Making the Time to Write
by K.M. Weiland @ Word Play tips“‘It is only half an hour’-’it is only an afternoon’-’it is only an evening’-people say to me over and over again-but they don’t know that it is impossible to command oneself sometimes to any stipulated and set disposal of five minutes-or that the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometimes worry a whole day. These are the penalties paid for writing books. Whoever is devoted to an Art must be content to deliver himself wholly up to it, and find his recompense in it. I am grieved if you suspect me of not wanting to see you, but I can’t help it.”
Warming Up
by K.M. Weiland @ Word Play tipswriters blockWriters are, in a sense, athletes. We hurtle the high walls of writer’s block, we tackle mountains of research, we sprint through rapid-fire action scenes, and sometimes we even manage to hit a home run or two. So what makes us think that, unlike physical athletes, we can force our brains into action without taking the time to warm up our creative muscles?
The Benefits of Outlining
by K.M. Weiland @ Wordplay draftstipsGenerally speaking, writers fall into two different categories: outliners and non-outliners (or, as my friend Linda has dubbed them, “seat-of-the-pantsters”). I’m an outliner. Mostly, I outline because I’m lazy. I hate rewriting; I hate watching my burst of pride and relief at the end of a novel dissipate in a realization of a hole-riddled plot. I’d much rather know where I’m going from the beginning, rather than trying to force my foreshadowing and plot twists into the text somewhere in my second draft. It’s much easier to spend a few weeks rewriting an outline than it is to spend a few months to a year rewriting an entire draft.
Writing your Bio/ Profile
by Laura @ Word Grrls marketingtipsNow and then you’ll have to write a biography to go along wth an article, book, or something else you publish. It’s tough to figure out what you want to say about yourself in just a few lines. Of course, you consider what you want to share with the faceless masses as well as what information will show you in the best light. You want to make yourself look like an authority on the subject of your article.
Seven Tips for Better Web Site Content
by Sara Lancaster@ No2Pen tipsWrite what your clients want, make the search engines find you, and more.
Five hard-learned secrets to writing a book
by Ana @ The Writer Today tipsWhy is having a system better than, say, just sitting at the computer and typing? Well, for one thing, a system will save you time. Lots of time. For another it will lead to a better result. Cleaner, crisper, more compelling copy. And both of these factors will prevent oodles of frustration — making writing more of a pleasure and less of a chore. So if I’m such a smarty-pants, why didn’t I get my book done faster, you ask? Fair question. Turns out that producing a book is infinitely more complicated than writing one. So, looking at all aspects of the process, let me tell you the five book-writing secrets I learned….
6 Tips for Building a Successful Writing Career
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ Quips And Tips tipsBuilding a successful writing career isn’t all about luck or good timing (though that counts). Finding success as a writer involves specific strategies, which anyone can master.
8 Tips for Maintaining More Than One Blog
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ The Adventurous Writer tipsThese tips for maintaining more than one blog will help you become a more organized, better blogger. Many of these tips are applicable even if you just have one blog – and they’re especially important if you’re considering starting a second or third blog!
Writing basics for the first time novelist, part one
by George @ Tumblemoose tipsIf you’re thinking about writing a novel, or maybe you have started the venture and are struggling a bit, there are some basics that you need to know about in order to achieve success. Writing a novel is not just sitting at a word processor with a good story in your head and tapping it out on the keys. A lot goes in to the writing of a novel. Like any worthy project, there are a few things to keep in mind.
18 Tips to Become a Productive Blogger
by Monika Mundell @ The Writers Manifesto tipsTime offers the same value for all of us. And yet, some bloggers seem to manage cramming all kinds of activity into their life without having to justify their writing quality and amount of stuff they get done within a single day.
Choose a Publishing Option According to Your Needs
by Laura Fabiani @ NouveauWriter adviceself-publishingtipsToday, more than ever, writers can be published authors more easily than ten years ago. This is mainly because of the changing scene in the publishing world. Joe Wikert states in his article The Changing Landscape of Self-Publishing: An Insider’s Perspective (March/April 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest), “One day soon, the difference between getting a deal and going it alone may not be as drastic as you think.”
