What can you spell
Word Finder for Scrabble and Words with Friends
Word Finder is the perfect help when your vocabulary fails you. It's a unique word search tool, which finds all possible words made up of the letters you input. People use Word Finder for various reasons, but the primary one is to win games such as Scrabble and Words With Friends.
Word Finder
Are you someone who loves finding and discovering new words? Are you a board game enthusiast? If you are, then this Word Finder is a tool you can't afford not to have. Whether you are into playing Scrabble, Words with Friends or any other word game, Word Finder will prove to be useful. It will help you both with word discovery, and as a reference tool, you and your playmates can use as a way to settle disputes about the validity of any particular word.
Do you love boosting your vocabulary? Do word games help ignite your brain cells? Do you enjoy the thrill of trying to outwit an opponent with your encyclopedic mind? Then, our word generator is a tool that you simply can't live without!
Grammar
- Parts Of Speech
- Noun Examples
- Figurative Language
- Idioms For Kids
- Order Of Adjectives Rules Examples
Words by Length
- Two Letter Words
- Three Letter Words
- Four Letter Words
- Five Letter Words
- Six Letter Words
What is WordTips Word Finder?
If you haven’t had a chance to use Word Finder yet, then you’re in for a treat. This easy to work with online word generator will quickly and efficiently create a wide variety of words using the letters that you enter. Your excitement will grow as you watch it unscrambling the inputs you provide to make words out of letters as an expert. It will make Scrabble words and create interesting and unique combinations of letters.
When compared with the range of online word generators, word find and word solver devices, Word Finder is among the most intuitive and simple to use. As you learn more about how using Word Finder can assist you in improving your language skills, spelling words properly and come up with new words from a jumble of letters, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
Dictionaries
- Scrabble Dictionary
- Words With Friends Dictionary
Word Finders
- Word Finder
- Word Scramble
- Words With Friends Word Finder
- Word Chums Cheat
- Anagram Solver
How to Use a Word Finder
Once you’ve decided on the game you’re going to play and who is going to participate, set your board up and then, go online to make sure Word Finder is readily accessible.
Take care that everyone can use the tool privately without disclosing to other players what letters or tiles they have.
When each person has her turn, first give them the time that they need to ask themselves: What words can I make with these letters? Providing players with the opportunity to come up on their own with word examples containing the vowels and consonants they have at the ready will strengthen their ability to play the game and acquire points on their own. Then, allow some time for the player to try to make works with their letters using Word Finder.
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When You Need to Up Your Game With a Word Game Helper
A word game helper can be invaluable for playing any word game that you can think of. Whether you are playing Scrabble, Words with Friends, Crossword Puzzles or any other word game, Word tips' extensive search engine will help you make words from letters that you've randomly picked.
Games will get interminable when players are stuck and can’t imagine where they can place the bunch of vowels and consonants that they have available on the board.
Maybe you have a regular evening game with your partner where a Scrabble word generator has been indispensable. Also, you may be one of the many families that usually play word board games on holidays and at gatherings with friends. If the latter is the case, then there’s more than likely players of different skill levels and ages involved. This is where a word game helper can assist in leveling the playing field. What’s more, you may have someone in your midst who likes to cheat a bit. Whether it’s done to tease other players or innocently by someone inexperienced with the game, an invention like Word Finder can be used to find words with the letters on hand.
By searching the official Scrabble US, Scrabble UK and playable Words with Friends dictionaries, Word Finder will intuitively display your highest scoring option with the letters provided.
Don't look at it as a word cheat, more of a reference tool you and your playmates can use to settle disputes about the validity of any particular word.
Tools
- Word Counter
- Random Word Generator
- Random Username Generator
- Random Password Generator
Lists of Words
- Words With Letters
- Words Start With
- Words End In
- Words By Length
Beat the Brain Freeze
Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. We've all had those moments when a seemingly random mixture of tiles appears, making you ask, 'How do I make words with these letters'? The problem is now solved.
With WordTips, there's no excuse in having leftover tiles stopping you from reaching your full potential. We'll show you how to make the best of those lingering letters, be it by creating a surprising two-letter combo or an impressive fifteen-letter giant!
Be you a beginner or a pro, our intuitive database will always have the answer to your query.
So, save the brain drain, frustration and arguments with fellow players, let our word finder be your constant companion.
Two Useful Word Finding Examples
- Player A has pulled the following letters in a game of Scrabble ─ SNEOHYT.
They’re able to swiftly unscramble the letters to make the word TONE. However, Word Finder comes up with a much bigger choice, including STONEY, HONEY, ETHNOS, HONEST, HONEYS AND HONESTY. As you can see, by laying down letters for the word HONESTY, Player A has a bonus of 50 points for using all seven tiles at once in addition to the regular score for the play! - Player B is a child learning how to play Words with Friends and still growing their vocabulary.
They’ve arranged these tiles on their rack ─ DOBMUYL. Right away, they might see the word DO, especially since it makes up the first two letters. They may also see the word MY after some examination. DO will give them three points while they’ll get seven points for MY, so that’s a step up.
