Pinar Tarhan, Author at Addicted to Writing

5 Reasons Why I Love Writing for the Web

Posted on December 19, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Research is easier and cheaper. If you are writing for a publication that is only internet based, all you have to do for research is to go to their website and read their previous posts. This helps when you are pitching, and this helps when you are writing. You need to get an idea of the target audience, the tone of the writing, word count, titles, format, the style, the vocabulary, amount of jargon…etc. You also so what’s been written and what’s not.

It is free, and it is all there. Sure, it is still hard work, but with a little organization, it is managable.

Even if the magazine is both print and online, the online stuff is already on the web.

*If you are looking to write for the print version, you’ll need to see if previous issues are available online. You might need to pay a little fee, but if this is a magazine you truly want to write for, it is worth it. Sometimes you can subscribe to the digital versions of the print issues, and this saves a lot of time waiting for the issues coming through regular mail (this is is of course true for the publications that are not readily available at the local library and/or at nearby bookstores).

The article/post you write doesn’t have to look like a short story. Let’s face it, magazine articles, especially features, are long. You need to be compelling and fun and/or professional for over 2.000 words. It takes a lot of time and effor to write it. I am not saying I am not pitching to magazines. Or I can’t write an article that long. But there’s something really fun about pouring your heart, knowledge (and depending on the publication, your sense of humor) in mostly 500-1500 words.

The publication is likely to pay via PayPal. Which is my favorite method of being paid.

You have lots of options. All you have to do is dig into the search engines with the right keywords, and subscribe to the current list of online markets.

It is relatively easier to get into. My first job was writing for a travel blog in 2009 (which got published later). You just have to keep looking at the right places.

Do you like writing for the web? Do you prefer the print? Or are you a freelancer who combines both media?

Balancing Showing and Telling in Writing & Why “Show, Don’t Tell” Can Be Easier in Screenplays than in Novels

Posted on December 10, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Writing a novel is like a novel — Novel writing is indeed tricky. Image via 1.bp.blogspot.com

“Show, don’t tell” is a great advice. You-as the writer-need to make the readers see, feel, smell, touch…You want them to understand the characters and be immersed in the story without spelling everything out them. You want to them to see that your character is smart by the things he does or says. You don’t just tell them he is so smart. Or you might, but you also prove your point by showing that he is smart.

“But Show, Don’t Tell” is easier said than done, especially when it comes to writing novels. I can’t tell you how many novels I put down because they tried to tell me a million things, while also showing them to me. And ideally, no matter what kind of writing that you do, you have to balance the two.

There are many screenplays that just tell. Remember the movies where characters talk all the time, and never actually move their butts to take action about anything? The movies that bore you to death? Yeah- the screenwriters just told things, and the director went with it.

But with fun screenplays, the writers do a good job of balancing what to tell and show. But of course the screenplays are written for the screen, and everything will be shown by the actors. If they want to show the progress of a romance, they put on a good song and show us what the actors do together instead of giving us dialogue.

And this is exactly what I do when I write a screenplay. Sure, I sweat over lines and details, but sometimes it is more effective to choose the song with the right lyrics and let the reader/viewer get the message. But I can’t take advantage of music when I’m writing the novel. Well, I can- to motivate myself. But I can’t give my audience a soundtrack to go with it (although that would be pretty neat). I need to sweat over the thoughts, setting, and scenes- all the time. There’s no shortcut. This is a pretty hard thing to do.

Yes, I watch a lot of movies and pay attention to a lot of scenes. I also analyze novels on how much and how they showed and told. I keep my fingers crossed, and keep working on my first draft where I try to entertain, engage and make readers feel. But it is a tough road. Wish me luck.

How about you? Do you write fiction? Do you have problems balancing showing and telling? Please let me know in the comments.

