Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/07/2007Ok, well that's your problem. It don't bother me one bit.
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Robert the Bard
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/07/2007Ok, but you won't like it in here. Especially today. It's kinda loopy.
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/07/2007Nope, your idea was fine. It just wasn't quite the direction I wanted to take the title. Your idea was quite acurate. A free write can be a trap, or it can be a tool. I just wanted to give the reader a positive note to draw them in. That way hopefully, they focus on the positive about Free Writes, but while recognizing that there are pitfalls too.
Your brain works just fine.
What do you call a writer that has to edit their replies. I really need a brain, want to share.
Post edited by: gfralin, at: 07/07/2007
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Robert the Bard
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/06/2007I was more referring to how much my idea sucked, but I was having a medicine head day. I couldn't think of an example any better than that.
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/05/2007NO, I'm not going to shoot. Actually I had already thought of that and had discussed it. The title was changed to "Free Write: Planting Mental Seeds of Creativity". This seemed to have the flavor of the article, but with a more positive hook to it. It also has some action, is pertinent to the article, and takes off on the similie about landscaping in the article. Free Writes are great, they just aren't the end.
Thanks, Glenda
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Robert the Bard
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/05/2007Well, for the layman like me, the descriptive title, something that explains what a Free Write is might be better. It's something that would draw attention to the article. After all, that's the primary purpose of a title, isn't it? Give a jist of what the article is about, and draw some attention to it. Perhaps a bit drastic, but "The Freewrite, the Ultimate Trap" or some such? Don't shoot me...
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/03/2007I thought this would give this title action and refer to the landscaping similie.
Free Write: Like Planting a Seed Mix in a Flower Bed
A Free Write is a form of free association. When drafting a Free Write, some writers simply avoid thinking about a topic at all. They like to start writing anything that comes to mind during the process without any particular direction. Then, the author will go back, read it, and find something to focus on.
Another style of Free Writing is not quite so free. Some authors of text books about written communication call this technique a Focused Free Write. In a Focused Free Write, one may write in much the same manner, with the exception being they will totally focus on one topic. For instance, if one wanted to write something about mother for Mother’s Day, one may use the topic of mother or motherhood and write anything that comes to mind. Then go back, read it, and decide what part one wants to use.
Both forms of Free Writing are valuable exercises writers use to break out of writers’ block. They may also be used to create new ideas.
Choosing a topic and making a Free Write is one of my favorite tools. I believe this process is important to the way I write. One thing we must be careful of is to avoid seeing our Free Write as a finished product. Some Free Writes seem to be a complete story if we are focused enough to move smoothly from one part to another. It is easier for us to see on paper exactly where we are going. However, sometimes when I ask someone else to critique my work, I have been stung when their reply revealed they did not know what I was writing about.
We feel it is complete because it is clear to us. We do not realize we are asking others to read our minds. When we review the Free Write and use it as a starter, we make much better progress.
It is a bit like designing a landscape. If one designs a landscape and never questions the design, the full potential of the space may be lost. If one asks other experts to critique a written piece, the concept works in a similar manner to asking an expert landscape designer to give an opinion about one’s design.
Critiques are a resource not a rejection. Writers are not as competitive as some may think. We like to help each other grow. If one is blind to other possibilities the design will be lacking flow and symmetry when finished. Places to find good critiques from other writers are local writers’ groups. The Internet has forums that exist specifically for writers to share and learn. Use the online forums with caution. A key point of any Internet forum is to make sure to retain complete control of the work.
Revisions and edits help us to acquire immediate answers to the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how of the setting and main character. This wonderful advice came to me from a journalist friend who critiqued a short story I was writing at the time. He felt the first paragraph of a story should answer most or all of these questions. Free Writes are a wonderful tool. I recommend them. They can generate more than one work. But, they cannot be a finished product. Evaluate your work as if you were a critic and allow other critics to do the same. Then, the product may be a marketable piece of writing.
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/02/2007Okay is a bit blah. But, I am trying. LOL
I'll have to give it a bit of a hook. Which means getting my brain out of the drain and filling it back up with fuel. Hows that for a metaphor.
Any more thoughts about he essay itself, she asks with a cring.
Post edited by: gfralin, at: 07/02/2007
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WordTickler
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/02/2007gfralin wrote: I'm thinking I need to give this a more positive sounding title. What do you think of renaming the article "Free Write: A Place to Start"?
That's okay.
But are you okay with "okay"?
Let me see some more titles that invoke curiosity. Something like:
Free Write: Pottery Clay to The Mind's Eye
Lame, I know. Just trying to get the idea across. When we get down to titling, the author is really the true authority. Titles are the author's opportunity to entice, enrage, enamor as well as outright teach a prospective reader.
A "Place to Start" certainly identifies the thrust. It's an essay. In advance, readers know that they are going to be learning something--not enjoying a story. See if you can invoke curiosity, is my two cents.
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/02/2007I'm thinking I need to give this a more positive sounding title. What do you think of renaming the article "Free Write: A Place to Start"?
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique (edit # ?) - 07/02/2007Don Not Fall in Love with Your Free Write
A Free Write is a form of free association. When drafting a Free Write, some writers simply avoid thinking about a topic at all. They like to start writing anything that comes to mind during the process without any particular direction. Then, the author will go back, read it, and find something to focus on.
Another style of Free Writing is not quite so free. Some authors of text books about written communication call this technique a Focused Free Write. In a Focused Free Write, one may write in much the same manner, with the exception being they will totally focus on one topic. For instance, if one wanted to write something about mother for Mother’s Day, one may use the topic of mother or motherhood and write anything that comes to mind. Then go back, read it, and decide what part one wants to use.
Both forms of Free Writing are valuable exercises writers use to break out of writers’ block. They may also be used to create new ideas.
Choosing a topic and making a Free Write is one of my favorite tools. I believe this process is important to the way I write. One thing we must be careful of is to avoid seeing our Free Write as a finished product. Some Free Writes seem to be a complete story if we are focused enough to move smoothly from one part to another. It is easier for us to see on paper exactly where we are going. However, sometimes when I ask someone else to critique my work, I have been stung when their reply revealed they did not know what I was writing about.
We feel it is complete because it is clear to us. We do not realize we are asking others to read our minds. When we review the Free Write and use it as a starter, we make much better progress.
It is a bit like designing a landscape. If one designs a landscape and never questions the design, the full potential of the space may be lost. If one asks other experts to critique a written piece, the concept works in a similar manner to asking an expert landscape designer to give an opinion about one’s design.
Critiques are a resource not a rejection. Writers are not as competitive as some may think. We like to help each other grow. If one is blind to other possibilities the design will be lacking flow and symmetry when finished. Places to find good critiques from other writers are local writers’ groups. The Internet has forums that exist specifically for writers to share and learn. Use the online forums with caution. A key point of any Internet forum is to make sure to retain complete control of the work.
Revisions and edits help us to acquire immediate answers to the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how of the setting and main character. This wonderful advice came to me from a journalist friend who critiqued a short story I was writing at the time. He felt the first paragraph of a story should answer most or all of these questions. Free Writes are a wonderful tool. I recommend them. They can generate more than one work. But, they cannot be a finished product. Evaluate your work as if you were a critic and allow other critics to do the same. Then, the product may be a marketable piece of writing.
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gfralin
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Re:Article for critique - 06/29/2007Oh, stabbed in the heart. I'm bleeding words, commas, drama. Oh, the pain the pain.
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It don't bother me one bit.
