Archive for November, 2009
November 19th, 2009
by Julia H. Jackson
Sometimes the simplest questions provoke the most complicated answers. When applying for college, you will be asked to write an essay that distills your personality into a few short paragraphs. Just how do you define yourself to an admissions advisor without appearing like just another one of the thousands of other applicants out there? In this, our last installment of Write Like You Mean It, we’ll pick apart a few application prompts and show you how to craft a unique personal statement essay.
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November 18th, 2009
By Adam Krause
If creative writing is supposed to be about finding an original way to say something, why do people so often fall back on the same few tired phrases when telling other people how to do it? For every nugget of time-honored writing wisdom, there are a dozen great writers that have broken the rule and lived to tell about it. Here are five pearls of wisdom about what to do, and what not to do, when writing. Are these stepping stones to success, or a rock slide that will crush your creativity? You be the judge!
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November 16th, 2009
By Julia H. Jackson
Eduify wants to help you find a career in writing. We’ve compiled a list of 25 Writers that you must follow on Twitter. We hope they they will provide insight into what it takes to write professionally.
I’ll never forget my first literature class as a freshman. One of my professors had invited her mentor, Max Schott, a writer and former teacher, to join our class. We were discussing what it meant to be a writer, and how different writers work. Mr. Schott raised his hand and said in a quiet, confident voice:
“One thing I love about being a writer is how I can sit in a chair, and think for a while, and when someone asks me what I’m doing, I can say, ‘Oh, I’m working.’”
Every writer has a different style and purpose for writing. Children’s book writers like April Halprin Wayland approach creative writing as a means to tell stories for a young audience. Magazine editors such as Larry Smith use a journalistic eye to create platforms for both notable and emerging writers. Many writers are also professors, lecturers, and teachers, like San Francisco State University’s Matthew Clark Davison. As Leanne Milway Chabalko showed us, strong writing is the backbone for careers in copywriting and advertising. Features Designer Rachel Van Blankenship explained that print and online journalism uses reporters, designers, and photographers to tell current stories in a timely and creative way. And finally, radio producer Jesse Thorn represents yet another way to feature creative expression: by highlighting well-known comedians, musicians, writers and personalities both on the air and online.
There are so many ways to make writing a profession. For every writer we’ve featured on Eduify, there are so many more out in the working world. We’ve compiled a list of the Top 25 Writers to Follow on Twitter as proof that, if you think long and hard enough, you, too, can make a living as a writer.
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November 12th, 2009
by Brandon Chester
In our f
ast paced lives, music is often the perfect remedy to slow down our pace and bring focus to a writing project. Consider the effects of the tempo and rhythm of your favorite songs or the mood a certain musician brings you to and how your creative faculty responds to those elements. Whether you’re doing a last minute paper in the wee-hours of the morning, letting some submerged thoughts spill out in a stream of consciousness free-write, or carefully constructing your masterfully novel, music can help unlock thoughts and enhances your writing process. Although musical tastes are highly subjective, Eduify has identified 5 albums to accompany your future writing projects. We’ve even thrown in a style of writing we think fits the theme of the music for each album.
Click here to listen to Eduify’s Write to Radio on Last.fm! All these albums and our fan’s suggestions. Free!
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November 11th, 2009
by Julia H. Jackson
Jesse Thorn, also known as “America’s Radio Sweetheart,” is the creator, host, and producer of the nationally syndicated radio show The Sound of Young America. Jesse sums up his philosophy best on his blog and public forum, MaximumFun.org, by simply explaining that The Sound of Young America is “a public radio show about things that are awesome.” By “things,” he means writers, comedians, filmmakers, musicians, and entertainment personalities such as David Cross, Ira Glass, Patton Oswalt, John Hodgman, and Art Spieglman.
Jesse got his start at UC Santa Cruz, where he and his friends Jordan Morris and Gene O’Neill began the program in 2000. After a few years of co-hosting, Jesse went solo in fall 2004, and made the program available as an Itunes podcast later that year. Public Radio International began distributing The Sound of Young America nationally in 2006.
In addition to The Sound of Young America, Jesse also produces and co-hosts Jordan, Jesse, GO!, manages the MaximumFun forum, and produces the Kasper Hauser and Coyle and Sharpe comedy podcasts. In this installment of Writing Careers: Real Tips from Real Writers, Jesse shared some insight on what it means to be a public radio host.
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