Quips and Tips for Freelance Writers

Fellow scribes, check out this enlightening “Q & A” with author and writing teacher Mark David Gerson. He wrote The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write - and here, he shares a few writing tips.

First, here’s one of Gerson’s favorite life and writing quips:

“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

Click on the image of The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write to learn more about this book filled with tools, tips and inspiration for writers at all levels. Here’s what he has to say about everything from the best holiday gifts for writers to the worst parts of a writing career. Continued

I just signed on with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency in NYC, and though nobody knows what the future holds, I’m thrilled to reach this milestone in my writing career! It took me three weeks to find an agent - and here are the steps I took.

First, though, I gotta share a quip I found from Irene Goodman herself:

“Writing is your job, just like your postman has a job,” says Goodman. “He delivers the mail every day, rain or shine. Successful authors sit down and face that blank screen every day. You don’t actually have to do it every day, but you do have to do it on a firm schedule…If you write only when the muse strikes or when you feel like it, you will have a very hard time finishing a book.”

These are unverified words - I found them on the internet - but boy do I love them! At a writer’s conference recently, bestselling author Bob Mayer said he can’t afford writer’s block. He’s got bills to pay and a family to feed…no time to wait around for the muse.

Regarding agents: click on the 2009 Guide to Literary Agents for oceans of info, and read on to learn how I found special agent Jon Sternfeld. Continued

In this guest post, writer William Meikle describes how to write a “killer opening line” and keep your readers hooked.

But first, I have to share a quip from Annie Dillard on how to be a successful writer:

“One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time,” says Dillard. “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book: give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water.”

Take Annie Dillard’s advice and shmoosh it in with William Meikle’s writing tips below, and you’ll be a writer of leads that hook readers before you know it!  To get a feel for Meikle’s writing (he’s the author of 9 books and several screenplays), click on his scary book cover. Continued

Okay, this list of the best holiday and other gifts for writers does not include books! Instead, it’s a round up of ideas for the writer in your life - whether you’re married to an unpublished poet or celebrating her 52^nd week on the New York Times bestseller list!

First, a quip from William Zinsser:

“There’s not much to be said about the period,” wrote William Zinsser, “except that most writers don’t reach it soon enough.”

Don’t write in long, complicated sentences, k? Read Zinsser’s On Writing Well to for more crucial writing tips - or click on the cover to explore whether you think the book is the right gift for the writer in your life.

And, read on for some really great gifts for writers… Continued

My first experience ghostwriting for someone else was some years ago. I had to write quotes to be included in press releases, content for newsletters and a number of other communications as if they were written by members of senior level management for the company where I worked.

I didn’t do a great job my first time out of the gate. Why? Because I tried to write copy as if I were the person in question. This resulted in a very stilted, stuffy prose that didn’t do anything for my writing. I reevaluated my methods for ghostwriting and did something else the next time I was on deck. I wrote the copy in the same way that I always like to write and then attributed it to the person in question.

And it was so, so much better than before. Continued

As a writer, it’s all too easy to concentrate on the mechanics of submitting work to editors and to forget that the writing itself is of primary importance. We should all be constantly seeking to improve. If we do that, editorial approval will become that much easier.

To that end, here are five things you can start doing today that will immediately improve your writing - and with it your chances of getting published. Continued

In Writer’s Market 2009, there’s a great “Query Letter Clinic” (an article) that describes how to write a query letter for a magazine. I’ve summarized the main points below, and included a sample of a good nonfiction magazine query.

But first, fellow scribes:

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” - Henry David Thoreau

It’s the same with writing query letters! I’ve realized dozens of fabulous ideas for articles while I’m running through the forest, listening to CBC…and then I let them get cold because I don’t write them down. Then they’re dead. Useless.

Don’t “postpone the recording of your thoughts”, fellow scribes. Doing it now is the first step to writing a query letter! It’s later than you think… Continued

Stephen King’s book On Writing was really difficult for him to write - and the first half was difficult for me to read. Nevertheless, I’ve pulled seven writing quips and tips from his book - and I know there’s more!

First, a quip from the King of Horror:

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things about all others: read a lot and write a lot,” says King. “Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in.”

I’ve heard oceans of praise about Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, but I couldn’t get into it. I started reading it, but it was all about his life and early experiences as a writer…where were the writing tips and quips? It turns out they’re there…but they don’t appear until midway through the book. Luckily, some kind reader and fellow library borrower indicated King’s best writing advice with light pencil marks and earmarked pages. 

And these, I share with you. Continued

In this guest post, author and psychologist Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman, Ph.D., describes how to stay in the zone and succeed as a writer. 

First, a quip from Arthur Hailey on how to be a successful writer:

“I set myself 600 words a day as a minimum output, regardless of the weather, my state of mind or if I’m sick or well,” says Hailey. “There must be 600 finished words - not almost right words. Before you ask, I’ll tell you that yes, I do write 600 at the top of my pad every day, and I keep track of the word count to insure I reach my quota daily - without fail.”

Combine Arthur Hailey’s advice with Dr Sherman’s writing tips below, and you’ll be a happily published author before you know it!  Click on the book cover - Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart - for more information about Dr Sherman’s most recent book, and read on for her tips on staying in the zone as a writer… Continued

A logical, satisfying ending is always required in a short story, but how do you ensure that yours is fresh and new? One of the ways is to avoid the obvious. Here are some common endings seen by editors: use them at your peril.

People have been writing stories for a very long time. If you’ve read a similar ending in a story or seen it in a film, you can bet the editor will be aware of it, too. There are only so many original endings to go around - and here’s how to make sure yours is one of them!

(Note from Laurie: William Meikle has written nine novels and numerous scripts - so listen up, fellow scribes! This is good advice, from Meikle as a guest author. He also wrote How Did JK Rowling Do It? At the end of this article is a link to his blog)… Continued