I’m a writer who enjoys a challenge, but I should have taken a more realistic view of my writing process, something I’m happy with after more than a decade of producing books. Which kind of writers might enjoy crafting Vella serials?
For God’s sake, it was so frustrating that I had to turn off the episode and find something else to do while I was calming myself down. If you have a story and you make it clear that you want to stick to realism, then you have to go all in. You can’t pick and choose when...
While data can suggest an ideal, there is no one “right answer” for how long a blog post should be. The important part is that it serves its purpose — whether that's thought leadership, driving leads, explaining a new concept, or something else. Although I don‘t recommend writing bl...
The important part is that it serves its purpose — whether that's thought leadership, driving leads, explaining a new concept, or something else. Although I don‘t recommend writing blog posts with a word count in mind, sometimes word count can come in handy. WordCounter works exactly the ...
I forget the title of whatever one I had on my computer screen; something to do with a male dance revue.[3]The one I’m currently…watching (I don’t know if that is the correct word, as I never seem to finish them) is titled,Christmas in Notting Hill. In arip-offnod to the ...
I don’t correspond socially with such a lofty group–and I have never seen “Yours faithfully” used in business correspondence. On the subject of “Thanks,” when we get irritated because someone closes a message with that word, something else is going on. It’s not about the close–it...
A: I find ideas all around me. Sometimes I hear a funny story about a coworker’s grandchild. Sometimes a story comes from my own childhood or from something that happened to my students when I taught school. With my picture book,The Christmas Elephant, I was inspired by one of my nie...
When my non-writer coworkers are unsure how to write something, I tell them what I’m telling you: Write it how you would say it out loud in conversation. Say the words out loud as you write if it helps. (But don’t edit just yet!) ...
Constructive criticism involves a little compassion. If someone cares enough about their work to show it around and invite feedback, then it’s probably something in which they are emotionally invested. If you are the person they feel is qualified to provide that feedback, then embrace the invi...
A quick rant I realized would be better served as ‘what to do when you encounter poor writing.’ Learn. When you see something doesn’t work, problem solve it so the next project you have can benefit later. The best tool a writer can gain is self editing. Solving problems in other ...