The Writing Pages

French, Latin or even Russian words used in English Literature have often confused and troubled me, thus compelling me to research and find their meanings. For you convenience here is a list of ten most commonly used foreign words:

1. au fait (French): having a good or detailed knowledge

2. bona fide (Latin): genuine; real

3. carte blanche (French): complete freedom to act as one wishes

4. de facto (Latin): in fact, whether by right or not

5. déjà vu (French): the sense of having experienced the present situation before

6. prima facie (Latin): accepted as so until proved otherwise

7. faux pas (French): an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion

8. joie de vivre (French): exuberant enjoyment of life

9. haute couture ((French): the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses

10. grande dame (French): a woman who is influential within a particular sphere

The main aim of an author is to please the reader. And the most successful writers are the people who succeed.

You know why? Because they keep in touch with the audience but do not write only for them. They write for themselves too and so do not loose their individuality.

Most amateur writers are too obsessed with the idea of pleasing the reader. But they seldom remember to please themselves!

Maybe you do get satisfaction after writing a post, maybe you enjoy the compliments of your readers, but before you decide, just read the post and think- DO I REALLY LIKE IT MYSELF?

The first objective of pleasing a reader is to please yourself because remember that, you yourself are your biggest critic.

There are people I know, who like writing long emotional articles but keeping an internet reader in mind, they cut down their posts to 10 lines just so the reader doesn’t flip away. More often than not, it reduces the quality of their work.

I do not say it is wrong. Practicing new stuff is never wrong, but forgetting your first love and almost abandoning it, is not good either.

So remember, while writing; first keep in mind YOURSELF and then the reader.

Just try it once and then tell me if it helps!!

Rome was not built in a day, and so is your work. A good piece of writing cannot be written on first attempt.

As I have always been telling my readers, constant practice and writing is the only key to a successful writer.

Just yesterday, my friend asked me, "You always keep telling me to write. But HOW MUCH do I write?". This got me thinking.

What I do is follow a plan. In the beginning of the year, I set an objective for my writing. I fix a goal to finish three good pieces of my personal writing each week. It keeps me busy in my leisure time and also helps me improve my writing skills.

One can plan as he/she wishes and is suitable for him/her. If you are not too busy to devote much time, you can fix a goal of finishing five pieces a week. Or you can settle down on a monthly basis, of finishing thirty to fifty pages of your novel or anything you wish. Even making a yearly plan comes in handy to our busy-bees.

The first thing to get down to is to make the plan or objective. While doing so, keep in mind what you write, how and when. Remember how much time you can devote each day and find a suitable goal.

But the most important part of this is to stick to you timetable. No use making overambitious plans and goals just to build castles in the air!

Just try my idea once and share the result with me here. I'd be glad to hear the pros or cons.

The comment section awaits you :)

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While surfing the net, I recently came across the world's longest poem.

The Wikipedia describes the journal as a daily record of events or business; a private journal is usually referred to as a diary.

Do you all keep a journal? I have been keeping one since I was in grade 6. Often, in the beginning, I thought that it was a sheer waster of time, energy and ink. But then I realized how it wasn’t as I thought.

If you do not maintain a journal, here are ten reasons for you to do so immediately:

1.      One does not always have a person in life with whom you can share any or everything. A diary can be the best of your friend and the worst of you critic. You can share anything with it, and express the deepest of your thoughts easily.

2.      Anne Frank never imagined that every teenager would someday read her diary and get inspired. Even if yours is not read by others, you might be inspired by it yourself, nonetheless.

3.      It is similar to talking to oneself, but talking to yourself in a café can be awkward or embarrassing. But certainly, writing a journal wouldn’t be inappropriate at all. Writing a memoir becomes an output of pure emotion; purer than you can ever imagine.

4.      It might unexpectedly act as you inspiration for writing a story, novel or anything else.

5.      You can write in second person and advice yourself or motivate yourself, like no one has ever done. You can be the best of your advisor or friend.

6.      You can chill out with it too. Your journal can be anything- a friend, a guide, a cuppa coffee for refreshment, a relaxation, a way of refreshing your pent up mind.

7.      It is a safe way to keep your secrets :P

8.      While reading through yourself, you can analyze yourself and see through your invisibility. Often, one can be surprised at how well he/she writes too.

