Photo courtesy of fotologic

This is a post by the new Chief Editor of WTD, Mary Jaksch

I spent some time in the last few days studying Steve Pavlina’s articles. As I’m sure you all know, he’s a phenomenally successful blogger. His book Personal Development for Smart People has just cracked the Amazon top 100 list. And it’s still three months from release! It’s a bestseller in the make for sure.

Steve Pavlina’s work is interesting from many different points of view. His writing is both punchy and elegant; his articles are thoughtful and well researched. Most of all, he’s a shining example of someone who writes with passion.

My interest was piqued by an indefinable quality that shines through all his articles. It’s a key aspect of writing: the subliminal message hidden within words.

The hidden message is one of the main reasons why some writers are successful, and others are not.

Let’s take Steve Pavlina. The message reflected in each article is something like this: Hey, let’s really crank up our life!

What’s the secret message in your writing?

That’s an important question. Because if you know what your message is, you can change it.

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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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Hi guys! A number of questions have arisen by readers about Write To Done. It pains me that I haven’t been writing for WTD as much as I had planned. I started WTD as an outlet for writing about writing, as I felt I had a lot to say on the topic but couldn’t really post those articles here on Zen Habits. It was a good idea, I think, but I just don’t have the time that I had hoped I would.

As a result, the blog has been (kinda) inactive in recent months. I’ve published some good guest posts, but not many by me.

However, I’m excited to announce that Mary Jacksch of Goodlife Zen will be taking over Write To Done as the new Chief Editor. Mary and I have some great plans for WTD and I think you’ll be seeing some excellent stuff from both Mary and me in the coming months.

To start with, Mary will get us back into a regular posting schedule, starting with once per week and building up to twice per week very soon. I will also be posting at least monthly, and we’ll have some good guest writers and interviews as well.

Mary is a published author, a blogger, and a Zen master, so I think she’s pretty much perfect for the job. :)

Please welcome Mary and subscribe to WTD if you’re interested in writing or blogging.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jesse Hines of Robust Writing.

By now, almost anyone familiar with blogs knows that list posts (7 Reasons Why…or 10 Ways to Do…) are all the rage, an easy way to attract readers and to persuade them to read your post.

Most bloggers have done one (or tons) of these and it’s true–they are very effective.

The question, though, is in what way are they effective?

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mary Jaksch of Good Life Zen.

I recently had a coffee with a fellow blogger, called John M.

“I’m writing a novel – started yesterday,” he said. “Yep—” he nodded, reaching for the sugar with a frown. “Better than writing those bloody blog posts I have to churn out each week.”

“Well, what’s so great about writing a novel?” I asked.

John poured more sugar into his latte. “I love the dialogues!”

“If you’re so fired up about dialogues, can’t you use them in your non-fiction stuff?”

“Nope,” John shook his head. “Can’t do… they don’t work in non-fiction.”

Don’t they?

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