The fire to write can be inspirational. But do you know who your readers are? Writing Tip for Today: Defining your readership sounds easy enough—we want everyone to read our stuff. But dig a little deeper to find your audience with these easy tips: Genre Benders I see student work that claims to be part […]
Writing: Back Story Refresher
Writing back story is always tricky. Learn some easy techniques for easing back story into your work. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s review some basic methods for efficient back story in your fiction: Why Back Story? Writers want readers to understand their character. This urge can lead to a lengthy re-tell of the character’s background, […]
Writing Your Key Sentence
Last post, we talked about the structure of essays and how to write more effective essays. But can you name your work’s key in a single sentence? Writing Tip for Today: Whether you write essay, nonfiction or fiction, it’s important to be able to identify the main topic or shape of your work. Let’s discuss […]
Writing: The Shape of Essay
Recently, a student sent me a piece meant to outline the thesis of a book. But whoa, Nelly! Essays and nonfiction chapters must have a shape. Writing Tip for Today: Can your essay or nonfiction stand up to the shape challenge? Journalism Rules One of the basic rules of journalism is the three-point rule […]
Writing Big Events in Life: Wisdom Rules
Writing about big events in your life—whether traumatic or just amazing can be powerful—if you allow enough time to pass first. Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips for writing about consequential life events: Five Year Rule A famous writer once told me not to write about significant life events—especially traumatic ones—for five years. […]
Writing: Improving Your Craft
Whether you’ve been writing all your life or you’ve just begun, you always have the opportunity to improve your craft. Writing Tip for Today: Here are some markers you can aspire to on your way to being the best writer you can be: Humble Pie When I had initial success at age seventeen, I was […]
Writing: Confuse ‘Em and Lose ‘Em
Your novel is a world you’ve created, and every detail resides in your head. Yet if you can’t translate those details to your readers, they’re likely to get confused. Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few tips to keep confusion out of your writing: Be Sensory When your character acts in your novel, […]
Writing: Outsmart the Scammers
A few days ago, I received an email that looked very official. It gushed about how some folks at a production studio were dying to have me write a script for my book, Thank God for Cats. But upon closer scrutiny, I knew it was a fake. Writing Tip for Today: Scammers are out there, […]
Writing: Spinning Fiction into How-to Articles
If you’re working on a novel or any sort of fiction, how can you get your name “out there” for readers to discover? Writing Tip for Today: Here are some ways to take your fiction and turn it into helps for your potential readers. Look for Thru-Lines No matter what genre you write in, novel […]
Writing: Learning Better Writing Techniques
Every writer wants to improve, from the bestsellers to those chasing a first byline. How do you take writing instruction and actually use it in your work? Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss some ways to integrate feedback, workshops and other instruction into your writing. Books and Workshops My writer’s library is stuffed, partly because […]