9.      It’s the easiest way to go to bed with a sound mind.

10. You will always have someone in the time of need. I bet you will never feel lonely.

These days, the trend is to keep an online journal. You can keep a blog, which can be kept private or share it with the blogosphere. It is quite the same as a traditional dairy.

And to encourage you even further, there are different simple techniques that can be used. 

You can write a dialogue journal which can be written as a letter to yourself when you are down in pits. When you find a solution to your problem, write another letter. This could serve as your own bank of wisdom.

You could write a gratitude journal, where you can make yourself realize that life is not always bad and there are good things that happen to you too. Write them all down in a diary. When you are feeling low, look into these pages and you’ll feel better.

You could even write a goal journal which is especially handy for those who can never stick to their resolutions. Goals are likely to be met if penned down.

Art Journals are for those whose creativity knows no bounds. Not one to use ink?? Use colors and paints and splash it all the way!

So get to work. Choose you journal today and start writing!

I just keep on wondering why I did not review this book earlier.

To Kill A Mocking Bird- by Harper Lee is one of the most brilliant pieces of literary fiction I have ever read.  It was the first and last book published by the author and also won a Pulitzer prize.

It deals with many serious issues like racial discrimination in America, but the style of writing is such, that all will enjoy it!

It is a story about a six-year-old Jean Scout Finch, who also narrates it in her lively and bubbly manner. She lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout become friends with a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. 

The three children are terrified of, and fascinated with, their neighbor, the solitary "Boo" Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each other's imaginations with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden.

Soon, the children find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place. 

Atticus, her father, is assigned to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of molesting Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Although many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus' actions, calling him a "nigger-lover". Scout is tempted to stand up for her father's honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to. For his part, Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom.

The book has a serious storyline which deals with aspects of racism, and involves other phases of violence and alienation. To Kill a Mockingbird is Harper Lee's classic novel which one cannot miss reading.

The novel is memorable because of the adventures and personal tumult the character undergoes in her development as a human being. Some characters reach out to millions of hearts with the veracity of cruelty in the world--with war, violence, death, racism, and hatred--while others deal with family, friends, or community issues.

The book is a unique, one of its kind read, that you cannot afford missing! It stands really high in my reading list.

Reading my creative writing blog, Delve Into The Mind Of A Budding Blogger, many people have questioned me about my inspiration and ideas for writing? Where do I get the ideas? How do I cultivate them?

So today I decided to share it with you!

Inspirations for writing a story, poem or any other kind of article/ write-up depends upon a writer. Different writers acquire ideas by different ways.

For me, my ambience, the things happening around are enough to provide an idea.

Often writing prompts on the web are a big help!

I prefer writing while sitting in my garden, for the lovely blooming flowers and the beautiful view outside is a good source of inspiration.

My personal journal or diary is the biggest help, Flipping through the pages gives a number of ideas that keep swarming in the head!

It just depends on a person. If you observe and notice what happens around you might get a multitude of ideas, and then all is up to you, how you present it and how you develop the story line!

As I shared my ideas and inspirations, I would love to know how you get an idea for a particular story. Please post comments telling me about your sources for writing.

Whether it be a webpage, a book, a short story or even business articles- first impressions are often made on the creativity of the titles. And as they say, first impressions are the best impressions.

Whatever you do, please understand that titles hook the reader. If surfing the net, the reader will not waste time on a title that reads Harry Potter but something that says, Harry Potter- the 8^th Part! Everyone knows that there is no further sequel so the reader will be intrigued to read on.

Thus stands the creativity of the author in writing titles. Finding a creative and suitable title is pretty much a skill in itself.

Finished with a story and still confused about a suitable heading? This is a very common problem for me. So today I decided to share some tips with you that I prefer using when trapped in such a mess.

Usually, I read my write-up at at least thrice. It acts as a good revision, and along with, some lines or a phrase may strike you as a suitable title.

Be as tangy, wild and imaginative as possible. Go out to a garden, look around…..and who knows? But if yours is a moral article, often age old phrases are best preferred.

If nothing strikes you then too, then it is better to give your brain some rest and leave it alone for a day or two. Read your story again after a day and something is sure to thump you.

