I subscribe to an ezine named Daily Writing Tips. It’s a great way to relearn grammar, punctuation and sentence structure in small easily digestible chunks. This week, the ezine contained a great list of links to short tests and quizzes from previous blog posts that I want to pass along to you.

I think we all owe it to our clients, editors and publishers to keep honing our writing skills. So take a few minutes and have a little word fun this week by taking some of these quickies. Click on the links below.

Multiple Choice Tests

• § Vocabulary Test 1
• § Spelling Test 1
• § Grammar Test 1
• § Vocabulary Test 2

Quizzes

• § Quiz About Emphasis
• § Quiz About the Comma
• § Quiz About Parallel Construction
• § “Not only… but also” Quiz

Andy Rooney, best known as the 33-year veteran commentator on the CBS Sunday night “60 Minutes” news program, died this past Friday at the age of 92. Less than a month ago he delivered his final essay on the show and headed into retirement.

If you have never seen or heard Andy deliver his commentary, or read any of his essays, you’ve missed out on experiencing one of the most relatable curmudgeons of all time. He commented on a wide range of topics, from wondering why so much cotton is stuffed into medicine bottles to telling us why he likes things you can put things into, to serious criticism of war and politics. Sometimes the things he said got him into trouble but most of the time viewers watched because he was able to weave the slightest of observations into interesting commentary.

And that’s the writing lesson I want you learn from Andy Rooney—that observation is at the very core of finding writing ideas.

Whether you write for yourself or write for others you are expected to have an unending stream of ideas—creative, provocative and just downright GOOD. Clients expect magical prose to entice clients and customers to their products and services. Magazines want fresh perspectives that will attract and keep their readers coming back for more, and publishers want a hook for your book that seemingly snatches readers from thin air just by hearing its title. And if you have a blog, well, you know how demanding the schedule—and readers—can be.

You can meet and exceed those demands by using your powers of observation.

Here are three ways to “observe your way” to uncovering winning writing ideas: Read the rest of this entry

I was having a discussion with a friend, Bob, last week who nearly worked himself into a frenzy while describing his recent experience with an insurance agent. Here’s the short version:

Bob was attending a business event sponsored by an organization of which both he and the insurance agent are members. Now, Bob, who is a remodeling contractor, readily admits that he, like many other members, attends these events to network and potentially attract new business. But the insurance agent’s tactics didn’t just annoy Bob and some of the other attendees, they bordered on being offensive.

After describing the agent’s behavior, which sounded like a full on attack of “sell, sell, sell,” Bob and I started detailing the good, the bad and the ugly of networking etiquette. It doesn’t matter if you are an insurance agent, a remodeling contractor or a writer, we decided that the right way and wrong way for networking comes down to one single—and simple—concept: Don’t attack—attract!

Here’s the difference. Read the rest of this entry

This past week I received an email from one of my regular blog readers who is getting ready to throw her creative hat into the freelance writing arena. After seeing last week’s post detailing my long day as a freelance writer (see www.writerprofits.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-freelance-writer) that was starkly void of any actual writing activity (other than a few emails), she questioned if a person really can make a good living at it. She also mentioned that she had been reading how copywriting is the freelancer’s best bet for establishing a freelance writing career and asked my opinion about it.

The answer to the first question is, “Yes, freelance writers can make a REALLY good living, not just scrape by.” My opinion about whether or not copywriting is the best way to go to earn those big bucks is… Read the rest of this entry

I haven’t had a “real” job for more than 15 years. The kind of job where you show up to the same place every weekday morning, work on specific tasks to meet deadlines, output whatever the employer needs or wants, then leave at the end of an eight-hour day.

However, those 15+ years ago when I finally left the 9-to-5 job and built my own fledgling writing business was not my first attempt at being an independent, freelance writer. It was more like my third, maybe my fourth. Each time I tried to set out on my own, I would last a few months and then I’d be right back where I started—working for someone else because I couldn’t sustain my freelance career.

But I was determined to break out on my own so I kept trying. Finally, I discovered the one rule that helped me to become—and stay—a full-time independent writer for the past 15+ years. And that one rule can actually be condensed into a single word: Read the rest of this entry