Megan L. reports:
"Writing fiction comes with a number of myths that keep many people from giving it a serious try. Don’t [let] them get you down! Here are a few things that you might hear about the industry as you’re learning how to write fiction–and the reality behind them...Many aspiring writers are told that unless you’re Stephen King or you’re famous for something else, there’s no point in trying to get your work noticed. But the truth is, many publishers actively look for new writers. Plus, it’s also important to remember that every big-name writer started somewhere. Stephen King was a teacher struggling to pay his power bill when he wrote and sold his first novel!...[M]ost friends and family won’t want to damage their relationship with you by saying they don’t like something you wrote. There’s nothing wrong with asking them for feedback, but make sure you’re also re-reading and being objective with your own work. Do the characters really resonate? Will the plot really keep readers interested? Another helpful way to get feedback is by joining a writers’ group. These groups allow writers to critique each [other's] works and get truly objective opinions about them. You can also hire a professional editor or work with a private tutor to get additional outside feedback...'Write what you know' is a piece of writing advice that has been around forever, but it doesn’t mean what you think it does. When learning how to write fiction, writers often hear this more than anything else. But if you have to write what you know, and you’re a college student in Illinois, does that mean you can’t write about pirates or geishas? Absolutely not. You can create a convincing world through research and imagination. If we only wrote about what we knew, we wouldn’t have fantasy, science fiction, or many types of horror stories...If you want to be successful, you have to pick one of the hot genres and write in it, right? The experts say otherwise. By the time a genre hits it big, it’s already too late to start crafting a similar story. Those works were accepted a year or two before they were published, and by the time something gets popular, the next big thing is working its way through publishers and getting ready to hit the stores. So instead, write what you are passionate about rather than what you think might be popular...You’ve put enormous work into writing a story that you love and that a publisher wants. But that’s just phase one of understanding how to write fiction that sells. You will have at least one round of edits from your editor...You may have to cut characters out, shorten the work, clarify certain aspects of the plot, or even change the plot slightly for a different outcome. The fiction writing process can go on for months after you already have the work under contract–or even longer. In many ways, fiction is a collaborative process that starts with you but may end with you, an agent, an editor, and a publisher...If you’re passionate about writing fiction, don’t let anything turn you away [from] it! Keep writing and discovering your passions–you won’t regret it!" Kristie Lorette reports:
"Whether your business is loaning money to someone or you are personally loaning money, when you write a binding promissory note, it is a legal contract between the lender and the borrower...Write the date of the writing of the promissory note at the top of the page...Write the amount of the note. Add the amount of the loan, written in numeric value and long form (written out in words)...Write out a description saying how the borrower is to repay the loan...Give the date the first payment is due by writing out the month, day and year. State the day and the months that subsequent loan payments are due as well. Finally, indicate the last day and month of the final payment on the note...Write the interest rate. Describe the interest rate of the loan in a numeric value with a percent sign and in long form. State if the interest rate is a fixed or variable rate...State if the note is secured or unsecured. If the borrower is using collateral to secure the loan, describe this on the promissory note...Include the names of both the lender and the borrower on the note, indicating which person is which...Write the complete mailing address where each payment is to be mailed...Each borrower should print and sign his name, as well as date the promissory note, to acknowledge the obligation to repay the loan...If there is more than one borrower, make sure each borrower prints, signs and dates the promissory note. Otherwise, if legal action is necessary, you can pursue it only with the borrower who signs the promissory note. The lender is not required to sign the promissory note for it to be legally binding." Kate Prudchenko reports:
"A point of view analysis essay represents a formal work of writing that focuses its analysis on the point of view of a particular literary composition. An essay that analyzes point of view puts forth some sort of position or an argument...