How to spell independently

Aspiring Writers' Guide

If you want to create strong texts or dream of writing a book - whether you are a novice blogger or an experienced author - remember: it is better to learn from word masters. We chose tips from ten great books on writing. You will learn how to deal with creative stagnation and uncertainty. Why read books and not copy the style of the greats. The tips are suitable for both future authors and those who simply love great texts. nine0003

1. Write in small portions (from Bird by Bird)

It often happens like this: you are plotting an autobiographical novel about your own childhood, or a play about the life of immigrants, or a treatise about ... well, let's say, the role of a woman in history. But tackling it right away is like climbing the slope of a glacier. Feet slip, fingers turn red, freeze, blood oozes from wounds. Then, from the depths of the subconscious, all your nervous breakdowns come to visit and sit around the table. Don't give them power. nine0003

“I breathe slowly and deeply — and finally I notice a five by eight centimeter photo frame, which I have specially placed on my desk to remember about small doses. The frame reminds me: I need to write a piece. Small, like a five by eight photograph. That's all for today. Right now, for example, I will write only one paragraph about the place and time of the action" Ann Lamott.

Say to yourself softly and affectionately: “My joy, we will just write about the river at sunset or about the first date. nine0015 That's it."

2. Make sure your topic is interesting to the reader (from the book "Author, Scissors, Paper")

"What can I tell you? Who am i? Why should someone waste time and even more money on me? These questions are asked by any author. First you need to realize: each person has something to tell.

First, determine what kind of topic you have: popular or specialized, for an amateur or a person in the topic. Who do you want to tell your story to? Who will benefit from it? Do you want to educate a wide range of readers or improve the lives of professionals in some field? It is impossible to please both at the same time. nine0003

Cool story is always there. Inside the fate, your personal history, there is a rhyme somewhere: a meeting, an event that you just need to remember - and in your imagination the process of creating a story starts.

And even personal experience is not always needed. There are simple criteria for selecting and analyzing whether your topic is suitable for public appearance:

- the text should report something very important,

- non-trivial to explain important processes,

- to be keenly useful to the reader,

- substantiate a fresh pattern that concerns the reader and give it a name,

- tell the story of a bright hero.

The reader is waiting for you to take him out of the routine into an unknown world for a long time. So create this world in such a way that you want to stay in it.

3. Make a "good novel" checklist (from the book "Literary Marathon")

If you have a desire to create your own novel, the first thing to do would be to understand what "a good novel" means to you. Answer this question in writing. nine0003

You can answer vaguely, or you can answer in great detail: first-person narration, superheroes, the Alps, massive invasions of evil elves.

Why is this list useful? The point is, if something is your reading preference, then you can probably excel as a writer as well. These language, color, and style choices resonate with you the most for some reason. These are things that you understand.

You can create such checklists for what you have to write most often - articles, reviews, reports. nine0003

4. Use hooks in text (from Living Text)

There are many ways to get started. Some work great in one book but don't work at all in another. You have to choose. Know how to choose.

For example, the False Prologue technique. Here the climactic scene is removed from the middle/end of the book and placed at the beginning.

So the reader immediately "tastes" the main and dramatic event of the whole story.

5. Use the board with cards (from Save the Cat!)

Screenwriter Blake Snyder's technique is a cork board and cards. Hang a large cork board on the wall, take cards with episodes, blocks, fragments of your future text (novel, article, report) and use pushpins to attach these cards to the board wherever you like. You can never part with cards at all. You put a pack of cards in your pocket, go to the nearest coffee shop, take out a pack and sit for hours shuffling your deck, laying out episodes, thinking about the sequence, looking for good and bad moments. nine0003

The whiteboard allows you to "see" the big picture before you even start writing.

This is a good way to test the different twists, ideas, dialogues, and rhythm of the story and see how well they fit together. This is a way to render text with good structure. It's great!

6.

You need to write clearly, but you should not blindly copy all the elements of oral speech. If we accurately and literally transfer ordinary everyday conversations to paper, we will see how many repetitions there are, inserts like mmm and uh-huh, how often the interlocutors interrupt each other. nine0003

“Readers need clarity.

Written words come together and make sense in the mind of the reader. Try to mimic the tone of a personal conversation. So the reader will "hear" your voice, as if you are addressing him, only without the noise that accompanies oral communication.

7.

