Writing Inrochester

One of the things that public speakers fear the most is losing the attention of the audience. When the audience drifts off into daydreams, it can be difficult to bring them back. How do you keep them from drifting off in the first place?

The key to grabbing and keeping the attention of your attendees is to involve them – to make your presentation interactive. Your purpose may be to market your business, to persuade them to buy your product, to persuade them to save the world. But if you’re not involving them, paying attention to their needs and interests, you’re going to lose them, and they won’t come back.

Here are some pointers for incorporating interaction into your presentation, and keeping the audience focused on your message.

Pointer #1: Start with a question

You may or may not have had the opportunity to gather information on your audience in advance. Whether or not you’ve researched your attendees, it’s always effective to start off with a question or series of questions. Some questions I’ve asked of past groups include:

“How many people in the room exercise every day? How many people would like to exercise every day?” I made a note of the people who said they exercised every day and came back to them later to have them share how they fit exercise into their lives.

“How many of you have ever felt so angry you wanted to hit someone? How many of you actually did hit someone when you were angry?” This question was used to illustrate the point during a domestic violence presentation that, even though we sometimes may feel angry enough to hit someone, most of us don’t.

“On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how many of you rank your public speaking skills between 10 and 7; how many between 6 and 4; how many between 3 and 1?” This one helps me get an idea of how the audience members perceive themselves as speakers and whether my content should lean toward basic or advanced.

Your question can also be humorous, to start off the seminar with a giggle. The important thing is to get the audience involved from the start. There is also a benefit to you in asking questions; you learn more about your audience, their interests and their needs.

Pointer #2: Use icebreakers and energizers

The purpose of icebreakers is to warm up the group, help them get to know each other and to create a bond and a positive atmosphere within the group. Energizers are to get people moving, thinking and re-energized, especially after lunch!

If you think back to some of the icebreakers you’ve done at seminars and conferences, you might be rolling your eyes right now. After all, not everyone wants to interact with her or his neighbor, and some icebreakers are intrusive and even embarrassing. The last thing you want to do is to make your audience members feel uncomfortable.

However, icebreakers done well are useful and fun. In addition to helping the audience members get to know each other, it also helps you get to know them. This is a great boost at an event where there is networking scheduled, or where part of the purpose is for the audience members to learn more about each other. Depending on the size of the group and the purpose of the seminar/training/workshop, different icebreakers will be effective.

Easy icebreakers can involve nothing more than one audience member turning to a neighbor and sharing a piece of information. I keep a tin filled with questions on strips of paper to be handed out in smaller groups. Some of the questions: “If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be?” “What did you eat for breakfast this morning and who prepared it?” “What is your favorite time of day, and why?” More complicated icebreakers involve games, scavenger hunts, and physical activities like the “human knot” that probably everyone on the planet has had to disentangle at least once!

wilderdom.com/games/Icebreakers.html Here’s a site with a great list of icebreaker games and websites.

Pointer #3: Break the audience into pairs or groups

At some point, you may require the audience to do an activity that requires more dialogue. Breaking the larger group into pairs (also called dyads) or small groups allows them to have a private discussion, which then can be shared with the larger group.

Some people are not comfortable talking in a large group. Some people talk more than everyone else, monopolizing the speaker. Breaking into groups encourages your audience to dig deeper into the topic while giving everyone a fair shake at participating.

Pointer #4: Ask for input

This is a great way for you to learn from your audience, and for the audience to learn from each other. Adults have a lifetime of experience and knowledge to share, and in a learning situation, it’s especially important for adults to contribute to the learning process. Personal relevance and the ability to apply learning to real-life situations are more important to adults than someone else telling them what’s important to know.

Bring a flip chart or overhead projector and ask the audience for their input. Write down their words and use them in your presentation. Make sure to note new ideas or concepts that might fit into a future presentation.

Allowing audience members to share some of their own experiences and expertise makes the process more relevant for them, and creates a richer experience for everyone involved. Incorporate interaction into your talks, and you’re unlikely ever again to lose an audience member to daydreams.

Lisa Braithwaite is a public speaking and presentation skills coach based in Santa Barbara, California. Find your voice and regain your confidence with public speaking coaching! coachlisab.com/contactpage.html Sign up for my newsletter and find out about my coachlisab.com/processcoach.html free consultation by visiting coachlisab.com coachlisab.com.

What websites need is better writing. And I don’t say that because I’m a writer.

