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3 Tips For Writing Better Headlines
Copyright © 2005 by Bruce Carlson The single most important element of your website's copy is the headline. Take away practically everything else and you can still manage a sale (if the headline's good enough and you have a strong enough call to...
How to Catch the Writing Bug
If you earn income as a writer, or use writing as a marketing tool, you know how difficult it can be at times to write. I started writing for my website and newsletter a few years ago. Sometimes it would be two or three weeks between articles....
Platform Development Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats!
Platform-Building Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats! Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by “experts,” that is people who have a) earned credentials in the field they’re writing about, b) germinated information via articles, live...
Tips For Writing Articles Online
Tips For Writing Articles Online... by BB Lee (C)2003 I've written and published over 30 articles in SmallBizBits and other publications online. I've also published family parenting articles, several romance articles, and a dozen travel articles...
Writing To Overpower Your Competition
by Karon Thackston © 2005 http://www.learn-copywriting.com "We don't have any competition. We're a truly a one-of-a-kind company." I've heard that line from clients for years. I wish it were true, but it's simply not. In fact, it wouldn’t matter...
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Your Writing Anxiety - 10 Ways to Bring Relief
Anxiety, apprehension, cold feet, consternation, dismay, distress, dread, fear, fright, horror, nervousness, panic, scare, strain, stress, tension, terror, trepidation, unease or uneasiness: whatever it's called, you've got it.
And the reason is ... you've got to write an article!
Writing anxiety or 'writer's block' happens to all writers at some point in their writing lives. It may be that you don't know what to write about or, with your topic firmly in place, you don't know where to start.
At this point, procrastination sets in.
Doing anything, rather than actually writing, seems a whole lot better than putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard. Even walking the dog, in pouring rain and gale-force winds, has higher priority!
Try some of these ways to restore your writing equilibrium:
1. Avoid starting with a blank page. There's nothing more daunting than beginning from nothing. Work with a template. This will help you to stay focused on your topic. Download and print out some appropriate free graphic organizers from the Internet or use graphic organizer software, like NotateIt, that will help you to rearrange and organise your thoughts in freestyle format.
2. Brainstorm your topic. Take some time out for creative thinking with a friend or colleague. You'll get some new twists on the theme, especially if they're not 'experts' in your subject matter!
3. Write an outline. Just set out a list of headings. They don't even have to be in order - you can always rearrange them later. Write each heading on a separate card or piece of paper and shuffle the result. A new order may emerge that you hadn't thought of, giving you a new slant on your topic.
4. Use a whiteboard. Fix a large magnetic whiteboard on your wall and use it to rearrange your ideas. If a whiteboard on the wall feels too intrusive, try some inexpensive whiteboard software on your PC instead.
5. Break your task down into smaller chunks. From your outline, choose one heading
and write. Then go on to another heading and write. It doesn't matter which order you write in, because it can all be rearranged later. Not only that, you're achieving your larger goal in a series of smaller steps and that makes it much more manageable.
6. Write in the way that you speak. It's friendlier to read and it's an easier and more natural way for you to write.
7. Don't worry about perfection too soon. Spell checking, indenting paragraphs, changing font size - this is the icing on the cake. Just let your writing flow and, just for once, forget the grammar. Perfection can come later - at the redrafting stage.
8. Think about your readers in a different way. You may be anxious that your article is not "good enough" to be read by your peers. Remember, even if your audience are "experts", they don't know what you think about your subject. Nor does it mean that they know everything there is to know about a subject area. Target your writing towards an intelligent, enthusiastic, but non-expert, reader and your writing confidence will grow.
9. You've completed your writing. This is your first draft. The secret, now, is to redraft and redraft again. You'd be surprised at just how many things you'll want to say differently when the sun rises tomorrow! Read your article once a day, make changes then put it aside until the next day. In a few days, you'll read your article and find nothing to change. That's when you're ready to publish!
10. Believe in yourself. The first articles you write may not be perfect but the more you write, the better your style will become. It's like learning to walk - all it takes is a little time and lots of practice.
(c) 2005 Lynda Blake
You're welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the "About the Author" info at the end.
Lynda Blake is a UK freelance writer
Resources used in preparing this article:
Whiteboard Software: http://www.notateit.com
Free Graphic Organizers: http://www.nutsinmay.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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| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts |
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| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. |
| 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 ... |
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| The BBC's online resource for writing drama and comedy for television, radio and film. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
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| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
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| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
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| WritingFix: Home of Interactive Writing Prompts and 6 Trait ... |
| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
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| Advice on Academic Writing |
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