Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is not normally a very lucrative career for a writer, but it can be a great source of additonal income for anyone who has a day job, or who maybe writes full time as a staff writer for a newspaper or magazine and just wants to earn a little extra cash.  Payments for freelance work tend to be somewhat irregular in terms of both timing and the rates of pay you can expect to earn.  Much depends on who you are writing for. (more…)

Writing a Novel Outline

A new beginning, for me, is always embarked upon with an impatient eye for the new ending that necessarily glows in the distance with all the allure of a warm, crackling fire on a lightless, chilling winter’s eve.  What lies between page one and the end is at once a hindrance and a challenge to traverse — but the journey must be made if a story is to be the result.  I don’t really adore the idea of writing a novel outline.  It seems to limit the direction the story or characters may want to take.  Jumping in with both eyes closed is like writing “by the seat of your pants.”  It’s spontaneous, fun, and ridiculously more complicated than it has to be.  But that’s the many writers prefer to write. (more…)

How to Add Hot Sauce to Your Writing

Writing is a creation of characters dancing in the mind of the reader. A writer needs to develop a set of rules that go beyond mechanics; they need to have a self-induced warning light that functions like an alert. The system allows the person to avoid common mistakes as well as innate errors. One needs to know what mistakes are inherent in their writing. An author writes in order to communicate, and to do so effectively is a challenge to most people. A writer is aware of the many the pitfalls that lie in wait for them, but some basic techniques will help. (more…)

Professional Writing in the 21st Century

Professional writing is an evolving profession. The rapid progress of communication and information technologies has forced this evolution upon everyone, even the unwilling grumps among us. The days of hammering away at a word processor, notes and papers spread across a table, may soon be over. Professional writing today requires a broader skill set, more flexibility and, if possible, more creativity than ever before. There are new venues, new markets and new possibilities to explore. Sticking to traditional ways of doing business is simply not an option.

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