The sad truth is that – in very general terms – the quality of web writing is mediocre. I’m not calling for elegant prose. What I’m saying is that what your website reveals – in clear, well-placed words – influences what people think of you, your product, your company.

Here are the top five ways to tell you’re NOT ready for prime time web writing.

1. Your ego knows no bounds.
Leave your arrogance at the door and talk about the needs of your target audience instead, or leave your audience saying “so what” and moving on to the next site.

2. You always wished you had written War and Peace.
Good web copy should be short and snappy. If, for some reason, you feel compelled to write tons of words on a single topic, it better be compelling! A good rule of thumb is: make your point, then stop.

3. You were the first one eliminated in the 3rd grade spelling bee.
If your spelling and grammar leave something to be desired, it may be that writing for the web isn’t for you. It’s tough, calls for a lot of experience and if done carelessly or incorrectly creates a very bad impression. Ensure that your web content is free of spelling and grammatical errors and is punctuated correctly. And never upload it without proofreading.

4. You have many strong points…writing headlines isn’t one of them.
Headings are critical to web writers – and readers. The rules: keep them short, keep them clear and don’t worry about being clever. In fact, don’t even try. Web headlines aren’t about a quick wit; they’re about placing the most important keywords for your content.

5. You place good design or “bells and whistles” far ahead of content.
When you come right down to it, content is everything. It not only makes your company look great, it sells and – when given the care and importance it deserves – it can establish (or squash!) your brand.

Allison Nazarian is president and chief copywriter of Get It In Writing, a Florida-based company that helps businesses nationwide harness the power of words to sell, inform and publicize. Allison can be reached at 561.487.3917 or mailto:anazarian@getitinwriting.biz anazarian@getitinwriting.biz.

Copyright© Get It In Writing, Inc. May be reprinted without permission of Get It In Writing, Inc and Allison Nazarian if in full, unchanged format and with complete attribution to author.

There are many ways that you can clearly communicate your thoughts and ideas to others through writing. Writing a non fiction text is one way that you can communicate with your readers. Writing a fiction text is another way that you can capture your reader’s attention. As you can see, the possibilities are endless with the categories mentioned. Let us explore each path of writing.

Non fiction allows you to write about what is true. One type of writing a non fiction text could be a biography or an autobiography. When going this route, make sure that you have all of the facts. You may want to interview the person personally, if you are choosing to write about someone else, whether you know them well or not. As you write about someone’s life, make sure that you share the most interesting facts and important information about that individual. You can also use this form to share facts and knowledge.

Another non fiction text that you could choose to write about would be about a place or landform, something in creation. When doing this, obviously, it would be best to go to the topic of choice. However, if you are not able to, such as when writing a piece about the sun, you must do accurate and comprehensive research. It would be best to use color coded note cards. Put the information into different categories. This will help you to organize the information into paragraphs and into areas of greater importance much faster than if you just jot down notes on a sheet of paper. Before you write the final draft in any non fiction text, make sure that you have someone read over what you have written to make sure that it is accurate. They may be able to give you more information about the topic you have chosen.

Writing fiction is an endlessly exciting endeavor. As you write fiction, there is nothing more important than details! As you write, make your reader feel, that he or she has been where you have been in your mind while you were writing. Let your readers smell, feel, see and touch their surroundings. Take your readers out of this world and help them to see through new lenses. That is what fiction is all about.

As was clearly stated, there are endless possibilities to writing. The first step is seeing in your mind that there is something that needs to be said, people to meet and topics to know more about. When you have identified that topic, get to work right away. Know that you are taking your reader to a world he or she may have never been and don’t turn back!

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to writing-tips-guide.com/ Writing Tips

Often article authors are looking to create a masterpiece article full of brilliance and creativity. It is a noble thing to want to do and when you do make that perfect article, it is indeed wonderful feeling. Then other times you know that if you wait until you can create that perfect article, then you end up doing nothing, rather than at least producing something.

I believe there are times to be detached and times to be attached emotionally to your work. If you are in a creative zone you should detach from the rest of the world and create. If you are in a systematic list making frame of mind, then write bullet type, how to, industry specific stuff stay attached to the world.

Look here is the deal Paton Manning was in the Zone during Super Bowl 41 and he led his team, The Indiana Colts to victory over the Chicago Bears. The guy we used to call Prince was in the Zone during the half time show. A couple of the commentators were detached from the game and attached to society and gave us some excellent commentary, the referees were totally detached emotionally from the game, it was not about opinion, only about the plays as they saw them. There is a time for both detachment and attachment in life, sports, creativity and work.

