It helps you Write Better, Easier & Faster
When I’m feeling whiny about how hard writing is, I turn to my file of quotes from the pros.… Read the full article
Writing process, improvement
How to overcome writer’s block
Work with, not against, your brain
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Never had time for it. Blank page? I’ll take two, please. I’ve never met the muse.… Read the full article
Creative templates outperform thinking outside the box
Templates more effective than brainstorming, free association
Can creativity be templated?
Yes it can, according to a team of Israeli researchers.
In 1999, the researchers studied 200 ads that had been award winners or finalists in top advertising competitions.… Read the full article
Create fill-in-the-blanks story writing templates
Save time, effort when you stop reinventing the wheel
What a great assignment I just completed for a technology comms team: I templated their blog posts, intranet announcements, lead generation emails, news releases, speeches, success stories and white papers.… Read the full article
How to interview a person for an article
‘Get the name of the dog’ and other ways to get creative material
I still remember — more than a decade later — one of the thousand heartbreaking stories about Hurricane Katrina victims, an AP report about the Superdome evacuation:
Many people had dogs, and they could not take them on the bus.
… Read the full article Research for writers: Get good at getting the goods
Conduct background research, observational research and interviews
You’ve heard the phrase “hog in, sausage out.” That means that what you get out of the grinder will be no better than what you put in it.… Read the full article
How to interview for an article to get stories
How to find the aha! moment and other tools
Call it an aha! moment:
Alone in his laboratory on a snowy evening the week before Christmas, Dr.
… Read the full article How to conduct observational research
Try WBHA, or writing by hanging around
You’ve heard about MBWA, or management by walking around? Try WBHA, or writing by hanging around — going to the scene to observe.… Read the full article
Step 2 of the writing process: Freewriting
Get words on paper faster
There comes a point in any writing project when you need to follow Ernest Hemingway’s rule for writers: Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair.… Read the full article
Good interview questions for an article
Go beyond the five W’s
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Those questions are journalistic tools that can help us find great life stories — or condemn us to a lifetime of cranking out just-the-facts-ma’am pieces.… Read the full article