Photo courtesy of ebruli
Note: This is a guest post written by Jonathan from the blog Illuminated Mind.

Chances are, if you’re a beginner blogger, you read a lot of articles on how to be a better blogger. Even experienced bloggers read articles like this on a regular basis.

You’ll probably see stuff like this a lot:

1. How to Catch Your Readers Attention (because you wanted to make them fall asleep, right?)
   
2. Provide Value to People (like you intentionally wanted to be crappy?)
3. Know Your Readers (duh)
4. Tell a Story (so much for all those pie charts you made)
5. Be Remarkable (your plan wasn’t to make them forget?)

And so on and so forth.

But what you won’t hear is this little secret:

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By guest writer Dean Rieck of Direct Creative Blog.

Your English teachers taught you all the rules of proper grammar, punctuation, and style. But what they didn’t realize is that all those rules could crush your chances of making a living writing marketing materials, ads, and other commercial copy.

Why? Because copywriting is not about good writing, it’s about helping businesses sell things. Successful businesses have to connect with real people to sell their products and services. And since real people don’t speak “proper” English, commercial copy must speak the way real people talk.

In other words, the key to being a successful copywriter is to write effectively rather than correctly. You must be willing to bend or break the rules to accomplish the business objective of your writing project.

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Photo courtesy of goooder

By Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity

Have you ever heard the story of the one-armed economist? President Harry Truman famously requested such a person, because he was tired of all his economic advisors immediately following their opinions with the qualification, “Well, on the other hand…”

When writing for a broad audience, it can be tempting to follow the example of Truman’s advisors, always giving pros and cons on sensitive topics without ever really taking a stand. But when we give in to that temptation, our writing becomes limp and boring, filled with platitudes and qualifications that fail to help anyone. To avoid this mistake, add a dash of personality and courage, and don’t be afraid to take a tough stand.

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Recently I interviewed uber-blogger Steve Pavlina for Zen Habits on the topic of personal development, habits and daily routines …

But I thought the writers and bloggers of Write To Done would be interested in a deeper look at Steve both as a blogger of an A-list personal development blog, and as a writer of a great new book: Personal Development for Smart People.

What follows is a 3-question interview I did with Steve to share with all of you, and I hope you enjoy it. Steve really went into some depth with his answers, and they’re pretty long, but fascinating nonetheless.

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Photo courtesy of AngelsWings.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Liz Massey of Creative Liberty.

If you’ve written nonfiction for any length of time, particularly if you write in a specialized “niche,”it’s possible to reach a point when you feel as if you’ve run out of fresh ideas. You’ve done all the seasonal stories, covered all the breaking developments in your field—and the ideas for your next feature just aren’t coming. You’ve reached what we in the industry politely refer to as a “dry spell,” although when you’re in one, it more often feels like you’ve crash-landed in the desert.

However, it’s possible to transform this sandy expanse into an oasis. Reframing what you consider good story sources and how you approach topics you cover frequently can add zest and vigor to your writing and increase editor, and reader, interest.

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