writing tips and tricks
5 Things You Should Have In Your Writing Space (Because I Said So)
I’ve been writing for decades, in cubicles and offices, and in various parts of my home. For many years, I worked in a makeshift office in the unfinished side of my basement — just steps away from the oil tank and the kitty litter box. And my first real office doubled as a spare bedroom, so I had to…
Read More3 Breathing Exercises To Help You Focus, Think Creatively, And Enjoy Life
Being able to steady your thoughts is a hugely valuable life skill. Breathing exercises are an integral part of that skill. Professionally, I’m paid to think deep thoughts, strategize, organize, and write creatively. It’s how I pay my mortgage and put my kids through university. So I’m pretty disciplined when it comes to keeping my…
Read More7 Simple Habits That Will Help You Write Faster and Easier
“I hate writing, I love having written.” Dorothy Parker Writing is a funny process, when you stop to think about it. It’s an odd dance that requires various parts of your brain to fall into rhythm and work together. It’s a rub-your-head-while-you-pat-your-belly sort of situation but with a dozen hands on the go at one time. What…
Read MoreHow To Tighten A Sentence: 3 Easy Ways To Improve Readability
Rambling is a always a negative, whether you’re speaking or writing. That said, you have more leeway when speaking because there are many ways to hold attention. You can use tone, body language, facial expressions, etc. to keep listeners interested. But when you write, there are only words. So rambling isn’t just annoying – it’s…
Read MoreThis Simple Morning Habit Can Make Your Day Happier and More Creative
“How you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” — Lemony Snicket Morning habits are important because they set the tone for the rest of the day. That’s why I start every morning with the same activity: I write 5 positive moments from the day BEFORE. In…
Read More6 Punctuation Mistakes That Annoy Readers And How To Fix Them
“In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear the way you want to be heard.” ― Russell Baker GOOD punctuation is something most readers take for granted. In my 20+ years of writing, I’ve never had someone leave a comment raving about the perfection of my punctuation. If you’re doing it right,…
Read More7 Tips To Avoid Accidental Plagiarism When Writing Content
In school, we were taught to think of plagiarism as a type of cheating. It was something BAD students did. They stole information and text from various sources and deliberately tried to pass it off as their own work. As a professional writer (and a decent human being), I know how to avoid that kind…
Read MoreWriting Effective Email: 10 Tips To Be Both Purposeful And Polite
If you’re looking for an article on how to get unsuspecting strangers to open spammy email, keep hunting. This post isn’t for you. Also… you should stop that foolishness, because we’re all busy and impatient, and no one wants that kind of email. This article is about how to improve your email communication skills so…
Read MoreWant More Concise, Powerful Content? Ditch These 20+ Words!
When speaking and writing, we naturally favour certain words and expressions. To some extent, this is a good thing because readers like to hear the voice of the writer, and some of those words and expressions carry your voice. But each word and phrase you put on the page also adds bulk, so you need…
Read MoreHow To Write Copy That Converts Website Visitors Into Customers
By definition, conversion is the process of changing something from one form to another. In the context of online marketing, website conversion is generally about changing visitors into customers, donors, subscribers, or members. The bad news is that, on average, only 2.35% of people who visit a website actually convert. That said, this is just…
Read More