Editors read for a living. They read all day long. Some writing lands on their desk in excellent form, but a lot of it requires serious work with the red pen. Generally, editors are happy to help their writers to develop strong narrative arcs, believable characters,...
Are you a novelist? Poet? Blogger? It doesn’t matter which genre you specialize in, you’re surely wondered how to become a better writer. I’ll tell all of you the same thing: Writing short stories can improve your writing craft. For those of you who are wary to...
As every good writer knows, writing compelling content is essential to being a great writer. But that is really only half of your job description—the rest of your time is spent managing deadlines, keeping track of client invoicing, and brainstorming and researching...
Welcome to a brand new monthly feature in which I highlight this month’s best new book releases that are especially beneficial for writers. Some fiction, some non-fiction, some craft-focused — all will be of interest to the writer who needs some more reading...
About a month ago I promised that we were working on some new resources for you. We’ve been chugging along behind the scenes and I’m happy to say that today we’re launching our book outline template. If you’re writing a book, the importance of...
By Karen Taylor I’ve been writing for a long time – for a living and for pleasure. Looking back into the recesses of time I can just about pinpoint the first pen pal letters I wrote. A teacher at my primary school had been approached by another at a different school...
Freelance writers are always looking for ways to streamline the drudgery we often don’t get paid for — things like finding new gigs, doing background research, and keeping tabs on pitches. Of all the writing tools online, these 10 are the most useful to help you cut...
Take a moment, close your eyes, and recall a story that truly engaged you as a reader — one whose world and characters became completely real for you. Got one? Now, take off your reader hat and don your analytical writer hat to think about what makes that story so...
Let’s talk about when to use affect versus effect. It’s a common query and the two words are very easy to confuse, even for seasoned writers. You may be wondering why the effect versus affect usage even really matters, since most people can work out what...
I studied public relations and journalism back in college (shoutout to Drake U!). As you can imagine, there was a lot of writing involved: press releases, newspaper articles, client pitches, etc., etc. We were writing nearly every day. And yet, I never really thought...