Luckily you can do both when you write articles. If you are in the emotional attachment zone and detached from society, CREATE like never before, give the world your masterpieces. But if you want to write more articles you will also need to work in that emotional detached zone, neutral zone and outside the emotional fog. Consider these thoughts, they are worthy of your time to increase your article output.

But no matter what zone you are in proof read when you are completed prior to posting. I certainly hope this article is of interest and that is has propelled thought. The goal is simple; to help you in your quest to be the best in 2007. I thank you for reading my many articles on diverse subjects, which interest you.

“Lance Winslow” - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; WorldThinkTank.net/ WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for ourspokanemagazine.com/ Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

3 Essential keys for you before you start working on your speaking skills.

Training in public speaking is not a matter of externals—primarily, it is not a matter of imitation—fundamentally it is not a matter of conformity to standards—at all.

Public speaking is basically public utterance, public issuance, of the man himself. Unless there is something of real value within, no amounts of training or gimmickery can make you a good public speaker. You’ll be nothing more than just a machine who can talk. So the plan or the key starts from developing yourself.

This is the Secret key to become a good public speaker. Develop or mould yourself. Did you knew, Dan kennedy(one of the top marketing consultant & top speakers in US) used to stutter as a teenager? Yet, he become one of the Highest paid speakers in the country. The key lies inside you, Not outside.

Second Principle to Power Speaking…

The second principle lies close to the first, Which is just basically an extension of the first. The man must enthrone his will to rule over his thought, his feelings, and all his physical powers, so that the outer self may give perfect, unhampered expression to the inner.

You can learn perfect bodylanguage, voice training, intonation and what not, Unless you are in tune with first 2 priciples the magic from your voice will be missing… Do you think you can imitate Tony Robbins? You might be able to imitate his gestures, speaking style but his energy and will is something that you cannot master.

Third key to Power speaking…

No one can learn how to speak who does not first speak as best he can. You do not learn how to speak by reading or learning how to speak. You learn speaking only by speaking. It’s like you cannot learn swimming unless you jump into the water and start paddling.

You can only improve after you have spoken your best and then take note where you made mistakes. But this can be really tough for starters who don’t know how to critize themselves.

Simply by finding out three things:

1. What are the qualities makes an effective speaker?
2. What are the methods to acquire some of these qualities?
3. what wrong habits of speech should be avoided?

Practise, practise, PRACTISE in speaking before an audience will tend to remove all fear of audiences, just as practise in swimming will lead to confidence and facility in the water. You must learn to speak by speaking.

From today onwards become a student of speaking by doing. Experience is the fastest way to learn from the best (& strict) teacher.

How to Overcome the fear of speaking and Succeed in life. For more info
my-infoworld.com/book/speak.html my-infoworld.com/book/speak.html

Our Freelance Writing Needs Defined

We must make freelance niche types fit our needs, wants,
values and lifestyles, and we also must make ourselves fit
freelance niche types. Of our waking hours, we work more
than we do anything else. I keep this in mind when college
students come to me concerned about what to do for a living,
and I tell them (because I want them happy) to do what they
love. I also tell them (because I believe in the truth) to
do what they are good at.

The same goes for freelance writers. If we are talented, we
have a chance. If we have a severe work ethic we have a
better chance. And if we are devoted enough and relentless
enough (and¡ªahem–masochistic enough) about writing for a
living, we will be able to put on our vitaes that we are
indeed professional writers. But in order to do and be so,
we best find the freelance writing niche types or type we
will be spectacular at, staking out a corner in the niche
market, one which we¡¯ll bring passion to every morning as
that damned alarm (later a wonderful thing) sounds.

Niche Defined

From the Italian-derived French for nicchia, “a shell-like
recess in a wall,” a niche is an inset, concave enclosure.
It is this little enclosure we freelance writers need to
find, study, practice, and own. It is the small area of
specialty we make ours and offer to those in need. So the
smaller (and therefore the less competitive) the better.

We in the freelance writing business and those of us working
to get into it have plenty of industries to work with:

Advertising
B2B (Business to Business)

B2C (Business to Customer/Client)
Entertainment
Finance
Medicine

Non-profit
Publishing (online/offline)
Recreation
Research/Marketing
Real Estate
Science
Technology

Niche Types Defined

And for every industry there are tens of freelance writing niche types:

Creative Writing- I¡¯ll say again from my lofty loft of
opinions that I believe all writing is creative, as it is
generative. My point is affirmed when we look at all of the
kinds of writing projects a creative freelancer can do or
get into, from magazine articles about bushwackers and
George Bush to books about needlepoint and pine cone needles
and needling family members to¡­

Ghost Writing- Ghost writing is a popular preferred
choice of many clients, even those who have hung out a
writer shingle (or banner) and outsource the assignments,
collect them, pay us (hopefully well), and put their own
names on the work, be it a booklet or a book, a piece of web
copy or a piece of ad copy.

