1. Something that pertains to emotion or to the senses
2. A valuable memory
3. A lesson learned
4. Popular topic in today's society
5. Love
6. Pertaining to nature
7. Sporadic occurrences
8. Frustrating situations
9. Family
10. Dreams
11. Remembrance
12. Something you are thankful for
13. God
14. Life's obstacles
15. Possibly searching within yourself to write about how you act
16. Freedom
17. Silence
18. Fear
19. Funny situations

These are just a list of the many ideas you can think of to write poetry. Now to the writing part. I've always found that music can greatly influence one's mood to write with their best potential. Poems don't have to be these twenty-line pages where you have to squeeze every possible ounce out of the topic or issue. I have found that sometimes it's a matter of words, not sentences, that pertain the best to my meaning.

But there are ways to write poetry that make it fun to do.

First off, you need some tools. Many people like rhyming poetry but then get frustrated with themselves when they can only come up with lame rhymes-moon, June, spoon sort of things. The best tool you can have to solve this problem is a rhyming dictionary. Fortunately, there are rhyming dictionaries online:

RhymeZone

Rhymer

WriteExpress

Now the other problem that people face with poetry is that they tend to get one line that sounds clunky. That's because it has too many or too few syllables, or some of the stress patterns are not working. Rather than worrying about the technicalities of all this (iambs, trochees, pentameter, tetrameter, etc.), just find a song you like and write your poem so it fits that song.

The easiest songs to use are twelve-bar blues-like Elvis's “You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog” (well, it was Big Mama Thornton's but Elvis bought it for $75). You can find those lyrics at: here. The nice thing about blues is that all of us have felt them and they are a great poem to start with.

Another easy form is the ballad form. The Eagles' Hotel California is an example of a ballad-a poem or song that tells a story. It has an easy rhyme pattern like twelve-bar blues-every two lines rhyme. Also, if you like Emily Dickinson, you'll notice that a lot of her poems have a similar rhythm and rhyme pattern to Hotel California, although they don't tell stories (http://www.bartleby.com/113/).

Writing poetry that rhymes and sounds good is not too hard. You just have to have the right tools-and here they are! Enjoy!

If your typing on you laptop or desktop computer, you indent. When you indent you press the TAB button once at every new paragraph, (trust me, it’s an essential rule to writing). As crazy as this may seem, you do the title last, or at least an idea of it. You must never be afraid to take something out, whether it’s just a sentence or a paragraph, a page, or even a whole chapter! If the new idea is better then the last one, then scratch it out, mostly every beginning idea will eventually be taken out, so don’t be surprised, if you have too, then you have too.

If your writing a paper, then write and rewrite your latest ideas, then make out your first draft, taking every idea and putting it together, just like putting Lego blocks together, it’s not that hard what you get used to it. If your writing a novel, don’t be afraid to put swearing in, if it’s a way for your character or characters express themselves then so be it, you’ll probably rewrite it anyway. Don’t be afraid to put commas, semicolons, periods, question marks, quote symbols, and other signs in, and if your using it a lot, don’t worry, your just connecting your writing. Let me give you the basics of the signs:

• Comma- you could put it as a ‘bridge’ to describe something.
• Semicolon- this could be used to describe something that is a switch in an idea.
• Period- marks flat out, an end of a sentence.
• Question mark- marks a character asking a question, if you just put a period, when a character finishes asking something, it would bore the reader silly, it would be the same old thing, ranking to nothing on the seller’s list.
• Quote symbols- mark what a character is saying, you must always do this, when a character says something that is, make sure you put who said it so the reader doesn’t get confused.

Now the you have a basics on what to do, you could write a second draft, perfecting the aspects of the sentences, take your time, concentrate, if your in a quiet environment the thoughts will come to you faster. I’m not saying that you should always be in a quiet environment in order to write a successful piece, I’m just saying that you’ll think better. Rewrite your piece, the more you rewrite the more you realize your mistakes. Then after, you revise it (rewrite it) making sure there are no mistakes, then if you think it’s done, you may be able to publish it.

In conclusion, I must tell you this, it is a said truth that a writer is never finished, you’ll be always, writing and rewriting your work, if you don’t take my word, then ask a writer, they’ll tell you the same thing. I hope you take this into consideration.                          

1. Write About What You Know

This is the most important step in getting your articles read. People like to read articles that are filled with insight and new information. Nobody wants to read an article filled with what they already know. The only way to make this happen is to write about what you know better than the average person. Don't worry about how specific the article is. If you don't know much about dogs in general, but you know plenty about German Sheppards, that is what you should write your article on.

2. Be Patient

When you write your first article, whether it is on love, or kamikaze pilots, it probably will not get many views. This is because you are an unknown writer to the website. As you keep writing about what you know (Doesn't have to be the same subject every time) you will begin to get a following. Through word of mouth and comments, your articles will steadily become more popular, as long as you keep them interesting.

3. Use Simple, Proper English

When your audience is reading your article, they will not care if you have a million dollar vocabulary. With sites like Triond, if someone has to look a word up, you better believe they are going to the next article. Use the simple word instead of the fancy. On the opposite end of the spectrum, do not use slang that your readers will not be able to read and understand. Once again, this will lead to a quick click back and losing another potential long-time, multi-article, reader.

