choose, Water, The Greatest Tonic For Health. Now let usmake a tentative outline:
1-Introduction: (Remind people that they are ignoring the greatest fluid for their health).
2-Water is important for kidneys, mans poison-filter.
3-Water is important for maintaining fluid balance of body.
4-All bodily functions need water.
5-Conclusion: Drink at least 4 to 8 litters of water every day.
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The next activity is investigation and collection of information. Almost any medical doctor or
nurse will be able to give you information and also guide you to appropriate books
(technical as well as popular) for further information. Most books on physical fitness (which
abound in our generation) or health-related magazines will also provide a lot of information.
Whats more, even family-magazines will give an occasional article on this topic.
The next step is to revise and expand (if necessary) the previously prepared outline. In ourcase, any investigation will reveal that water plays a great part in disease prevention. It
plays this role by being the most important medium of washing, cleaning and hygiene. Quite
a lot of germs can be washed away by ordinary running water to levels safe for the body.
You Will End Up Doing A Lot Of Things, Which Will Come To Naught If You Have No Plan !!
The information mentioned above is quite startling, yet too important to be overlooked, and
therefore it can be added as a new point, or else it can replace point 4 in our outline. The
option is yours. I consider this point so important that I decide to write an entire article on
the topic of Water, your great friend against germs. I feel that offering this as a separate
article will be a great help to readers in our country where disease-causing organisms are
widespread. The poor country can save a lot of money spent on expensive medicines simply
by encouraging proper washing habits.
I therefore leave the outline untouched. The helpful information and statistics collected is
secure in my diary. If such information is jotted down on bits and pieces of paper they
develop a tendency to vanish when most needed, wasting a lot of valuable time. Therefore I
advise that you too buy a couple of diaries or note books.
Just as I decided not to revise the outline. I also decided not to expand the notes. In many
cases I do both revision as well as expansion. With some experience you will also know
what to do.
Now that the groundwork is over, I start working on the article itself. The first draft will
have many imperfections, and my mind urges me to pause at every stage to iron out these
problems. Experience has told me that it is more important at this stage to complete the
article so that I might see it as a whole unit before I work upon the parts. The first draft is
ready in about two hours. It is about five pages long (around 900 words). The final draft will
have about six handwritten (or three typed) pages. This will be about 1000 to 1200 words.
Most popular magazines require articles to be between 1000 to 1500 words.
Instead of revising and polishing this draft immediately. I take a short break of fifteen
minutes to about an hour. This refreshes my mind and makes me more alert to continue the
work. Then I pick up the work, reread it and make corrections, additions and deletions
liberally on the same sheets of paper. Once this is over, I immediately make a neat and
clean copy. This will be my semi-final draft.
If I am in a hurry, I give this draft for typing. This happens only in about twenty per cent of
the cases. In case of the majority of my articles, I place them in a file for few days and
sleep over the article. This gives me time to reflect over what I have written. Further,
when I revise my article after a few days, or even weeks, my mind has been detached
sufficiently to look at it objectively. This enables me to spot many omissions and obscure
statements that were difficult to spot when the subject was still fresh in my mind. I make
corrections, and give the final copy for typing.
If typing is not possible, I make a neat and readable handwritten copy. This copy will go to
the editor, while I keep the corrected copy. If typed, I send the original plus the first
carbon-copy to the editor and keep the second carbon-copy in my files. The project has
reached a conclusion.
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The total time for doing all this would be around 8 to 10 hours, but with maturing habits
and insights it might come down even to four hours, but that will be a long way from today.
The above illustration is only for your illumination. The purpose is to give you general
guidelines, not to show rigidly fixed patterns. Feel free to experiment and be flexible, but do
not compromise with the quality and content of what you produce.
Let me remind you once again: do not avoid outline-making. Compromising in this matterwill only defeat your purpose. JUST AS A HOUSE CANNOT BE CONSTRUCTED WITHOUT A
PLAN, AN ARTICLE CANNOT BE PRODUCED WITHOUT AN OUTLINE!
Some Precautions: Every factual writer should remember to make his investigation
thorough. Since you are writing about preexisting subjects, you should make sure that your
statements and data are correct. It is a very bad testimony to your reliability if you make
mistakes.
While no writer can be entirely accurate all his life, repeated mistakes and too obvious
errors point to careless work and sloppy thinking. Such writers soon loose credibility, and
also the demand for their articles. Editors soon start avoiding them.
Better To Take Precautions Rather Than Discover Things Through Nasty Surprises !!
Another thing to remember is to write everything in your own words. Do not copy otherswritings verbatim. This is not only a sign if your incompetence, but is also a crime. Known
as plagiarism, editors avoid writers given to it. What is worse, some magazines will openly
publish letters of criticism against such articles, completely damaging your name.
Further, if your feel that a particular statement of another writer is so special that it should
be given as it is to your readers you should put it as a quotation, and give full credit to the
author from whom you have taken this quote.
Before closing I must remind you once again to choose a few areas of your interest for
writing so that you do not become a jack of all trades but be reduced to master of none.
Just as specialization is necessary in other professional areas, writing also calls for
specialization for the majority of your articles.
Manuscript Preparation
March 29, 2008 by3 Comments
Christian Writer Training Course 2, Lesson 4
We live in a generation of packaging. Unless it is put into a proper package, even the best
product in the world does not attract customers. In the same way, every writing has to be
presented in the right way if editors are even to look at it.
A few hundred years ago, when writers were not so much in abundance, and when editors
had more free time than today, they would surely give attention to anything that came to
their table, but today the situation is just the opposite. Your manuscript has now got tocapture his attention while it competes with a large number of other submissions which he
possibility cannot read in the time available to him.
Inculcate Good Manuscript-preparation Habits Right From The Beginning !!
Even if an editor makes as exception to this and gives time to all the manuscripts that cross
his table, he is still not going to give the same attention to each manuscript thus placed. On
the contrary, he will unconsciously spend more time with that piece of writing that has been
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presented in the more attractive way. This makes it imperative for you to present your
writings in the most attractive and readable way.
Further, you must also remember that the editors are human. They have frustrations and
irritations that are peculiar to their profession and, therefore, instead of adding to their
problem you should try to help the editor out of these. For example, an editor has to deal
not only with substandard writings, but also with carelessly written and even illegiblyscribbled manuscripts. Therefore please give plenty of attention to how you prepare your
manuscripts.
In this lesson I will explain the following points about manuscript preparation:
1Type all manuscripts
2The stationary to be used
3Dispatching
4Your record keeping practices
Let us look in detail at each point:
1-Type All Manuscripts: There is nothing wrong with handwritten manuscripts even at the
dawn of the twentyfirst century, but typewritten material has a definite advantage in that it
is more readable as well as compact. Therefore get all your manuscripts typed if at allpossible.
Typing charges are not too high these days, and even if the initial investment looks too
much you will reap much reward in the long run for this investment. Further, if you are a
young person looking forward to twenty years or more of writing I strongly recommend that
you learn typewriting yourself. It is not difficult or expensive. Just six months spent in a
good typewriting institution will make you an expert. Whats more, during this period you
dont have to spare more than an h
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