By encouraging them to then try Word Finder, they’ll be thrilled by the large range of words that they have to choose from ─ some made up of two letters to others using as many as six tiles. Not only will the young player improve their spelling skills but Word Finder introduces them to many words that they’re not familiar with so the educational potential is great!
Scrabble Words vs. Traditional Dictionaries
The two traditional English-language dictionaries are the Merriam-Webster dictionary used in the United States and the Oxford English Dictionary published in the United Kingdom. Dictionaries typically add new words each year. For instance, in 2018, the Merriam-Webster dictionary added 840 new words while the Oxford English dictionary expanded by 1,100 words. Having said that, word games rely on their own dictionaries that are tailored to the specific game and updated from time to time.
Therefore, it’s critical to know what dictionary to refer to when you’re playing different word games so that you don’t inadvertently cheat! If you’ve played both Scrabble and Words with Friends, you’ll be aware that they have quite different rules when it comes to what words are acceptable for players to use.
One example is that Words with Friends allows players to lay down tiles that spell many acronyms while Scrabble doesn’t permit such abbreviations. By using the Scrabble Word Finder or Words with Friends Cheat, you can be certain that you won’t go wrong!
The
Wordfinder ExampleLet’s take the word “wordfinder”. It is accepted in some online dictionaries and defined as “a list of vocabulary”, but not recognized by Meriam-Webster. It is acceptable when playing Words with Friends but not when playing Scrabble.
Words with Friends Cheat - Word Finder
Words with Friends Cheat is a tool that helps you find words and answers for the famous Zynga game. It generates all possible words from the inputted letters so that you can pick the highest-scoring ones. Easy, intuitive, and free to use when you need to make words from letters or boost your game.
What is Words with Friends - The Complete Guide
Words with Friends is a popular word game you can play with your friends.
It's similar to the word game Scrabble though there are some differences. You can participate in up to 30 games with friends from around the world in Words with Friends. The game is exciting, fun, and can provide enjoyment for hours or even days!
In this Words for Friends guide, you will get to know all about the game. We will also provide helpful tips, tricks and strategies so that you can become a great word solver. We will also give you a Words with Friends cheat to win every game and boast to your friends.
Word Finder - A Great Way to Boost Your Game
Do you want to beat your friends at Words with Friends?
Then welcome to our cheat site. Here you can get bright ideas if you get stuck with difficult tiles, vowels, or those tricky XYZ words. You can think of our resource as a cheat board or word finder for WWF. You can type in the tiles that are giving you problems and press the search button. If you want, use the Advanced Filter option to refine your search.
Even veteran Words with Friends players can get stuck from time to time. For this reason, Word tips have created a Words with Friends word generator to help in your time of need. Simply enter the tiles you wish to utilize and our intuitive generator will provide you with the best scoring results. You may look at us as Words With Friends cheat board or more favorably your little Words with Friends helper. Boost your vocabulary and increase your winning streak!
Our Words with Friends word finder provides legal and eligible words from the WWF dictionary. You can use the words confidently in the game to get past your mental block. The search results will also give you an idea about the length and points you can earn.
So keep the WWF cheat tool handy to use anytime you face difficulty making new words.
Grammar
- Figurative Language
- Metaphor Examples
- Simile Examples
- Alliteration Examples For Kids
- Personification Examples For Kids
Words by Length
- Three Letter Words
- Four Letter Words
- Five Letter Words
- Six Letter Words
- Seven Letter Words
How to Play Words with Friends?
Words with Friends is available as a mobile game from the app store.
You can get the game for free from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The game is playable on iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch and Android smartphones. You can also play Words with Friends on Kindle Fire and Nook Tablets.
Dictionaries
- Scrabble Dictionary
- Words With Friends Dictionary
Word Finders
- Word Finder
- Scrabble Word Finder
- Anagram Solver
- Unscramble Word Finder
- Jumble Solver
Words with Friends Rules and Guidelines
The main aim of the game is to create words on the board to win points. You can make words using the tiles that appear on your screen. The tiles can contain letters, vowels, consonants and other syllables. You have to unscramble the tiles and create new words just like in Scrabble.
Rules
- You can make words by using tiles vertically and horizontally
- The first word you make gets added to the plus tile
- You have to connect new words with previously played words
4 Steps to Follow
- You can change your tiles if you don't like them.
You need to use a turn to change the tiles. - Tap on Play once you have your word ready to notify your opponent.
- You will get a push notification alerting about your turn.
- You can chat while the game is on with your friends.
Scoring Points and Winning
You win the game by scoring more point than your opponent. Each tile comes with a value which is mentioned above the letter. The game also ends when one player uses "Pass" three times in a row. You can score more points by-
- Playing all 7 tiles in a move which gives you 35 points
- Make words on the colored squares for more point
Bonuses List - DL, TL, DW, TW
- Double Letter: Gives you double value of the tile
- Triple Letter: The value of the tile is tripled
- Double Word: The value of the word is doubled
- Triple Word: You get triple value for the word
You can combine multiple bonuses to earn more points.
