… and how to put them right! Advice and opportunities for new, aspiring and upcoming journalists and writers of non-fiction
If being a writer and only a writer isn’t working out, then it may be time for a change-up. This isn’t about giving up being a writer – although I have written about that before, in Mistake #108, and don’t believe it’s something you should never consider – but about being more than a writer. …
It is perfectly correct to say, “I was stood at the bus stop” — but only if someone picked you up physically, walked you to the bus stop, placed you down and stood you there. It is just fine to say, “We were sat at the table in the restaurant” — but only if the …
There had been no plan to try to do it. Once I’d decided to, once I’d moved past the half-way mark, there was not much consideration for the fact that it would be my first time, were I to succeed. But I was closer to the end than the beginning. It seemed doable. And by then I was …
Although I now specialise in allergies and intolerances, before that I used to cover diet and nutrition. I eventually got a bit disillusioned with writing about this vitamin, that mineral and those antioxidants. Did my readers really need to know all this detail? Was being informed on such complex matters really necessary? In today’s food culture, I think …
If we pitch an idea to an editor and no commission results then clearly it was a rubbish idea and we should give up on it. If we do get the commission, then once we’ve gloated over seeing our name in print and spent the fee, that’s the end of that. I made both of …
I reckon it must be quite tough to be Simon Whaley. As I imagine it, you must be itching to get on with your own ‘proper’ or more ‘creative’ writing projects – in Simon’s case both fiction and non-fiction – but there’s always some excellent writing advice in your head, demanding to be let loose and committed …
The second in my planned series of Mistakes Writers Make ebooks is released today, and is called 50 More Mistakes Beginner Writers Make. As I say in the blurb, its aim is to progress the aspiring writing of articles and non-fiction to the next level, expanding on some of the core basics covered in the …
Communication – you’d think it would be the most natural skill for any writer. I mean it’s what we do, isn’t it? But even writers have communication breakdowns at times. Picture this: while you’re sitting at home quietly working on writing assignments, your magazine or newspaper editor is working in a hectic office, getting hundreds …
It’s not often that you turn the page of a book to be met with a friendly picture of a good mate – but that’s exactly what happened to me reading Susie Kearley’s The Little Book of Freelance Writing … Ruth Holroyd is the friend. We are both allergy bloggers – she at What Allergy, …
I don’t know why I’ve not written about reverse dictionaries before. The subject sprung to mind recently during the weekly Twitter #writingchat — which turned out to be about gifts for writers. Trust me, a reverse dictionary would make a great gift for any writer — but one should be on your own bookshelf too. …
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