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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How to write anything: foot to the pedal, we're taking a shortcut

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If you want to master a particular writing style or technique, there’s one proven method of doing that is said by many to be the fastest and possibly most effective method going. It’s a technique that can be used to master anything, from writing in the style of a particular author, matching a writing voice, or learning how to create copy for specific purposes, such as sales pages or advertising.

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How to write a press release: don't

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The secret to writing a great press release is simple: don’t set out to write a press release. Create an article, direct for the end readership you are targeting. Once you’ve got a killer idea, you now need to make life as easy as possible for the journalists and editors, by giving all the information they want and need, with none of fluff and blatant self-promotion that they loathe.

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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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Ideas for blog posts – five sources of inspiration to last a lifetime

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For most writers, finding ideas and inspiration is always a challenge. If you write a blog, then you will likely be trying to come up with a regular stream of posts. These five ideas could give you at least one post a week, every week, for the rest of your blogging career.

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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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