LOOKING FOR a really good holiday read, or one for bedtime? Here are the books I have enjoyed most during the last few years, and would really recommend to you.   Read good literature and it will improve your writing …   Fiction Along the Enchanted Way, by William Blacker Room, by Emma Donoghue Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson Stoner, by John Williams Waterland, by Jonathan Swift We Need New Names, by Violet Bulawayo  ...

You might well ask. Well, here are 3 reasons to consider – for those in doubt. Hobby bloggers get a lot of satisfaction. Political bloggers can have huge influence. And professionals and entrepreneurs cite 3 benefits: recognition, new clients and increased income. That data – and more of it – can be found in The State of the Blogosphere, a survey conducted by Technorati in 2011, but not apparently repeated since.   Convinced? There are...

8 Insider’s Tips   1.)  STOP! – Think!   Who is your audience? What is your objective? (People often start writing too early, before they have fully planned their content) What is the format… for example, on the web write for scannability.  2.)  Plan and structure before you start writing YES, planning is important, however short your piece! WHY?  Because it will be quicker to write – Less editing – Ensure balance across text –...

Structuring your writing, in advance, can save you so much time.  Several hours’ work, several drafts, and several sleepless nights.   It’s not just me saying this. This month I ran two training courses in writing skills for clients in London – in ‘Report Writing’ and ‘Everything You Need to Know about Copywriting’.  As in all my training courses, at the end of the day I asked delegates what were the most useful things they had learnt,...

Using a social media group, and a thread I started in October 2013 which got over 200 replies (Yes, over 200 replies – which shows the value of Social Media!) …  here is their advice …  ‘What’s your ONE writing tip for would-be authors?’, I asked them.   They said: Their TOP SIX suggestions for you: Writing is HARD WORK … so be prepared…but PERSEVERE (no author ever regrets publishing a book) REWRITE and EDIT your...

Starting out Appreciate beforehand that writing isn’t easy.  Be ready to make mistakes – you will probably have to come back and edit it later Write without editing along the way – and don’t worry about completing sections before you move on. Writing Write in short sentences and paragraphs Back up your ideas with research, examples, statistics, quotations etc., but don’t overwhelm your readers Take regular breaks, and get out of your chair to...