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Article Writing Do's and Don'ts
Still following along on the Copywriter's Crash Course in article marketing? Ahh, I'm so pleased! With any luck, you'll be an article-writing machine by tomorrow. But before you being submitting articles on the web as a brand-building strategy,...
Hotel Internet Marketing and the Secret of Copywriting
Are you a Hotel Marketer? Do you want to improve your Hotel Internet Marketing Sale? Here are the suggestion: revise your website copywriting!
I've seen many websites in our hotel & hospitality industry crowded with copywriting mistakes. These...
The Myths Of Writing: Have You Bought Into These?
There is an image most people carry of the artist (think Van Gough's self-portrait, the one with his ear bandaged), working in solitude in a barren garret in a dark corner of the city. Everyday is a struggle. He continually walks between moments...
The ONLY Thing You Need to Know About Writing Articles
You don't need to be a great writer to write great articles, just be fast and entertaining. There is only ONE SINGLE THING you need to know about article writing. Tell a story. Stories are easy to follow and interesting. Why are the Chicken Soup...
The Writing Club
Typically when falling asleep in bed at night great thoughts enter the mind, long stringed and meaningful sentences trip over each other to receive attention at the front of the brain alongside all the brilliant findings, results, meanings that...
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LETTING YOUR WRITING SIMMER
One of the most important lessons I've learned about writing--and one
of its most difficult aspects for many of us--is what I've come to
call the "simmering process."
You've just finished an article, story or query letter, and you get
that adrenaline rush that comes with the completion of a job well
done. Your prose sings. That opening paragraph, the one you'd
struggled with for days, is perhaps one of the finest things you've
ever written. Not one word wasted, and nary a dangling participle.
You simply can't wait to ship it off to the editor, or your agent, or
your customer.
But that's exactly what you have to do--wait. In other words, let it
simmer a day or two.
But why wait? The sooner you send it out, the sooner you'll get the
acceptance, the byline, the paycheck, right?
Well, maybe. On the other hand, you might be sending your work out
before it's truly finished. The piece might still be undercooked, a
little raw on the inside. And at this point, having just put what
you thought was the final touch on your creation, you might be
standing too close to it to spot its imperfections.
I have learned to let my essays and articles simmer, like a pot of
stew on the stove, before submitting them. And it constantly amazes
me, what I see in an
article or essay I've written, after I've
stepped away from it for a while. Typos and poor word selections seem
to jump off the page at me, which I can now correct and improve.
That wonderful paragraph that I once believed I could not live
without appears unnecessary now, so I remove it. I replace that
original lame title with a perfect one, one that will more likely
beckon an editor to read it.
It happens every time. No matter how terrific the concept, how
skillful the writing, I find that putting some distance between me
and what I've written allows the seasonings in my words to work their
magic.
If you're still itching to show your masterpiece prematurely, try
throwing yourself into an entirely new writing project, or take a
walk, or clean out your garage. I guarantee that once you return to
it, and view it with a fresh eye, you'll find flaws you can fix and
untapped potential you can unleash. Your end result will be a
something that you'll be proud to put your name on.
Here's to your writing success!
About the Author
Mary Anne Hahn is editor and publisher of WriteSuccess, the free
biweekly ezine for writers who want to pursue successful full-time
writing careers. To subscribe, send a blank email to:
writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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