Proposal and Business Plan Writing- For profit or not,
businesses need writers to create proposals that show need
and get that need satisfied¡ªmonetarily. As there is with
all freelance writing niche types, with proposal and plan
writing a freelancer has the skill sets and experience to
prepare documents that will be convincing enough that if the
client needs hot soup sold in hell the writer will be able
to deliver. I have written two successful proposals and a
number of grant proposal reports (that ensured continuation
of the grant). They are somewhat interesting, but only to
those writers with a particular finesse for a cross between
technical and creative/dynamic writing.

PR (Public Relations) Writing- PR writers do concept copy
or concept to completion work in a number of media, writing
ad copy, doing the layout, and designing such items as
brochures, newsletters, press releases, media kits, and
more, to achieve the ultimate goal for the client: name
branding.

Technical Writing- Involving everything technical, from
professional, consumer, and user manuals to white papers,
technical writing depends upon a writer¡¯s ability to
organize, synchronize, structure, and develop the details of
technical content.

Web Content Writing- To meet the client¡¯s goals of web
presence and online branding using highly trafficked,
sticky websites/pages, the web content developer or
producer writes what are known as KRPs, keyword-rich pages.
This particular wave of freelance niche types was discovered
(years ago) to be most beneficial as SEO, search-engine
optimizing/optimized/ optimization, text (or content).

While I also specialize in mental health/disability writing
and creative and memoir writing, web content development is
one of my favorite freelance niche types. To get the
keywordphrase keywordphrase keywordphrase construction
clear, engaging, and entertaining while keeping it from
doing a hideous grammatical/ rhetorical pileup is a
challenge I look forward to every morning.

Hey, it beats the alarm clock jangling, signaling the dread
of having to punch a card at a factory or see the boss off
to work so I can clean her toilets and scrub her floors. Of
course, there’s no shame in those jobs­. I did them for
years to get through grad school. But that’s more to do
with the other definition of niche: “the status of an
organism within its environment/community, affecting its
survival as a species.”

And besides, I love writing so much, much more. It’s a
much better fit, one I wish for all of you who adore the
writing process as much as I adore it.*

——————————————————–

*If this is the case, you definitely need to check out the
pages on my site with web content and writing niche samples,
articles that exemplify good, tight, even humorous writing
and that are about writing at the same time.

Works Consulted

Bly, Robert W.. Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make
$85,000 a Year. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1988.

Hyperdictionary. WEBNOX CORP., 2000-2003
< hyperdictionary.com/search.aspx?define=niche> 7
Dec. 2004.

Konradt, Brian. “Creating a Specialty.” Write from Home. <
writefromhome.com/writingtradearticles/145.
htm> 7 Dec. 2004.

N.H.-born prize-winning poet, creative nonfiction writer, memoirist, and award-winning Assoc. Prof. of English, Roxanne is also web content and freelance writer/founder of roxannewrites.com roxannewrites.com, a support site for academic, memoir, mental disability, and creative writers who need a nudge, a nod, or just ideas…of which Roxanne has 1,000s, so do stop in for a visit, as this sentence can’t possibly get any longer….

Lions are the largest and most feared predators in the African savannah. With flaming yellow eyes, vampire-like canines, a resounding roar, regal demeanour, heavy black or brown mane, sandy-brown fur (like the grass of the savannah), chiselled body, retractable claws and a ball of fur at the tip of its long tail, the 500-pound male lion (Mr. Panthera Leo, to be formal) evokes an air of majesty. BBC’s Big Cat Diary described these glowering panthers as nothing short of ‘stunning’.

Although smaller than its often-reclining counterpart, the female of the species (Ms. Leo) is no shrinking violet and it is she that does the hunting, often accompanied by other lionesses. Male lions don’t hunt because they’re too heavy to maintain a high-speed chase. They also don’t climb trees like other cats because even if they managed to go up, they couldn’t come down without slithering.

