#intraining2write

Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 9 Words

I found this blog post by Joe Bunting very useful.

Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words.

The difference between active and passive voice is difficult for writers to grasp because it is feeling in writing. People tend to speak in passive language because it is considered polite, so we hear it all the time and think it is correct. It is deadly in writing.

Avoiding these seven words forces…

And for my next trick, I will to create a story out-loud, before your eyes and under the noses of everyone to see!

In February, I wrote a response to The Daily Prompt about cloning myself. Click here to read the original post. At the end I wrote this:

Wait–a writer who is convinced her writer’s block is due to her life getting in the way of her work has two Chloes created and learns the true…

Home Is Where the Scrub Brush Is

Home is where the heart is, is a popular saying, but as a person who has moved a number of times, I believe the quickest way to feel at “home,” in a new place is to get down on your hands and knees and clean it.

A thorough cleaning. Get out the toothbrush, dish soap, scrubby bubbles, Goo Gone, Magic eraser, Pine-Sol, Pine Tar, Mr.Clean, Lemon Fresh Pledge; whatever you feel is the best cleaning…

Here is the next writing prompt. And it is a good one!

“Visit a neighborhood you’ve never been to. Pick a random house. What’s the story behind that house and the people who live in it?”

If you can do one the same day that is great, if not, no worries commit to doing it the next day. The object is to write everyday, not to finish it.

Putting try putting a time limit on your writing if you hare…

Composure Makes fiftywordstories.com Lead Valentine Day Story

Check it out. “Composure,” is the lead story on the site today! And I did not have my site yet when I sent it, so it is not in my bio! Lesson: Always include some type of social media contact in you bio.

CYNTHIA FRANKS: Composure | 50-Word Stories.

Start a Non-fiction Blog: The First Step in My Grand Plan

My Grand Plan began three years ago when I moved back to my hometown in Michigan and was born of necessity.

The job market in my little corner of Michigan is deplorable. The only full-time jobs are in fast food or at Walmart and the only work for an educated person is teaching, unless your education is in an area needed by the auto industry. Since my degree is in writing, substitute teaching is…

Serpentine mask uncovered at Teolihuacan under the Pyramid of the Sun outside Mexico City, Mexico.

  Where do ideas come from? It is a question all writers are asked and very few answer. I am going to answer it, sort of. I mean, I do not want to get kicked out of the union do I?

The reason most writers give a vague answer to this question is there is no one answer. Actually, it is the wrong…

As a runner trains for a marathon, so a writer needs to train. Last year, I created a blog on tumblr for the purpose of practicing writing and it was incredibly helpful. Crafting a 750 word storybased on a Writer’s Digest Your Story prompt was a blast. The result of that had a big pay-off for me because I discovered writing prompts can yield marketable stories in new genres that broaden my…