4. Have Correct Tags

Make sure that you have good, specific tags that lead to your page. Until your name gets out there, readers will not be looking for you, but an article on the subject you are writing about. Without proper tags, it doesn't matter how great your article is.

Thank you for reading my article, and I hope it will help you in writing your own.

Make it interesting, don't blab on about the same thing, include images if you can, they spruce up the aesthetics of the post and make it look a lot more stylish. Use different styles of writing, bold, italic and underline can create unique styles. Different fonts will spruce up the post. Add lots of tags, even if they aren't related, put them in there!

Try to give it some length, a nice amount of length will make it all the more interesting! Interact with the reader, ask questions, add humor and make it seem like you're talking face to face with them. Target specific groups, if you want, you could make it interesting to a minority, or even a majority!

Well I am here to tell you that the basic essay form is the most important tool in a writer's toolbox. Just because you have left school doesn't mean that essay writing is over because this basic beginning, middle, and end are used in writing academic, literary, and magazine essays. Even memoirs sometimes use this format.

In this article, I will be showing you the elements and sub-elements of a basic essay format.

Beginning

When I first started writing essays for my English professor, Dr. Atkins, she would draw an inverted triangle on the board. This is what your beginning paragraph should look like, she would say to us. Well, I didn't have a clue. Should I make my beginning paragraph visual?

What she meant is that you should start with a general statement with each sentence becoming less general until you reach the topic sentence.

The topic sentence tells all the good stuff. What are you trying to accomplish in your essay. The topic sentence in this article is "I will be showing you the elements and sub-elements of a basic essay format."

If you are writing a magazine article, then the topic sentence would be your hook. The hook is a promise to the reader.

I have heard from other students and writers that the beginning is probably the hardest part of writing an essay because you must hook the reader and give them something to look forward to reading.

Middle

The middle of the essay is where you keep the promise of your topic sentence or hook. It is the meat of the essay. The least amount of paragraphs you should have in the middle is three. For some reason, three, five, and seven arguments (supporting paragraphs) are the best numbers for supporting a paper. Anytime you use more or less arguments, it makes the reader hesitant in trusting your judgment. Behavioral scientists think these numbers are hard-wired into our brain.

For instance in this essay, I have divided the middle into beginning, middle, and end.

End

The end is where you put your conclusive arguments. The reader will hopefully understand your end arguments because you have given them the facts in the middle of the essay.

Also, in a magazine article, this is the paragraph where you will release your reader from your hook. The reader should feel satisfied. If they don't, it is because you didn't fulfill the promise of the hook.

If you can write within the basic essay form, you will be able to freelance in most of the online markets today. I can thank some great professors in the University Maryland University College for their help in understanding and internalizing this structure.

Here are some elements and sub-elements of fiction that can help you write the story that is bubbling in your subconscious.

Character

This means much more than one character acting on his/her desires. It includes a protagonist and antagonist. A protagonist wants something. An antagonist wants to stop or wants something entirely different than the antagonist. It is the conflict between the two desires that powers the plot. Here are a few elements you need to make a character come alive.

1. Description: What does the character look like? Where does the character live?
2. Internal: What is the character's inner life? Does s/he have an inner life?
3. External: What are the character's sports and/or hobbies? Does the character have a facial tic or other type of movement?
4. Past History: What was this character's past religious, political, etc. history? Did this character have a traumatic childhood?
5. Dialogue: How does this character speak? Dialogue can reveal much about what is important to the character whether s/he is a protagonist or antagonist

Plot

For some reason plot has been given a bad reputation the last few years. There are two types of plot: character-driven and plot-driven. A character-driven plot is one where the plot is derived by what a character might do. A plot-driven plot can be explained simply by saying genre-driven such as a mystery, romance, or fantasy.

An important element that keeps the plot from becoming stale is conflict. Conflict does not have to be major as in the character must do something or his mother will die. No, it can be something simple like a dog wetting a man's shoes just as he is going to meet his date. Conflict takes away from the character or even changes his/hers expectations.

Setting

A reader needs to know where the action is taking place. For instance, the character is on a train. S/he is thinking about the past. So where is s/he? In the train in New York, Japan, South Africa? If the reader is lost, s/he cannot enjoy your story. Dislocation is a nasty feeling. Anyway, give the reader some clues through description or titles. A few authors have put titles on the first paragraph of the chapters to let the reader know where they are such as 1989, South Africa.

Point of View

Who is talking? Who is thinking? Should you write in third or first person? There are many good reasons to write in third person (to show the reader things that the character doesn't know) or first person (to take the reader along the same path as the character). But, you should know what POV you are using for what reason. POV should be transparent to the reader. It is a very important part of the writing craft.

Style and Theme

In my opinion, style and theme although important to English Literature majors is not usually apparent to the writer. As the writer becomes better his/her voice is there. (style) And theme? If you spend your time trying to find metaphors, the theme becomes strained. Most writers don't realize the themes that they are writing about. Themes come through when the truth comes through.

