Coming up with creative writing ideas is necessary for anyone using content when working online but it can be a challenge! As a result many forgo any attempt at being creative themselves and choose instead to 'copy' the work of another! On several levels this is a bad idea but for the sake of this discussion we're going to focus on 3 reasons why you should avoid plagiarism when working online!

Unethical

Simply stated passing the work of others off as your own is underhanded, deceitful and just damn lazy! For anybody who is using content for marketing purposes, it is vitally important that you avoid plagiarism! Building relationships and trust is both time consuming and necessary to succeed online however getting caught plagiarizing brands you as a cheater, liar and thief! This is NOT a good reputation to have and certainly not one that will help increase your marketing effectiveness! It is simply unethical no matter how you look at it!

Time Consuming

Ever notice how it can take more time researching and copying content somebody has already composed as opposed to recording your own thoughts? In the vast majority of cases, your mind has the ability to 'process' thoughts and ideas faster than it takes for you to find them! Being creative is NOT hard work but merely requires for you to allow your own mind to do what it's capable of doing!

Limits Your Creativity

There is a saying that goes 'use it or lose it' and this applies to being creative as well! Atrophy is what occurs to our own body when it is not being used, it tends to deteriorate! Muscles become weaker and than they actually begin to shrink and/or wither from lack of use! The same occurs when we rely upon the creativity of others in terms of using content they wrote instead of writing it ourselves! The creative genius within you will simply lay dormant making it that much harder to use when you do call upon it! Simply stated the more lazy you tend to be, the lazier you will become, make sense?

It is common for many to use the work of others when they find it difficult to develop their own creative writing ideas! Using content that others composed is acceptable only when the 'real' author is credited but when this is NOT the case, that is when the potential for trouble can arise! In particular for people working on the internet this 'temptation' is both frequent and common! The discussion above points out 3 reasons why you should avoid plagiarism and why being creative when composing content is the best route to take! The plain and simple fact is that developing your own ideas when using content may be even easier and more time efficient than copying the work of another! Now you're not only developing your writing skills but your credibility as well!



(c) TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina.

Are you unsure how to write short stories for children? If so this article outlines the most important parts when writing short stories, in fact, stories in general share the same rule regardless of the age group.

Every person during his/her childhood has heard a lot of stories and fairy tales. Most of them are fictional barring a few that are based on actual events. It is not at all difficult to write short stories, all that you need is a good command over the language and a bit of creativity. Apart from these there are certain things that need to be taken care of like the beginning of the story, the ending etc.

If you want to try writing short stories for small children then here are few tips that will make your story the best.

An appealing and an interesting beginning will arouse the curiosity of the reader which will keep them glued to the story till the end. But before you start writing the first paragraph, you must decide on several story elements. Consider choosing the following before you write the first paragraph:

1. Setting (This is where the story takes place.)

2. Time (Commonly most short stories cover a day or up to a week. If your short story covers a month, you will probably need a shorter time period.)

3. Major conflict (that is the main problem that the characters will solve.)

4. Characters (it is advisable to have 2-4 characters in your story. The plot tends to get complicated if you have more than 4 characters)

5. Ending (There should be a resolution and all of the loose ends should be tied up.)

Once you have decided on the basic story elements, the next thing is to decide on the major element of the story i.e. the target audience. In the case of short stories it is the children whom we target.

After choosing the major story element you can start writing your story. If there are any conversations between the characters which are referred to as dialogues then just keep in mind that each time a different character talks, you need to indent and start a new paragraph. To come up with better dialogues it is suggested to put yourself in the shoes of the characters you are creating as this will help you come up with realistic dialogues.

Read the stories of other writers to get an idea of how to go about writing short stories. Consider reading some folklore stories, which are available on the internet.

Although you read stories of other authors it is really important to have your own style of writing. The story you write should be different from the ones you have read, in other words the story should be unique. This way you can attract more child readers and at the same time make a good name as a popular author in a short span of time.

(c) Scott Thomas

MR James, the famous short story writer, used to be a teacher. During the long evenings before the invention of television, he would entertain his students with the ghost stories he planned to write. That is, until he realised one day that telling his stories was getting in the way of his writing them. He noticed that the act of relating story ideas somehow dissipated the desire, even the need, to write them down. He promptly stopped vocalising his ideas so that the impetus to write remained strong and fresh.

This is a curious phenomenon, but one that is completely understandable. Sometimes when an idea for a story is at its most compelling – that is, when you’ve just thought of it – the best thing to do is to start writing immediately and get the inspiration down, along with the rough idea. Sometimes the energy associated with the new idea is just as important as the idea itself, especially in terms of the motivation the inspiration can engender.

The same can be said for the temptation to overdevelop an outline for a story. I’ve seen many writers spend hours, days and weeks on their outline notes – using mainly exposition to flesh out their ideas, and usually all told in a largely passive tone of voice. The process may be cathartic and satisfying to a degree but I think it may – in the long term – harm the writing process.

When telling stories you should be in ‘active’ mode. That is, relating them with vigour, being in the moment and fully involved with characters, their actions and dialogue in real time. This is where your writing will be strong and lively. The time spent writing this way may be more taxing but it is the way you should be writing – rather than passively relating ‘notes to self.’

After all, your notes are not meant to be read by other people – which is perhaps why you may feel more comfortable writing them. You’ve removed some of the pressure!