[and] typically considers the effects that a particular point of view has on different aspects of the narrative...Point of view is the perspective from which the story is told. The first-person narrator relays the story using 'I,' showing the reader what he is seeing and experiencing throughout the story. This narrator is typically the main character, but he can also be a supporting character. The third-person narrator relays the story using 'he' or 'she,' showing the reader a broader perspective...To write a point of view analysis essay, you should read the literary narrative and take notes on the writer's use of point of view. A writer uses a particular point of view to tell a certain kind of story. Relaying the story from another perspective would make a completely different story. As a result...it is particularly important to pay close attention to the effect that a narrative's point of view has on various aspects of the story and on the story as a whole...Your analysis of a narrative's point of view should be conveyed in one sentence, a thesis statement, which is typically found at the end of your essay's introductory paragraph. The thesis statement should relay your main argument about the writer’s use of point of view and what effect that has on some other aspect of the narrative...Once you have analyzed a narrative’s point of view and developed your thesis statement, you can write the rest of the essay. You should place your thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph and use the other paragraphs of the essay to support your thesis...The body paragraphs of this essay should provide support for this argument by using evidence from the novel to illustrate how the first-person perspective shows unreliability and subjectivity. At the end, you should summarize your main argument and evidence in the conclusion paragraph." Sam Ashe-Edmunds reports:
"When writing a report about your business trip, stress how it was a good investment for the company to send you. This will help convince managers that future trips also will be money well spent. Creating a report on your trip to a seminar, conference or trade show should focus on showing a return on the company’s investment...Unless you are writing a long, formal report, skip the cover and contents pages and executive summary. Use a memo format if the document will only be a few pages long, and use a heading that lists the date, topic of the report, your name and who’s receiving it. Use section heads to organize the report...Start the report with an overview that states facts but does not provide support or detail. Let the reader know what the trip was, why you were sent and the expected results...Describe what happened at the event in terms of how or if you met your goals for going there. Don’t be afraid to tell your supervisor any expectations that fell short -- if you don’t, and he asks later, you might look like you purposely left this information out of the report...Give specific examples of events relevant to your goals or anything that happened that will benefit your company. Rather than listing personal benefits you got from the trip, such as improving your knowledge of a specific software, discuss how those benefits will help the company -- for example[,] by decreasing the company’s need to hire outside vendors now that you have this skill...Use the summary to recap the highlights of the trip, including your expected benefits, whether or not you attained them or any others, the total cost for the trip, any expected financial benefit to the company and your recommendation for the future. The more specific you can be about the benefits of your trip, the easier it is for your superiors to calculate a return on their investment...Consider attaching your expense report to the document, rather than listing the details in the document. Include the total cost of the trip in your document, but save details, such as airfare, lodging, meals, tips, parking and other travel costs for the expense report." Roman Pichler reports:
"[A] user story describes how a customer or a user employs the product. You should therefore tell the stories from the user’s perspective. What’s more, user stories are particularly helpful to capture a specific piece of functionality such as searching for a product or making a booking...A great way to capture your insights about the users and customers is to use personas. But there is more to it: The persona goals help you discover your stories...What functionality does the product have to provide to meet the goal of the personas?...A user story is not a specification, but [a] communication and collaboration tool. Stories should never be handed off to the development team. They should rather be part of a conversation: The product owner and the team should discuss the stories, or even better, write them together. This leverages the creativity and the knowledge of the team and usually results in better user stories...Write your stories so that they are easy to understand. Keep them simple and concise. Avoid confusing and ambiguous terms, and use active voice. Focus on what’s important, and leave out non-essential information. The following template puts the user or customer modelled [sic] as a persona into the story and makes its benefit explicit. Use the template when it is helpful, but don’t feel obliged to apply it. Experiment with different ways to write your stories to understand what works best for you and your team...Starting with epics allows you to sketch the product functionality without committing to the details. This is particularly helpful for new products and new features: It allows you to capture the rough scope, and it buys you time to learn more about the users and how to best meet their needs. It also reduces the time and effort required to integrate new insights. If you have lots of detailed stories, then it’s often tricky and time-consuming to relate any feedback to the right stories...Break your epics into smaller, detailed stories until they are ready: clear, feasible, and testable. Everyone should have a shared understanding of the story’s meaning; the story should not [be] too big, and there has to be an effective way to determine if the story is done...As you decompose epics into smaller stories, remember to add acceptance criteria. Acceptance criteria complement the story’s narrative: They allow