Archive for the ‘Writing Tip’ Category
December 10th, 2009
It sounds like a simple enough task to do. Read over instructions and follow what the words on the page tell you to do. Unfortunately, there are plenty of students who struggle with following directions accurately. Telling your teacher, “I missed that part in the directions,” or, “I didn’t completely understand the directions,” will not fix your grade or create any empathy from your instructor. When it comes to assignments, it is not merely a case of reading the instructions once and starting on your project. Many students fail to complete some step in the prompt that can greatly impact the grade on the project. There is hope, though. With a few simple steps to follow, you can greatly improve your ability to follow directions with great success.
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December 3rd, 2009
Julia H. Jackson
The fall semester is drawing to a close, and you are having that dream again. The one where you show up on the last day of class, assuming all your work is done, just to find out that your entire grade is riding on a semester-long research paper. The one you have seemingly forgotten. Your palms begin to sweat as your classmates share war stories about staying up all night revising their work, and then the professor turns to you, asking: “Where’s your paper?”
And then, hopefully, you wake up. Right?
Not to worry, fearless readers; there is still time left in the semester to polish up (or, err, start) your research paper. We’ve got five tips that will help you ace that term paper, or, at the very least, remind you to do it. Read the rest of this entry »
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 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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November 6th, 2009
By: Garin Kilpatrick
Writers Block is a formidable foe. The following 10 tactics will help you fight writers block and get started on your writing project! Way back in my high school days I remember having to do stream of consciousness writing projects in class. These were simple exercises where we wrote down whatever streamed into our brains. This task helped me come to realize that having great writing is not the most important part. Having great Editing is. If you have suffered from writers block in the past, don’t worry, the problem was all in your head. Take these next 10 tips to heart, clear your mind, and get ready for worry free writing!
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