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Play Words with Friends Online for More Fun
WWF is a multiplayer word game. You can download the game on your device play online with your friends. The game also matches you with random opponents from different parts of the world. Both Words with Friends and Words with Friends 2 are multiplayer games that you can play online. The aim of the game is to beat your friends by making words and accumulating as many points as you can.
Can You Play WWF Offline?
There are some ways to play WWF offline. One of the most prominent features of the word finder game is the Solo Play option. This feature lets you play WWF offline and you don't need any internet connectivity. The Solo Play feature pairs you against the artificial intelligence-powered bot of the game.
You will be able to play the game even while traveling in a train or standing in a queue in offline mode.
There is also another way you can play WWF offline. The makers of the game have released board versions of WWF. You can lay out the board and play Words with Friends offline with your friends.
Tools
- Random Word Generator
- Random Username Generator
- Random Password Generator
- Word Counter
Lists of Words
- Vowel Words
- Words Start With
- Words End In
- Words With Letters
- Words By Length
Words with Friends Help and Assistance
Did you get too difficult tiles? Can't seem to come up with any new words?
It's normal to face some difficulties while playing Words with Friends. The game is supposed to challenge your brain cells, so a bit of difficulty is desired.
But that doesn't mean you have to get stuck or lose the game. You can use our WWF cheat or Words with Friends dictionary to get ideas about new words you can make to score points.
Our Words with Friends generator provides you with a list of possible words based on the tiles you have chosen. You can pick the applicable words from the list and use in your game to become the champion.
So don't hesitate to use a bit of help- everybody does it, especially beginners. With time, you will become a pro and won't need help with WWF anymore!
10 Tips, Tricks, and Strategies to win WWF
Now we will reveal a list of some secret tips and tricks to score more points in Words with Friends.
Tip #1: Begin Small
It pays to begin the game with a 2 letter or 5 letter word. If you go with two letters, you can get rid of your least desirable tiles right at the beginning of the game. If you go for five letters, your opponent will create a lay along, following your word.
This way, you can score single for your word.
Tip #2: Make Use of Colored Squares
Play your tiles on the colored squares to make the most of the bonus points. You will be able to score more points by playing DL, DW, TL and TW squares. For example, if you make the word Park on four blank squares, you will get 11 points. But if your "P" is on a TL and "K" on a TW, then you can win 57 points.
Tip #3: Use Functional Words
If you want to score more points, memorize some 2 to 3 letter words. Also, put stress on words with vowels and the letters J, Q, X, and Z.
Tip #4: Combine Bonus Multipliers
You should look to combine several bonus multipliers to maximize your points. For instance, you can combine letter multiplier with word multiplier to get truckloads of points.
Tip #5: Aim for Parallel Plays
Try to make new words parallel to existing plays. You can form several two and three letter words in this way and win more points. Let's say you have the word "Human" in four blank squares.
Now you use the tiles to make the word "Apex" parallel to the word "human." This overlap will help you win 70 points.
Look for similar overlaps to multiply your points.
Tip #6: Create Hooks for More Points
A hook is adding to an already existing word to make a new work. It's easy to make and can give you rich dividends. You can add letters to the beginning or end of words to create new words. Another way to take advantage of bonus multipliers is to go for a perpendicular play by adding tiles to the bottom or top of words.
Tip #7: Swap When Required
You have the option of swapping your tiles if you don't like them or find them difficult. Don't be apprehensive about swapping your tiles as it is a good move. You can get new tiles and keep scoring turn after turn.
Tip #8: Try to Make Bingos
If you end up with blanks and low-value consonants, try to go for bingos. You may face difficulties to make words using these tiles, so going Bingo is a great choice.
Try using all of your tiles for scoring a full 35 points.
Tip #9: Concentrate on the Center
Try to play towards the center to prevent your opponent from getting big scoring opportunities. Don't let your opponent take advantage of the outer four rows and columns where TL and TW combinations are more of a possibility.
Tip #10: Adopt Some Defense
Your opponent will look to score big points just like you by using bonuses and multipliers. So your aim should be to limit opening to the colored squares where it would be advantageous for your opponent. You can make a lesser word in some other part of the board unless you are sure of scoring big.
Scrabble Vs. Words with Friends
Wondering which of the two is better?Words with Friends is similar to Scrabble, but not exactly the same. There are some differences when it comes to the arrangement of the bonus squares. The values of tiles are also different along with the distribution of points.
5 Notable Differences between Scrabble and WWF
- The number of TL and DW squares are different in each game
- WWF has more tiles than Scrabble
- Value of letters are higher in WWF
- A Bingo in scrabble gives you 50 points while the same earn you 35 points in WWF
- Words with Friends doesn't allow fake or misspelled words
You will also see some differences in how the games are played.
For instance, the person who starts the game creates the first word in WWF. In Scrabble, the player with blank tile or a letter closer to "A" starts the game.
