Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Writing

Query, propose, publish.

Ouisch — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:45:17 -0800

I want the best resources to help me write a nonfiction book proposal. I will be writing a nonfiction book in the next year (my first.) I'm looking for the best books, websites and articles to help me write a proposal and query agents. Things I'm currently reading:

Miss Snark, the literary agent

Ten Basic Steps to Writing a Non Fiction Book Proposal/Finding a Literary Agent/Finding a Publisher

Soyouwanna Publish a Book?

As you know, there's a boatload of books out there on proposals and querying agents, but I have no way of narrowing down which ones are good, especially while shopping online.

So, Mefites with actual publishing experience -- please list for me your favourite books, websites, and articles about proposals, agents, and publishing in general.

What should be on a "Personal MFA in Creative Writing" reading list?

thepalephantom — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:05:26 -0800

What titles should be on a "Personal MFA in Creative Writing Fiction" reading list? You don't have the money/time/inclination to actually attend a MFA program for creative writing, instead you just want a reading list to plow through on your own time. What titles should be on that reading list? Non-fiction, fiction, memoir, etc.

Help her tell her story

shothotbot — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:11:34 -0800

What is a good screenwriting class in NYC? Mrs. HotBot has extensive storytelling experience (edited major comic books, done TV production work) and wants to write some screenplays. I think the thing she most wants is the structure of having to write on a weekly deadline. What are some good screenwriting classes in NYC? If I can sign her up as a Christmas present, all the better.

How do I force myself to write more freely again?

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:05:59 -0800

I've started writing too slow, thinking too much, not imprisoning the editor, etc. I'm looking for an online or osx tool that encourages writing. It might be as simple as a field that asks you to enter x words within y time. I am having trouble shifting my mindset.

Need to edit

barrakuda — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:24:33 -0800

What are the best online and print/book resources for English language editors? Also, any current or past editors, do you have any knowledge, wisdom, tricks, hacks, for an editing newbie, which you would like to share? Thanks.

Can you suggest me a cool diary?

jfricke — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:50:09 -0800

Please help me to find a cool offline diary I'd love to keep a diary. But I would like to have one that makes keeping a diary a bit more fun. What I am not looking for is a diary with blank pages. What I am looking for instead? I really do not know. Any form of diary that is a bit unusual.

For example, I like the idea of the Simple Diary but I would prefer something more serious. Maybe a diary where I mark with a cross how I felt each day and write a few lines. Or a diary that presents me with a writing task for each day.

Any suggestions?

Please recommend books similar to Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball

reenum — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:44:05 -0800

I love Bill Simmons' "The Book of Basketball". What should I read next? I'm in the middle of Simmons NBA opus, and it fascinates as to how he's able to pack in so much info, yet have the book remain accessible. I especially love how he makes fun of and injects humor into the various characters and events in the NBA's history.

Are there other books that are basically all encompassing, sprawling accounts of a particular entity, field, event, etc., yet remain fun to read?

I know some folks might suggest Mary Roach, but I just couldn't get into her stuff.

I prefer nonfiction, but well written fiction would work too.

Thanks!

How can I work as a writing and editing contractor?

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:37:10 -0800

How can I get writing and editing contracts in Australia? I have held writing and editing jobs for the past couple years, for the government and large corporations. I'm unemployed at the moment, and was thinking of pitching myself to companies for contract or freelance work.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any tips for me?

I am a 'sole trader' in Australia, I have an ABN as well as personal liability and professional indemnity insurance.

My experience is in business writing and web content.

I would appreciate any suggestions on how to find work or approach companies - thanks!

How much to charge for a catalog essay?

serial_consign — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:13 -0800

How much should a freelance writer charge for a catalog essay? An emerging artist peer asked me to write an essay for an upcoming show of hers. As a freelancer I know one generally tends to "ask for as much as they can" (and not blink) - but I really have no clue what the standard fees are for this type of gig. Anybody have experience and insight to share here? If it matters - I'm guessing this document will be 1000-1500 words.