Lions are the most social mammals next to man and live in groups called ‘prides’. A typical pride consists of four or five related females accompanied by a couple of males. Probably related to the saber-tooth cats whose fossils have been found in Africa, the lion is a natural-born hunter. Like all big cats, lions usually hunt down prey much larger than themselves – zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, giraffe, elephant young. In fact, lions are the only savannah predators that can bring down a buffalo. Not only does the sharp-horned buffalo NOT die quickly but it is badly in need of anger-management therapy and will often charge at people for no reason. Human hunters branded this 2000-pound beast ‘the most dangerous game.’ I’ve seen a single male lion drag a hippo carcase from the edge of a river - quite a feat when you consider that a living hippo weighs more than a ton.

Breeding time (oestrous) is a very interesting time for lionesses. To produce a single litter of cubs, the lioness may have to mate more than a hundred times in the space of about one week. She will also allow herself to be mounted by any mature male in the vicinity. This may sound like scandalous behaviour but it is actually a necessity. Firstly, the multiple copulations would be killingly exhaustive for a single male and, second, all the males will be kind to the cubs because any of them could be the father!

In lion society, it takes a village to raise a child. A cub – the cutest thing! – can suckle from any female with milk and is protected by all. Weaned cubs put extra pressure on the females to hunt and with an adult male lion gobbling around 75 pounds of meat at a sitting, these brave hunters have no choice but to roll their eyes, say a prayer to Diana - Goddess of Hunting - and step back into the killing fields. Although they’re often seen hunting during the day, they are largely nocturnal: like your domestic cat, lions can see pretty well at night, which gives them an unfair advantage over their prey. Between nocturnal and diurnal hunting, raising the cubs and keeping enemies like the African laughing hyena at bay, a lioness has no time to watch ‘Desperate Housewives’ or the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’.

At first sight, the male lion looks like the most spoiled creature anywhere. It shamelessly spends about 18 hours a day sleeping or otherwise lounging. It occasionally roars, snarls or brawls just to remind everyone who’s boss. In reality, the males do much more than mate, eat and sleep. It is their duty to protect the pride from danger, especially from other lions and from hyenas. A lioness may be more than a match for a single hyena but hyenas run in packs and constitute the largest threat to lionesses and their young. The sight of the larger, stronger, males usually sends hyenas flying in all directions.

You can’t stare a lion down – I’ve tried. Its unyielding yellow eyes inspire fear and – like an antelope or zebra – your first instinct is to run. A Discovery Channel narrator described the sensation as ‘the feeling that you are being sized up for the next meal.’ Humans are not normally on lions’ menu (thank God) but fair game is fair game and, unarmed, a person’s chances of overpowering a lion are between zero and nil. In fact, for many decades the most shocking story to come out of Africa was that of the man-eaters of Tsavo (a place near the coast of Kenya.) when U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt heard this bizarre story, he immediatedly sent for more information. It all started when Kenya and neighbouring Uganda were under British colonial rule. To boost trade and communication between the two territories (called ‘British East Africa’), the colonial masters resolved to link them with a railway line. As the natives were ignorant in railway works, platelayers were shipped in from India, another British colony.

Well, neither the colonialists nor the labourers knew what they were getting themselves into until the railway reached the danger zone of Tsavo. Huge, man-eating lions began coming down from the hills by night and making meals out of the workers. Over the next few months, so many Indians died in encounters with lions that the project stalled and was nearly abandoned altogether. One Indian died strictly from terror while 28 others were dragged out of their tents by night and spirited into the jungle to be fed on. In view of the peril, the, er, lion’s share of the Indians abandonded the project (now dubbed ‘The Lunatic Express’) leaving the colonial masters with just a couple hundred workers. Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson, a British railway engineer, eventually put an end to the madness by shooting two of the most notorious lions. One of them, an elusive male, had to be shot 6 times with a rifle before it finally succumbed. Its buddy, also male, was nearly 10 feet long. It took 8 men to carry the carcass back to camp as a trophy!

For more information about what happened at Tsavo, read the non-fiction classic ‘The Man-Eaters of Tsavo’ by Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson. ( rtpnet.org/robroy/tsavo/tsavo pics.html rtpnet.org/robroy/tsavo/tsavo pics.html)

For a movie version of the feline terror, I highly recommend Michael Douglas’ Oscar-winning film, ‘The Ghost and The Darkness’

Often, online event promotions take on a “frenzied″ quality, and that’s because most events require a short burst of energy to hit the public with just the right timing. You may have astutely picked up that those who take charge of network group events develop an exclamatory quality to their communication which can actually be quite unnerving to those of us who don’t care to be hurried and hassled along.

