A guest post by Lisa Kilian of What Not To Do as a Writer

There comes a time in every writer’s life when the plot is adequately twisted, the characters are adequately developed, and all the typos have been eliminated with a laser gun. You think.

Actually, you’re not sure if any of that is true because you’ve been staring at the same document on your computer for so long you’re kind of wondering if maybe you didn’t go blind last week. You think you’re reading words. You think those words are good. The dreams about your story have stopped and now all you dream about is book parties and signings and big wigs and wine.

You think you’re ready to submit. To publish. To throw caution to the wind and send that manuscript off for some close reading. Except you haven’t been able to read your own manuscript closely for months now and you’re honestly not sure what it says anymore. Your characters could be marrying dogs or lost somewhere else in the muddle, you have no idea.

That’s why you need an editor.

Someone who doesn’t know you or love you but knows writing and loves reading freshly pressed work. Someone who will look at your characters and say, “Hey, cool story, but did you notice Sally marries a dog on page 23?”

When I receive a manuscript to read, I welcome it with open arms. And the brave writers who have sent their words to me wait patiently in the background brimming with nervous energy. It’s a great relationship. We email back and forth about little things. We laugh. I read and make notes.

And then I send the editorial letter. And that’s when the fun stops.

Right there, in one convenient document, is an overview of all the concerns I have regarding their manuscript. Plot holes, flat characters, lagging prose, over-telling, over-explaining, back story — all of it. Their manuscript is suddenly less pristine and more of a mess and I know I’m not gonna be the one to clean it up.

Receiving an editorial letter after you’ve paid to have your novel edited sucks. It just — sucks. That’s pretty much the only thing I can say. But! That same editorial letter that sucks so much to read is also the heart and soul of what you paid for. You asked someone professional with an objective eye to read your manuscript and deconstruct it — and that’s exactly what they did. And they even went one step further and gave you suggestions on how to clean up your mess.

Still, I can hear it through the email; the writer’s happiness just deflates. I receive an answer just dripping with defeat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Steel your skin and prepare your mind before you open that letter. And remember these things:

1. What is a Finished Piece to You is a Rough Draft to Me

You may believe your manuscript to be finished and polished — but if you’re sending it to an editor, it’s not. Why else would it end up on an editor’s desk? There are things going on in your manuscript that you are simply blind to because you no longer have the distance and objectivity to see it. Why would you? You’ve spent months with your nose to the screen trying to figure out how to finish this thing.

2. Just Because You Receive In-Depth Edits Doesn’t Mean You Suck

Everyone receives in-depth edits. Everyone receives suggestions for change. Everyone has to get edited. I, too, am a writer. And my critique group always makes suggestions for changes. They even tell me ::gasp:: that something is not working. And I get sad. I go home. I take a nap. And then I rewrite.

3. By All Means, Get Angry — Just Don’t Call Me

When you receive edits and they seem overwhelming, you’re going to get angry. And you’re probably going to be angry at me. That’s the nature of the beast. So get angry. But remember that it’s not me you’re angry with. Frankly, you’re upset with yourself because you sent something that you thought was ready to go and it turned out to not be so ready after all. And that’s okay, really. It’s human nature to get upset when things are hard and writing is just that. So read your letter, take a few deep breaths, hit a punching bag, and take a nap. Seriously. Naps fix everything. When your emotions are defused and you’re ready to get back to work, then you can email me.

4. I’m Not Here to Make You Feel Bad

My job is to make your writing better, and by default, make you a stronger person. My job is not to take your money and rip your work to shreds. It is not in my interest to be snarky and make you feel like shit. I don’t want to make you give up.

I want to make your writing better. I want to make your writing better. I want to make your writing better.

That’s the first and last concern on any editor’s mind when we read your work.

Lisa Kilian is the author of the blog, What Not To Do as a Writer. She has had essays published at Beyond the Margins, Best Damn Creative Writing Blog, and Write It Sideways to name a few. Follow her @LisaKilian or email her at lr.kilian@gmail.com She would love to read your work.

Join Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch in their upcoming kickass A-List Blogging Bootcamp
“Skyrocket Your Subscriber Count”.