you to describe the conditions that have to be fulfilled so that the story is done. The criteria enrich the story and make it more precise and testable, and they [ensure] that the story can be demoed or released to the users and the other stakeholders...Paper cards are not only cheap and easy to use. They facilitate collaboration: [Everyone] can take a card and jot down an idea. Cards can also be easily grouped on the table or wall to check for consistency and completeness and to visualise [sic] dependencies. Even if your stories are stored electronically, it is worthwhile to use paper cards when you write new stories...Stories want to communicate information...Make them visible instead...Creating a great user experience (UX) requires more than writing user stories. Also consider the user journeys and interactions, the visual design, and the nonfunctional properties of your product. This results in a holistic description that makes it easier to identify risks and assumptions, and it increases the chances of creating a product with the right user experience." Gregory Hamel reports:
"Starting and running a small business is an inherently risky practice because there is no guarantee that a new venture will attain profitability. Unforeseen events or disasters can be especially harmful to a business...A contingency plan is a business document that lays out a course of action a business will take in response to future events...The purpose of a contingency plan is for a business to have a specific set of instructions in place if certain events that may interrupt normal business operations occur. For example, a massage business might plan to move operations to a different location if its main location is damaged by a natural disaster. Similarly, a pizza shop might plan to start an aggressive advertising campaign if a competing pizza shop opens nearby...The contents of a contingency plan can vary significantly from one business to another based on the business model and the types of goods and services they provide. Nevertheless, the plan should contain a list of possible disasters, emergencies and threats plus a set of instructions that detail how the business will respond to each one. A contingency plan should also cite which managers or employees are responsible for carrying out the plan's instructions. For example, a restaurant's contingency plan might call for its owner to lay off workers and to stop ordering materials and equipment if it loses its physical location due to a fire. The plan might then call for scouting then leasing a new location and rehiring a reduced amount of staff, only returning to the pre-disaster staff level when business establishes itself in the new location...A contingency plan allows a business to respond to disasters and threats quickly and deliberately, which can potentially save time and money...Certain organizations offer resources to business owners, such as templates for contingency plans that can serve as examples or frameworks to create new plans." Gretchen Dukowitz reports:
"Case studies – love ’em or hate ’em – remain a critical part of the content marketing mix for almost every B2B organization. To some, they may seem stodgy (or dare I say boring?), but CMI research shows more companies are using them...But, let’s be honest. Case-study creators’ opinions probably fall more on the hate-’em end of the spectrum. The tried-and-true formula – challenge, solution, benefit – doesn’t exactly inspire creativity or good storytelling, and the fallback – to pack them full of bad business jargon – can make writing a case study a huge chore...Fortunately, a few simple steps will allow you to not only create your case studies faster, [more easily], and less painfully, but can help make them sound better, too...A good customer interview is the lifeblood of a good case study. Before you write a case study, do yourself a huge favor and actually talk to a real, live customer...Case studies are stories. They have narratives and need to be rooted firmly in the experience of the customer. You can get all of these things by talking to one. The end result is a strong case study with a clear beginning, middle, and end, as opposed to a Frankenstein-assembled story that you put together from random parts...You are not being held to some journalistic standard that says you must reproduce all customer utterances word for word...You can – make that should – edit and embellish quotes to make their point more effectively...You have to retain the spirit of what a customer says and make it sound plausible...A few small, completely OK tweaks make a big difference, and with customer approval, you are secure in knowing your updated quote works for everyone...[M]ost businesses aren’t too terribly concerned about the challenges other businesses face. This may be [shortsighted], but more often than not, businesses are too knee-deep in their own issues to worry about the other guy (aside from giving lip service to outpacing the competition, of course). This thinking is a big problem for case-study writers because exploring the case study’s problems – the challenge section – usually makes up at least a third of the story. To effectively hook readers, take a step back and think about why a broader audience might be interested in the one business’ challenge...The first sentence of your case study should always speak to a broad business issue and provide context for the reader. This provides a better chance that readers will identify with the broader challenge even if they are not in the study’s specific vertical or business...When you implement these three tips into your case-study process, you will be able to create an authentic, easy-to-understand voice that sets the stage for a meatier and more effective case study that is appealing to a wider audience." Carl Hose reports:
