Writing

What's the right word count for a novel?

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What’s the right length for a novel? Let’s do an actual word count on some ebooks and find out.

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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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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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7 surefire ways to write an opening paragraph

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How to write opening paragraphs: 7 surefire techniques used by direct response copywriters

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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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Story goals – a tale of three horses

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If a person has a goal, if they are trying to get somewhere, do something, achieve something, they become interesting. It’s hard to take an interest in the person who has no goal, nothing they need to get done. Without goals, the reader won’t find the character interesting.

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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 write a blog post – in 12 easy steps

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How to write a blog post – in 12 easy steps: from initial ideas through research, writing and making it all pretty with links and photos.

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10 ways to write scannable web copy

Scannable web copy – 10 techniques to help you write for readers who scan web pages.

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A quick and easy way to add ooomph to your copy

A writing exercise with two rules: no sentence can be more than ten words long; and no word can have more than one syllable.

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Four ways to take your writing to another level

Do you want your writing to stand out, to have power and persuasiveness, to have life and zest and energy? Then here are four ways to take your writing to another level:

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Three things you must know before you start to write

Three crucial things you must know before you start to write

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Stop writing! That's enough 'content' already

There’s been a deluge of ‘content’ onto the Internet. We’re drowning in it already – and the Internet is barely into its adolescence. Oh Google, Google, what have you done?

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Beware these five creativity killers

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

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