10 ways to make your readers feel at home
by Joanna @ Confident Writing methodtipswriting techniques and stylesI don’t know if you ever get a sense of recognition when you’re reading, a sense of familiarity maybe, or a feeling of being at home? I know I do. It’s a mixture of feeling comfortable and relaxed in the ’space’ that they’ve created for me, and the sense that I ‘know’ the writer behind the words.
8 Stress Management Tips for Writers
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ Quips and Tips healthstresstipsThese stress management tips for writers are key for writing success, since stress can impede creativity and trigger writer’s block! To stay focused and creative, check out these tips for reducing writing stress.
10 Tips for Lazy Writers to Increase Motivation
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ Quips and Tips motivationtipsThese ten tips for lazy writers will increase your self-discipline and motivation to write! I guarantee that you’ll ramp up your writing routine with at least one or two of these self-discipline tips for writers….if not, I’ll give you 100% of your money back. 
19 Editorial Tips From a Senior Editor
by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen @ Quips and Tips editingtipsThese writing and editorial tips are from a senior editor I write for regularly – and they include some of the most frequent errors she sees in article submissions. Pay attention, fellow scribes, because even when you think you’ve got writing down to a fine art, there’s always more to learn!
5 Tips for Juggling Writing and Work
by Susan Johnston @ Urban Muse Writer life balancetipsMany people are surprised when I mention how I balance freelance writing with a full time job. Yes, it’s tough sometimes, but the thing to remember is that I don’t have kids, pets, or even houseplants. Writing is one of my top priorities outside of work, but I still can’t do as much of it as I’d like. I’m interested in how other part timers make it work, so here are some of the strategies I (try to) use:
10 Tips for New Bloggers
by Susan Johnston @ Urban Muse Writer getting startedtipsNow I’ll touch on tips for building a successful blog.
10 things to write on in an emergency!
by Iain Broome ideastipstoolsOnce you abandon your muse and accept the fact that other commitments in your life will sometimes prevent you from writing, you can prepare for the unexpected. When an idea arrives, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you need to be ready. The truth is, your best ideas don’t always come to you at appropriate times. I used to regularly find myself without a notepad, desperately repeating an idea in my head to make sure I remembered it. It rarely worked. Usually, I’d forget large parts of the idea. Often, I wouldn’t remember I’d had an idea at all. This is my advice:
Finding your writer’s voice
by George Angus @ Tumblemoose inspirationtipswriters flowSome writers are lucky. That’s what I’ve decided. From the very first keystrokes that they ever put to paper the words just flow and make sense. Others struggle and it seems like the words never take on a natural flow for them. Sometimes the difficulty in making words flow is so severe, it causes a terminal case of writer’s block.
10 turn-offs for restless writers and pen-shy procrastinators
by Iain Broome @ Write for Your Life procrastinationtipsWriters don’t get it easy. Most of us spend our working lives sat at a computer screen. The very thing that’s supposed to help us write efficiently bombards us with distractions. But of course, it’s not just technology that keeps us from our hectic writing schedules. We’re surrounded by all manner of things that can’t wait to help us procrastinate. Below is my list of top turn-offs for writers…
Top Ten Reasons to Blog Your Business Site
by George Angus @ Tumblemoose tipsWhen I first heard the term “blog” I surmised that it had something to do with the internet and a log or journal. It didn’t take but Google and a moment to discover Weblogs and what was to me, a whole new world. I have to admit, I wasn’t taken with the idea too much. It seemed to me that it was most likely a bunch of personal ranting and frivolity.
10 Things to To Do When You Lose Your Blogging Voice
by Joanna @ Confident Writing ideasinspirationtipsThere are times when blogging seems easy. Natural. Maybe even like breathing. Other times though when it’s hard. Awkward. Perhaps you feel like you’ve become a stranger on your own blog. Or that there’s nothing more you can add to the words that pour out into the blogosphere, day after busy posting day. Perhaps it starts to feel like you’re losing, or have lost, your blogging voice.