Whether you are playing scrabble or WWF, you can take advantage of cheat dictionary. The Words with Friends word generator will help you with new ideas if you get stuck with some tiles. So use all the help you can and defeat your friends to become the winner.
Give a Try to Words with Friends 2
The makers of WWF 1 released Words with Friends 2 to offer more fun and excitement. You have more ways to challenge your grey matter and friends compared to WWF 1. You can play the game for free on your mobile or tablet just like the predecessor version. You can also enjoy new word games and play against interesting characters in the Solo Play mode. WWF 2 also comes with new design and themes which are updated every month.
So pick your poison and start playing to become the word master among all your friends.
Did you know.
.?
Created by brothers Paul and David Bettner, and owned by the Newtoy Inc. company, Words with Friends was launched after the initial success of Chess with Friends. Emerging during the first wave of app gaming, it now stands as one of the most popular online games in the world, played by millions of people every day. It remains a top-earning app, most fans agreeing its popularity is due to its more user-friendly design when compared to other word games - emphasizing multiplayer action right from the beginning.
Interestingly enough, the social nature of the game has actually resulted in many romantic relationships (and a few marriages), so if you are looking for love, you may want to strike up conversations with the random opponents you find intriguing!
“You may not write a single book, but you will still be a writer”
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What are the subtleties of writing skills and the tastes of the modern reader - in the material "Journalist Online"
Author:
Anastasia Odintsova
Daria Budantseva - graduate of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University, author of urban fantasy, literary coach and editor of the Eksmo publishing house ".
In an interview with our publication, she spoke about how she began her career in the literary field, analyzed the situation in the book market, and shared the secrets of the writer's success.
© Photo from the personal archive of the heroine
By first education you are a journalist. How did you decide to become a writer and literary editor?
I was a writer long before I entered the Faculty of Journalism. However, I once joked that half of the faculty of journalism are writers, and the other half are actors. I still think that this is not far from the truth.
I started writing books at the age of seven and haven't stopped since. For the first time, I delved into literary editing in high school, when I discovered the forum of the Eksmo publishing house. He's still alive, by the way. There, with a feverish gleam in my eyes, I read the correspondence of the old-timers of the forum dedicated to focalization [the choice of a character from whose point of view the story is presented in the work - approx.
ed. ], style, speech errors, etc. At the same time, I was preparing for the All-Russian stage of the Literature Olympiad for schoolchildren. And that meant thousands of analyzes of the text. So I learned to answer questions about why the curtains are blue and what the author wanted to say by this, I learned to see the connection between the form of the text and its content.
I don't agree with the phrase "become a writer" in general. It seems to me that in relation to this profession, another verb is needed. I can’t imagine a person who suddenly decided to become a writer, although he hadn’t thought about it before. In my opinion, a writer is a character trait. You may not write a single book, but you will still be a writer. And vice versa, by the way. So I have always been a writer: before journalism, during and after.
But I became an editor quite by accident. Firstly, thanks to the pairs of literary editing at the Faculty of Journalism. Secondly, thanks to my first editorial experiences: I edited my first books myself (which I would not recommend to others, as a writer can rarely be a good editor for himself).
Thirdly, thanks to a random job opening at a literary agency that I responded to. Thus began my editorial era.
How does journalism education help you in your current job?
Fact-checking, working with sources, working with meanings, the inverted pyramid method , - I can endlessly list the knowledge gained at the journalism faculty and helping me in my current work. And to sing odes to the Faculty of Journalism takes even longer.
In addition to writing books and working in a publishing house, you also actively advise authors: you edit their works and help bring texts to perfection. What mistakes do you most often encounter in your work as aspiring writers?
The first most common mistake novice writers make is not wanting to build a personal brand. The author needs an audience - unless, of course, he is going to write to the table. And the audience does not come by itself, unfortunately. A personal brand (and even better, a blog) is needed by everyone: both self-publishers and authors who publish in a publishing house.
You need to start positioning yourself as an author, and the sooner the better.
The second common mistake is foreign setting [environment in which the book takes place - approx. ed. ], foreign names and insufficient understanding of foreign realities. Often, authors write books to get away from the usual everyday reality and hide in history. Russian reality seems boring and boring, so the writers switch to Jane from New York and Tom from Berlin. Here are just a few Wikipedia articles and a couple of tourist trips to reliably describe another reality. And it is very difficult to get the usual reality out of your head. So it turns out that Jane from New York is very similar to Masha from Syzran, and Tom from Berlin is very similar to Igor from Ryazan.
Tell us about funny experiences in your work with writers.
The funniest situations happened to me at the literary agency. We had a service to promote the author to publishing houses, and before that we invited writers for personal consultations in order to evaluate their work and chances for publication.
Once the author stubbornly refused to pay for the service in advance. Said he was "a second Hemingway". It will be published, won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and then shared with us. Another author also refused to buy promotion services, arguing that for money every fool can, and you try to promote for free.
What secrets of writing skills do you share with your students and use yourself in the creative process?