It’s often better to take help from friends. They might strike on the magic word you’ve been missing.

Or better, I’ve recently found many a sites for writing prompts which provide you with suitable headings based on which you form a story. I often use Serendipitous Story Title Generator or Title-O-Matic for this purpose

I hope these help! Do share your views and ideas.

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• No smile is so beautiful as the one that struggles through tears. -- Margaret Fishback Powers
  
• I always thought why somebody didn't do anything about that....then I realized, I was SOMEBODY! --Anonymous
  
• NOBODY "is" Perfect, and I am NOBODY!
  
• When someone throws a stone at you, throw back a flower-- M.K Gandhi..........But remember to throw it along with the pot! - Today's Youth!
  
• If you tell a guy that there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he will believe you; but if you tell him the park bench has been painted, he'll have to touch it to be sure!
  
• In the new generation, even pizza comes before police.
  
• Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. -- Helen Keller
  
• The bus stops at a bus station, the trains tops at a train station …..And my desk is a work-station!
  
• You are the window through which you must see the world -- Laura Ingalls Wilder
  
• Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. -- Winston Churchill
  
• You never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him. -- Lou Holtz
  
• There are two types of employees: Those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is much less competition there. -- Indira Gandhi
  
• Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. -- Langston Hughes
  
• I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can still do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -- Edward Everett
  
• The only trouble with being punctual is that there is no one to appreciate it!
  

This is my first tag for my blog, The Writing Pages.

I have been tagged by Zawan  at Zawan's Blog. 

It is a book meme and I have to answer some questions related to books.

What was the last book you bought?
Ummmmm…..I guess it was from the book fair in our city. Yup, it was Angels and Demons LOL! I know I was pretty late but now my Brown collection is complete!

Name a book you have read MORE than once
Arabian Nights?? I had this craze of reading short stories over and over again when I was 7 or 8 years old

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Nopes…..I don't read such kind of books. Actually, I think those kind of books go above my head but I liked My Experiments With Truth- M.K Gandhi

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
By recommendations and reviews I suppose. My dad and friends are a great help!

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
I read mostly fiction and like them loads. I like Medical fiction and science- fiction too.

What's more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
Ummm…..both I guess. A good plot isn't understood until it is beautifully expressed.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie, Eragon- By Paolini. Even Frank and Joe Hardy- by Franklin W. Dixon.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
I don't have that kind of nightstand. Dad asks me to put books back into the shelf after I've read them!

What was the last book you've read, and when was it?
The last book I read was from the school library, Nor M? by Agatha Christie

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Yep, Pride and Prejudice….I find classics a bit boring, though I've enjoyed reading many too!

You might have often been intrigued by many  phrases. But ever wondered what was the tale behind their origin? I went on a searching spree and discovered some interesting origins of phrases, that you might never have thought of. So keep guessing while you read!

Raining Cats And Dogs

This means raining very heavily Though the origin is still controversial, some say that the abominable drainage system of buildings in the 15th century caused drains to run over, emitting out garbage and a few unanticipated rubbish. Thus, animals might have lived in the thatched roofs and when it rained heavily, the dead remains would fall! And maybe some even had some dead dogs and cats hit their heads, thus giving birth to the phrase. Anyways, this certainly is a strange way to describe the weather, eh?

Fit to be tied

It means being furious. This phrase originated when the practice of tying irrepressible and often hazardous people was followed.

Wing and a prayer

It refers to being hopeful but unlikely to succeed. It originated during the First World War, celebrating the return of an American Flyer who came back safely in spite of a badly injured wing.

Pass the buck

It refers to passing off responsibility to someone else. It originated from a game of cards. A marker known as a buck is used in card games to mark the player who is the existing dealer. When the buck is passed to the next player, the responsibility for dealing is passed.

Stink to high heaven

It means to have a very strong odor. This expression originated from the well-known Shakespearean play 'Hamlet'. From a dialogue uttered by Hamlet's Uncle, the King of Denmark - "O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon it, A brother's murder."

Face the music

It refers to accepting the truth. It originated from the British Military practice of playing the drums when someone was court marshaled.

