If you have a good appetite and a way with words, food writing may be a career option to consider. Not only is doing research for food writing one of the more enjoyable tasks in freelance writing, but you’ll never be short of restaurant recommendations and potential free meals — though you may run short [...]
The world of publishing is about to change. It’s an exciting time to be an Independent author. This long ignored group is beginning to organize and establish an entirely new marketplace for selling books. A community introducing voices never heard and stories never told to the world.
What they need is an on-line destination created for [...]
Many struggling writers come to me asking what they can do to improve their writing. They continually face problems with sentence and paragraph structure as well as surface errors such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation. They know the basic rules of English and can often be very effective helping other writers revise their work but [...]
There was a time when you needed to relocate if you wanted to become a successful writer. In essence you went where the work was.
The Internet has opened a whole new world for writers. The idea of telecommuting has become a welcome component to the mechanism of freelance.
Today you can sit in a kitchen in [...]
In Alain de Botton’s engaging book, The Art of Travel, he distinguishes between the anticipation and recollection of travel versus the reality of actually traveling.
When we anticipate, we study travel brochures and create in our imagination all sorts of exotic adventures, lying ahead of us. Once really there, we photograph the Eiffel Tower with our [...]
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The secret to writing faster and with more focus — Writing in your sleep!
One of the most powerful tools in my creative arsenal is what I call unconscious creativity.
No, I do not ask someone to brain me with a hammer and I don’t even need to be actually unconscious. This is when I simply allow my unconscious to do all the heavy lifting for me creatively. It is [...]
Writing a letter to your newspaper’s editor is a privilege that Americans have exercised since the early days of journalism. You need not be an expert about the topic at hand, but by adding your voice to the discussion you can help shape people’s opinions positively and constructively. Here are some tips to help you [...]
Over the years, many people have asked me to look at their writing. “I need to know, do I have talent or not,” they say. “Then I’ll know if I should pursue writing or stick to accounting.”
Their request is seriously flawed, I’d reply. Anyone can become a better writer. When I taught English Composition at [...]
A horror movie has certain rules. If you break too many the audience will be disappointed.
This is a very short, no fluff, blueprint of how to write a horror script.
1. The Hook. Start with a bang. Step right into a suspense scene. (”Scream” opens with a terrifying sequence with Drew Barrymore on the phone with [...]
Why would anyone want to create a printed book, when then can create eBooks a lot more easily — and cheaply? Why would anyone want to get mired in the process of printing and shipping physical books that take time to deliver to customers, when they can deliver a digital information product immediately, with no [...]