So how is one supposed to make folks sit up and take notice of the Grand Event on such short notice, without coming across like a squawking chicken running around with its head cut off? And how does one get people to click that link without turning their website into a cacaphony of flashing lights, bells, whistles, all caps and urgent calls to action?

Why, it’s all in the copywriting, of course. And while some webmasters decide to just “opt out” of the copywriting process, the fact remains that no one’s going to click that link without a big incentive as to WHAT′S IN IT FOR THEM. I mean it, nobody gives a flying fig about that one little link among many other links, boxes, buttons and other distracting doo-hickeys propped here and there and everywhere on your page. I don’t care if you had tears of joy in your eyes as you typed the href line all full of good intentions… they WILL NOT click the link unless you give them a darned good reason why they should.

So the point that I’m making here, is that if you want to unleash a powerful promotional campaign on the web in a minimal amount of time, you are strongly advised to get a web copywriter who embodies the following characteristics:

1. Your copywriter must be aware of strategic keyword placement and categorical content as a mass traffic generator.

2. Your copywriter must be able to whip out those copywriting guns and blow your reader’s mind at a moment’s notice.

3. Your copywriter must be able to dive head-first into the mind of your target customer, extract exactly what that person wants, and then deliver the dream by way of your website’s written message.

4. Your copywriter must have a gift for crafting a message that’s organized, magnetic, and includes a strong call to action.

5. Your copywriter must instinctively know how to “switch it up” depending on which audience you’re addressing at which time.*

6. Your copywriter must be diligent in building your brand in every single piece of communication you send out there!

Accept nothing less.

*Did you know that in Online Event Promotion, you’re looking at two very different target groups, each of which requires his own special “language” and emotional incentive to act? Your first group is your event participants, and your second group is your event’s spectators and attendants. Your email campaign must be custom-tailored to each of those groups, and this requires the fancy footwork of a talented perspective-hopper! Look to a seasoned copywriter who’s up for the challenge.

Wouldn′t you love it if your online event became the season′s biggest sensation? How do you think you’d feel if suddenly folks started treating you as a respected thought leader in your field?

Your copywriter can make that happen for you… that is, if you find that perfect one.

Want to witness event planning live in action? Please join me and my marketing friends for the First Annual Web Content Awareness Day, scheduled to launch on February 9, 2006 at WebContentAwarenessDay.com.

Sneak Peek: Visit the Countdown to Web Content Awareness Day Blog and learn how you can ride our wave of high web traffic!

Paste in this link:

wordfeeder.typepad.com/web_content_awareness_day/

Copyright 2006 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Liked this article? Have more of the same emailed to your inbox each month. Sign up for the wordfeeder.com/kickstart-signup-priority-1.htm” target=”_new Copywriting and Marketing Ezine from Dina at Wordfeeder.com and learn to write search engine friendly web copy and market your web based business for free.

The rejection letter says: “Your story, on the surface, appears to be well-told and has appealing characters. However, the writing is episodic the story lacks direction.”

You frown. Huh? The story lacks direction? How could it? Your main character is on a quest how much more of a direction could you have than that?

Clearly, this editor doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Oh well. It takes all types… you bundle up your manuscript and send it out to the next publisher.

Six rejections later, you feel more than a bit miffed. This is a good story; everyone in your writing group says so. Your writing style is smooth and accomplished (even a few editors have said that).

So why the heck do they keep rejecting it? It’s something to do with the plot; that much is clear. But what?

If you’re lucky enough to get feedback, look for clues in the comments that have been made. The moment you see the word ‘episodic’, that is the biggest and best clue you could have. Not all editors will use this term. They might say things like ‘what is the story question?’ or ‘the character has no clear-cut goal’ or ‘there is no character growth’. All of these things can point to your story being episodic.

1. What Does “Episodic” Mean?

If someone tells you that your story is ‘episodic’, they mean that your story is a series of episodes, or events, that are very loosely tied together. The “events” crop up one after the other as a way of entertaining the reader, but there is little character growth between one episode and the next. Nor can we easily see how one event grows out of the one before.

Some examples of how a story may be episodic:

(a) The “Little Tommy had never had such an exciting day!” theme:

FIRST: A child starts out in a normal/boring situation. Then something happens to change things. (A child might find a doorway into a magic kingdom, go on a balloon ride, go to stay on the grandparents’ farm etc etc)

SECOND: The child sees a series of amazing sights/takes part in various fun activities/experiences several hair-raising incidents.

THIRD: The child says “What a lovely day I’ve had. I’ll keep this fairy land a secret, but I’ll keep going back to have more fun with my new friends!” (Or: “Phew. I’m glad that’s over. I’m so happy to be back home!”)

