Writing Words for Communicating Information
Long title for "Here's what I mean." This list is for those who are new to A Writer's Edge and others who may have missed my few rants on these subjects. It is necessary for two people to agree on the general definitions of key words to facilitate the transfer of information (essentially, to talk.) I can't teach or tell you something if the picture in your mind doesn't roughly match the picture in mine. Because you can't give me immediate feedback to clarify the pictures (no talk in real time) we need a brief lexicon so you will know what I have in mind, even if you disagree:
If there are others that have puzzled you, leave a comment, and I'll try to address them all. The series editing, revising and rewriting leap up as tough ones. I wrestle with those every time a client sends an email asking, "How much would it cost to edit this?"
WHEN I SAY..............WHAT I MEANThese are short-hand definitions, and I haven't yet wrestled with the more controversial ones (to me) like creative nonfiction. Maybe I'll add to the list. I think I threatened to do this a long time ago, but didn't carry through because I hadn't made up my mind on exactly what each term means to me.
professional......................paid for writing
amateur.........................not paid for writing
published.....................work has appeared to public
unpublished...................work not appeared to public
writer....one who writes as a large part of a job or as a profession; one who writes regularly with the hope of becoming a professional or published
nonfiction....................true story presenting facts
fiction...........................untrue story made up
written story.............a complete story in written words
complete....containing a beginning/introduction, middle and end/summation presenting a whole story in facts or fiction
success.......personally-defined goal, often a moving target
If there are others that have puzzled you, leave a comment, and I'll try to address them all. The series editing, revising and rewriting leap up as tough ones. I wrestle with those every time a client sends an email asking, "How much would it cost to edit this?"
Labels: words, writers, writing
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 7:39 AM
4 Comments:
Good..I'm a new visitor, liked your blog :)
Welcome, Randa, and thank you for the compliment.
I do have a question. From the list in your post, I would declare myself a published amateur since my work has appeared publicly but I have not been paid for it. Does publishing to the internet constitute being a published author? It is a claim I have been uneasy to make, though I run a daily article on journaling and the writing process. Payment aside, if you published an E-book, for example, are you then a published author?
I enjoy your site and check it every day.
Thank you,
B J Keltz
Hey, B! Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to comment. These terms are only my working definitions to help people understand what I mean. They aren't gospel and certainly aren't generally agreed upon.
When ANYTHING appears on the Internet, it is published. If it has never previously appeared in a fixed form to the public, then the publisher has used the "first rights" to the work.
Having your words on the Internet does not make one an author, IMHO. I reserve that title for someone who has had a book published. Others are writers.
Don't confuse the published status with credibility. Anyone can publish on the Internet. Anyone can self-publish anything in any format, too.
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