Paper or Digital: Which Is Better for Writing?

You’ve heard the stories. People like Abraham Lincoln, J.K. Rowling, Aaron Sorkin, even Marilyn Monroe–all are said to have scrawled ideas on whatever they could, including paper napkins. Some of the stories are little more than lore. But they do raise the question of whether there is a “best” medium for writers to use. That…

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How to “Show Don’t Tell” in Writing

If writing advice had a Top 10 Hits list, “show, don’t tell” likely would rank #1 pretty dang easily. We’ve heard it a million times. We know we ought to do it. But what the bleeping hades does it MEAN? From a technical standpoint, showing rather than telling in writing basically means you do anything and everything…

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10 Ways to Get New Writing Ideas

If you’re mysteriously blessed with a mind that produces new writing ideas like new bunnies in a burrow, life probably is pretty good. If you’re like most authors, though, you likely need to find a little inspiration from time to time. That inspiration can come from dozens of places, including: Magazine or website articles: What did…

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Beta Readers 101: Everything You Need to Know

Any time you want to make something better, feedback is critical. That’s why, for writers, beta readers are worth their weight in gold. What’s a beta reader? Beta readers are people who agree to read and critique your draft before publication. Sometimes, they formalize their critique with written notes and comments. Other times, it’s all…

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Should You Specialize As a Writer?

Finding writing work often is a challenging task. But as you’re looking for jobs, you’ll realize that you can either specialize in one area or take more of a jack-of-all trades approach. Is one any better than the other, and do you have to choose between them? Why it’s awesome to specialize One big advantage…

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