… and how to put them right! Advice and opportunities for new, aspiring and upcoming journalists and writers of non-fiction
Like any writing advisor, and like (I expect) most writers, I receive my fair share of requests for help from budding writers. As an aside: they’re usually far more polite via Twitter and email than they are via Facebook. Why is that? Anyway, I vaguely recall a very polite one from someone who, to give them …
In the first of my writing guidebooks, 50 Mistakes Beginner Writers Make, I wrote the following: Rejection means you’re doing things — you’re writing ideas, you’re writing articles — and getting them looked at. It means you’re getting out there … And a line or two later: Rejection isn’t winning, I know, but it isn’t …
I imagine few writers begin writing because the prospect of being flattered by readers and editors is attractive to them, but I don’t think I’ve ever met one who didn’t enjoy the pleasure of being told their work was read, enjoyed and appreciated. It’s only natural and there’s no shame in it. We writers are …
The Writer Magazine tweeted a darned good word of wisdom courtesy of writer Sarah Einstein in April, and here it is. Good revision cannot occur until you fall out of love with a piece. Time and distance are essential. The second I read it I knew it was a winner. To fall out of love …
Ingratitude is the theme of today’s post, and while I’ve deliberately waited until some months after my last professional experience of it in order to keep the emotion out of this, it’s possible some residual frustration will seep through. Excuse it, please. I want to say upfront that most people in the business will thank …
Fretting over friends’ and family’s lack of interest in your work, is today’s mistake. This one seems to affect writers across the board – beginners and established scribes alike. I know a lot of writers who like to moan about it. I ought to declare that my circle of loved ones took great interest and …
When you’re a writer – especially when you’re also a tutor or you offer advice or criticism to new and budding writers – you get a lot of people showing you their work. Some comes from acquaintances, or acquaintances of acquaintances, and some is from strangers. Sometimes I’m happy and have time to help and …
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