There are not very many secrets as such. What I learned from books or from the experience of other writers can hardly be called secrets. Let them be writer's life hacks.
First, the chain method by Stuart Horwitz. It seems to me that architect writers [writers who think through every detail of a future book in advance - ed. ] initially work on the manuscript using the chain method, but for writers-gardeners [writers who start working on a book only with a general idea - approx.ed. ] this must be taken into account.
In short, the chains in the story are a set of key links for some point. Chains are plot, character, ideological, world-descriptive, etc. It is important to ensure that the links of such chains are evenly distributed throughout the text. You can read more about this method in Horwitz's book The Book Architecture Method.
Secondly, I advise you to separate editing and writing. The fact is that from the point of view of psychology, writing a text and editing it are two completely opposite moments in their essence. The writer is creative. He thinks spontaneously, he is a creator, he is an artist. The writer is in a state of flux. He is an immediate child who joyfully and sincerely transfers his thoughts to paper. The editor is introduced into the mechanism of the text and examines the complex system from the inside. He chooses what needs to be rebuilt and what to destroy. He is a stern and serious adult who keeps a playful child in check, preventing him from doing stupid things. The state of a writer is exactly the opposite of that of an editor.
They are both important for creating a good story and a strong text, but if these hypostases start to overlap, they simply annihilate each other. Destroy each other, and then the text. The meticulous state of the adult editor will prevent the writer from thinking brightly, unconventionally and directly, and the playful state of the child writer will prevent the editor from carefully editing the text.
What most attracts modern readers in books?
I can identify several trends in modern literature. The first is inter-genre, that is, the combination of genres. Not just a detective, but a psychological thriller-detective, not just a love story, but a romfant-horror [romfant - romantic fiction - approx.ed. ]. The second is acute social topics. After all, literature is a reflection of our world, a sociocultural cut. Thirdly, the characters must be alive, just like you and me. It is necessary to create characters with whom the reader can identify himself and who will become kindred spirits for him.
Fourth - the trend towards autofiction [a genre at the intersection of autobiography and fiction - ed. ]. People are interested in people. I will never tire of repeating this. Finally, working through childhood traumas, human rights, personal boundaries, psychotherapy, finding oneself in the world. What is popular in literature is what is popular in blogs and conversations among friends in the kitchen
What are the overall components of a potential bestseller?
This can be summed up in a short formula: bright concept + quality text + competent promotion.
Modern literature causes a lot of controversy about its quality. What do you think about this?
I think that literature has always caused and will cause a lot of controversy. Each new generation complains about the fact that they used to write better. Here, they say, Byron was a real poet. And Horace is even better. And now who? Mayakovsky and Severyanin? Fi.
Literature, like language, is a living organism. She develops, also looking for herself. And what is the quality of literature? How is it measured? The number of smart thoughts per page of text? The number of vivid metaphors per chapter? Or the number of happy people who have read this book and rejoice?
Yes, of course, some books may seem bad to us. There is nothing wrong with this. It's great that there are so many books in the world and we can choose others that seem good to us.
Why is there a lot of second-rate literature now and how, in your opinion, can the situation be changed for the better?
So, let's understand the terms first. What is second rate literature? The so-called seterature, which is written by a commercial author for the sake of earning money and repeats the same hackneyed plots with different scenery? Or an unsuccessful attempt by the author to write a great novel? Or literature with a dynamic plot, but weak style? Different problems have different solutions.
And I do not consider a setetura a problem at all. If I have to decide whether a book is good or bad, I ask myself: did the reader feel better after reading it? He smiled, life became a little easier and more bearable? So the book is good. At least for one person who liked it.
As an editor, I rate only the style of a book as good or bad. There are badly written books, it's true. How to solve this problem? Nothing new and no magic pill: just read more. When I feel like I'm starting to lose my taste for language, I open Tana French, Donna Tartt, Terry Pratchett and read a few random pages. I absorb someone else's language taste and awaken my own.
There is one more problem that I would like to point out - the authors' fear of going beyond the genre. And this applies to both the authors of the genre "seterature" and the authors of "big literature". I say in quotation marks because I hate this division and would like the world to get rid of it. Genre writers are afraid to jump out of genre panties.
Suddenly laugh, do not understand, do not publish? "Serious prose writers" are afraid to make the main character a magician, a pirate or a werewolf. What if they shamefully brand the word fantasy and send it to the shelf of Stephenie Meyer [author of the Twilight series of novels about the love of an ordinary girl and a vampire - ed. ]? But after all, genres are a beautiful wrapper with a familiar ornament in which you can hide whatever you want. This is a user friendly interface to show the reader what you want. It's... Damn it, it's anything! Genre is just a slight aroma, shade, echo of the content. But by no means is it a law or a dogma.
In general, I urge writers to push the boundaries and break labels.
What advice would you give to newcomers to the art of writing?
Just get started. At least from something. Experience is gained over the years and thousands of damaged pages. The sooner you start writing bad first texts, the sooner you will move on to good ones.