What’s wrong with this? There is no plot. Just a bunch of ’stuff’ that happens to fill in time.

(b) The “Fantasy Trap”

FIRST: The main character is drawn into a different world or discovers that he/she is ‘the chosen one’.

SECOND: This character is presented with a ‘quest’ to prove his worthiness to take up the mantle of the Chosen One. (He might have to free a character/being from enchantment or imprisonment, OR to learn to use the magic that is buried deep within, OR to right a great wrong etc etc.)

THIRD: The character sets off on his quest. On the way he is faced with one challenge after another (Menacing Fantasy Creature #1, the Hypnotic Field of Flowers, the Dreadful Sucking Swamp, the Shape-Changer, Menacing Fantasy Creature #2, the Dark and Deadly Forest, the Awful Abyss, the Mountain of Sorrows, Menacing Fantasy Creature #3 and so on and so on…)

FOURTH: The character overcomes each obstacle in turn. He finally frees the imprisoned Queen or finds the Sword of Destiny or whatever. He saves the land from annihilation or closes the door between two worlds and keeps evil at bay for another 1000 years.

Yawn. Another cliched fantasy novel ends.

Now, before you indignantly start to point out the many classic (and popular) fantasy novels that fit into the above formula, let me point out why some books work and some don′t (even though they appear to have the same ‘ingredients’). This applies to any genre.

1. The character is reactive rather than proactive.

In other words, he spends the book stumbling from one obstacle to another, reacting to whatever crops up. He doesn′t sit down and formulate a clear plan of action. Quite often, other characters guide the outcome.

2. There is no story question.

The ‘story question′ is the question that is aroused in the reader’s mind at the beginning of the story: “Will the guy get the girl?”; “Will Mary succeed in taking over the firm?”; “Will Xanor take his rightful place as Head of the Galaxy Alien Committee?”; “Will Laura track down the serial killer before she becomes the next victim?”; “How will Toby find his way back from the Land of Giants?” and so on.

You can see why ‘Little Tommy’s Exciting Day’ type of story doesn’t succeed. Tommy doesn’t set out to do anything or solve a problem (other than being bored) and is faced with no challenges along the way. Stuff just happens.

Any book needs to answer the story question, but it must be more than a simple yes or no. It must show HOW the main character achieved his goal, and it must show how the character grows and changes as he pursues his goal. He needs to have a plan of action. Inevitably, he will need to adapt to circumstances - but with each new obstacle, the main character must (1) react; (2) evaluate the plan and make necessary changes, THEN (3) move forward. In most episodic stories, the character simply reacts then moves forward to the next obstacle WITHOUT making further plans. Quite often, older/wiser/stronger secondary characters will decide on the next step for him. Not a good idea! This gives you a weak main character.

3. The reactive character does not operate from his strengths.

He magically finds new skills when needed, rather than possessing them beforehand. He overcomes each obstacle by luck, intervention by someone else, or an amazing new talent that comes as a surprise to him.

2. What You Can Do to Save An Episodic Story

Give your character a goal. e.g. “Mary is forced to leave her child behind. She is determined to come back for him.” Then begin the plan of action. (Mary’s first step is…??? What further action does she plan?)

Give your character significant strengths and some weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses will determine her plan of attack and ultimately reveal the flaws in that plan.

Decide on the obstacles that the character will encounter on her way to the goal.

Decide how your character will react to these obstacles and how this will affect her plan of action. Her reaction should be governed by her strengths and weaknesses as well as by circumstances. She will either overcome obstacles, go around them, or turn them into opportunities. Each setback will require a new plan of attack. Each triumph will determine the next step. Other people can help, but make sure your protagonist makes most of the significant breakthroughs.

Check every scene to make sure it moves the story forward. How will the scene affect the character’s growth and the eventual outcome? Is she moving closer to achieving her goal? Has she earned her success? How does each scene relate to the initial story question?

Make sure each scene flows logically from the one before.

If you can see that your story IS episodic, then take the time to work out just what it needs. You may be able to fix the plot with minimal rewrites, but that’s unlikely. By having your main character make more decisions, you could easily find that he would have chosen a different direction. That’s probably a good thing… you’ve discovered that you’ve been more of a puppet master than a wise author who lets her characters learn by their mistakes.

Grit your teeth and get to work. After you’ve diagnosed an episodic plot, then operated on it, you’re going to be a much better writer.

