Once during a training session at the newspaper, I asked a senior editor whether he thought reporters should outline their stories. He agreed they probably should, but admitted that most don’t. I have written before about the power of the outline. When you’re writing something as short as a news …
Category: Writing
Use your blog to serve readers
WordPress is far and away the blogging platform that hits the sweet spot between ease of use and powerful capabilities. There are platforms that are easier but won’t be as powerful, and more powerful platforms that are harder to use. I use WordPress and recommend it. But the mechanics of …
Why You Should Be Blogging
Writers are forever being told to blog. You have to get your name out there. You have to build a platform. You have to demonstrate your expertise. All of this is true. The problem, especially for fiction writers, is doing all that in a way that doesn’t rob you of …
New Manuscript Formatting Guideline
One of the great things about attending writers conferences—or any conference in your given industry—is the ability to meet with experts who know more than you and learn from them. At this year’s Florida Christian Writers Conference, I enrolled in a four-day fiction workshop taught by Ramona Richards of Abingdon …
What’s Not Helpful in a Critique
Last time I wrote briefly about how to give and take critique. To go a little deeper, we have to understand that the role of critique partner is different from the role of editor. A developmental editor often will help a writer shape the theme or concept of a manuscript. …
How to give and take critique
The second item on my list of The Three Best Things You Can Do for Your Writing Career was “Join a Writers Group.” Not all writers groups offer critiques, but even those that don’t usually provide a forum where, once you get to know people, you can invite some of …
The Three Best Things You Can Do for Your Writing Career
You know I’m not usually one for these “Number of Things” articles, but this is something I repeat so often—because I really believe it—that I figured it was an appropriate follow-up to the Elements of Fiction series. You’ll find plenty of advice about how to improve your writing craft. Read …
Beware the nonrules
Last time I noted that there are lots of misconceptions about what constitutes “grammar.” There are also lots of misconceptions about what constitutes “rules” of writing. Adverbs modify verbs is a rule. Don’t use adverbs is a nonrule. You may use adverbs, as long as you do so judiciously.
Writers are readers
Last time I talked about the importance of reading widely. Now, my list of books read for last year looks pretty puny compared to some. But it’s a diverse list, so I’m OK with that. I once sat in a meeting with a potential client who was looking for a …
How to find your writing voice
Think about voice in terms of style—your voice is your unique style of writing. When we start out, we tend to write like we think writers ought to sound, instead of finding our own sound. This leads to stilted, stiff writing. Here are some tips for finding your distinctive style. …