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that writing detailed outlines is real writing. It’s not. It’s more akin to research, planning and other pre-writing activities. The sooner you get it over with, the better. You need to use your best energy on the real writing. A day spent on explaining complicated histories and back-stories to yourself is all valuable time you could have spent on work designed to please a reader. That is, work that will be read!

Because most of the story will change anyway – that’s the reality. Once you start telling a story for real, the characters often have a way of changing your outline – and most times for the better. When students come to me and say, well, I just need to work through these character motivations and plot holes in my notes before I start the story, I try to advise against doing that.

Why? Because most of these problems with character motivation and plot holes come through the writer thinking too much. And as I’ve said many times, thinking is not writing. Thinking is a logic based left brain activity – while writing stories is a right brain activity – at odds with the creative process. Do yourself a favour. Stop thinking about your stories. Just write them down – with the urgency and freshness they require.

If, after the first draft, you still have motivation issues and logic flaws, don’t stop to think and re-outline. No, start writing the prose again. You need to trust that your subconscious has the answers and will produce them during the creative writing process. Relying on your logical brain to sort through story problems is a long hard road – and one that will tie you up in intellectual knots. And the more you do it, the more you may begin to rely on it as a process, but the more harmful to your writing that process will become.

If you’re not writing actual story, you’re pretty much wasting time – putting off the inevitable. You need to commit to the story, for better or worse, rather than vacillate during some endless planning phase.

I’ve seen too many writers get stuck for years in the planning phase for it to be healthy. It may be a security blanket I suppose. The longer a writer spends not actually writing, the longer they can put off being judged for their work. It’s like the architect whose finest building never makes the drawing board. His vision may be strong, the inspiration for it sound, but he lacks the confidence to commit the idea to paper. Because then it will be real – and real problems may creep in, which the architect is trying to avoid.

So it is with writers. Many great ideas stay wonderful while they’re trapped in nebulous form. But the writer must at some point commit for the idea to take on solidity and mass.

Don’t get sidetracked into making long outlines – sketching in other words – when you should be using your valuable time telling your stories in the form they will need to be read.

Keep Writing!

(c) Rob Parnell

by Melinda Dawika

Do you have an idea that you feel you could turn into a novel? I personally believe that each one of us has the ability to write a great story if we put our minds to it. We are all born with creativity and untapped talent that is waiting to burst forth. Most of us have to deal with similar situations in life, which ultimately gives us the inspiration that we need to write a great novel. The most important aspects of a novel are the plot, characters, location, genre and structure. The plot is more significant, and drives the story along.

Firstly, start with a summary or synopsis of the story. This will enable you to build your story step by step and give you a structure. Consider the beginning of your story as well as the middle and the end. Your story needs to flow and make sense as the plot develops.

Deciding early on whether your story will be written in the first or the third person will greatly influence your story. Writing in the third person as opposed to first person will give you more control over your story, as the viewpoint will be from many different characters and not just one character, as in the case of the first person.

The best way to decide which genre you want to write about is to evaluate the type of books that you normally like to read. You don't have to stick to this pattern, but it will be easier for you to get started writing your novel if you already have an interest in the subject matter. This will also help you to determine the types of characters you want to create in your story. If you are writing a Mills and Boon romance, for example, your hero and heroine might be a young care-free couple who are only concerned about their desires and their relationship with one another. The same couple would certainly not fit into a children's novel. The genre, characters and plot should go hand in hand. There are different types of genres to choose from: crime, romance, short stories, children's, women's, mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, and so on...

One of the keys to writing a novel successfully is understanding and knowing your main characters and how they fit into your plot. Writing down a little background information about each of them will enable you to figure out what drives each character and what prompts them to do the things they do throughout the novel. Writing down information such as: names, race, eye and hair colour, gender, where they live, their occupation, their age, their hobbies, their relationship towards each other, including dilemmas in their past and present, will help you shape the novel. Gathering information like this early on will help you to bring your story and characters to life. Sometimes authors find that their characters take on a life of their own completely changing the original plot!

When constructing your chapters, perhaps you could start out with an introduction to your main character and give some background information about any problems they may have that need to be solved. Make your first page exciting or else your readers will lose interest.

The location or setting of your story is very important to capture the imagination. Try and visit the place you are writing about, if that is not possible then do some research on the area. Also take into account as to whether your novel is based on the past, the present or the future.

When coming to the end of your story, make sure that all the loose ends are tied up and that you have left yourself and the reader with a satisfying ending.

Writing a novel takes time, effort and patience. The best thing to do before you start is to read as many of your favourite novels as you can. This will help you to analyse the novels and break them down into sections, so that you can get a proper understanding of how novels are structured. Choose your favourite novel and scrutinize each chapter. Look for the climax in the story. Create your own climax in your own novel and see how it works.

There will be days when you get writer's block, and you just don't feel like writing anything - keep pushing yourself. Even if you can't think of anything to write and find yourself just staring blankly at your computer - have a rest and start again later. If you are persistent, you'll get there. Be realistic, and don't set your goals too high. If you have made a commitment to write five pages a day, then try your best to stick to that. But remember writing should be fun and not a burden. Keep going and you'll have your novel finished in no time.

Melinda is an author and blogger from England who is passionate about fiction and internet marketing, specializing in women's health.