Click here to check it out.

By Mary Jaksch

As writers, we’re always trying to improve. Well, at least I am. Maybe you’re already perfect…

I’d like us all to collect a list of everything that helps us to become a better writer.

Please write in the comments what helps you, or what has helped you in the past!

Mary Jaksch is Chief Editor of Write to Done. You can read more articles by Mary on Goodlife ZEN. Get her free Ebook “Overcome Anything” here or grab a feed.

A guest post by Larry Brooks

If you want to see a room full of writers go ballistic, right up there with a lynch mob on the hysteria scale, tell them there really is a formula for writing a novel.  A list of elements and criteria that define the nature of the work.

They probably already know that stuff exists for screenwriters, but novels? No, novels are art.  Everybody knows that, and if you don’t, well you’re probably a screenwriter at heart.  Or maybe an engineer with a taste for Clancy novels.

So are novels works of art?  Absolutely, yes they are.  So is cooking and making candles, but nobody argues that recipes don’t work in those fields, and the same is true for writing novels.

While penning a novel is indeed an artistic enterprise, it is also one that depends on solid craft to be successful. And you wouldn’t set out to whip together a four-course meal or pour yourself a chapel full of candles without getting your head around the craft of it before putting on the old apron.

And yet, many novelists – even experienced ones – rip into the writing of a story without the slightest idea what the components or criteria for a good of a story are – that’s the craft of storytelling – armed only with a killer idea and a den full of bestsellers they’ve read, each of which have led them to the dual delusion that,

a) it doesn’t look all that hard

b) I’ll just head on down the storytelling road and see what happens.

As if that’s how it’s done.

How it’s done is all over the map, and that’s one of the reasons teaching writing is such a challenge.

Should you outline or write organically?

Should you depend on your drafts to add new elements and depth to the story, or are your drafts used for honing the elements to a crisp edge and elegant sheen? 

What is the art of storytelling versus the craft of storytelling?

Let’s look at two  metaphoric houses to tell the difference.  Both are built from specific designs.  Both are executed from blueprints.  But one is a tract home in a crowded neighborhood, the other – no bigger in terms of square feet – end up on the cover of Architectural Digest.  Both were built with excellent craftsmanship.  But only one is considered a work of art.

The art resides in the design, and the craft resides in the execution.

Say what?  You’re a writer, not a general contractor.  So let’s break it down.

At the design stage, both houses are nothing more than the sum of a bunch of concepts and ideas, just like a novel.  To simply stand upright against a stiff wind – the metaphoric equivalent of getting published in the case of a novel – there must be solid ideas and concepts in play which are executed with a sufficient level of craftsmanship.

But the essence of the truly artistic house is the originality, energy and beauty of the form and shape of the structure.  Without something exciting, fresh and thought-provoking, you risk your story being perceive as yet another tract house in a neighborhood full of mediocrity.

Unpublished novels earn and keep that label because they lack art or craft, or both.  It’s not rocket science to accept that premise.  But too many of those unpublished writers put all their chips on one or the other, without understand that it is the melding of both that becomes a sum in excess of the parts, which is precisely what publishers are looking for.

It boils down to this: a great idea or concept does not a good story make.  What evolves a killer idea into a marvelously compelling story requires craft, executed with artful creativity.

Art is the essence of that originality and the power of the end result.

Craft is execution using the tools of the trade: a great hook, a compelling set-up, a plot point that grabs the reader by the throat, irresistible stakes, magnificent tension and elegant exposition, blinding twists and heart-wrenching character arc, and a denouement that goes down like a smooth southern beverage on a steamy summer night under a full moon.  Or, one that scares the pants off you, depending on your genre.

In athletics they say you can’t coach speed, and the same can be said of the art of storytelling.  But it can be learned, and the formula for that is this: read, write, repeat… read, write, repeat.

The art of storytelling is an aesthetic sensibility that evolves with fickle timing, and you have to chase it down and then hold on until the whistle blows.  As for craft, the formula is much more precise: set-up, plot point, response, proactive pursuit, final twist, selfless heroism and irony.  Some call it orphan, wanderer,   and martyr.  Whatever.

