Writing – Interesting Literature

Words That Rhyme with the Word ‘World’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Poets often find themselves backed into a corner when writing more traditional rhyming poetry. They find they’ve ended a line with the unpromising word ‘orange’ and now have to try to find a word that rhymes with it, or else change the offending word for something more rhyme-friendly. But ‘world’ is a curious example: a common and useful word for a poet to use, but one without many ready and available rhyming words. After all, what words rhyme with ‘world’?

A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Why I Write’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Why I Write’ is an essay by George Orwell, published in 1946 after the publication of his novella Animal Farm and before he wrote his final novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. The essay is an insightful piece of memoir about Orwell’s early years and how he developed as a writer, from harbouring ambitions to write self-consciously literary works to developing, in the 1930s, into the author of sharp political commentary in both fiction and non-fiction.

5 Sly Habits Able to Poison Your Writing Creativity

By Lesley Vos

Once upon a time, someone somewhere told people they couldn’t be creative writers if didn’t have particular genes or characteristics of brains.

Gone are those days when we believed those yucks.

Writers have learned to unlock and develop creativity with particular daily routine and lifestyle. Positive thinking, mindfulness, tons of writing techniques, and even drinking a coffee work on us, modern age’s children striving for work-life balance. Great minds agree on the direct linking between beneficial habits and their influence on writing productivity.

But the question remains there still:

Think Like a Journalist, Write Like an Editor: Tips from the Pros

Ernest Hemingway famously said, ‘All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ For George Orwell, ‘Good prose should be transparent, like a window-pane.’ In this special guest post, Justin Osborne offers some top tips for writers drawn from the wisdom of the great and the good of the world of letters.

Writing is not always a skill that comes naturally to people. While it can be a struggle for some people more than others, there are a few standard techniques everyone can use to create engaging pieces. These methods, directly from expert journalists and editors, are designed to help both seasoned writers and everyday people create the best writings possible.

Know Your Audience

Just as you have your own voice when you speak, the content you write has its own style that you have developed over time. Typically, you’re accustomed to using informal language with family and friends, while you might sound more professional with coworkers, managers, and other high-powered leaders. Journalists and editors alike understand the importance of writing in a way that is catered to your audience. Before you begin to write, honestly consider to whom you are speaking and the voice you would like to use.

22 Interesting Facts about Writing

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Since we launched this blog in 2012, we’ve uncovered all sorts of curious facts about the written word. We’ve also encountered some interesting trivia about the process of writing, and about how writers write. We hope you enjoy them.

Elizabethan scribe Peter Bales reportedly produced a complete, handwritten copy of the Bible so small it could fit inside a walnut shell.

Friedrich von Schiller kept rotten apples in his desk, claiming he needed the scent of their decay to help him write.

Edith Sitwell reportedly liked to lie in an open coffin before she began her day’s writing.