… and how to put them right! Advice and opportunities for new, aspiring and upcoming journalists and writers of non-fiction
“The most important thing was to write a piece that my interviewee would be completely happy with,” was what a writer told a colleague of mine a while ago, regarding a sculptor she was profiling for an arts journal. I’m sure the final piece was excellent, but I couldn’t help feeling this attitude was a …
I often advise new students to start modestly with local papers, local magazines and other niche or humble titles. It helps build up confidence, gets you into the habit of writing regularly, boosts your research skills… and so on. You’ll also probably get useful feedback from editors with whom you’re working. Often, small publications may …
It’s easy to assume a word with which you’ve been familiar for years means exactly what you’ve always taken it to mean. Maybe you first came across the word in a slightly ambiguous context. Maybe nobody has ever corrected you when you’ve used it. Maybe they didn’t know either. Maybe you’ve just not given it …
You’re a writer not a designer. You work with words not a palette of colours. Your business is text not image. What follows has been partly inspired by Julie Phillips, author of the Article Antics blog, and Diane Perry of the Working 2 Write blog. Julie recently posted here that her writing tutor had asked …
So here’s a fictitious and slightly OTT example of something I used to do a lot, still slip up on occasionally, and see a bit in the work of new writers, especially in travel articles. “Nicetown-on-Sea has something for everyone… Foodies will drool over the delights at Pedro’s continental deli on the High Street, but …
I’ve been coming across this one a lot lately. Writers comparing their ‘writing’ muscle to a physical muscle – that is, you’ve got to keep working it to keep it in tip-top shape – and worrying that if they don’t write daily, that muscle will atrophy. And only yesterday, writer Daniel H Pink posted his …
Yes, writers write. But writers do a lot, lot more. You have to feed your writing. From where do writers obtain that fuel? Writers read. I’ll be returning to this subject, as it’s so important, but it’s a huge mistake to not read. Often I’m amazed when people tell me they want to write for …
A lot of people love the idea of becoming a writer – and why not. It’s satisfying, stimulating, fulfilling, fun, and every day is different. When you tell people this, you often spot a twinkle of excitement in their eyes. “I’m going to have a go too!” they tell you, and you smile, and try …
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Please read the About and Privacy Policy statements before using this site. Some links on MWM are affiliated. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.