It is a discipline that you’ll embrace before you write a successful, publishable story, whether it be through discovery as you write drafts or through story architecture that you create as a roadmap for your narrative.

And in the end, if you do it right, the reader will never know the difference between your art and your craft… just like that first bite of something succulent prepared by the hand of a master chef.  It just takes you there, without a hint of recipe, and equally dependent upon both the art and the craft of the creator.

Larry Brooks, aka The Storyfixer, is the author of four thrillers, one of which was a USA Today bestseller, another a Publishers Weekly “Best Books of 2004 selection. His blog StoryFix.com, is a resource for writers who are tired of workshop jargon.

By James Chartrand of Men with Pens

If you’re going to put your words on public display, it’s your job to make that content compelling, intriguing, entertaining or informative. If it’s boring… well. Suffice it to say that very few readers are going to be interested.

That’s why your About page has to be just as good as every other piece of content on your site. A well written About page is an extra more tool in your arsenal. It can help you engage readers, encourage sales, enhance trust and increase respect.

Here are some tips on how to write a great About page that pleases everyone:

Know What You Want

Your About page needs to help you accomplish a goal. It’s not there to look pretty; it’s there to work for you. What you need your About page to do depends entirely on what you want to achieve with your site. Do you want more sales? More readers? More clients? Gear your content towards your goal and make your About page work hard for you.

For example, if you want more readers, then write in a way that engages people and develops a bond. Get personal. Tell a story. If you want more sales, then your About page becomes an extra place to pitch the benefits of buying or how your product helps customers get what they want. If you want more clients, then use your About page to convey what you’re like to work with and why you’re different from the competition.

Consistently Stylish

There are some rocking blogs out there, and there are great sites full of entertaining info. But sometimes, you click the About page of one of these sites, and you’re jarred from that greatness thanks to content as dry as breadcrumbs. Be consistent with the voice and style you use throughout your site, and reflect the same personality on your About page.

Don’t switch from sassy blog posts to overly stiff professional credentials. Don’t go from casual class to raving wild child. Don’t switch from swearing like a sailor to top manners and queenly etiquette. And if your crumbly-dry About page is consistent with the rest of your site’s style? Then you need a major content style overhaul, my friend.

Put Yourself Out There

Welcome to Generation X and Y, where millions of people crave personality, transparency and honesty. Gone are the days of About pages listing the year of company founding and boring credentials. Now people want to see who you are, how you came to be here and what your favorite color might be.

That doesn’t mean you should use your About page to tell your life story, reveal your deepest, darkest secrets or go on about unrelated traumatic events. Keep the content relevant and concise. Just add a personal touch and give people a taste of who you are. List a bit of ‘you’ trivia. Talk about how you got started. Show a little of the face behind the online mask.

Don’t Forget the Credentials

While About pages should tell an honest, interesting story, they should also still have those credentials in there. Mention your experience, your education or your skills – just do it with style. Note how long you’ve been in business (if it’s been a while), and indicate any accomplishments that make you stand out. You can also list associations you’re involved in, distinguishing factors, or organizations you support. Do you do volunteer work or donate funds? List that too, because it helps show people what you stand for.

Don’t have any credentials? Just getting started? That’s okay; we all start somewhere. In this case, mention how you learned your craft and why you became involved in this line of work. You don’t have to say when that was, but you do have some backup that makes you a credible provider, authority or business.

Tell a Good Story

Everyone likes to hear a story, and every single person in this world has a story to tell. A bland description isn’t going to interest people, but a story hooks them in every single time. That doesn’t mean listing your bio from birth to now. A long About page that isn’t relevant or that gives too much information isn’t a good read. Stay sharp and concise, with a hook intro, a nice build up, a climax and a wrap.

People like to know the story of what brought you here and how you became interested in what you do. One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, “How’d you get started in writing?” You could start with something like, “Looking up at the sun one day, it struck me that there was something better than the damp dirt of the cow field I sat in.” That’s a story right there, and it gets people interested in knowing more.

So What Is Your Story?

