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One some shape or form, this question is one of the oldest in recorded history. “Are writers born or are they made?” This is a great debate that has eluded scholars, historians, writers, and brilliant

     Each and every one of you has a gift you can use to create your life and impact the lives of other people. Inside of us are hidden abilities, talents, and skills that can

  Read any great book and you will discover dynamic characters with unique personalities. A character without a personality is a dead and dull character. Personality gives the reader a sense

  Learning to self-edit your manuscripts will polish your work and make it shine, giving it a professional and presentable look.  3 Stages  Content  Style  Line Edit   

     1. “Whether you like or dislike a book is a personal taste. I love the reviews that are favorable, and am grateful to those reviewers.  Bad reviews are as I've said.  The

1. “You must begin by making notes. You may have to make notes for years.... When you think of something, when you recall something, put it where it belongs. Put it down when you think of it. You may never

          When I feel the need that something I want to say needs special attention, shape, and sound, I write poetry. Giving me the ability to decide where

        1. “It is necessary … to caution the beginner to keep a reliable grammar and dictionary always beside him, that he may avoid in his compositions the frequent

  “I couldn’t stop reading. I couldn’t put the book down. My heart was thumping; I had to know what was going to happen.” Every writer of fiction has dreamed of this scenario from their audience.

1. “I begin the process with some general ideas and themes—for example, Dante, Florence, overpopulation. Before beginning to write, I spend a lot of time researching the topics I’ve chosen. Once this initial

    1. “Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.”   

1. “I’m not a words-per-day kind of guy. I always felt that if you have an artificial number, it probably means that you don’t want to be writing, anyway. If you say, okay I do 2000 words, but what if

   1. "So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."    2. “Writing simply means no dependent clauses, no dangling things, no flashbacks,

     All of us have the ability to write, and to learn and explore out thoughts and feelings. Writing allows the transfer of knowledge from person to person, and from generation to

      1. “An editor once wrote on the top of a manuscript I’d written: ‘Needs more lore.’ MORE LORE is the best advice I ever got.”    2. “I think of the titles first.

   1. “If readers tell you that stretches of dialogue or narrative were too long, that they couldn’t tell who was talking, that’s something that can be fixed.”    2. “You can get too

1. “I also think it’s important to realize that to get published, you’re not competing against me, or Stephen King, or John Grisham—we have spent years developing audiences that we bring to the table.

      Learning how to punctuate dialogue will give your manuscript a polished and professional look. It sets a tone to the editors, publishers, and agents that you have went through

     Banish these Time-Based Adverbs from your narration. They are needless words that hold no value. The writer must take caution, and be aware of their writing. There are exceptions

  1. “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not