How to edit citations

quidividi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:34:20 -0800

Footnote filter: I am writing a non-fiction, non-academic book and need help determining what to include in my citations. The book contains information and data from newspapers, magazines, wire services, governments, academic papers and first-hand interviews. There are very few direct quotes.

I’m using Zotero to manage my citations, which will appear as end notes. I’ve been diligent about citing information so that I can a) trace my sources, b) give credit where it’s due and c) allow readers to dig deeper.

Now I would like to pare the citations down, so that I meet objectives b) and c) without making the end notes unmanageable.

For example, I have a 2,500-word section with 78 citations. That includes citations for information that I would characterize as (for lack of a better phrase) common knowledge, such as when baby boomers will start retiring, or news reports that would have appeared in many media outlets. Eight of the citations are for data from a government handbook.

Can I safely omit these “common knowledge” citations? And can I use a blanket citation for the data from the government handbook?

(Thanks to NYCinephiles for the link to plagerism.com in this thread)

Writer meets arthritis

grumblebee — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:18:40 -0800

Mac voice-recognition software for a writer with arthritis. My father's arthritis is making it more and more difficult for him to type. This is hard for him, because he's been a writer for decades (over 25 books and countless articles). He is considering switching to voice-recognition software.

Here are some things to note:

- He is originally from England but has lived in the US since the 1950s. He is a very clear speaker, but his accent is a mix of British (cockney originally) and American.

- He owns a Mac.

- He is not highly computer literate, but he lives in a university town and could find people to help him set things up if necessary. He probably will have trouble if the voice-recognition software itself is overly complicated to use.

I am looking for any advice and experiences with this. What is the state of the art these days? What's available for the Mac? What is the experience like for people who are heavy users?

Teaching English, reading and writing to a 15 yr old street kid who's never been to school.

ferdinandcc — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:42:57 -0800

Do you have any advice for teaching English comprehension, as well as reading and writing, to a fifteen year old Filipino street kid who's never been to school a day in his life? I run a nonprofit in the Philippines, and a 15 year old street kid has sort of adopted me. His mom is incarcerated for life, and his stepdad abandoned him, so he'd been sleeping alone on the streets outside a fast food restaurant. He's never been to school, and doesn't know how to read or write (although he knew how to spell his first name and I've taught him how to spell his last name). I've been pretty impressed, however, with how quickly he learns things (and it's astonishing to see how well he's basically parented himself).

The problem with most ESL learning tools I've found is that they either assume you know your alphabet and can sound out words, or they assume you're a baby.

Right now, I can't afford Rosetta Stone, but I've used Rosetta Stone in the past to help myself learn Tagalog, so I sort of just started recreating the basic flashcard style concept so I can work with him online, over the cam while I'm in the states, and my assistant helps him in the Philippines.

I've also been reading books to him like The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish… etc., but he'd much rather watch older kids' cartoons like Dragonball Z than childish books like these. I also have many age levels of the Kumon books on ESL, but again, the ones at his education level are mostly for kindergartners.

Can you recommend any good activities, books, DVDs, web sites, online videos, games, anything that teaches reading and writing in a way that doesn't patronize an older child?

I think I'm doing pretty good at teaching him (and he's doing amazingly well at learning), but I know there's room for improvement and I've always gotten amazing results from asking questions here. Toss me some of your most creative ideas. Or some of your most obvious ideas. Sometimes it's the obvious ones that most elude me.

You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until your forehead bleeds.

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:21:35 -0800

I really, really want to write creatively but I hate writing creatively. WTF? All my life, I've really enjoyed telling stories, both in my head and verbally to other people. I come up with elaborate movie plots, novel characters, personal essays, all in my head, where of course they sound brilliant! I never tire of this.

But when I sit down to actually write these things out, it is absolute torture. I hate it! The images, dialog and characters that are so clear and interesting in my head come out wooden and flat on the page. And it feels like such excruciating drudgery to type out in detail the action that goes wooshing by in my head.

