Many writers think they need to make a specific piece “perfect” before they can publish it. I do agree that checking your logic and removing typos makes any piece much easier to read. However, these writers trip themselves up on the “perfection” part. If a writer gets stuck on the perfection part, they stop themselves […]
How do you start a piece of writing? I often start with a “story,” an anecdote about a person with a problem. Long ago, I read a project status report from Clive. It was so boring that I skimmed it—only to read this as the last sentence: “This project is at substantial risk of not
Some writers don’t believe the promise of my Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer book. They don’t believe writing can be fun. Or that writing can free your mind to think of more ideas as you write. They tell me writing is a slog, that they hate it. And they can’t wait to finish the piece.
Many writers struggle with perfection. They interrupt themselves with editing and trying to make the writing “perfect.” In their pursuit of perfection, they don’t finish and publish. But not publishing creates two problems: Not publishing means the writer receives no feedback. Sometimes, that means the writer stops writing. Worse, the writer continues to try to
You’ve written something. But before you hit “publish” you’re worried about how some readers will react. Will they like what you wrote? Will they dislike it? The answer is “yes” to both. That’s because each reader has a different context. If you write to one ideal reader, you have a good shot of finding readers
I’ve opened registration for the Q1 2025 Writing Workshop. See Writing Workshop 1: Free Your Inner Writer & Sell Your Nonfiction Ideas for all the details. I’ve structured the workshop so you practice writing. Each week, you write something and send it to me. I’ll offer you personal feedback. In addition, I add a general response
My Q3 2024 writing workshop is now open for registration. The workshop is based on my bestselling book, Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer. You’ll learn how to write faster and better by integrating thinking and learning as you write. Even better, you’ll learn how to postpone editing until you’re done explaining the ideas. Yes, effective
After I delivered a talk about product management, Fred, a prospective writer, asked a question. He said, “It seems like there are no new ideas. How can I write something that’s already been done before?” I said, “Write your truth, your experiences. Don’t worry about what’s come before.” He said, “But someone already wrote that.”
I read a lot online. And I love it when writers offer me subheadings to break up the content into consumable chunks. But not every writer does that. When writers don’t use subheadings, I have to work to grasp the key ideas in the piece. The more text between subheadings, the less likely I will
Do you want to improve your nonfiction writing skills? I offer a 6-week writing workshop to do just that. You’ll learn how to write faster and better, all while educating, influencing, and entertaining your readers. (That’s a big part of how you sell your nonfiction ideas.) You write. I offer you specific feedback on your