Archive for the ‘ Quick Tips ’ Category

Dull Subject or Dull Writer?

Have you ever heard the name H.L. Mencken? He was an American journalist, satirist, essayist… and just about any other “ist” you can think of when it comes to writing. He is considered one of the most influential American writers of the first half of the 20th century. He once said, “There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers.”

It took me a good number of years of calling myself a writer before I really learned the lesson of those words. I would often declare a subject uninteresting and decide that nothing exciting could be written about it. I might begrudgingly take an assignment and only put minimal effort into it because I thought the subject was dull.

But I was wrong.

As time went on, and the more I learned about writing and my responsibilities as a writer (from books, courses, and some pretty harsh critics …), I changed my attitude and jumped on Mencken’s bandwagon. What makes a topic or subject interesting is the writer. And the tougher the challenges are to find interesting aspects of a seemingly uninteresting topic, the better writer you’ll become.

If you face what might seem like a dull topic, look at it from another perspective. Turn it upside down, inside out or 90 degrees to the left. Step away and look from afar. Step forward and look from within. Drop the attitude and adopt the courage to explore something you know little about. Then take your readers on that discovery mission with you.

When you bring curiosity to the writing table, you will always be presented with interesting and challenging subjects to write about.

Lessons from a Master Networker

No, the master networker is not me. However, I spent yesterday morning with a client-turned-friend of mine, VK, who is. Many, many (many) years ago I was her assistant when she was a fabulist. At that time she had just had her first book of fables published by Berkley-Putnam and needed help executing her marketing plan. A mutual acquaintance of ours introduced us and I spent several years watching and learning as she networked her way to ever-increasing sales and speaking opportunities. She has since moved on to developing another artistic venue that she has built into a highly respected and recognized entity in the healing arts—nearly every step of success came from her ability to network.

Seeing her this weekend, reminiscing about “then” and examining “now” reminded me of the great power of networking. Of the many things I learned, I’d like to share with you the top three networking tips that have helped me over the years: Read the rest of this entry

Attract Writing Assignments with a Blog

Many writers don’t have websites. Although I think every writer needs one, I get it. It takes time and some skills that you might not possess to create one. While you’re working up the nerve (and/or cash) to create an online presence with your own website, blogs are a great way to showcase your talent AND attract client work.

Here is a quick three-step plan to use a blog to win writing assignments:  Read the rest of this entry

What’s your New Year’s resolution? Lose weight? Stop smoking? Be more benevolent to others or understanding of your family’s annoying quirks?

It’s easy to make a resolution. What’s difficult is keeping it.

The only way to see a difference between this day and this day next year is to not only make a resolution but to answer the question, “how will I keep it?” How are you going to transform your resolution from a wish to a reality?

I’ll leave you to figure out if you will achieve your personal goals. But I want to encourage you to seriously make a writing resolution and put a plan in place to achieve it. Do you want to make more money? How about finding new clients? Perhaps you want to work for a company instead of on your own. Would you like to become a published author? Maybe you want to add a complementary service to offer clients you already have. Whatever your writing resolution is, here’s a quick five-step process to improve on the results: Read the rest of this entry

The holidays are in full swing and as much as I enjoy a rousing chorus of fa-la-la-la-la, I’m usually twice as stressed now as any other time of the year. I have a feeling I’m not alone. So when quiet time is hard to come by and a holiday break lightens everyone else’s load but yours, how can you clear your writing mind to cope with it all and meet your deadlines—those from clients and those that are self-imposed?

Here are five tips to de-stress in a hurry:

Leave the room. Put space between yourself and your computer, or office, or writing tablet… wherever you set up your writing space, get away from it. If all you can spare is five or ten minutes, take them. Walk to the corner and back. Make yourself a cup of tea. Do 10 pushups.

Find a distraction. Force your mind to go elsewhere by watching a short YouTube video of animals doing wacky things, or reading the first chapter of that novel you’ve been meaning to start.

Breathe. A friend of mine swears by meditation to get rid of stress. Me? Not so much. But I do think that taking a few minutes to slowly breathe in and out 10 or 20 times (yes, with your eyes closed and the television off), does wonders for jumpstarting your brain.

Power nap. Set a timer for 20 minutes, put your feet up and dream away. Nap for no more than 20 minutes and you’ll find you’ve got new energy to burn.

Defer.  If you are that stressed out, it’s likely you are not producing your best work. Reconsider projects that can be deferred until after the holidays. Oftentimes, the writer sets the deadline, not the client. If things are piling up and you have a deadline that can be deferred, do it.


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