Don't try to skip this stage of the early texts: it is inevitable. This is the ladder that will take you to the next level.
Also read books on writing. It is absolutely not necessary to reach everything yourself. Most likely, many books have already been written about the insight that you suddenly catch in the fifth year of your creative life.
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Rector of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichy opened the All-Russian Festival SCIENCE 0+
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"Side by side with the language of the Middle Kingdom"
About why it is worth learning Chinese
how to correctly understand the most famous advice to writers - Knife
There's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out.
Charles Bukowski
In all my life I have never heard more famous and, I think, misinterpreted writing advice. I am not only a journalist and writer, but also an editor who works with both established and emerging authors - and therefore I want to clarify the issue that we so often discuss with those who for the first time encounter problems of motivation, inspiration, or even destiny.
Although The Knife is known for its liberal approach to form, despite the high demands on style and depth of knowledge, let's not lie: we are not creating poems that claim to be immortal, and literary works worthy of anthologies. We write journalistic texts.
However, speaking of texts, I will quote poets and writers, artists and musicians. Because in every journalist and copywriter, in addition to the inner child, there is an inner poet (or artist, or even the Creator).
And as in Bukowski's epigraph poem, every journalist and copywriter keeps their inner poet locked up:
Keep your head down,
You want to spoil everything for me?
Do you want to spoil all my work?
Want to ruin my book sales in Europe?
But sometimes you need to release this poetic alter ego, stretch its thin legs and talk about what it is indecent for a journalist and copywriter to talk about.
About the meaning of creativity.
Meaning 1: can you not write and not die?
Of course I can not write. I can't draw. And don't dance. Do not go to the theater, do not wash dishes, do not iron shirts, do not cut your hair and do not go to the dentist. And don't even read. I just can’t not eat, not sleep and not breathe, because I will die. And then not immediately.
Obviously, we don't have a biological need to write texts. Human culture in general is built on obstacles in the realization of biological needs directly.
We want to eat - and we invent complex gastronomy and rules for serving and eating dishes that need to be studied separately. We want sex, and the culture gives rise not only to bizarre rituals of courtship and flirting, but also to a bunch of prohibitions regarding direct intercourse.
Perhaps writing is a way to mediate direct desires. That is, most likely, if we want to write a text, behind this desire there is another, simpler need that we want to satisfy.
Dominate society? To impress an intellectually fit male? Finally earn the approval of your parents? It could be anything.
But the truth is that we can easily not do many things that we think are necessary or even sincerely want to do: be kind, play sports, eat broccoli, call our parents, donate to charity, study the lives of the saints, or write a text about the meaning writing. And this proves only one thing: freedom of choice exists.
We obviously have freedom of choice, since we can choose to do not only what we want to do, but also what we do not want to do. Yes, and enjoy overcoming yourself.
Therefore, I am never surprised if I not only can not write but also do not want to write what I really want to write. Man is complex!
Meaning 2: can you not write - or is an unknown force forcing you?
You can mean by “you don’t have to write, don’t write” something like “I love you, nothing”: that is, I really want to write, as if something had come over me! According to popular legends, writers of genius (and outstanding people in general) are subject to fits of a mythical state of inspiration.
I believe that there is only one reliably existing version of "creative obsession" - mania (well, or hypomania). The role of manic states in creative work of genius is described in many works, including this article by the well-known bipolar affective disorder researcher Kay Jamison.
But it is strange to focus on the symptoms of mental illness as a creative ideal. Firstly, the productivity of mania often ends in madness and the crumbling of the patient's consciousness into pieces. Secondly, even a moderate manic rise is often followed by retribution with other severe and not at all cheerful symptoms - from complete apathy to acute psychosis.
Third, it suggests that every person faces a life choice between creativity and mental health, and that choosing health automatically deprives us of the opportunity to be artists or writers. It seems to me that this is not so.
I tend to think that the ability to be creative is a natural feature of human thinking.
Creativity manifests itself differently in different people depending on their mental, cultural or social characteristics, but this is a healthy ability.
And inspiration is a misleading concept.
On the one hand, it is hard to deny that breakthroughs in work often happen in a state of some ecstasy, a feeling of going beyond one's own limits, or, conversely, the illusion that the work is born by itself, and the author passively observes the process.
On the other hand, most people consider inspiration to be a state that comes by itself, you need to look for it or wait, and only after its appearance you start working.
It turns out that creativity is impossible without inspiration, but is it impossible to control this state? This is not far from the state of learned helplessness.
This approach leads to confusion and self-doubt (especially among young people). The search for the desired state often ends with banal addictions to psychoactive substances and chronic diseases associated with them.
At the same time, many recognized creators emphasized that inspiration is overrated. Tchaikovsky said in the 19th century that inspiration does not come to the lazy. Paraphrased by Pablo Picasso, the adage about appetite "inspiration comes while working" became a catch phrase in the 20th century. And even musician Nick Cave in a 2009 interviewEsquire said:
“If you want to write something, you just have to sit down at your desk and do it. No fucking fairy godmother will bring you anything from the sky while you are walking in search of inspiration in the autumn park. I don't believe in inspiration. I believe that creativity is work."
