Do you love poetry? Hate it? Feel indifferent? Every writer should read poetry and take a stab at writing it. Even if it’s not really your thing, your prose writing will improve if you’re at least acquainted with the basics of poetry and the more well-known poets. Some people think poetry is boring or stupid, … Read more
Do writers need a college degree to be successful? Can you get writing skills without college? You’ve probably wondered about that if you’re an aspiring writer who never went to college. Or maybe you majored in something practical like business or computer science, or you earned a two-year technical degree. But now you want to … Read more
I’ve known that transitions are important, but I had quite an eye-opener recently. Just a few days ago, I received an email from a fellow writer, and I opened it right away. It was one of his business newsletters, which are almost always interesting or thought-provoking. His writing is usually excellent as well. But this time, … Read more
Can you write a 1000-word article on a topic you know little or nothing about? Of course you could. Do some reading, take lots of notes, and get to work. Let’s face it. Very little you write is completely original—you learned it from somewhere. Even if it’s a personal experience essay, the slant you take … Read more
You’re beating your head against a wall. Staring at a blank screen. You need to write a blog post fast, and it’s got to be good. You google “writers block” and hope to find a solution. If you had all day or all weekend to write, you know you’d come up with something. You always … Read more
Have you ever heard of a musician or a singer who doesn’t practice? I haven’t, and writers are no different. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger just starting out or you’ve been blogging for years. It doesn’t matter if you’ve published magazine articles or short stories or poetry or you’re dreaming of that novel … Read more
The time to begin an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say. —Mark Twain Editing is just as important as writing—maybe even more important. If you can edit your work effectively, your rough draft … Read more
What are you afraid of? If you’re like most people, you’re afraid of plenty. Maybe you’re not afraid of flying, crowds, small rooms, or spiders. But other stuff scares the crap out of you. Can you get up on the roof of a house and spend a few hours patching it? Dig up an enormous … Read more
If I made a list of all the people I’ve known who say I “can’t” on a regular basis, it would be a long, dreary list indeed. Why can’t you? Or is it more like I don’t want to? Maybe it’s I’m afraid to or I’m afraid someone will judge me. Or I’m afraid I … Read more
Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re not. You know what I mean. Some blog posts just take off and go crazy like a space shuttle on steroids. Sure, it’s great stuff. Great ideas. Great writing. But what accounts for the thousands of tweets and shares and readers gushing in the comments like they’ve never read anything … Read more