Lesson 1: Deciding How You Write Making decisions for clear, concise creative content

Objectives To enumerate pre-writing steps which make the process of creative writing easier To list the dos and don’ts of writing effective, understandable content

Objectives To enumerate decisions to be made before, during and after writing To illustrate how to know one’s limits and boundaries when writing

Phase 1: Pre-Writing In this phase: gathering material, listing down ideas, conceptualizing

Live Your Life Writing is possible, no matter what your day job is. There is great material to write about, everywhere.

Live Your Life “Air and light and time and space” by Charles Bukowski no baby, if you're going to create you're going to create whether you work 16 hours a day in a coal mine or you're going to create in a small room with 3 children while you're on welfare, you're going to create with part of your mind and your body blown away,

Pay Attention Look around—observe people, places, smells, noises. Try new things. Pay attention to details in your environment.

Bring A Notebook Don’t let good ideas pass you by. Always be prepared to take notes. Practice writing in your spare time.

Read In Transit We learn to write by learning to read. Read in your spare time or in transit— on the bus, on the train, while waiting in line. Reading in transit is not bad for your health.

Phase 2: Writing In this phase: organizing your ideas and putting them down on paper

Every Minute Counts Set aside a few minutes a day for your writing—no matter how short the interval, it matters. Be faithful to the schedule you set. Write everyday, if you can.

Come Up With A Good Concept Decide on the genre (poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction?). Make an outline to avoid confusion.

Know Your Audience Who will your work cater to? Tailor the language accordingly. Ex: Children’s books use simple language because they will be read by kids, who are just starting to read.

Don’t Avoid Criticism Don’t take it personally. Use it to improve your work. Get varied opinions on your work.

Don’t Be Afraid to Revise Writing is a skill: there is no such thing as a “born” writer. Don’t be afraid to make changes, if you need to.

Master Your Method Where are you comfortable writing? What time of day are you most productive? Do you prefer typing or writing in longhand? These are crucial to your productivity as a writer.

Know Your Limits What areas do you need to improve in? How can you make these improvements? How will doing this help you move forward?

Do Your Research Get your facts right. Don’t be afraid to Google what you don’t know. Check your spelling and grammar. When in doubt, check references.