Writing a Romantic Drama (Novel) That Will Appeal to Both Sexes

Posted on November 28, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Sophie_Kinsella_Undomestic_Goddess — This is one of my favorite books, by one of my fav authors. But I doubt guys would read it. Image via media34.onsugar.com

Can it be done? I have nothing against chicklit. In fact, if it is written well, I am a huge fan. Hell, I am a romantic, and I am a chick- and a fun chicklit provides great escapism and some good laughs. But I highly doubt guys actually read any. Maybe some are dragged into the movie theaters if the book was adapted, but then the overwhelming pop soundtrack probably annoys the hell out of them, and minus the hilarity of the author, the comedy is easily lost on them. Well, I know that pop soundtrack definitely destroys the romance for me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to be read by women. They will be the majority of my readers, and I am happy about this. I just don’t want the book totally ignored by guys just because the cover and tagline screams for women only.

OK, let’s get back to the novel. I’ve had this great idea for a romantic drama/comedy. Earlier, I had written about my indecision about the medium and why I’d decided to try writing it as a novel instead of a screenplay.

So, I collected some decent resources about how to write an engaging novel (and how to go about selling it.) And of course being the fan of romantic escapism, I dove into the novels of similar genres and started studying them.

Unfortunately, almost all of them had either been written in first person and in present tense or in third person limited from the girl’s point of view. And therein was my problem: I don’t have one protagonist. I have two. I don’t just want to get into the girl’s head- I also want to get into the guy’s.

And I have some pretty decent subplots which are also highly related to the main plot so I want to get into several heads. Don’t I have lots of books that were told in third person, unlimited? Sure, I do. Unfortunately they are all thrillers!

So what does a girl have to do to write a romantic novel that is not sappy? That isn’t all about the girl?

Yes, I want to be able to flesh out all my characters, and convey what they all actually think-as opposed to just the girl’s interpretation of what they think…I don’t want a pink cover. I love the color pink, it just doesn’t reflect the core.

So guess what I want? I want a novel that is as unisex as the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. I loved everything about that story, and as much as it had a bromance of a sort, it was just a sweet, hilarious and universal story. And I know how to write one into a screenplay. I don’t have point of view problems there.

The question is, how to write its novel? Well, I’m writing and rewriting scenes from my first draft, and eventually it will all look right. Of course then the actual nightmare of looking for a publisher will start. But hey, let’s worry about one thing at a time, shall we?

What gets in the way of your storytelling?

The Kovak Box’s Writer Character: Timothy Hutton

Posted on November 24, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

The Writer, His First Novel and The Worst Fan Ever

The Kovak Box starring Timothy Hutton, Lucía Jiménez & David Kelly. Image via movieposterdb.com

David Norton (played by Timothy Hutton) is an accomplished sci-fi writer with many bestselling books under his name. He travels with his girlfriend Jane to a writing conference in Majorca where is the headlining guest. Things are pretty good, so he even takes the chance to ask Jane to marry him. Jane says yes, and the only thing that seems weird is a fan who is obsessed with David’s first book, Gloomy Sunday.

Gloomy Sunday tells the story of people who have been implemented with a trigger in their necks: as soon as they hear the melody of the song Gloomy Sunday, they kill themselves. It triggers have been placed by the government, and it is the perfect elimination method as all deaths appear to be suicides. On the night of the conference, David’s non-depressed girlfriend jumps out of the balcony after she receives a phone call. The same thing happens to a woman named Silvia, who falls out of her balcony as soon as she hears the music of Gloomy Sunday.

Apparently, that obsessed fan is a former scientist named Frank Kovak (David Kelly) who actually did something quite similar back in his day: he experimented implementing triggers in humans. But of course his studies weren’t welcome by everyone, and he was no longer funded. Then David’s Gloomy Sunday came out, and he kept experimenting with humans- making the trigger Gloomy Sunday. Now, he wants David to write the story Frank has helped create- with only one difference. Of course this time, the deaths are genuine, and what the protagonist goes through is pure reality…

While The Kovak Box is an intriguing yet not impressive movie, the story is really interesting. I’ve always been drawn to movies centering around writer characters, hence the total category on this blog dedicated to them.

Obviously, writer and deranged fan has been written before by Stephen King. Misery, anyone? But as opposed to taking an injured writer hostage, the fan in The Kovak Box makes the writer write the story he wants, and his first victim is the writer’s girlfriend

While the director and writers didn’t make the most of the potential, The Kovak Box is still recommended to Timothy Hutton fans and writers. It might while brainstorming fiction ideas. I’d not say no to a remake, with making the story tighter, darker and a bit scarier. What do you think?