By now, you’re thinking, “Well, then, what do I write? I don’t have a great story and I can’t write my full history… what’s left?” You. That’s what’s left. What kind of person are you? What makes you the star you are? Why do you do what you do? What makes you special? What makes you interesting? What makes you a good person to work with, or to buy from, or to listen to?

Your turn: What do you like to see on an About page? More importantly, what’s on yours?

About the author: James Chartrand’s mission is to help writers and freelancers get out of the cow fields and get into earning a decent living online. Get more great freelance writer tips at his site, Men with Pens

Photo by Daniel H. Agostini aka dhammza

By Mary Jaksch

Do you want to be a boring writer? No, of course you don’t!
But how to avoid it?

Do you sometimes read a piece that moves at an agonizingly slow pace? I do. Well, let me be honest here – I tend to read only the first paragraph, and then I put the boring book aside or flick over to another website.

Boring is bad. Boring is slow.

Enter Sol Stein. A master-editor who knows a trick or two. His book Stein On Writing
lies on my bedside table and is a source of constant inspiration.

Stein’s take on ‘boring’ is that we need to accelerate the pace of our pieces. This means compressing the perceived flow of time.

Pace is often the deciding factor whether what we write is read, or not.

That’s especially true when it comes to stuff we publish on the Net, as internet savvy readers all seem to suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder.

The good news is that we can learn to control pace in our writing.

Sol Stein suggests three techniques to speed things up which can be used in fiction as well as nonfiction.

1. Use short sentences
   Here is an example:

   I stopped. The silence was awful.

2. Use frequent paragraphs
   Frequent paragraphs move the reader forward. One way to use frequent paragraphing is to use dialogue. Because each line is really a separate paragraph. While it’s enlivening to use direct dialogue in non-fiction, it’s sometimes difficult to find a way to place it. Another way to use dialogue is as a conversation with your reader. Here’s an example by Brian Clark of CopyBlogger fame in this Teaching Sells Report:

   Want to have a profitable online business?

   Here’s the part where I tell you all about how fabulous it is to have a purely online
   business.

   And then I tell you how you can have the lifestyle you want, live where you want,
   and have unlimited income potential-all from publishing online.

   What’s that?

   You mean you’ve already heard all that stuff?

   Oh… You’ve already been sold the dream, over and over.

   Now you’re looking for a way to make the dream come true that actually works?

   OK.

   Let’s just jump straight to that part.

That’s beautifully written, isn’t it? It’s engaging and enlivening. The reason it’s enlivening is because of the pace is accelerated through ultra-short paragraphs.

3. Use jump cuts
   Sol Stein suggests skipping about two thirds of your words in order to increase the pace. Here are two of his examples:

   Version A:
   In the morning he would shower, brush his teeth, shave, dress in a suitable business suit with shirt and tie, get down to the kitchen I time to have his coffee and then rush off to the station, but he’d frequently missed his train anyhow.

   Version B:
   He washed his body, shaved his jaw, drank his coffee, and missed the seven-thirty-one.
   (This is what John Cheever wrote in his celebrated story “The Country Husband”)

So, here are Sol Stein’s three techniques to accelerate the pace – all ready to put into your writer’s tool box. But don’t just leave them in there. Bring them out and use them next time you wonder whether your piece is boring.

Do you think they would work for you?

Mary Jaksch is Chief Editor of Write to Done. You can read more articles by her here and on her blog Goodlife ZEN Grab her free Ebook Overcome Anything here

Related post:
Juicy Writing: 5 Ways to Glue Readers to the Page

Maybe you’ve just finished something you’re really proud of? Or you just can’t tell whether it should get a Pulitzer or be thrown into the trash?

Here’s your chance to share and discuss with each other what you are writing about. Remember the fantastic first writing workshop we had in August? Here’s our second edition. It’s your chance to share what you are working on with other writers.

Whet our appetite with the opening paragraph of your future bestseller, give us a link to your best article, or tell us what you are writing at the moment.

Who knows, your piece might even attract the notice of a major publishing house!

Here are some guidelines:

A. Writers:

* State what aspect you’re working on. For example, you might want to say, “Here’s a link to my article Whatever. I’m currently working on eliminating superfluous words.”