Truth

Here is an element that you probably don't expect in fiction writing. But, it is very important when you are writing in any style. Tell the character's truth. The reader can hear it as they read your words. Don't force something that you know is against your character's type. I have heard the words that "we make up these characters so they should do what why say." I don't agree. We might make up these characters from our own lives and observations, but they still have their own truths.

So here are a few elements and sub-elements that I believe will make your fiction writing better. I use them in my own writing. If you are reading this, I wish you good writing. I hope to read your stories one day.

What are the key elements of good memoir writing?

A good memoir contains the same elements you find in good fiction: setting, description, dialogue, and character. The main difference between memoir and fiction besides the "it actually happened factor" is the element of musing.

So, what is musing? Musing is the journey that leads to an epiphany, the "aha" moment. It is not just a memoir about your grandmother, but how as a mature writer you realize that your grandmother was an ordinary person doing extraordinary things whether she was a suffragette or a mother. The epiphany catches you at the moment when you are gardening, rock collecting, or digging outhouses.

The epiphany answers the questions: Why do you do what you do? Did it come from your family or friends? Will you pass it on to your children?

Good subjects for memoir writing

Write a time line of your life. Pick a vivid moment and writing about it. Pull the strings and see where the writing will take you. This moment could be about your parents, your grandparents, or your siblings. It could be about your hobbies or the actions that bring you peace.

Write about it.

Memoirs are your gift to the world.

In dialogue, many recommend contraction use as opposed to the two base words. Again, the reason is it sounds more natural in dialogue. In almost all cases, editors and fellow authors advise using the contractions.

Now, the second part of the answer is to not use contractions if you are writing something formal or want character dialogue to sound stiffer or perhaps "upper-crust" as it were. In business, law, and other formal writing forms, you do not want to use contractions-do not as opposed to don't-because it creates a formal stance. This includes writing professional advice. Again, unless you are trying to create a friendly or perhaps more relaxed air, do not use contractions.

So, for most creative fiction forms: use contractions.

For formal writing or to create a more haughty air in dialogue: Do not use them.

Notice how I did just that when speaking about the two subjects?

Last words of advice: When using contractions, be sure the subject and verb are clear if the verb is a linking one. Don't use the contraction if it's clumsy or draws more attention to the word. So, do write: Shayne will get you for it as opposed to Shayne'll get you for it. Proper nouns are the key here

Finally, passive use can hide in contractions. I've got a story for you is passive. The "have" is hidden, but is there. Don't let passive voice creep into your prose just because the flow looks better. It has to sound better first and foremost.

Word to the wise.

The two worlds are intrinsically tied to one another. They are not, as some would think, mutually exclusive; when one is strengthened, so is the other. To truly entertain, one must at least have some basis to go from and thus is detail required. But to truly detail, one must include some form of entertainment, be it wording or conceptual curiosity, and thus is entertainment required. One must always capture attention when one writes. Far too many writers with beautiful and greatly intriguing concepts have fallen to the folly of writing in heavy, obtuse wording (and thus sacrificing the element of entertainment) so that they may express thoughts in detail. Still countless more have fallen to the greater draw of merely repeating exciting, attention-catching, hackneyed phrases, setting the modern stereotype of hack writers.

In view of this, the writer must always remember the audience to which they are writing. Writing being the art of non-verbal communication, a human element is always to be considered. Thus, the writer's first concern is to catch the majority of the audience's notice. This eye-catching may take the form of an interesting hook, a impressive title, or the first intriguing few lines, or even an accurate and tantalizing summary (this being most commonly found on the back of modern novels) as preface. But once the writer has the audience's attention, once these scales of Entertainment and Detail have been balanced, the scales are not to be tipped.

This does not quite mean that the writer is to force them self to add a tidbit of interest with every detail, rather that they must always keep a keen eye upon their writing, and the flow of its concepts. Every piece of information comes with a modicum of excitement, as long as it is not the same piece of information reiterated. So, despite the cyclical nature of life, and ignoring the usefulness of alliteration and/or having a common theme throughout, the writer must try not to be repetitive. That is, unless the writer is attempting to write a persuasive article, but that subject will be addressed in a later piece.

So. Avoid repetition, and keep the hell away from extremes when it comes to this Balance. Remember, everything in moderation. The best way to ensure moderation is to, well, moderate! One must read their own writing, and re-read, and re-read, and re-read, in any possible way one can read (or re-read) it. Then, edit the piece according to one's newfound insight into their writing. Finally, it is recommended that one put it up to peer review. While the writer might understand what a certain turn of phrase means, the audience is always of a different mindset. No piece of writing has been found to be universally approved of, and rightly so; no view point is universally agreed upon.

Though these tenets, followed to their fullest extent, do not a great author make, they do make for a nice foundation on which an amateur writer can build upon. And thus, this author imparts this advice to his audience: Practice using these guidelines. Try reading a literary favorite, and one will quickly notice these themes are followed, if loosely so. Keep in mind though, nothing (except grammar) is set in stone.