All Blog Posts Tagged 'writing' (141)

Hey all!

   I've been way too busy and way too cold up here in the VA hills. Free Clinic is now in the tender hands of my agent, soon to be at a bookshelf near you. Bantham and Simon Schuster are looking closely at it as well as its sequel, Immunity Effect. But here's the real deal to all of you: libraries rule the earth as far publicity and notoriety are concerned. I have had my friends nudge their local libraries across the country to purcdhase copies of my book and it is now…

When I teach writing classes, give book talks, or generally discuss strategies for improving written communication, I often get this question: “What are the best strategies for writing well?”…

Here is a scenario with many POD publishers.

Your upfront fee to publish could be as low as $14! However, PODs rarely offer the author free copies of their book. Also, your book (as an electronic file) remains with the

publisher. POD means print-on-demand. The publisher gets to keep a file of your

book and prints the books as needed. It is a fast and easy method…

This is not an article about politics. Instead, it is about 7 strategies for creating impact with your words. We will use samples from President Obama’s July 17th weekly address as an example of impact strategies.

President Obama is a powerful speaker. What does that mean? Being a powerful speaker means that people are interested in what you say and that they react emotionally and cognitively to your message. This is impact. Whether intuitively or consciously, powerful speakers…

We often respond to questions on Yahoo! Answers. The article below is adapted from one of those responses.

Question: Can Someone Check My Grammar?

“There are several factors account for cultural diversity in Europe such as geographical, historical, and religion that prevent the growth of any single homogenous style in the region. The geographical distribution has formed boundaries within the different ethnic groups. Separated by their identity…

How a cliché becomes a cliché

When a particular cliché was first used (before it became a cliché), it created an impact. It used words in an interesting and novel way. The person who heard or read the expression might have thought, “Gosh, that’s a really creative way to express that idea.” Then, when other people began to use that expression, they were not clever; they were copycats. Having no interesting ideas of their own, they used someone else’s idea. When many people do…

I took a writing course about four years ago. By the end of the second session, I was thinking, “Sheeze! I could teach this course.” I learned only one thing. During the second month, I learned the name of a very important concept I had been using unconsciously for years, thereby increasing my ability to write and edit purposefully.

Grammatical versus Rhetorical Subject

I learned that sentences can have two types of subjects: Grammatical and…

Many people will read what you write. We call these people your audience. When you write, your document or manuscript is the tool you use to communicate with them, so understanding them helps you communicate in an appropriate manner. However, unlike some other forms of communication, you actually have two audiences, which we call “primary” and “secondary” audiences. We’ll look at each in turn.

Your primary audience is the person or group of…

Win a free analysis and review of your manuscripts from the editors who help writers publish great books. We believe that writers are important, and this is a way to help them write books that others will want to read and buy. This contest is open to all writers who have written or are writing book-length manuscripts, fiction and nonfiction, and are preparing for publication.

Sponsored by Precise Edit and Writer Watchdog (…

Your book or story has a powerful beginning. It engages the reader. It makes him want to read more. The main character has a big problem, and the reader wants to know how it will be solved. Pretty soon, though, the reader is yawning. She puts the book down and goes to do something more “interesting.” What happened?

You started strong, but your middle is weak.

Based on my experiences as an editor and as a book junkie, two problems create most weak middles: 1) Nothing is…