An announcement:
Flash Fiction is a big passion of mine and as a result, I’ve made a small audio anthology of some of my work…
Flash in the Pan: Sticks Like Glue is the first of three volumes in this audio book mini-series – and if you’ve got 20 minutes or so to spare in the shower, car, tube, subway or while walking to the shops – it’s most definitely worth a try! Continue reading
For those who make their living out of words, writer’s block can be a real plague.
Your fingers hit the keys, your eyes go out of focus and your start to sweat – as you’ve just realised that you can’t string one engaging or even legible sentence together. Frankly, it’s a nightmare.
If you’re currently browsing the web because you’re suffering from a bout of writer’s block, here are 5 quick fire tips that will help clear your head, and get back on that all-important wordy horse…
Before we go any further, the first thing to remember is – don’t get discouraged. This writer’s block business is only a fleeting thing and you can overcome it.
Step away from your writing and do something else that’s creative: make a collage, take some photos, paint a picture. Whatever you do, it is sure to free you from the shackles of your slump and leave the mind feeling fresh.
Try Freewriting: get into the habit of doing this for around 10 minutes every day. What do you do? You just write. Get up a fresh word doc or blank piece of paper and put down whatever comes into your head, ignoring standard structure or punctuation. This will allow your thoughts and ideas to spill onto the page organically and help you get back on track.
Cast away distractions: Your phone, television, personal emails, social media, magazines, radio; basically anything that will take you away from stringing a solid thought together. Yes, audio and visual things can help give us inspiration sometimes, but when you have a serious case of the block, it’s essential to be able to focus when you are at the screen. In this case, a neutral, silent, internet free room without gadgets is just what the doctor ordered!
Write at the pinnacle time of day: Research suggests that many of us are at our most productive, alert and creative, either very early in the morning, or very late at night. Depending on your personality and situation, pick what’s best for you, then stick to it for a while. Take a decent writing break in the middle of your day, and tune into your words at your pinnacle time – from personal experience, this really helps your writing to flourish.
Get moving: with creative disciplines, positive stress if often the key to creativity. So if you’re in a little bit of a rut, head outside and do something active. Go for a cycle, jog or a long walk – this has been scientifically proven to help relax the mind and re-set the cogs so that you’re essentially working with a blank canvas. As you are in motion, you are bound to connect those missing dots and when you return to the computer, you’ll be a lean, mean word churning machine. If walking etc. doesn’t work for you, meditation also has very positive creative effects.
If you’ve been sat staring aimlessly at your screen for a long time and don’t know what to do with yourself, read over these tips, step away from the computer, free your mind and before long, you’ll be back to your old creative self.
Please let us know how you get on by leaving a comment below: have these methods helped your writing, or have you found others that have proved effective?
Image: Drew Coffman via Flickr
Words are a powerful thing.
To demonstrate the power of words and how they can make us feel, I’d like to share this video put together by Rethink Homelessness.
Recently, a group of homeless people in Orlando Florida were each asked to write down a personal or interesting fact about themselves and show it to the camera, and it’s fair to say the the results is pretty amazing…
So there you have it: The Power of Words in action.
Keep your eyes peeled for more from this series over the coming months.
What do words mean to you? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Image: David Blackwell via Flickr
For the second in this mini series, quite suitably named ‘Word Bites’, I’d like to touch upon the uncertain origins of the word posh.
Now, there are a fair few theories based around where this particular word found its place in the wonderful world of vocabulary, and actually, there is no definitive answer.
Definition
n. The quality of being elegant, stylish, or upper class
Where did the word posh come from? As I said before, no one really knows for sure, but in the general spirit of fact, fiction, tale telling, debate and interpretation, here is my favourite explanation…
In 1920’s – 1930’s, wealthy, well-to-do passengers travelling by boat between England and India used to have abbreviation POSH clearly written against their bookings, which stood for ‘Port Out, Starboard Home‘ (basically the best possible place to be situated during a nautical journey).