B. Commenters:

* When commenting, first list everything you really like about a piece.
* Only then offer careful suggestions.
* Treat each other with respect, friendliness, caring, and honesty.
* Remember that we are all still learning.

Now it’s over to you. Take a deep breath. Then jump into the comment section and bring out your treasures!

Ready for structural editing?

This article is by WTD Chief Editor Mary Jaksch

Sometimes I write a Frankenstein piece. It looks fine until I notice that arms sprout where the legs should be – and unfortunately I forgot to attach a neck.

I don’t always notice that straight away. Why? Because when I finish writing a piece, I’m in love with it. I adore it. It’s great. No, not just great: it’s brilliant! …Until the next day…

Next day I’m shocked to see that my piece needs intense reconstruction. What happened? Overnight I took off my writer’s wings and donned the editor’s white coat and stethoscope.

Let’s say that you are ready to do the same. What now?

Those of you who can wave a First Aid certificate will know. First you do triage. Find out whether it’s a case of CPR or whether a plaster will do. Is it an oh-gawd-this-just-doesn’t-hang-together-at-all piece? Or is it a well-this-will-only-need-a-tweak piece?

In the following I’ll focus on how to get a piece to hang together. It’s about structural editing, or, how to reverse engineer a piece. Structural editing makes sure that all the bones of a piece are in the right place.

Here’s how you can operate successfully on a bungled piece:

1. Reassemble the Bones

• Write down each point of your article in its shortest form.
• Re-arrange the points into headings and subheadings.
• Add missing points.
• Cut and paste each part of the old article into the new structure.
• Add or delete sentences to make transitions.

2. Check Your Transitions

Once you’ve got your bones right, check for smooth transitions. The reader wants to be led from one idea to the next – without any jolts. I find that transitions sometimes happen in my mind but don’t land on the page. Maybe it’s perfectly clear to me how I got from cucumbers to cataracts – but my readers might need a pathway from one to the other.

3. Make a bold entry

Before you settle on an a beginning, ask yourself if it provokes sufficient curiosity in the reader. - Leo Stein

Take a look at the start of your piece. There are two questions you need to pose:

• Does it grab your readers?
• Does it introduce your theme?

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at my writing to show how editing the entry made a difference. Some months back I wrote my first guest post for Write to Done: Juicy Writing: 5 Ways to Glue Readers to the Page

The draft I sent to Leo Babauta had this beginning:

Do you want your readers to sit up and read your stuff in one gulp?

Here are five ways to glue readers to your page, whether you’re writing a blog post, an article, or a book.

1.    Sweep in; don’t creep in

Leo wrote back:

Could you add a couple paragraphs to the intro, explaining why gluing the reader to the page is a good thing and how it’s worked in your experience — I find that having a bit of background leading into such a list is helpful to readers — less abrupt.

My version number 2 was as follows:

I love reading. But not just anything. Some writers arrest me on the spot and shackle me to their page. But others fail to keep my attention: I soon start playing with the cat or surf off to other sites.

Our readers are exactly like that. Their attention is fickle and they will wander off if we don’t grab them with our words.

That’s why it’s important to seize them from the moment they hit the page and get them to read our stuff in one gulp. In the following five steps I’ll show you how to glue readers to your page, whether you’re writing a blog post, an article, or a book.

I think you’ll agree that the second version is more elegant and leads the reader into the theme.

4.  End on a high note

Check out your ending.

• Do you fizzle out?
• Do you cut off in mid-stream?
• Do you wrap up your theme?

It’s important to wrap up your piece and hand it to your readers at the end. Don’t just throw it at them and walk away!

When you look at these four points, you’ll understand that a structural edit can rescue a bad piece, as well as enhance a good one.

There are some simple things you can do to improve the structure of your writing. One is to plan your piece before you write it. (All the pieces of mine that needed reconstructive surgery were ones I wrote on a surge of inspiration – but without prior planning). The other is to analyze articles by other authors with the eyes of a structural editor.

Ask: is it a Frankenstein, or does it skip, dance, and sing?

