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Inspiration for Harry Potter

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:28:12 +0000

Our favorite authors get their ideas from all kinds of places. If you are a fan of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, you’ll be interested to learn that her idea arrived while she was literally riding a train out of King’s Cross Station in London. She said she “saw” Harry Potter walking down the row; the way he looked, his mannerisms, his personality all occurred to her during this brief moment of inspiration that led her to complete a series of seven of the world’s most popular novels of all time, and made her the richest woman in the UK.

Was it a dream then? In a manner of speaking, yes it was. Or perhaps it was more like a vision. Whatever the case, that fateful encounter on the train changed the world as we (who have read and loved the books) knew it. It delights children and adults alike all over the world year after year. Here is a video interview with the author describing her personal life, the end of the Harry Potter series, and the impact the stories and characters have had on her.

Favorite Food and Drinks of Famous Writers

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:51:40 +0000

Have you ever wondered what some of the world’s most famous writers enjoy eating and drinking? There are a few people who have compiled a list of such treats favored by famous writers like Lemony Snicket, author of the award winning children’s book saga A Series of Unfortunate Events, and poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson. Author Mark Twain was so enamored of food that he once wrote an elaborate list of favorite American dishes he hoped to have once he returned home after traveling for over a year, with only hotel food to keep him going.

The foods on his list included fresh American produce such as butter beans, asparagus, and pumpkins. He wrote fondly of “green corn, on the ear” and meats like porterhouse steak. Regional specialties like Southern style hoe cake and oysters in the shell were important to Twain, as was his belief that by preserving the flavors of regions in America, we could preserve a culture. While most writers do not select their favorite foods with such high ideals in mind, they do mostly all have very sentimental and special reasons for their preferences. Here is an infographic that will show you what several famous authors think good food is.

Ray Bradbury on Writing Persistently

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:17:05 +0000

Legendary science fiction author Ray Bradbury has been cranking out short stories for years, has won all kinds of literary awards, and is world famous. But it didn’t start out that way for this prolific story writer who started his career in high school, writing short stories that earned him files filled with rejection slips. Many writers, when faced with rejection slips, simply put their rejected stories away and never look at them again, but not Bradbury. He kept working on his stories even after receiving several rejections, polishing them and rewriting them until, years later, he began to sell a few here and there. What does he credit with his success?

For Bradbury, success meant writing persistently, always seeking to improve on what he’d done before. Soon, he was selling a story a month, then two, then three or four. He had mastered his art and found a way of writing that resulted in positive outcomes, and he stuck with it. Check out the video below to hear Bradbury discuss his persistence in writing, in his own words:

Writing Advice from Mary Higgins Clark

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:04:55 +0000

Mary Higgins Clark, whose books are world-wide bestsellers, has excellent advice for writers who are just getting started. After sales of more than 100 million copies of her books in the United States alone, Clark has written enough to know a thing or two about how a writer might get past the sometimes crippling impasse of not knowing what on Earth to write about.

Her first published book was a biographical novel about George Washington. This is remarkable since she has written nearly 29 suspense books throughout her illustrious career. In addition to some holiday novels and a few children’s books, Clark is a versatile author who continues to perfect her art and craft, and doesn’t mind sharing advice with people who find the writing process flustering.

Here is a video interview with Mary Higgins Clark, in which she relates some practical ways to get started writing a book.

Words Misused Most Often

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:48:24 +0000

Even the world’s best and brightest writers make some of the most common mistakes in the course of their work; the difference is, they have highly paid editors to sniff out their faux pas and make sure most of them never see the light of day. Not so for us bloggers, freelance writers, and aspiring weekend novelists. Even students in college make certain mistakes routinely while writing important papers.

So, what are these commonly misused words and how can we remember not to use them inappropriately? There are several ways. First, you can make notes to yourself every time you catch a mistake, and stick them onto the side of your computer monitor for quick reference. Secondly, you can make up little associative rhymes and songs to remind yourself. Lastly, you can check out the cute infographic below, relying on the visual imagery to plant a lasting memory in your mind. Click to expand:

Apps Writers Love

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:28:43 +0000

Show your writing some love this Fall by saving yourself time with the help of apps for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Using a few apps here and there can help you take your writing projects on the go, so you’ll always have access to something to work on whether it’s a work in progress, or the need of a new idea. The iPhone has been useful for productivity among people in a variety of professions for years now, thanks to the support of developers who are always cranking out apps that are relevant, helpful, and worth having. Here are our current top 3 apps for writers, and how they can help you out:

Word Count is a simple app for a fairly obvious task. Suppose you’ve been writing an article that has a recommended word count, and you need to know how many words you’ve got. Just copy and paste it into Word Count, and you’ll instantly have the number of words, characters, paragraphs, and lines.

WordPress lets you write and publish blog posts on the go. With this handy app you can moderate, edit and reply to comments. You can also add photos to posts on your WordPress blog. Since so many writers submit articles to blogs, and have access to those blogs via log ins issued by the publishers, this is a great way to be able to produce copy from anywhere you happen to be.

Dropbox provides an invaluable service that millions of people use on a daily basis. In addition to backing up your files in real time, it syncs them and also maintains 30 days worth of versions. It’s a definite cloud storage solution for your files that insures you can access a variety of backups from wherever you are.

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