Occasionally, I'll get into it, and will really enjoy writing for an hour or so. Man, there is nothing like that awesome high of starting your story out in one place and then having the act of writing it down take it in a completely new direction! But then when I try to come back to it later, I'm always disappointed with how awful it seems on review.

I understand that part of this is just the fact that I need to embrace my shitty first drafts, and I am trying. And there's a part of me that says if this is such a miserable experience, I should just stop. It's not like I'm such a genius that the world will suffer from me not writing! But that feels like stifling myself and is also frustrating.

Oddly, I write a lot for work and never have this problem there. In fact, the writing projects I do at work are some of my favorite parts of the job. But that is a completely different kind of writing - totally impersonal, and not in my "voice."

I understand that this is pretty universal among writers. So how do I get past this? Is it worth it to try, or is the fact that I'm getting so easily discouraged mean I'm not meant to be a writer?

How Do We Get Into Grant Writing?

musofire — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:40:24 -0800

How can we get into grant writing for other people? I've had good luck getting money out of the Canadian government for my screenwriting, I've done successful book proposals, and my wife has done all sorts of other successful applications. I am told a grant writer can claim 30-35% of a successful grant. How do we get into this line of work?

That is the question.

ageispolis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:43:50 -0800

What is a good heuristic for the usage of 'that'? I am not referring to the distinction between 'that' and 'which', but its broader conjunctive and connective use.

I find myself overusing the word, and instead of deciding whether I should omit it or not in the editing process, it'd be great if I could learn to only use it when necessary.

Any ideas?

Lookin' for words in all the wrong places

Madamina — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:53:09 -0800

Between my iPhone's Stanza app and the loooooong quiet days ahead of me in the office during the holiday season, I'd like to read some stuff online. Any suggestions? I'm basically looking for good stories: things with a bit of a narrative that will keep me wondering what happens next. They should be easy to get into and not particularly deep (I will likely be interrupted a lot).

Nonfiction: longer articles with a bit of a twist, like New Yorker or Vanity Fair pieces about interesting people or events. Not commentary (unless it has some sort of unique backstory).

Fiction I've already enjoyed on Project Gutenberg: anything by the Brontes and L.M. Montgomery. I've also read pretty much everything that appeals to me (thus far) in the Harlequin online reads library, although I don't generally read paper romance novels.

I've seen this thread and this one too.

Thanks!

Difficulty of writing and speaking English?

ragtimepiano — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:25:53 -0800

Is English much more difficult than most languages to speak and to write? I have a good friend who is a high school English teacher. He is frustrated by the many errors in the papers he grades. Some common errors: "Your" for "You are"; misuse of the apostrophe, such as "apple's for sale"; improper grammar such as "Me and him went to the game".
We are wondering if students in other countries speak and write incorrectly as much as American students do? I speak a little Spanish, and I realize Spanish is an elegant, easily pronounced and spelled language, with a grammatical structure that maybe makes more sense than that of English. But French? And how about the convoluted syntax of German?
Multi-linguists of the hive mind, what do you think?

Will a newspaper job inch me closer to a career in public relations?

sureshot — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:46:48 -0800

Job_Offer_Filter: I'm a struggling freelance writer trying to (someday) break into the pr/communications field. I've just been offered a staff writer position at a small local newspaper. Does accepting the job inch me closer to my desired field? Or just burden me with a ton of unmarketable experience? So, my background:

4 years out of college, doing my best to flex my English/Creative Writing degree. Over the past three years, I've established myself as one of the top arts writers in a large, non-Chicago Midwestern city. I have regular columns in the glossy monthly, aimed at young, hip, and moneyed readers. I am a regular contributor to an alternative weekly, and I fill in for the big daily's art critic when she is sick or on vacation. I also get to do occasional speaking engagements, juried art shows, etc.

Problem is, none of this has evolved into full-time work. I've worked random odd jobs since graduation, some vaguely related to media--wrote audio description scripts for a year, wrote back cover copy for paperback books at a small publisher, picked up random corporate copywriting/speech writing/press release writing projects here and there. I've been unemployed and broke a lot. I'm now working 30 hours per week as a paraprofessional at a local public school, while still doing all my writing stuff on the side.