Many would-be writers are bookworms. However, the thought of looking at great books under a microscope often disgusts them. But once you learn how to read critically, you will enjoy a much more subtle pleasure than ordinary readers. nine0003

Learn to go through the text at least twice. First just like that, and then with a pencil. Notice the rhythm, episodes and scenes, pay attention to words, phrases, stylistic devices.

Don't worry: you won't lose your love for books, quite the contrary. It is impossible to overestimate the benefits of analytical reading.

8. Show, don't tell (from the book "Literary Master Class")

Don't write "it was amazing", but make us say "amazing" after reading the passage. The fact is that all these words (terrifying, beautiful, disgusting, exquisite) tell the reader only one thing: “Do my job for me!” Clive Lewis advised. nine0003

Mark Twain taught the same thing: "Don't say, 'The old woman screamed.' Take her on stage and make her scream. "

And one more remark on the same subject, from Chekhov:

... you will get a moonlit night if you write that a glass from a broken bottle flashed like a bright star on the mill dam ...

It is necessary to show, not tell, selecting bright, specific details.

9. Find visual aids (from How to Write a Movie in 21 Days)

Have you ever tried to tell someone about your terrible or, conversely, amazing experience, but could not find the words? It all ended with something like “I can’t explain this to you” or “If you were in my place, you would understand.” The thing is, first you need to re-ignite this feeling inside, and then find the right words to describe it.

Find an object that is related to some of your experiences, evokes feelings, such as a lucky coin or a rock from the beach. nine0016

If this is a story about your grandfather, you can take his hat from an old chest. If you are writing a story about your grandmother, find the candlestick that belonged to her. If you came up with your own story when you heard a song in a restaurant, take a napkin from that restaurant and listen to that tune again.

Help your feelings to reappear, find helpers for this. Maybe some color will ignite an emotion in you.

10. Ready. Attention. Word sprint! (from the book "Start to write")

This technique teaches you to write without waiting for inspiration. Pick a topic, set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes, and write. If there are problems with the topic, open any book on page 17 and find line 6. This will be your theme.

As time passes, it is important not to hesitate. Let your thoughts run like hounds. Write with a sense of urgency.

Jump over the taboos, illuminate every stray, lonely thought in your head and let it break free. nine0016

Verbal sprint helps to turn off value judgment by entering the intuition stream to which high-speed writing is connected.

“Your newsletter is so cool, you don’t even have to buy a book” — say our subscribers. Do you also want to learn about new books about creativity, writing, design? Then leave your mail, we will send you useful inspiring reviews.

Another 327 books on creativity

How to write an application correctly - Lifehacker

July 25, 2017 Likbez Right

Sometimes a statement is a mere formality, but in some situations it is indispensable. Lifehacker will help you avoid making stupid mistakes and will provide samples of the most popular documents.

Why applications are needed

To get a job or quit it, get a passport and a tax certificate, get a divorce and take out a loan, you need an official document. Such a document most often becomes a statement - a simple way to confirm your intention in writing. nine0003

The form of some applications has been unified. But most can be written arbitrarily. True, there are certain requirements for design here too - this is how the tradition has developed. Just such requirements will be discussed.

How to apply

The application can be handwritten or printed on A4 paper. In some cases, the application must be written on a special form. For example, when applying for a passport or for registration of an individual entrepreneur.

Even if you are typing the application on a computer, be sure to sign it in your own hand after printing. Without it, the document is considered invalid. nine0003

General rules for processing

General requirements for written applications are set out in Federal Law No. 59 “On the Procedure for Considering Applications from Citizens of the Russian Federation”. Based on it, as well as on generally accepted business practice, the application consists of five details:

1. Information about the addressee and the applicant.
2. Name of the document.
3. Statement of the request or proposal.
4. Submission date.
5. Signature.

Information about the addressee and the applicant

In the upper right corner, you must indicate to whom this application is intended and, in fact, from whom it is.

Information about the addressee

Since the application is an official document, we write it not just to a person from the street, but to an official. Therefore, be sure to indicate:

1. Position of the addressee.
2. Organization name.
3. His name, patronymic and surname.

The name and position of the addressee must be written in the dative case (we ask ourselves the question “to whom?”). For example, director Petrov or rector Ivanova. nine0003

Information about the applicant

In the information about the applicant, it is often enough to simply indicate your last name and first name. When necessary, you can add an indication of the position or status. We indicate these data in the genitive case (we ask ourselves the question “from whom?”).