So it seems to me that an unknown force does not force us to write lyrics. But in an unknown way, according to the dialectical law of Hegel, the amount of effort and time spent on the creative process often suddenly results in a creative breakthrough. Neurobiology so far only suggests how such a process works, but the books describe attempts to understand the laws of brain creativity.
So you can't figure out if you can stop writing if you don't sit down to write and achieve a state of "flow."
Meaning 3: Can you stop writing for now and think some more?
There is another way to read the advice: can you wait and think? Maybe it's about persistence of thought?
Indeed, with experience, the ability to work "in depth" opens up. This usually happens when the author stops jumping on top: first he finds his topic, then goes through the stage of "exciting discoveries" (in fact, long known to others) and finally plunges into that part of his expert area that lies on the border with the unknown.
Every thought and every idea for a text goes the same way. At first, the thought up concept seems amazingly interesting. But days of reading and research give the impression that the original idea is dead at birth and deeply secondary. Further reflection and study of the material finally vaguely outlines some new perspective.
The author rushes on the trail - but only discovers that everything that comes to mind is already obvious to him. And only when he overcomes the obvious and deepens into his own doubts, does his thought acquire a unique facet.
But this process does take time, and can often be interrupted by a premature strained letter with the desire to get the result as soon as possible.
But the advice to "wait a little longer" is not for everyone. It will not be useful for perfectionists: such people always think that they lack competence, and their text lacks depth and originality of thought. But this is not an objective fact, but a psychological problem. I always advise such authors to follow Winnicott's "good enough" principle of psychology. Winnicott coined the term "good enough mother" to explain that a child doesn't need perfect parents—just being good and not worrying too much about your mistakes is enough.
For lovers of more mystical terms, there is Castaneda's "impeccability" , which he (or rather, the hero's spiritual teacher, the Indian don Juan) understood as an attitude to do the best that you can - with full awareness that your strengths, opportunities and time of life very limited.
In this sense, "the best" is not "the best in general" (it is unattainable), but "the best possible under the circumstances."
There are no perfect essays, it is necessary at some point to stop and hand over a “good enough article” to your editor, who will be the guarantor of the quality of the published text and will not miss it if it is bad. I even encourage my perfectionist writers to show me drafts to take the pressure off of striving for perfection.
Therefore, the advice not to write too fast is not for everyone. And how to understand how much time is “enough” for the maturation of a thought? Perhaps thought never fully matures, which is why culture develops.
Meaning 4: can you not write and nothing will change?
A fundamentally different way to understand a mysterious phrase is to assume in it the meaning "do you have something to say?". That is, will something change from the fact that you write your own text - or would we manage without it?
Seems like a reasonable idea.
Why do something redundant? If there is no more new information or original opinion from my text in the world, this is clearly an unnecessary action. Better to do something else. Most often, this argument is presented with an emphasis on the importance of novelty and originality. Young people especially worry a lot about whether someone before them expressed such an idea, whether they worked in such a form, whether they will be considered fresh and original? However, it seems to me that these doubts are due to a lack of knowledge.
People who have studied the history of philosophy, literature or fine arts well know that there is nothing new and original per se in culture. Even the greatest examples of art are adaptations of works by other eras or authors: for example, the famous creators of the Renaissance reinterpreted the works of Antiquity, Woody Allen borrowed plot structures from Ingmar Bergman, Gogol is replete with references to Hoffmann, and the history of philosophy is the history of comments on the comments of ancient philosophers .
The originality of the people who entered history are just subtle nuances of understanding universal problems.
Culture is a collective attempt to answer universal questions that have not become obsolete for thousands of years: what is death, is there love, what is the meaning of life, how to survive terrible events, who should make decisions, what is fair, etc. Each new an attempt may turn out to be brighter than others - but on the scale of human history, even the brightest personality turns out to be just a thread in the fabric of a huge colorful carpet.
However, it is not necessary to invent the internal combustion engine in order to feel first among equals or be considered a great original in your small social group.
Perhaps we should stop masking the desire for recognition in a particular community with the desire to make a great breakthrough for all of humanity? Unfortunately, the second often comes without the first and often posthumously, which cannot console anyone.
One of the most famous poets of the 20th century, Rainer Maria Rilke, in his “Letter to a Young Poet” advises:
“Seek escape from common themes in what your daily life gives you; write about your sorrows and desires, about fleeting thoughts and faith in some kind of beauty - write about this with penetrating, quiet, humble sincerity and, in order to express yourself, refer to the things that surround you, to the images of your dreams and objects memories. If your everyday life seems poor to you, then spare them; blame yourself, tell yourself that there is too little of a poet in you for you to be able to evoke all the riches of these everyday life: after all, for a creative spirit there is no poverty and there is no such place that would be indifferent and poor.