So now I have an actual job offer:

Staff writer/reporter position at a pair of small, neighborhood newspapers. A small local publisher, hanging on by a thread. The staff seems overworked and underpaid. The job calls for 10,000 words per month, writer pitches/plans all stories (in a very broad range of subject areas), deadlines every two weeks. Some nights and weekends. The pay is low. $30,000 (salaried, which means no overtime pay).

I don't see a future in newspapers. And print publication, though a true love of mine, is not my final career goal. I want to sneak my way over to the other side of the media. And I'm not sure that amassing more print clips is the way to do that. But print journalism is much closer, industry-wise, to pr/communications than teaching, so maybe a year or two at a paper would narrow the gap for a career leap. And perhaps I could learn enough new media skills (video and sound, slide shows) to balance out my increasingly-obsolete print portfolio.

The alternative would be to stick at this part-time school job until summer (when I will be laid off) and devote myself to a long-term, strategic job hunt. Get an on-line portfolio up, maybe start a blog. Network like crazy. By summer, I"d be ready to launch a targeted, nation-wide search. And if the fish aren't biting, I just go back to the school in the fall and keep at it.

So. All of this nattering is to simply ask: Will a newspaper job get me closer to where I want to be? Or is it just another detour?

Any recovering journalists out there starting a new life in PR?

Help me become a better scientist

Lord Force Crater — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:27:11 -0800

My goal is to have a career as a successful researcher in the biological sciences; however, I do not like writing. Is my goal unobtainable? I'm currently working on my master's degree and I've considered pursuing a PhD. Before deciding, I'd like some hive wisdom on what the future holds for me as a scientist. I'm very confident in my abilities to conduct experiments and use the proper methodology to generate results. I'm able to troubleshoot procedures and instruments, quickly become competent in new techniques, and really grok the technical aspects of whatever I'm working on. But when it comes to writing out what I've done for publishing, I falter. I feel like what I'm writing is trite. I'm not confident in my abilities to write clear, informative discussions of experiments and to correctly interpret the results. If I'm not certain that what I'm doing is being done properly, I procrastinate. When the deadline is no longer avoidable, I rush through the writing and the resulting spew is quite poor. My writing angst has me feeling like a one-trick pony.

If anyone has been in a similar position and successfully moved on, I'd like to know what steps you took to prosper. I feel that my understanding of English grammar is quite poor, and I think that may be contributing to my writing insecurities. I'm also afraid that what I put down will be construed as plagiarism. I need to know how to gain confidence in a skill that I don't really consider myself to have an aptitude for, but must do so in order to make clear my abilities that I'm really proud of. Not enjoying the writing process because I feel that I'm incapable of doing it properly is crushing me and disappointing my colleagues.

Help me find a site that people list their favorite words on

debu — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:14:47 -0800

I bookmarked a site years ago that was all about people listing their favorite words - sort of like "delicious" but for word nerds. Does anyone have a clue what this is? thanks

Can my chronomancer dodge bullets?

Caduceus — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:11:46 -0800

I have some weird, tricky physics questions based on a fantastic (non-real) premise, involving bullet speed and potential injury. I'm toying with the writing of a fantasy-action story/novel set on the battlefields of the first World War. One of the characters is a wizard-type with the ability to control his own personal flow of time. The simplest explanation is that he can make it so that for every one second that passes for the rest of the world, ten seconds pass for him. I'm not sure how this would work if someone was able to do it in reality, but for purposes of the story, it means both that he moves ten times as fast as everyone else, in a fast-forward sort of way, and that anything that might be able to affect him moves 1/10th the speed.

My questions involve the effect of bullets shot at him. He's on the side of the Allies, so as his major concerns are German bullets, I've been referencing this, this, and this Wikipedia page, but I just plain don't know how to do the physics anymore.

Based on my premises, it seems that the effective muzzle velocity for a German rifleman shooting at him should be 87.8 m/s, instead of 878 m/s as the Gewehr 98 page places the real velocity. My first question is, would a bullet going that fast be visible or dodgeable?