There is often debate about whether the preposition “from” should be used in the line about the applicant. That is, which is correct: “Ivanova Maria” or “from Ivanova Maria”? Both options are acceptable.

The traditional form is without a preposition. But try to read the whole sentence - a series of names and surnames sounds rather confusing. With a preposition, such a problem does not arise: it is immediately clear to whom and from whom. nine0003

Document name

It would seem that it is difficult to simply write a “statement”. However, there are some nuances here. The most common question is: should I write this word with a capital or small letter? There are three valid spellings here.

1. With a lowercase letter at the beginning of the line and with a period after the word

The traditional way of registration. In this case, information about the addressee and the applicant and the name of the document are considered one sentence.

2. Capitalized without a dot at the end

When you write the word "statement" in the center of a page, it becomes the title of the entire document. And the same rule applies to it as to the rest of the headings: the first letter is capitalized, and there is no dot at the end.

3. Capital letters without trailing dot

The same rule applies here as in the previous paragraph. In the center is the title of the document, which means that the dot at the end is not needed. This spelling is usually found if the text is typed on a computer, and not written by hand. nine0003

Statement of request, complaint or suggestion

This part begins with a red line. You are writing a statement with a specific purpose and must explain here exactly what you want from the addressee. Describe the reason for the appeal, your request, arguments.

The wording is not limited by any rules, but vernacular would look out of place here.

Try to stick to a formal business style. Express your thoughts simply and concisely.

To substantiate the validity of your request, you can attach additional documents to the application and refer to them in this part.

Application filing date

Usually, the filing date is indicated immediately after the statement of the essence of the application and aligned to the left.

You can also enter the date right after the document name.

Signature

The signature on the application is always put manually, even if you have completed everything else on a computer. It is right aligned. nine0003

Sample applications

Let's move from theory to practice and consider the features of filing the most common applications.

Application for employment

By law, it is not necessary to write an application when applying for a job. But sometimes you may be asked to write it for reporting or data collection in order to draw up a job order based on this document.

The addressee may be the head of the organization or the head of the personnel department. In the text of the application, indicate the proposed position and the date of employment. nine0003

Additionally, you can list the documents that you submit along with the application: TIN, work book, compulsory pension insurance certificate, diploma, military registration documents.

Application for regular paid leave

This is a request for annual paid leave. An application must be written if your organization does not have a vacation schedule or if your vacation is scheduled for the wrong time in the schedule.

Leave must be applied for two weeks before the expected departure date.

Application for maternity leave

This application is written by women before going on maternity leave. The text must indicate the duration of the vacation, according to the terms from the sick leave of the antenatal clinic. The latter, by the way, must be attached to the application.

Application for leave at own expense

In this case, the employee asks for a few days of leave without pay. Additional documents may be attached to the application confirming that the administrative leave is really necessary. nine0003

When you are going to take some time off, for example for family reasons, you also need to apply for unpaid leave. The second option is to write an application for a day off on account of a paid vacation.

Letter of resignation

The employee requests termination of the employment contract between him and the employer. In the reasons, you can indicate that this is a dismissal of your own free will, by agreement of the parties, or of your own free will without working off. Lifehacker has a separate article about the nuances of competently compiling a letter of resignation. nine0003

Application for academic leave

Academic leave is granted in exceptional cases: for health reasons, difficult family circumstances or other reasons. Therefore, in the application, you must not only ask for leave, but also explain why you need it.

Indicate the presence of additional documents. For example, certificates from the hospital.

Application for transfer to another faculty

When a student transfers from one faculty to another, as a rule, there is an academic debt due to discrepancies in the curricula. Therefore, in addition to a request for a transfer, your application must contain a promise to pass all the missing tests and exams. nine0003

Reporting to the police

If you witness or become a victim of a crime, you must report it to the police immediately. And it is better not to postpone the matter for a long time: over time, it becomes more difficult to find the culprit and prove his guilt.

You can file a police report orally or in writing.

This means that it is not necessary to write the application yourself. You just need to go to the nearest police station and tell the officer on duty about the incident. He will draw up a protocol, which you will only have to sign. nine0003

But if for some reason you can't go to the department, make an appeal yourself. In this case, the following points must be taken into account.

1. As the addressee of the application, indicate the name, patronymic and surname of the head of the police unit (if possible, write his position and rank).

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