It’s all very well writing an article for a magazine, but how can you find out whether your message is engaging the right people and having the desired impact? Executive communications specialist Mindy Gibbins-Klein suggests that the first step to successful communication is accepting that writing very likely to be a one-way approach, at least…
Category Archives: Writing
Why We Sometimes Need to Go Back to Basics
I’m a professional author. I’ve written six novels, am currently writing my seventh, and have also published four works of non-fiction. All these books have been written for, and published by, big publishers – the likes of HarperCollins, Random House, the Hachette group and Bloomsbury. So I know what I’m doing. I’m a pro. But…
The Holiday Dead Zone
Note from Cathy: Many of us have free time right after the holiday, and without business demands on us it is easy to fritter it away. Like Robert, I find that there is much that can be accomplished without the demands of my normal work schedule, the telephone ringing, etc. Use this time wisely to…
Quotes About Writing
Here are some of my favorite quotations about writing, from writers and others. Writing is a solitary endeavor, but not a lonely one. When you write, your world is populated by the characters you invent and you feel those people filling your life. —Danielle Steel If my doctor told me I had only six minutes…
Bringing the Dead to Life, Notes on Twilight
I’m always curious when a book becomes a phenomena. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, is such a novel. I bought it to see how the story ‘works’ to draw in its audience from the opening lines. In these notes I’ll begin by breaking down the novel’s opening preface line by line. First line, I’d never given…
Get Ready for NaNoWriMo!
Every November, thousands of writers and would-be writers take part in a month long challenge: Write a novel in 30 days. The brainchild of Chris Baty, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is the perfect time to stop saying, “I want to write a book,” and get down to writing it. Although it may seem impossible…
Article Writing Tips for the Anal Retentive – Tip 1
(Or It Takes One to Know One) Writing Tip Number One There is nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen) when you absolutely must write a blog post or an article for your email newsletter or autoresponder series. This isn’t the same as writer’s block. It’s more like…
Changing Genres?
‘Genre’ is what defines a writer, or does it? Should a writer be confined to write in one genre? Is it risky for an author to change the genre that he or she writes in? I, for one, am one author who has changed my genre–from historical fiction to contemporary YA suspense. I know that…
Semicolon Usage
Proper use of the semicolon is becoming rare; often, no semicolon usage is common. Many people don’t know how to use a semicolon, so they don’t use them at all, but the semicolon can create emphasis or further meaning in a sentence and show connections that a period or a conjunction cannot. When used well,…
Writing the Fantasy Hook
Notes on Page 1 of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones Whenever a novel or series becomes hugely successful, I like to break down an opening page to convey how the writing and story hooked readers. The opening novel in a fantasy series must convey both the promise of the story, the dramatic truth…
Get the answers you need to turn your non-fiction book into multiple information products. Click here to learn more.
-