"Product catalogs have been one of the major marketing tools since mail-order catalogs made their first appearances in the 1800s. There is no way to accurately estimate the dollar amount of goods catalogs are responsible for selling yearly, but according to a 1998 Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates, catalog sales for the year were nearing 87 million dollars. This means putting together a catalog for your business could lead to better profit margins all the way around...Gather as much information about the products you're writing about as you can. This includes not only the company's description of the products, but [also] images of the products if possible. The more information you have on the products you're writing about, the more effective your text will be...Organize your product descriptions by product numbers and product name. First and foremost, follow the guidelines of the company for which you're writing. Typically, this will involve a 20[-] to 50[-]word description of the product...Include all pertinent information in the product description...Work this material into the description as smoothly as possible, as opposed to simply giving a description of product appearance and then including dimensional and other information at the end of the description. For food catalogs in particular, use vivid descriptions designed to make potential customers' mouths water...Think and write succinctly...Skip words such as 'and,' 'the' and any 'to be' verbs. Simple, straightforward descriptions with vivid adjectives are ideal for catalog copy." Jill Williamson reports:
"Have you ever been reading a book and noticed that sometimes a break in a scene is depicted by asterisks or some other fancy symbols, and sometimes there is only a wide space before a new scene begins? What’s the difference between the two, and how do you know which to use?...A scene break is when you hit enter (or return) three times, in a double-spaced document, leaving two blank lines between one section of text and the next section of text. A scene break is a separation between related scenes. It's used to indicate time passing or a change of location that continues in the same scene...A section break is made by hitting enter to leave one blank line, centering three asterisks on the next line, hitting enter to leave another blank line, [and] then hitting enter to type the next paragraph. A section break is used to indicate a complete scene break or a character point of view change...Starting a new chapter can be another way of beginning a completely new scene--though some use chapter endings as cliffhangers, cutting the scene in the middle. This is really clever, and I highly recommend you do it when you can. But starting a new chapter at the end of a scene can be a good thing too, especially if your story has been moving along, super fast-paced, and you need to give your reader a breather...[I]t doesn't matter whether you use three asterisks or four or whether you tab in between them or not. But don't add your own cool graphics...[A]dding pretties to your manuscript is a red flag for an editor or agent that screams, 'We've got an amateur writer here!' So, follow the definitions above and use proper scene and section breaks, or use asterisks for both...As long as you're consistent in what you do in this area, editors and agents won’t be bothered." Deborah Owen reports:
"Transition sentences carry the reader’s thoughts from one scene to another, or from one topic to another. The trick is to shift gears smoothly by using both the past and [the] future topic close together. By the time you read this article, you’ll have a good understanding of the art. Think of transition sentences as a bridge that goes from one place to another. If the bridge is too short or not properly constructed, it can be a jarring experience. Just remember that ‘warty characters’ are memorable because ‘warts’ assist the reader in identifying characters...Warts (character flaws) don’t relate to transition sentences at all, but we can make them relate by connecting the two topics...Transitions usually root in the first line of a new paragraph, but on occasion, you’ll find them in the last line. If you can find a common denominator, you can make a smooth transition...‘[W]arty characters’...act as a bridge to help the reader separate characters. Imagery is another bridge, as it translates to the five senses. Likewise, transition sentences are a bridge that escort[s] the reader from a previous topic or scene to a new one. See? You can connect virtually anything if you find a common denominator. Reread the last two paragraphs and find the three transitions, which may be a single word, a phrase, or one or more sentences...Transition sentences are a powerful way to redirect your reader’s mind! You can skip decades with one good transition sentence...Cut the trivia and keep the meat by inserting a transition sentence...[R]ead a newspaper or magazine and find the transition words for every paragraph. When you can recognize transition phrases, words, and sentences, you’ll be able to use them effectively in your own writing. Remember the secret: [A] transition sentence must use part of the topic it left and part of the topic it is approaching." |
Writing and editing can be pretty rigorous processes if you want to do them well, but that's what this page is here for. Check out the latest tips here. Archives
April 2024
CategoriesJ.D. Parsons
Author SEO Writer Proofreader Editor Internet Researcher |
Proudly powered by Weebly