Second, the ammunition page says that the weight of the 1905 version of the round (which is the one they used in the war) is 9.9 grams. If I'm doing my math right, that means the momentum of the bullet should be 0.86922 kg*m/s. However, I have no idea how to turn that into force, or what in general it means in terms of it actually hitting the protagonist. If he were hit in his time-shifted state, how much would it hurt him?

Third two-part question: if he could not dodge bullets at 1/10th speed, how much would he have to "slow time" to be able to dodge them. If 1/10th speed bullets would still be lethal, at what point would they not be lethal?

Finally, as a bonus question, what could he do to his enemies? If he were to throw a punch while time-shifted, what effect would that have on the punchee, given that he's effectively throwing his punch in 1/10th of the time as a normal punch is thrown? Would that be ten times the force? One hundred times the force? What would that do to someone in real world terms?

I would be happy to just be given a decent idea of the answers I'm looking for, but if anyone can show me how to do the physics despite the strange starting premise, I'd be really thrilled. Thanks!

Where should I volunteer?

serazin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:47:26 -0800

Breaking out of my funk filter: I'd like to do some volunteer work on a regular but limited basis (say, a couple hours a week). I feel that writing is one of my skills, and in the past I've helped friends write really great resumes and cover letters, so I think this might be a good thing for me to focus on. I suppose helping with writing college essays might also work. I have an idea that I'd like to work with veterans specifically, although I'm open to different ideas. And I live in the SF Bay Area. So can you suggest organizations that I might work with - either in my ideal scenario of helping vets with resumes - or doing something else that would utilize my skills?

Ideal location for writing frenzy?

janecr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:41:49 -0800

I am taking January off work to finish as much of my PhD writing up as I can. I know that I will be totally unproductive if I try and work at home, so am thinking of escaping somewhere (library, hotel, cottage, writing retreat?) for up to four weeks. I’d welcome suggestions, both generic ones about types of locations that have worked for you and also specific suggestions (I live in the UK). I’m thinking that working somewhere with busy but quiet people around would work better for me than total isolation, but am open to any ideas. I don’t need to bring lots of stuff with me and am probably better off without wifi (although internet access requiring a bit of hassle could be useful to check references etc). Money not a particular object as I’m going to have to pay another year’s fees (£3k) if I don’t finish soon, anyway...

How can I talk to children?

meadowlark lime — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:16:01 -0800

How can I talk to children? I'm working on some writing projects that require me to know how children talk. I think I have a fairly good ear and memory for it from my own childhood, but you inevitably forget things, or you never would have noticed certain patterns when you were a child.

I would like to speak to children aged 6 - 13. I cannot think of a direct way to do this. Obviously, I'm not going to be the creepy guy lurking around a playground with an open notebook. I think observing classrooms would help, but I don't know any teachers who live near me.

What I'd like to do is to be able to sit down with some kids with a tape recorder running and just talk to them in a free-ranging way. How can I set something like this up? I don't want people to think that I am doing market research for some corporate product, or misrepresent my intentions in any way. Do you think there is some kind of school / church / community group that would let an outsider come in to talk to kids?

How can I find a school nurse to let me shadow her for an article?

rinosaur — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:21:09 -0800

How can I find a school nurse to let me shadow her for an article? For my final paper this semester in my health writing class I'd like to write a "day in the life of a school nurse" piece that focuses on the new/emerging responsibilities taken on by school nurses with the growing diagnoses of ADD/ADHD (and the subsequent medication) and the like. The trouble is that I do not know any school nurses personally. What's the best way for me to go about finding that resource?

I've made contact with several of the "community relations" personnel at surrounding school districts, and I see via google that there is a School Nurse Association and have emailed their main contact information. Is there more I should be doing, or a tactic that might be more direct to help produce results? Are there concerns that school districts and nurses will have that I'm not considering and should be prepared for?

Alternately, do you know a school nurse in the Philly area who might be interested?

I'm hoping this is an OK use of ask.me and I apologize if it's misplaced.

Thanks in advance for any help you could give!