Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

Have you always wanted to write your memoir, but didn’t know where to start? These tips for writing your life story are from literature professor Allan Hunter, who teaches at Curry College in Milton, MA. He’s also the author of Write Your Memoir: The Soul Work of Telling Your Story.

“Writing your memoir can be one of the best things you could ever do for yourself,” says Dr Hunter. “I’ve worked with memoirists and with personal essay writers for thirty years and the thing that never fails to astonish me is that when people write their lives out they are changed by the experience.”

He says that memoir writers move into a new relationship with their past, which can be an extraordinary path towards emotional and psychological healing. To embark on this journey of memoir writing, read Dr Hunter’s Write Your Memoir: The Soul Work of Telling Your Story. And here are four ways to get started on the story of your life… Continued

Do you wrestle with the “I have no time to write” beast – and wish you could be writing more, writing better, and achieving your writing goals? These six ways to find more time to write are from published author and poet, Emma Lee…and they’ll help you write even if you have a full-time job, kids, and other responsibilities to take care of….

But first, one of my favorite writing quotations from Natalie Goldberg:

“I hear people say they’re going to write,” says Natalie Goldberg, author of Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft. “I ask, when? They give me vague statements. Indefinite plans get dubious results. When we’re concrete about our writing time, it alleviates that thin constant feeling of anxiety that writers have – we’re barbecuing hot dogs, riding a bike, sailing out in the bay, shopping for shoes, even helping a sick friend, but somewhere nervously at the periphery of our perception we know we belong somewhere else – at our desk!”

If you want to be a writer, you must make time to write…and then you must write. For more practical and philosophical inspiration from Goldberg, read Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. And, here are Emma Lee’s tips for finding more writing time in the day… Continued

Since only 1% of readers comment on blog posts (1 in 100, as per ProBlogger Darren Rowse), bloggers need lots of traffic to get lots of comments! But, there are other ways bloggers can get readers to comment on posts…as revealed by these eight tips for bloggging…  

Here’s a great question from one of my readers:

“I follow my stats and know people are reading my blog, but no matter what I try (create controversy, ask for additional ideas, or whatever) I get precious few comments. Any ideas on getting readers to comment?” ~ Jennifer, on How to Make Good Comments on Blog Posts.

To be successful, bloggers must learn as much about blogging as they can – both by doing and by reading! ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse is probably the best print resource for bloggers that I know of — but I daresay all books about blogging offer at least a nugget of gold. And most books about blogging discuss how to encourage readers to comment, perhaps offering tips similar to these… Continued

You don’t have time to write, you say? Check out this interview with author, doctor, and flamenco dancer Susan Biali. Her quips and tips will motivate you to write that book, send out those query letters, and build your blog beyond your wildest dreams!

Here’s what Dr Biali says about how difficult it is to get published:

“One thing that really bothers me that prevails in talk about writers and writing is that it’s really hard to break into the market, really hard to get published, and really hard to earn any income,” she says. “I think that as writers we should speak more optimistically about the realities of our profession.  Much of what I’ve accomplished as a freelance writer and author has been in spite of what people told me or warned me about.”

She says the negativity and gloom actually motivated her to write more – but fragile writers might give up entirely because of all the “negative press” about the writing life. If you’re one of those “fragile” writers, you need a booster shot from Dr B! Read her book Live a Life You Love!: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You. And, here are her thoughts on the writing life… Continued

The downside of making money as a writer or blogger is paying income taxes; to ease your pain come April, here are eight ways for working writers and bloggers to get their taxes organized. This is important, fellow scribes, because the sooner you treat freelance writing like a business, the more money you’ll earn as a writer (and the more income tax you’ll pay — but hey, at least you’re making money writing or blogging!).

Before the tips, a quip:

“Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.” ~ Jules Renard.

My goal as a working writer and blogger is to earn enough money to make paying income taxes a pain in the keister; earning no money is not an option! If you earned money writing last year, make sure you’re using tax software such as the TurboTax Deluxe Federal + State– it definitely makes calculating, filing, and paying income taxes easy (I remember the good old days, doing my taxes on paper!). But since doing taxes involves more than software, here are eight things for freelance writers and bloggers to think about as income tax season approaches… Continued

Leaving thoughtful comments on blog posts is reportedly a great way to drive traffic to your own blog. These seven tips for making good comments will help when you want to comment on a post, but all you can think of is “Uhhhh…..good blog post, dude!”

Here’s what ProBlogger Darren Rowse says about comments and blogging:

“I think commenting is the best part of my blogging – especially here at ProBlogger,” writes Rowse in Using Comments on Your Blog. “You see I’m not that profound or wise, but many of my readers are. Comments add value to my blog. They take my posts to the next level and often take my ideas in rewarding new directions.”

But not ALL blog comments are profound or wise, and not all blog comments lead readers to the commenter’s blog. Here are a few thoughts on making comments on blogs that inspire readers to click over and visit your blog. And for more info about making money blogging, read Rowse’s ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income – it’s a goldmine of information! Continued

A reader asked several important questions about starting a freelance magazine writing career on my Ask a Question About Writing page. Since money and successful writing are two of my favorite topics, I turned my answer in to a post about making money as a freelance writer…

Here’s what she said:

“I recently left Corporate America to return to school full-time to get my Masters degree and follow my dreams of becoming a full-time freelance writer,” says Morgan. “Things are moving along slowly. I do not have a clue what I am doing. I am a little nervous about not having a degree, posting my CV on my website, etc. Oh – I haven’t finished my degree and it’s driving me insane to the point I don’t want to write….sigh.”

Feeling paralyzed because of insecurity, fear, self-doubt, and anxiety is normal for even the most successful writers! But letting those insecurities and anxieties stop you from forging ahead will keep you where you are: wondering what it’s like to start a magazine writing career instead of actually finding out for yourself. If you wrestle with fear and self-doubt, read one of my favorite books on succeeding: Ralph Keyes’ The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear.

And, here are four important questions and answers about earning a living as a writer…. Continued

Do you want your writing to get noticed – in a good way? Ditch those boring, over-used words and phrases! Stop using amorphous adverbs and namby-pamby nouns! Delete crummy clichés! Two months ago I promised a reader in the comments section of 5 Over-Used Words and Phrases for Writers to Avoid that I’d write this post…and here it finally is…. better late than never!

What’s that you say? The cliché “better late than never” is over-used and boring, and belongs on my “over-used words and phrases in writing” list? If you caught that, you get a gold star! (jeez, there I go again with the tired clichés).

If you’re serious about learning the mechanics of writing, check out Mignon Fogarty’s The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl – you’ll learn a new tip for great writing every day. And, here are 51 over-used words and phrases in writing – which I hope helps you become a more successful, confident writer. Compiling this list has certainly opened my eyes to my own weak writing habits… Continued

What can writing advice can we absorb from American best-selling novelist John Irving? Here are several writing quips, from which I’ve teased tips about the definition of a “real” writer, the importance of action in writing, and how to be brave enough to live the life you love.

First, a quip from The World According to Garp.

“’All men are liars,’ said Roberta Muldoon, who knew this was true because she had once been a man.”

If you haven’t read The World According to Garp – or watched the movie, which starred Robin Williams and Glenn Close – you’re denying yourself a great literary pleasure. Truth be told, I liked A Son of the Circus more than Garp, because it was more complicated and exotic. Anyway, enough about Irving’s novels. Here are a few writing quips and tips to chew on…and an assignment for my fellow scribes at the end! Continued