Every topic and every concern of a person in the world is not new - but each specific being is unique, and each specific author can reveal to the reader his hope, anxiety, pain and hopeful find.
Even if it is not about poetry, but about a journalistic article.
Also, there are always people who know less than you, those who need to hear what you are about to say right now. In the era of social networks, we are used to counting people in tens of thousands. But in fact, even if 500 people read your text, it will be a whole hall - and rather big. And if you manage to change the life of at least one person with your text, who will remember you with gratitude, is that not a reward?
It seems to me that if you don't try, you won't know what can change thanks to your work.
Meaning 5: can you not write or must you write?
In the Russian-speaking space, the letter that Leo Tolstoy sent in 1902 to Leonid Andreev in response to his questions about his work is known:
“I think that you should write, firstly, only when the thought you want to express , is so intrusive that until you express it as best you can, it will not lag behind you.
All other motives for writing, vain and, most importantly, disgusting monetary, although attached to the main need of expression, can only interfere with the sincerity and dignity of writing. This is something to be very afraid of."
It turns out that Tolstoy did not mean at all that if writing is given with effort and requires labor, and does not happen “of its own accord”, then there is no need to write. He did not mean the need to be original either (on the contrary, in the same letter he criticizes the desire to be special and surprise readers with something). He also did not advise to bear the form for a long time, emphasizing that it is necessary to express the important "as best you can."
Tolstoy had in mind the nature of the writer's motivation. He was very fond of moralizing and divided motivation into correct, moral (sincere concern about some issue) and wrong, immoral (desire for fame or money).
Tolstoy proposes to find an inner need to express some thought that seems important, and it is this need (the need of the writer's conscience, if you will) to make the main engine of creativity.
But here, too, his advice is not universal, and before taking it on faith, it is worth carefully considering and analyzing it.
Lev Nikolaevich was an aristocrat, he did not need anything. He never imagined that there would ever be a precarious class of writers, journalists, or even freelance copywriters whose lives would depend entirely on the number of characters a month. We are not counts and cannot afford not to think about earning at all if writing is our bread and butter. So I share with you the fruits of my professional wisdom, cowardly waiting for the fee next month.
The same goes for fame. In Tolstoy's world, there were hundreds and thousands of times fewer writers than now, when every Internet user produces content, one in five puts words into sentences well, and one in ten knows how to think interestingly. Fame is the only way to compete in the content world. Making a name is one of the few paths to material well-being for someone who decides to write.
But even here everything is ambiguous. Yes, it is productive to motivate yourself with vanity, and it is pleasant to enjoy the fruits of glory. In the end, victories in the social hierarchy bring us a stable supply of serotonin, and with it a feeling of pleasure and self-confidence.
But there is one thing: the tastes of the crowd are changeable.
Who, if not living in the era of social networks, understand this! Posts in the feeds float in an endless stream from top to bottom, into the past, and yesterday's young stars not today tomorrow are just outdated hype-eaters. It turns out that if you focus on social incentives, you will have to live at random and be prepared for both random victories and the same random failures.
So, despite the reservations, there is something in Tolstoy's advice to focus on the "writer's conscience" that should not be discarded.
Our feelings about life—satisfaction with it, a sense of purpose, happiness, or having a purpose—are highly dependent on whether we see meaning in this life.
The meaning of life is a complex existential construct that essentially protects us from the fear of death and makes life worth living. Working with the meaning of life often begins with the question "why?" - and it is precisely to him that Tolstoy calls for an answer. Why am I writing this text? Does it have a meaning that will add value to my life?
Psychotherapeutic experience shows that fame and money do not bring such a reliable sense of meaning in life as the ability to establish close meaningful connections with other people. The sincerity of the writer gives hope for the same sincere reaction of the reader, who will give the author a sign, albeit a virtual one: "You are important to me, thank you."
Probably only a thought that is of great importance to the writer will be just as valuable to the reader, while texts written for fame and money will sound false in the reader's soul and perish in the abyss of pretentious false writing. This is happening to many writers right before our eyes!
In the era of digital content, the value of text has changed: most of the texts, both digital and printed, are not written at all from the prompting of the writer's conscience and not to enrich the life of the author or reader.
Perhaps this seemingly irrelevant advice from an old writer who scribbled ninety volumes is now more relevant than ever.
P.S. Why is the literal meaning of the phrase correct? I didn't get up early. Went to walk. Back pain, and great weakness. But my heart is firm, clear. Thanks to. Now I read K[rug] of Reading, letters, answered on envelopes, and I don’t feel like writing anything, and thank God. On the occasion of the phonograph, I reread my writings: On the Meaning of Life, On Life, etc., and it is so clear that one should not only spoil what has been done.
If you already write, then only when you cannot help but write .”
Diary entry of Leo Tolstoy for October 19, 1909
Indeed, the writer here has in mind the most literal meaning: I don't feel like writing - and that's fine. But, as always, there is one thing.
In 1909, Leo Tolstoy was 81 years old (he has only a little more than a year to live).
