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Copywriting: Techniques for a Great Body!
1) Think about your Readers When writing ad copy be sure that the average reader can easily understand and relate to it. Put yourself in their place. Would you understand? Would you say, "That's me"? One way to help you write for your readers, is...
Designing A Successful Writing Career While Standing Behind the 8 Ball
Several years ago, I received a call from a friend of mine in a city about 2 hours away. She and another had just started an new company in medical consulting and needed someone to come and do about 3 days of data entry. She asked me, know- ing I...
Ghostwriting - Making Money by Being Invisible
My bookcase takes up one whole wall in the family room, from floor to ceiling. It shows my eclectic reading tastes... fiction, non-fiction, Harry Potter next to murder mysteries and metaphysical literature. Also there are books I've written for the...
The Benefits of Freewriting
It's 2 am and you're sitting at your desk, no ideas and no thoughts. The cup of coffee to your side is the sixth. But still, the same blank sheet of paper from an hour ago taunts you, there is nothing to show for your effort but a back cramp and a...
Top Ten Tools for Writing Humor
Ever want to write a funny book or a humor column? Or add spice to your newsletter editor or web page so that people read beyond the typical drivel that sends otherwise eager-to-spend customers into a boredom-induced coma?
Here are my top...
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LETTING YOUR WRITING SIMMER
One of the most important lessons I've learned about writing--and one
of its most difficult aspects for many of us--is what I've come to
call the "simmering process."
You've just finished an article, story or query letter, and you get
that adrenaline rush that comes with the completion of a job well
done. Your prose sings. That opening paragraph, the one you'd
struggled with for days, is perhaps one of the finest things you've
ever written. Not one word wasted, and nary a dangling participle.
You simply can't wait to ship it off to the editor, or your agent, or
your customer.
But that's exactly what you have to do--wait. In other words, let it
simmer a day or two.
But why wait? The sooner you send it out, the sooner you'll get the
acceptance, the byline, the paycheck, right?
Well, maybe. On the other hand, you might be sending your work out
before it's truly finished. The piece might still be undercooked, a
little raw on the inside. And at this point, having just put what
you thought was the final touch on your creation, you might be
standing too close to it to spot its imperfections.
I have learned to let my essays and articles simmer, like a pot of
stew on the stove, before submitting them. And it constantly amazes
me, what I see in an
article or essay I've written, after I've
stepped away from it for a while. Typos and poor word selections seem
to jump off the page at me, which I can now correct and improve.
That wonderful paragraph that I once believed I could not live
without appears unnecessary now, so I remove it. I replace that
original lame title with a perfect one, one that will more likely
beckon an editor to read it.
It happens every time. No matter how terrific the concept, how
skillful the writing, I find that putting some distance between me
and what I've written allows the seasonings in my words to work their
magic.
If you're still itching to show your masterpiece prematurely, try
throwing yourself into an entirely new writing project, or take a
walk, or clean out your garage. I guarantee that once you return to
it, and view it with a fresh eye, you'll find flaws you can fix and
untapped potential you can unleash. Your end result will be a
something that you'll be proud to put your name on.
Here's to your writing success!
About the Author
Mary Anne Hahn is editor and publisher of WriteSuccess, the free
biweekly ezine for writers who want to pursue successful full-time
writing careers. To subscribe, send a blank email to:
writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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| Writing.Com: Writers, Writing, Poetry, Creative Writing, Fiction ... |
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| Guide to Grammar and Writing |
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| grammar.ccc.commnet.edu |
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| Purdue University's Online Writing Lab - The OWL Family of Sites |
| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts |
| This page contains important links to the writing: planning/writing/revising aspects of the OWL website. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| en.wikipedia.org |
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| www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu |
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| National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month |
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| www.nanowrimo.org |
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| Poynter Online |
| Apply by Dec. 11 Reporting and Writing the Untold Stories Apply by Dec. 11 ... Reporting & Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms. Apply by Jan. 10 ... |
| www.poynter.org |
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| del.icio.us |
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| BBC Get Writing |
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| www.bbc.co.uk |
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| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
| www.sfwa.org |
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| A concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar. |
| www.junketstudies.com |
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| NAEP assesses student performance in writing periodically in grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation, and in grades 4 and 8 for the states. |
| nces.ed.gov |
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| See all blog posts tagged with writing on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| Includes step-by-step instructions on researching and writing, how to find information online and offline, as well as links to useful resources. |
| www.ipl.org |
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| Dictionary.com: Writing Resources |
| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
| dictionary.reference.com |
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| WritingFix: Home of Interactive Writing Prompts and 6 Trait ... |
| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
| www.writingfix.com |
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