(c) copyright Marg McAlister

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers’ tipsheet at writing4success.com writing4success.com/

Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills,
ran classes for over thirty years for civil
servants, lawyers, bankers and the like, on writing
business correspondence.

Two tips he stressed over and over again in his classes.

The first: move heaven and earth to wean yourself from
the inhibitions and nervous habits that your
schoolteachers, bless ‘em, have bequeathed to you.
Leave no stone unturned to rid yourself of the awkward,
stilted and artificial writing styles that have been
reinforced daily since your early childhood.

The second: when you write a letter or the like - even if
it’s a business letter you’d normally place in the “highly
formal” category - imagine that the addressee were
sitting right there, on the other side of your desk.

Relax. If you really believed the recipient was with you in the
room, you would never have the effrontery to begin with
“please be advised″ or “we wish to inform you”.

Incidentally, I’ve a confession to make. I’m a fairly experienced
writer, but time and time again, I find myself committing
the very offences that would make Rudolf Flesch cringe.

I’m a sinner! But then - I am aware of it. I try to catch myself in the act.

And when I succeed, I’m pretty ruthless with myself.

When Flesch says you should imagine the person you’re writing to you is
right there with you in the room, it doesn’t mean that informality is
appropriate for all categories of written documents.

But more often than not,
it’s regarded today as a sign of professionalism, rather than the
reverse.

More importantly, it’s far more effective, as we’ll see.
And whichever way you look at it, effective communication is the name of the game!

Incidentally, you’ll notice that I said we spoke about…
rather than we wrote about.

I can’t see you as I write. All I can
see is my monitor and it’s not much of a conversationalist. All the same,
I’m using talking words all the time.

I recall my school days in South Africa, round about half a
century ago. At the end of every term, we wrote exams, and one
paper was always called “English Composition.”

From the lowest grade to the highest, the format was about the
same. There were generally two questions: The first would begin:
“Write an essay of about 500 words on one of the following
topics…” The second would be the same, with “letter”
substituted for “essay”.

Between examinations, the teachers would drum a multitude of
rules into our impressionable heads, always accompanied by grim
warnings about the terrible consequences of non-compliance! Many
of these rules directly contradict what I’m telling you to do
now.

Have you ever taken a course in public speaking?

When you do a public speaking course, you don’t hear much
about grammar and vocabulary. Instead you learn not to be embarrassed,
to overcome your inhibitions, to speak without a prepared script
and to reach out to the audience in front of you.

We’re not saying that good grammar and such things aren’t
important in writing. They’re very important.

But they’re not the
essence. In some ways, writing is so much harder than public
speaking, because your audience isn’t right there in front of
you. But the object of the whole exercise is to break through the
invisible barrier that separates writer and reader.

Notice that question I asked three paragraphs ago? Of course,
this is one of the tricks we use to tear down that very barrier.

I could have saved a lot of words by leading right in with:
“Those who have taken public speaking course know that…”
But a question has a more intimate, personal ring. With a bit of luck,
I’ll even make you feel I’m talking directly to YOU. Why? Because
a person normally peppers his everyday conversation with millions
of questions!

For precisely the same reason, this article, is full of word contractions. That is to say: I
write “they’re” rather than “they are”;
“I’ll” and not “I will.”
Certainly sounds more cozy, you will -oops, you′ll admit.

“Yes,” you may well protest, “let’s assume I’m
a bank manager or
the like? Can I really use that style in writing to my clients?
And oh my gosh - what if I’m some kind of government official?”
(We won′t talk of lawyers for the moment - they’re a special
class of headache, which we′ll have to deal with separately.)

The rejoinder is: “Sure, you can.” When you write a
business
letter, you want to make your point quickly and effectively.
Further, you’re looking for a response: you want action. An
informal style, rather than one of prim and proper
conventionality, is more likely to do the trick.

For all that, you could ask me a very strong question:

“This makes sense when you want to be friendly: when you’re
looking to get the business of a potential customer, or to
retain that of an existing one.But what if I deliberately need a
stiff and formal tone, as when I’m writing a letter of demand to
a debtor?”

We can do no better than to quote an example direct from
Rudolf
Flesch. Compare these two extracts:

“It is imperative that you submit the above amount within
five
days. Failure on your part to comply may result in legal action
at your expense.”

“If you don’t pay this amount within five days, we’ll
start legal
action at your expense.”

Which of these two versions is more likely to startle the
hapless recipient out of his wits?

You be the judge!

Azriel Winnett is creator of hodu.com Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New articles added almost daily.