Have you heard about cutting your final draft by 10%, even when you think you’re done? It’s a writing trick usually attributed to Stephen King in On Writing, but it probably goes back to the ancient Greeks. Or at least Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, “The most valuable of all talents, [is] that of never using … Read more
How’s your writing going? Are you reaching your goals? Rolling around in the guilt and regret much? My answers: mediocre, no, and no. What? Not regretting that you didn’t do this and didn’t complete that? Nope, I’m not regretting anything. Here’s why: Regretting the past steals time from the present and future. Plus, I had … Read more
What kinds of personal stories should you share in a blog post? It’s a tough call. You want to be honest and real—authentic. And in some niches, like personal development, readers want you to get personal. They want to know how you lost 100 pounds, how you’re paying off debt, or how you finally found … Read more
If commas confuse you, you’re not alone. Like many writers, you might play a guessing game: I’m pretty sure that’s right, you might think, as you pop a comma somewhere in a sentence. Or echoes of English teachers ring in your ears: Use a comma where you naturally pause, whispers Mrs.O’Leary or Mr. Radnor. But … Read more
Writers need websites, end of story. No matter what kind of writer you are—a novelist, a non-fiction book writer, a freelance writer, or even a brand-new writer without a clue—you need a website. Why? Before I get into the why, let me discuss the what. Websites generally fall into two categories A static website is … Read more
Want to inject some razzle and dazzle and a little anaphora into your writing? If your writing seems dull and lifeless, maybe all it needs is a lovely little literary device cleverly placed to keep your reader interested and excited. What’s a literary device? Well, it’s not a new tech gadget or a cool app. … Read more
A reader sent in a question about -ing words: “OK, you said no question was stupid. So, I have been told not to use ing words in fiction writing because it is not the right tense. Why?” Have you heard this advice? Have you wondered about it? We use words that end in -ing all the … Read more
“The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.” —Alan Dean Foster If you’re like most writers, staying focused isn’t your strong point. You start the novel, and you lose momentum. You want to get back to it, but you don’t. You hit a rough patch with your blog, and you get … Read more
You write the way you write. Right? It’s a part of you and who you are. It’s how you express yourself. It comes from somewhere deep inside, almost as if by magic, and you don’t have a lot of control over that process. You write the way you’ve always written or how you were taught. … Read more
Do you know where to place commas in a sentence? A lot of writers say they’re guided by instinct when it comes to commas. Or they use the “rule” that says a comma goes where we naturally pause. But what if your “instincts” are a bit off the mark? Or what if a reader doesn’t … Read more