Writing through a routine doesn't do justice all the time. I don't think it's necessary to write daily, though it helps to build further skills. Many veteran, published writers and acclaimed scholars of literature believe it's vital to a writer's overall development and future success. What good is a such a routine if more new writers get proper consideration and feedback of their work in the submission process? These writing know-it-alls out there rely too much on their instincts, THINKING they can help the young and inexperienced by merely spouting off insightful information. To keep a piece or work published it's up to the will of the writer in my view. All the resources in the world won't enable writers to get published without making publications and publishers know they exist. This needs to be done through intense marketing and promotion is required. I mean, a writer has to market the hell of a book, short story, script, or article to sell it or at the least make people aware of it.

Lack of response or none at all really dampens the spirit. Writers face this brick wall all the time. When will this ever change? Submitting manuscripts online is thought to be a simplified process, but not when you have to adhere to unusually long and drawn out guidelines then never receive a notice, rejection, or nothing 3-5 months later. At this point it's near impossible not to get discouraged as a writer. I think this is why more new writers are being self-publishers these days. They'd rather invest money into getting a book or anthology published on their own than put up with the frustration of dealing with picky, uncooperative high and mighty publishers in the market. I can't say I blame them. Electronic and self-publishing are expanding methods more writers are using to get published. Royalty potential and personalization in marketing are advantages over traditional big publishers, small and printing presses. Getting new voices and creative literature out to audiences is a growing challenge, but through strong, determined efforts and persistent it can happen.

Finding your specialty as a writer evolves over time. That as well as style makes a writer distinctive. My passion is writing humor more than anything else. I strive to write original, creative material for jokes, scripts, ideas for TV sitcoms, and comedy sketches. Making people laugh with consistency is no easy task. Receiving constant feedback though helps tremendously. As a comedy writer you have to learn what hits and misses with your audience.

Relating to personal or everday situations by using satire or sarcasm invokes laughter and sometimes exaggeration in a certain tone works too. I learn to write humor a lot through observation. Sure I get material from popular topics and current events, but with observation you get to know about different types of people like how they talk, walk, act, look, work, and many other characteristics. Mannerisms are picked up such as how a person talks with their hands or has a habit of blinking their eye lids. People with accents are imitated, so are celebrities, family, friends, and neighbors. People serve as a source of inspiration to write comedy. That's where it develops. Making people bust out laughing is one the greatest feeling in the world.

Writers block can be a pain in the butt. When you need a idea for a good story sometimes there is nothing useful forming inside the brain. I've experienced the problem on many occasions. This is a part of writing, dealing with such an obstacle is a challenge like everything else. Reading or watching television can help develop ideas, though it's important not copy story lines or characters. Originality is the key to successful writing.

Recently, I've posted links of this page and another blog of mine on some writing websites. Also placed free ads on these sites. I thought maybe this would draw more attention and interest in my work. There have been a few responses so far. The problem is the publishers interested don't seem to be legitimate or want to sell me their services. The whole point of doing this was to promote my work, ability, and make buyers awareness of my writing portfolio(short stories, articles, jokes, and screenplay shorts). Somehow I've got to market and promote my writing expertise, services better. Well, this contributes to the struggle as a young writer, who's trying to garner recognition and credentials. There are a couple markets for magazines I discovered. Time to grind through the whole submission process again. Until next time, best of luck with everyone's writing endeavors.

Hello, welcome to all! Another week is almost over and I'm still searching for the right markets for my short stories. I did submit one fiction short story over 3,000 words to an e-zine. It's nice to see certain online publications have submissions forms on their website for writers. This is so convenient and saves time. Some publishers don't mind if you either paste or save your submission as an attachment. I like this method better than submitting through email or regular mail. During the week I've continued to promote my blogs online. This has been a challenge too. I need to make good contacts and network, but this is difficult when you're a young, unpublished writer. Most of the time, it seems like experienced professionals don't want to be bothered. Yes, they're busy, that's understandable though it's not too much to ask for a few minutes of their time. Being ignored or forgotten in an inquiry doesn't stop me from writing and expressing my true convictions or active imagination.

Ideas for stories come from weird and unexpected sources sometimes. In fiction, a lot of writers develop a central idea based around a main character, whom they've met or stumbled across in real life. They notice special characteristics about this person such as how they talk, behave, their mannerisms, appearance, personality, etc. Putting this character into a unique, awkward situation which an audience can relate to draws their attention. This is one reason why TV sitcoms and movies get produced. There are powerful, compelling elements that generates great interest. Further developing an idea requires sound thinking. A writer has to ask himself or herself questions like, "Where would be a good setting? What kind of environment surrounds the main character? Pleasant? Stressful? Hostile? Who are the supporting characters? Sorting out all these details ahead of time helps, but I don't think it's necessary to do all at once. If things start forming in your mind when you get in a flow of writing, go from there. Whatever works for the writer is good just so the story starts to make sense and a conflict is created then later resolved. You can flesh out an idea a long ways by thinking it through and experimenting with notions. Also, it helps to write what you're passionate about.

The last couple of days the flow of writing hasn't come to me easy. Too many distractions and worries have flooded my mind off and on. This is such a hamper on working on stories and articles. I've been trying to submitt more of my short stories to magazines. It seems like a hopeless cause sometimes. Editors have become more picky than ever. Some of them want writers to go to great lengths to prepare a submission. You have to ask yourself, "Is my time and effort on this really worth it?" It all depends usually on the format, guidelines, and the pay. Gutting it out is what you have to do if you really want to get published. I've got more research to do on fiction markets as well as those for fillers.

My joke collection is building since I enjoy writing humor more than anything. Writing one-liners and gags are short. They're much less time consuming than anything else. Everyone likes to laugh(for the most part anyway). What I don't understand about this market though is how corny and sappy jokes get published in such magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest. Maybe this is because the material relates to an older audience. To me it's just seems like almost everyone who reads a publication should find it humorous. My style of jokes don't seem to fit into a particular publication. They're related to business, jobs, observations, celebrities, food, sports, etc. Ex. The most exercise some Americans get is reaching in and out of a bag of potato chips until it's empty. Singers like Michael Bolton really give the music industry something to be excited about when they announce their retirement. These are a mere few among the hundreds I've compiled. Still working to get the jokes and fillers out to a young, wide-range of readers. That's one goal on my agenda. More writing info. to be posted soon.