As a result, this implication weaved its way into the English language as a way of identifying someone who is partial too and can afford the finer things in life – essentially someone of ‘upper class’.
Although this particular theory has its flaws, I personally like it as in my head, it conjures a great deal of classic sea faring imagery – and this alone represents to me, the power of words.
So there you have it, my personal take on the word posh. This may not change your life, however, I do hope it has entertained you for a few moments- thanks for reading.
What do you think the word posh came from?
Image: Movie Stars and Rockets via Flickr
The written word is an incredibly valuable component when it comes to expressing thoughts and feelings, sharing experiences, creating vivid scenes, describing situations, selling things…the list goes on.
Putting words together isn’t something that always comes easy, even to the most gifted writers among us, and often when we try to express ourselves through text, the words don’t necessarily come out as eloquently as we would like.
So, if you are currently struggling to tackle a tough literary project, perhaps these little pearls of wisdom (or at the very least, bold statements) will offer you the inspiration you need to put pen to paper (so to speak) and achieve the results you are craving…
To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.
To gain your own voice, you have to forget about it being heard.
If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood
Style is to forget all styles
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it
Okay, these quotes may not completely change your life or exactly tell you how to write, but hopefully, they’ve given you the gusto to review your current work, get stuck in and attack it with a brand new attitude – good luck!
If you have any tips or advice to offer those struggling with how to write, please leave your comments here.
Images: Juliette and Tempus Volat via Flickr
Words are essential.
Having an extensive and let’s say colourful vocabulary means that we are able to express ourselves in a whole host of different ways – and if you’re a writer, the more words you know, the more potent you can be. But do we ever consider where many of the words we use originated?
This mini blog series aptly named ‘Word Bites’ will concentrate on a different word in each episode, giving a brief insight into how it came to light. There’s no real method to the words I’ll be selecting over the coming months, in fact it will be completely random – just to mix things up a little.
So, without further ado, the first word (as you may have gathered from the title) on my ‘list’ is assassin.
Definition:
n. Murderer, generally somewhat professional; esp. one who murders a prominent figure.
Origin:
During the times of the crusade, members of a particular top secret Muslim sect bound people to terrorise their Christian enemies by performing organised murders as a form of religious duty.
Generally, these rather brutal yet calculated acts were carried out under the influence of hashish, and subsequently, these killers become known as hashashins, meaning the eaters or smokers of hash. Eventually, this term was shortened and over time, evolved into the term assassin.
There you have it, the origins or the word assassin. Although you may not use it in every day speech, it might make you look at assassins in a whole new way!
Keep an eye out for the next episode of ‘Word Bites’ and if you need any words written for your website, feel free to get in touch.
Images: Steven Feather and Niranjan via Flickr
Google. I doubt there’s anyone on this planet who has access to even the most basic of technology without this word cemented into their vocabulary!
Since its humble beginnings in 1996, Google has transformed into one of the world’s most powerful, popular, innovative and relied upon entities, with a whopping 2 billion searches logged per day worldwide.
Aside it’s overall expansion, with offerings such as the user friendly Gmail, Webmaster Tools, Analytics, Earth, Docs, Nexus devices, Chromebook and most recently, Chromecast on its extensive menu, Google work their proverbial nuts off every year to improve their user experience when it comes to search – after all, that’s what the company was founded upon!
Content is King!
Every year, Google updates its algorithm to ensure users get rich and informative information based on their search terms without having to filter through the junk, and that means to rank well, you are required to produce top quality content on a variety of integrated platforms (these topics will be covered in greater detail at a later date!). Gone are the days when you use cheap black hat SEO tricks to climb to the top of the SERPS!
So, what’s it like to work in such a powerful, unique and ever-evolving web mogul? Like you, I can only really imagine, but to give you a taste of life at Google, here’s a little tour of their HQ…
Well, I wouldn’t mind spending some time at the Google campus. It seems like a pretty cool place to work to say the least.!
If you had a huge budget to design your own offices, what would you do?
Image: keso via Flickr
Catchy Content Writing 