literature

Best corporate culture and workplace literature to better your workplace experience. Journal's favorite stories.

Fighting Writers Block
So, you want to write? Me too. What I find and am currently finding as I write this is that it can be really hard to transfer all the wonderful ideas from your head and put pen to paper. I have had many ideas for short stories, articles, and plotlines but never managed to pursue them. What can I do, how can I create a world of intrigue and mystery when the real mystery is getting it out of my head in the first place? While writing this article I seek the answer, the whole purpose of this is to release what goes on in my head and see what appears on the page. What you see before you is a finalised draft that used to be maybe two or three times as large as it is now.
By Dylan Shannon9 years ago in Journal
The Bad Business of Free
Authors work hard on their books. Independent writers not only have to work hard finishing their masterpieces but they also have to figure out distribution and marketing as well. Seems like a fair trade off for doing what you love, doesn't it? Well on top of all of that, you learn that people don't want to pay for your books; they want them for free.
By Edward Anderson9 years ago in Journal
The Honest Writer
There are times when a biased spin is appropriate for a piece of writing, times when it is entirely intentional to make a point in favour of one side or another. Other times, a more balanced approach is preferred or necessary depending on the type of written work, the publication, or the intended audience.
By Sapphire Ravenclaw9 years ago in Journal
How It Feels to Be a Published Author
I've always enjoyed writing ever since I was a child. I loved writing short stories and poetry and English went on to be one of my favourite subjects at school. My first poem was about shells and it was chosen to be published in a Young Writer's Anthology.
By Chloe Gilholy9 years ago in Journal
My Teachers' Hatred Helped Me Write My First Novel.
So, I wrote a book. I'd like to think that it's a good one (I hope to God it's a good one!). It took me six years, from the age of sixteen until the age of twenty-two.
By Sydnie Beaupré9 years ago in Journal
Monolithic
A few months ago, I received a Facebook notification that one of the writing groups I was a member of was about to be deleted unless I would like to become an admin. It had no admin and only 32 members. That group was Creative Writers.
By Antony M. Copeland9 years ago in Journal
Flawed Characters and The Girl On The Train
With all the hype about this mystery thriller by Paula Hawkins and the author now releasing a new book, I finally got around to picking up a copy. I'm over a hundred pages in now and enjoying it immensely - but the more I read the more I find myself thinking about the concept of flawed characters. Hawkins writes skillfully, capturing the rough edges and blemishes of each of her characters perfectly. So, what exactly is a flawed character, how can you write one, and what can they contribute to your story? These are all questions which I'm going to talk about in today's post, with reference to Hawkins' infamous thriller.
By India Hendrie9 years ago in Journal
When Your Passion for Writing Loses Its Luster
I don’t think there is an artist out there who has not gone through the following impasse: “Why am I doing this, wasting my time trying to get folks to appreciate my work and putting so much blood, sweat and tears into something I no longer find enjoyable?”
By Vivienne Neal9 years ago in Journal
Lean In and Sandberg’s Faulty Feminism
Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and in 2013 she published Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Her book was met with both profound praise and critique—from women. She is, after all, a woman in leadership with significant power. As such, it seems that women should be excited to hear about her tips for success so that we can be just like her. However, her book is more of a self-help book than the feminist manifesto Sandberg herself touted it to be (Sandberg 2013; Taylor 2017). More importantly, it should not be considered the cornerstone of the new feminist wave. This essay will argue that Lean In is a net loss for feminism. I will first discuss the positive impact that Sandberg and Lean In deserve credit for. After, however, I will argue for the negative impact of her book with a discussion of Risman’s (1998) idea of the three levels of gender and the capitalistic incentives behind the marketing of Lean In. I will finish with some ideas on how Lean In could have been better, and how the new LeanIn.org community can perhaps correct some of the book’s mistakes.
By Markie M9 years ago in Journal
Rapid Book Releases
Before the surge of ebooks, the traditional publishing format allowed for one new book release a year. That's right, readers (me included) used to wait a full year for the next book in much beloved series - I still do, along with lots of other readers. That's the kind of devotion great stories bring out in people.
By Jessie White9 years ago in Journal
Free Writing
A simple web search for free writing reveals that it is a pre-writing technique wherein a person just sits and starts writing for a prearranged amount time. Everything is ignored—spelling, grammar, punctuation, consistency, topic—it’s meant to loosen the mind grapes; it’s meant to warm up the creative muscles, and without the obstruction of self-judgment, just write.
By Aaron Dennis9 years ago in Journal
Passive Writing
I was contacted by a potential client, who had mentioned something along the lines of wanting to hire an editor, but before she committed to anyone, she wanted to know something; she wanted to know the reason for avoiding the verb “was”.
By Aaron Dennis9 years ago in Journal