I have a bone to pick with you

Which means, I have an unpleasant matter to settle with you. It is believed to have originated when at the marriage banquets of the Sicilian poor, the bride's father, after the meal, used to hand the bridegroom a bone, saying, "Pick this bone, for you have taken in hand a much harder task." Another origin might be from the British where a bone to pick was a profitable appointment given to a difficult opponent in order to silence him. The reference is to throwing a bone to a dog to keep him from barking at you.

To read more origins of phrases, the best site I can suggest is "The Phrase Finder". Do read many more phrases and any more interesting information regarding their origins, is welcome. So all game to share your knowledge with me through comments? Any additions to the list are welcome!

Related Posts:

1. How To Keep Your Writing Simple?-Avoid Redundant Words
   
2. Improve Your Vocabulary
   
3. Do Not Get Trapped In Those Words!
   
4. Not Sure About The Exact Word To Use?
   
5. 10 Tips On How To Write A Book Review
   

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends;

they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors,

and the most patient of teachers.”

                                               - Charles W. Eliot

Books are the life and soul of a writer, author or even a blogger. Life without books seems unfeasible. And every second person reading a website or blog, needs a good book to read. So why not for a change, review a recent book you read and provide your reader with a chance to learn.

Do not know how to write a book review? Do not worry! Here are 10 tips that might help you out!

1. Read your book thoroughly

One cannot become a doctor without having the particular qualifications. In a similar fashion, it is necessary that you have knowledge about your subject before you are keen to write or share about it.

2. Gather more information

Though you might be knowing all about the book that you thought important, before embarking on writing a review, it is always better to read more about the book from Wikipedia or read another review of the book from the net. This help might prove valuable.

3. Make a rough draft

Write a rough outline of the plot, the flaws or anything that you find worthy of wiring. Only then, should you get to editing it and adding the additional information.

4. Be unique

While writing a book review, it is important that the reader is not reading a review of someone else. Often, reviewers tend to find the easiest way out by just copying down the book information/review at the back cover and camouflaging it ingeniously as their own!

5. Never reveal the whole plot

I have noticed often that writers tend to find it exciting to reveal the major or minor secrets of the plot (This applies to fiction stories, novels etc.). My fun of reading the last Harry Potter book had been spoiled for mostly the readers had leaked the secrets of the novel on the net. Please care about the excitement that a reader experiences so do not reveal the whole plot but as much as you think you would have liked to know if you were reading the review. 

6. Add your own element

The main point of writing a review is letting the reader know what YOU think about it. So remember to write down any improvement in the book you think possible and all flaws or good points about the book.

7. Remember the author

I have read reviews where the plot and everything else about the book is mentioned, but unfortunately the reviewer forgets to tell about the author.Be sure to credit or criticize (as you think likely) the author. Whatever you do, do not leave him out….after all, it is he who created the book and some credit is certainly not denied!

8. Be sure you are catering to the right audience

Do not go writing a book review of Harry potter on a technical blog. Though it would be good, if you pointed out or included about the book in a post but try not to completely linger from your blog content, just to fill in posts!

9. Your Judgement

A final verdict on whether you think the reader should spend money on the book is necessary. If you do not think so, please write that aptly in your post.

10. Rate the Book

I do not do this in my posts but now I too have decided to include that. If you are keen on writing reviews, a wonderful idea is the rate the book on a scale of 5 or 10. The audience might get a better idea!



Whether these tips proved to be helpful or not, I would be grateful if you could share through your valuable comments. Any additions or suggestions are welcome.

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1. Digital Fortress- by Dan Brown
   
2. Angels And Demons- by Dan Brown
   
3. Fatal Cure- by Robin Cook
   
4. David Copperfield- by Charles Dickens
   
5. Murder On The Orient Express- by Agatha Christie
   

While browsing through the net to provide my readers with something interesting, one of the posts on Writers Digest caught my attention.

Writers Digest as it's description says- Write Better Get Published, is a wonderful writing site that will interest every amateur and budding writer. Along with giving valuable tips to young writers to help them enhance their writing, it also gives professionals an opportunity to help them get published.

One of the posts, Sub-Genre Descriptions is really very interesting, so I thought I'd share an extract of it with you too.

