Category Archives: Writing

How Does Ghost Writing Work?

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Talking about ghost writing, it is basically a work piece written by one individual, commonly known as a ghost writer, while another individual gets the credit. For example, lots of celebrities and popular politicians enlist the help of a ghost when finishing their biographies or memoirs.

Reasons for ghost writing

The most important thing about using a ghost is that it gives celebrities an opportunity to get a good writing piece without worrying about things like grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. In some cases, these individuals opt for ghosts because they are so busy that they cannot write a text piece.

Clients may hire the services of ghosts in order to create a positive impression on the mind of the public or their competitors. The best example in this regard is politicians that hire ghosts when it comes to writing their speeches.

Functions of a ghost writer

You will find variations in the text amounts and types offered by a ghost, depending on the writing contract between you. It is worthwhile mentioning that plenty of individuals decide to write the major chunk of their writing on their own, using a ghost just for polishing the content.

In this scenario, the main function of the ghost is to edit the document in a proper manner, getting rid of errors and giving professional feedback. However, when you hire a ghost for the full project, he is going to do everything – from content creation to research work.

For writing a biography, the ghost needs to review your background thoroughly. He may need to interact with your friends and colleagues, because without getting the right kind of information he will not be able to ghost write a good biography. You must also help your ghost by offering him a full outline of your past for your biography.

Cautions for ghost writers

If you are interested in becoming a ghost writer, you need to have certain skills. To start with, your grammatical skills need to be good. In addition, you should have a proper understanding of text usages. As a ghost, you also need to understand the requirements of clients. If that is not the case, you will not be able to give a personal feel to the written text. Ideally, when someone hires your services as a ghost you will ensure that the text you ghost write highlights the personality of your client. You need to modify your writing style on the basis of this.

While working as a ghost you are not going to get much recognition, but there are several advantages associated with it. You are going to get decent payments from your clients for your hard work. The kind of payments that you get will be dependent on the complexity of each project and the contract between you and the client. Upfront payment is usually the mainstay of a professional ghost writer, but that will depend on the agreements between you and your clients.

Screenplay Writing Based on Creative Techniques

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Writing a screenplay is unique from other forms of writing as in they are written to be seen on the screen, not read in a book. Given this factor, screenplays must be written in a very specific manner so that they don’t read like prose, and so that they will play out correctly in a movie or television format. Screenwriters must think beyond the page and picture how what they are writing will look acted out by actual people.

Things like camera angles, stage direction and scene changes must be taken into consideration. Certain writing techniques are therefore only suitable for screenplays, but screenplay writing can and does benefit from general writing tips. Here are some screenplay writing tips.

Write Your Screenplay on Index cards

Popular screenwriter David Lynch has said that he enjoyed writing his movie ideas on napkins. He also recommends writing your screenplay on a series of index cards. According to Lynch, one feature film is equivalent to seventy 3 by 5 index cards. In this method, you will need seventy ideas for seventy scenes.

Write out each idea for a scene on each index card, and then you will have completed your movie, at least according to Lynch’s idea. Another idea includes writing out the scene’s basic plot and premises on three to five pages; only the sequence of events, not a detailed description. Then, get out your index cards and begin writing the scenes.

Use Screenwriting Software

If using index cards is too archaic for you, then you can try to use more modern screenwriting software. One thing that many writers have trouble with is figuring out how to format their script. There are many different ways to format a script. With software, you can easily input your ideas into a preformatted medium.

That way, you won’t have to worry about manually formatting it, and it will be written correctly. Some of these software eliminates distractions by taking up your entire screen, disabling you from clicking on any other windows, and turning off your internet connection.

Use the Five Why’s

If a particular plot point in your story has got you stuck then you can use the five why’s to figure it out. Write down what you want to happen at a particular point in a story.

Then, begin asking yourself “why”. For example, if one character does an action, ask yourself why he does that action, and what the reason for that action is, and so forth. You will be able to figure out how to get to that particular point in your plot in no time.

Seek Inspiration

Should you find yourself stumped for a story or at any other point in the writing, it might be time to take a walk. Take a notebook with you, or anything else to write about. If any ideas come to mind, write them down. Also, go to other places like parks, libraries, college campuses, and the likes. There will be plenty of sources for ideas and inspiration as long as you look around you.