Happy New Year, writers! What’s up your writerly sleeve for the coming year? You can set writing goals any time (remember that). After all, goal setting doesn’t have to be a big, shiny new year thing. Besides, January 1 and all the holiday hoopla and folderol that leads up to it isn’t always the most … Read more
Guest contributor Neely Raffellini is the founder of 9 to 5 Project, which helps professionals get the tools they need to land jobs they love. For more information, visit 9to5project.com or email hello[at]9to5project[dot]com. Sometimes I think people dread writing their resumes about as much as doing their taxes. #truestory And that’s for people who have a … Read more
All writers wrestle with common writing problems, and any novel worth reading should undergo rigorous copyediting. That applies to all writing, of course, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. But let’s use novels as an example. Your novel. Let’s say you’re done writing and revising. Ready to rock whether you’re querying agents or taking the indie route. Your story … Read more
Do you follow a style guide? Do you know which one you should use? Lots of writers have questions about grammar and punctuation or, if you’re like me, sometimes you forget the rule for unusual situations you rarely see or use. Or you know the rule changed, but you need to make sure. Just a … Read more
If you’re like a lot of writers—and I suspect you are—you might not be sure how to use ellipsis points, also known as suspension points or simply ellipses. They’re the “three dots” that mean … well, lots of things. Even the spelling and meaning can be confusing. Ellipsis (singular) can refer to an omission of … Read more
It’s a common question: “How do I become a writer?” The quick and easy response is “Write.” Just write. Keep writing until you get bloody good at it, and then write some more. But the best answer, really, depends on what kind of writer you want to become. What’s your definition of “a writer?” Minus … Read more
There’s no such thing as failure. Mistakes happen in your life to bring into focus more clearly who you really are. —Oprah Winfrey Since college, I’ve been both a fiction and a non-fiction writer, and I’ve had two main goals. I would go beyond the poetry and short stories I was writing, and I’d also … Read more
Quizzes are a great way to learn. The best part is discovering what you know and what you don’t know. Plus, in this case, you’re testing your comma skills, which are super important for any writer. And with an informal quiz like this one, there’s no performance pressure—you’re not in school, people—so you can relax … Read more
You’re in shock. The blog post you thought was brilliant just…flopped. Sometimes it’s a busy time of year, and people don’t have time to read. And then it gets some fairly good search engine traffic later on, but it never becomes uber-popular. Or maybe—sometimes you’ll have to admit it—the post just plain old sucks rocks. … Read more
Have you ever driven somewhere and not remembered the drive? It’s common. Your mind is so busy you get lost in your thoughts. And as you replay past events and worry about tomorrow, the road whizzes by. You don’t pay attention because you’re on autopilot. You’re not present because you’re daydreaming. We’re all prone to … Read more