The Horror section particularly interested me.

according to the Wikipedia. Thus today, I share with you the definitions/descriptions of some commonly used terms in the genre of horror fiction.

Dark Mystery/Noir:inspired by hardboiled detective tales, set in an urban underworld of crime and moral ambiguity.

Gothic:a traditional form depicting the encroachment of the Middle Ages upon the 18th century Enlightenment, filled with images of decay and ruin, and episodes of imprisonment and persecution.

Hauntings:a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.

Magical Realism:a genre inspired by Latin-American authors, in which extraordinary forces or creatures pop into otherwise normal, real-life settings.

Science-Fiction Horror:SF with a darker, more violent twist, often revolving around alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong.

Weird Tales:inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events (Twilight Zone).

If you enjoyed this extract, pay a visit to the site, Writers Digest, to read more of these Sub-Genres and I'm certain you'll enjoy them!

Okay, so this comeback post stands for all Harry Potter fans like me. I'm an ardent lover of that magical wizard. And so I guess is every second person in the world!!

But do any one of you know much about the unique and miraculous author, J.K Rowling?

So here's a chance for you to know more about her through this post. Read on friends....

J. K. stands for Joanne Kathleen. J. K. Rowling chose to use her initials for the book because her publisher feared that if readers knew she was female, the boy wizard, Harry Potter, would not gain as much fame as it deserved. Of course, everyone later learned this was hardly the case. And I wrote a post about it too. You can read it here, Female Writers Won't Appeal To The Masses!

The interesting thing is that the extraordinary story of the magical wizard was created quite normally, like every second struggling writer.....that too, on napkins!! Yea! She wrote the story of Harry Potter while travelling on train being a single mother then.

J.K Rowling was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Beleive it or not, the richest author in the world was an ordinary woman at a time. She completed her first book-length manuscript on an old manual typewriter while she was unemployed and living on state benefits.

It is known that about twelve publishing houses initially rejected her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. A small publisher, Bloomsbury, in hope for some job, finally decided to give Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling a break, even giving the author a small advance.

But that small advance was quite a big turnaround for her, after the success of her books. In 2006, the author was named the second richest female entertainer in the world behind Oprah Winfrey. Her fortune is around over One Billion U.S. Dollars.

It is recorded, even in the Guinness Book of World Records that her sixth book of the Harry Potter series sold more copies in twenty-four hours than The Da Vinci Code sold in a year. Any guesses how many copies were sold, or how much money she earned every twenty-four hours?? My head turns just imagining so!

After that, as we all know, J. K. Rowling has assured the world that the seventh book in the Harry Potter series will also be the last. Many famous authors like Stephen King and John Irving have begged J. K. Rowling not to finish off the dear little boy wizard but unfortunately, for all of us alike, she has been sure footed about his destiny.

J. K. Rowling, a modest woman, even contributes a good deal of money and supports charitable causes. She has even suggested to publish an encyclopedia about the magical world of Harry Potter, and contribute all earnings from the publication to charity.

Was it not wonderful to know about this great personality? And if you know any additional information about her, please feel free to share it with me!

Vocabulary plays the principle role in helping you emote your expressions on paper. It certainly plays a pivotal role in building up a good and interesting piece on paper.

But it certainly is a tension….thesaurus and dictionaries do help you and can remain with you forever but will it not be more prudent of you to develop a good vocabulary and leave an indelible impression about your character to a person you talk??

So today I have some places on the World Wide Web which might help you improve you vocabulary. And please remember to drop back here and give me feedbacks too…..so here you go.

Write101.com is an interesting read which gives you links for the fastest ways to improve your word power and also tells you why it is necessary. There are some links at the end of this page which one might find really useful.

An excellent page which might help you is GRE Vocabulary Builder which might really play a key role in helping you qualify!

Another page which gives you information bout the tools you can use to improve is Improve Vocabulary. This is a page about how you can improve your vocabulary to talk smart! You surely cannot miss this one.

Also check out the post Power Words which certainly qualifies for an interesting read.

Links of some other helpful places of the site are here:

Vocabulary Software

Vocabulary Builder

Ultimate Vocabulary Review


Power Vocabulary Builder

Word Smart Review

Hope you all can benefit from browsing through this wonderful site.