Maps Are Key - Repost

In the transition of importing my blog posts from my Blogger account, there was one post that was lost. Seeing as it was posted so long ago but was still pertinent to my other writing advice posts, I wanted to share it with you guys once again. Maps Are Key - Original Post:

There are a lot of places I could start when giving advice to new writers and/or editors. Be open. Try different things. Writer about things that inspire you. But I'm not going to start with any of those things. In fact, I'm going to start with a part of writing that doesn't even involve writing for the most part: maps.

Sooner or later, you will need to create a map for your writing. Probably several. You'll need to have many different types of maps too. You'll need an outline of your projected piece of writing, for example, which literally serves as a map to the work you're going to create. Even if you're writing non-fiction, this holds true. If your story is one of fiction, you'll still need an outline, but you'll also need a different kind of map, and maybe more than one. You'll need a literal, physical map of the area you plan on covering in your story. What do I mean by that? Well, if your story takes place in a school, for instance, you should draw a map of that school. If part of the story takes place in a house or several houses, you should come up with the layout of them. If your story takes place in a made up world, draw a map of that world. And yes, this does mean that you'll have to use the ancient method of pencil/pen to paper for a while. If the ominous glow of the computer screen is too much for you to resist, it's faint humming beckoning for you to stroke it's various keys....well, just forget about it for now, okay? Turn it off, leave the room, and don't come back until you have a few maps drawn (or at least started) and an outline written.

Keep in mind, this doesn't mean that you can't do any writing at all until your maps and outline are complete. Most of the time, I get a beginning paragraph or two, jot down a few ideas in a notepad, and even hammer out a few character descriptions in Word or Excel before I set to drawing maps and writing outlines. And my maps constantly change shape. But drawing maps for your story forces you to step back from your writing before you get in so deep that you have to go back and figure out the structure of everything, and it keeps you well organized along the way. Particularly for longer books and novels, maps serve as very useful guides for keeping your story descriptions straight. You might have a general idea of how a place looks in your head, but sooner or later, you'll need details. You'll find yourself revisiting places in your story, and you don't want to contradict in a later part of your story what you said in the beginning. Consistency is key to good writing. Maps help you to be consistent, which in turn, makes your writing more accurate and believable.

You might think I'm someone who just loves to draw maps. On the contrary. I actually despise this part of writing. I'm not exactly skilled with it, and because I don't enjoy doing it, I tend to scribble enough down to get me through the story. That's not always exactly the best approach, especially considering I usually have to go back and redo a portion of my maps (which must be deciphered first since I didn't do a great job at depicting what I wanted the first go around) at one time or another during the writing process. Moral of the story? Take your time with maps. Draw them carefully. A lot of them. They'll help improve your writing skills before you ever even do any actual writing.

Though my early scribbles are usually made on computer paper or in a sketch pad, I really recommend using graph paper or drafting paper. It's easy to work with, especially if you have trouble drawing straight lines like I do, and it will help you keep everything in proportion. You'll be able to peg a more exact size of the areas you are covering in your book.

As you can see, maps really are essential to good story writing, for both fiction and non-fiction. Make maps an integral part of the writing process, and I guarantee your chances of writing a clear description or transition between sections will increase before you even set pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard.

February 2014 Issue - The Corner Club Press

As some of you know from my previous posts, I'm working as the graphic designer/layout artist for the literary magazine The Corner Club Press. The latest issue (Issue 12, Volume 3) has now been posted, so head on over and check it out! Here's a direct link to the issue itself for those interested: http://bit.ly/1hmVqby.

Also, we're looking for art submissions (drawings, paintings, photography, etc.) for the next issue, which will be released in the spring. If you're interested, you can check out the submission guidelines on the CCP website.

The Grammar Grind: Tenses, Part 1

Tenses are a distinction of the various verb forms that express duration of an action and when it took place. Not only do they guide a reader through a narrative, but they also help enrich the writing and make it more complex. Most people master the simple and perfect tenses rather easily, but the others can be a struggle. Including the conditional tenses, there are a total of 18 tenses in the English language. This article will discuss the present and past tenses and all the variations thereof. Each tense can be written using an affirmative statement, a negated statement, and a question.

Simple Present
The simple present tense is used to indicate an action that is currently taking place. This can be a one-time occurrence, a repeating occurrence, or one never happening at all. The auxiliary verb door does is sometimes used, especially in the case of a question.

Example 1: She writes.
Example 2: She does not write.
Example 3: Does she write?

Present Progressive (Present Continuous)
The present progressive tense is used to indicate an action that is taking place during the current time and the currently time only. In other words, the action has a limited duration. The –ing form of the main verb is always used along with the corresponding auxiliary verb am, is, or are.

Example 1: She is writing.
Example 2: She is not writing.
Example 3: Is she writing?

Present Perfect
The present perfect tense is used to indicate an action that is still going on or has recently stopped. If it is signifying a finished action, that action has an influence on the present and often immediately precedes an action taking place in the present time. The perfect tense form of the main verb is used in conjunction with the auxiliary verb has or have.

Example 1: She has written a book.
Example 2: She has not written a book.
Example 3: Has she written a book?

Present Perfect Progressive (Present Perfect Continuous)
The present perfect progressive tense is used to indicate an action that has recently stopped or is still going on. Emphasis is on duration of the action. If it is signifying a finished action, that action has an influence on the present. The –ing form of the main verb is used along with corresponding auxiliary verbs have been or has been.

Example 1: She has been writing since she was a young girl.
Example 2: She has not been writing since she was a young girl.
Example 3: Has she been writing since she was a young girl?

Simple Past
The simple past tense is used to indicate an action that took place at an earlier time. It is often used to speak of an action that occurred in the more recent past, though that is not always the case. The auxiliary verb did is sometimes used, especially in the case of a question.

Example 1: She wrote a book.
Example 2: She did not write a book.
Example 3: Did she write a book?

Past Progressive (Past Continuous)
The past progressive tense is used to indicate an action that happened at a very specific point in the past. That action is also considered to have a limited duration. The auxiliary verb wasor were is used in conjunction with the –ing form of the main verb.

Example 1: She was writing.
Example 2: She was not writing
Example 3: Was she writing?


Past Perfect
The past perfect tense is used to indicate an action that took place far in the past before another event in the past. It is sometimes interchangeable with (and preferable to) the past perfect progressive tense. The perfect tense form of the main verb is used in conjunction with the auxiliary verb had.

Example 1: She had written.
Example 2: She had not written.
Example 3: Had she written?

Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)
The past perfect progressive tense is used to indicate an action that took place before a certain time in the past. It is sometimes interchangeable with the past perfect tense. Emphasis is on the duration of the action. The –ing form of the main verb is used in conjunction with the auxiliary verbs had and been.

Example 1: She had been writing all weekend.
Example 2: She had not been writing all weekend.
Example 3: Had she been writing all weekend?

Building Your Career As an Author

Establishing an online presence isn't just preferred if you want to be a successful writer; it's absolutely necessary. As the primary form of marketing, it's important to make yourself and your work known long before you get your first agent and contract. Publishers want authors that stand out from the rest: ones who not only have good writing skills but are marketable as well. And while the traditional forms of marketing and publication still lie with the publishers and agencies, it's up to the author to connect with others outside of the publication world and establish a name for themselves.

Smwright has an awesome post regarding the subject that I strongly encourage aspiring authors to check out:
http://smwright.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/the-business-of-writing-part-ii/

It talks about ways in which you can further your online presence and the key factors in doing so, including a website, professional email address, and various social media sites.

The biggest part of selling your work is to first market yourself!