Mindset

Everyone's a writer

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Hey you, yes you, reading this, right now. You’re a writer. And that guy over there, he’s a writer too. And the woman to the left, she’s a writer. Me too, I’m a writer. We’re all writers. The world is full of writers. Being a writer isn’t some special sanctified status, protected by a class-ridden elite.

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Puppets: the no 1 worst mistake you can make in your writing … or your business

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Whatever you are writing, it’s not about you. It’s not what you want to say that matters, it’s the reader that’s important. How will they benefit from reading this? What insights will they take from it? What will they learn? Why should they care?

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How to have ideas – the 7 steps to creativity

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How to have ideas, the 7 steps to creativity formula, in brief, with links to the whole thing over on Write to Done.

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Beware the curse of 'zombie' copy: does your writing lack the spark of life?

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Does your writing lack the one vital ingredient? Whether you’re writing blogs, advertising copy, a novel or a sales letter, there’s one essential element you must have: without it, your words will fall flat, and no amount of editing will be able to reanimate the lifeless corpse.

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Seduction and the social media – writing to entice

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Imagine, for a moment, that you’ve just met some incredibly attractive person, someone you’d really like to get to know much, much better.
Would you rush up to them, blurt out all your strengths and qualities, give them your entire life history, and invite them back to your place?
Or would you try to be more subtle than that?

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How to master the craft of writing

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To master the craft of writing, you need the right mindset. It’s no different to mastering archery or martial, tennis or yoga. The dabbler and stressor will never master it. Mastering any craft requires patient daily practice of the fundamentals until they become grooved.

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How to motivate anyone

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How to motivate anyone: pain and pleasure, the carrot and the stick. Writers are motivators. Whatever you write, the chances are that you are trying to motivate someone either to do something – or not do something.

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Techniques that can help you get a draft written

Sometimes the words won’t flow. You don’t know where to start. The prospect of actually writing something and committing to it, getting it right and good enough, is so daunting that it freezes you. There are ways around this. Here are eight of them, discussed briefly.

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Beware these five creativity killers

Don’t let these mental minefields blow holes in your creativity.

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How professional writers work

How writers work – learn tips, techniques and habits from the professionals

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Discover a community of writers – at Scribophile

Scribophile is a new writing site which looks like it could create innovative ways for writers to share ideas and feedback.

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Free online writing courses

Free online university writing courses

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One word that can transform your writing

Interviewing people is a core skill for a writer. Here’s how to do it.

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How to have ideas

A quick guide to the technique for producing ideas

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How to communicate

There’s no such thing as a failure of understanding, only a failure to communicate effectively.

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