Want to improve your writing? Avoid these five over-used words and phrases! These writing tips are from a successful writer who isn’t just my regular guest blogger – she’s a recent Top 10 Blogs for Writers winner. I’ve learned a lot from freelancer Susan Johnston – such as how to increase my blog readership, earn [...]

My sample chapters are due to a publisher in one week; these tips for writing for publication are my final attempt to make those chapters as lively, concrete, and strong as possible! These writing tips focus on the craft of writing (not the mechanics, such as grammar, spelling, or sentence construction).
Before the tips, a quip:
“The [...]

Publication coach Daphne Gray-Grant shares five ways to salvage writing disasters – from poorly written articles to weak anecdotes.
But first, as ever, a quip:
“The process of writing has something infinite about it. Even though it is interrupted each night, it is one single notation.” – Elias Canetti
Writing is a long, fluid process – and writing well is [...]

How can belonging to a book club improve your writing skills? O, let me list the ways…
But first, a quip from Canadian icon, poet, and novelist Margaret Atwood:
“They [the book club members] are ready to reveal…their own reactions, their own biases and doubts and convictions, and above all their own tastes,” said Atwood. “The beauty [...]

What are your most common writing mistakes? The more quickly you recognize them, the faster and better you’ll write! Here are several mistakes that experienced freelance writers, novelists, and writing instructors often make — plus several tips for strong writing. 
Before the writing tips, a quip from Socrates:
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come [...]

Writers who try to be perfect are less likely to get published because they never finish! Here are tips for overcoming perfectionism for writers from a full-time freelance writer who more often than not hits “send” before an article pitch is ready (I polish articles until they gleam, but am trigger happy with my pitches!).
Before my tips, here’s a [...]

These ”chick lit writing tips” will improve the writing skills of any writer in any genre. The tips are from a book about writing chick lit, which I was reluctant to read (I thought it’d be too floofy for successful writers). But, the authors of this chick lit book — See Jane Write — discuss the serious side [...]

These five tips for decreasing writing errors are from Brent Sampson, best-selling author of Sell Your Book on Amazon: Top Secret Tips Guaranteed to Increase Sales for Print-On-Demand and Self-Publishing Writers.
Before we jump into these tips, here’s a quip from a famous American author:
“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil,” [...]

In this guest post, novelist William Meikle offers tips on writing leads (“killer opening lines”) – and keeping 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, [...]

Published author and successful writer William Meikle offers five ways to improve your writing skills, articles, and books. Becoming a successful writer is a process, so buckle up and enjoy the journey, fellow scribes!
Before the tips, a quip:
“As a writer, it’s all too easy to concentrate on the mechanics of submitting work to editors and to [...]