I’d love to know whether you too have ever written a Frankenstein. Where you able to rescue it? If so, how?

Mary Jaksch is Chief Editor of Write to Done. If  you enjoyed this article, please visit Mary’s blog GoodlifeZen.com where the focus is on practical inspiration.

Photo courtesy of juhansonin

Have you ever met someone who instantly gave out a negative vibe? Have you visited a blog lately that gave you a feeling of being in a haunted house? What was your immediate reaction? I might guess that you clicked on the back button to flee the dreaded experience.

Have you considered the reasons for your knee-jerk reaction? I have.

The truth is a contradiction, but there are writers who crucify their own content.

There are many reasons why content can create a negative vibe. Some writers – such as Hemingway – can instantly connect with us, whereas others stop us reading beyond the first few lines.

In this article, I explore the characteristics of content that sends out an instant negative vibe and offer you helpful hints so that you can avoid this in your own writing.

1. Complexity is toxic

On a historic day, August 28th 1963, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech that transformed our world. He claimed that we should be judged by the content of our character. Well, the character of his or her content should judge a writer — simple yet powerful.

When content is cluttered with powerful words, it creates a feeling of nausea. It’s good to have word power, but it is lethal if you confuse your readers. The ultimate goal of good writing is not to impress others, but to convey a simple message without showing off. Pompous language is a sure pathway to offend your readers. Why write, “At the moment” instead of simply, “now”?

Helpful Hints -

Simplicity improves readability. One of my favorite authors, James Michener, has the best advice for writers: write simply. A superlative scholar throughout his life, James Michener had no desire to display his word power.

Good writing… consists of trying to use ordinary words to achieve extraordinary results.
- James Michener in his memoir The World Is My Home.

I have a mission statement for my own writing: I write so that everyone can understand it and derive some benefits from it. I try to read my own writing from the reader’s perspective to see if it meets my mission statement. I’m far from being the best as a writer but I’ve come a long way in just five short months of blogging.

2. Adjective overdose

Content is beautiful when it’s crisp and to the point. Often when I come across content that is overloaded with adjectives such as ‘fantastic’, ‘incredible’, ‘super’ – I start to feel bloated. Remember how you reacted to a burger-eating contest? Adjectives are important but overdosing on them is an insult to the reader who is taking the time to read your content.

Helpful Hints -

We can learn a great deal from the legendary writer Hemingway. His greatness was in his style to convey the message in short, familiar words. It’s like a light diet. No one likes several desserts after a heavy meal. Lighten up your writing with minimal words. Review your writing after making changes to see if you are still conveying the gist of your message clearly, so that your readers can understand it and derive benefit from it.

3. Passive voice

A good football team never wins only with a strong defense. Similarly, a good writer never wins the hearts of readers by passive writing. It creates a dull and ineffective message that fails to catch attention. For instance, “The lesson was learned by Harry.” would fare far worse than simply, “Harry learned the lesson.” When I come across a writer with a passive overtone, I sense a voice lacking the confidence and affirmation to convey a powerful message.

Helpful Hints -

A good writer always engages and entertains his readers at the same time.  A good writer also instills a voice of confidence with an active voice that motivates readers to interact. The lifeline of a good writing lies in the value it provides to its readers with an exchange of ideas to improve the human condition.

4. Lifeless content

When I read content that is rhetorical in nature, I get skeptical about its practicality. I’m sure that you have read content that conveys a great message but lacks human flesh and bones to its form. Without the use of any real life experiences, the text seems lifeless and boring. If a writer cannot blend their message with some examples from reality, he or she turns off readers by losing their appetite for interaction.

Helpful Hints -

Putting flesh-and-bones people into your articles gives those articles a life and a movement that set them apart from articles in which no one’s heart is beating.
- Gary Provost, Make Every Word Count

Your readers relate to your own life experiences far better than those writers who preach from the pulpit.  We are not preachers; we are most effective when we blend a sense of community in our writing with relevant experiences that our readers can benefit from.

5. Over-promised Headlines

Brian Clark has powerful advice for you,

Your headline is a promise to prospective readers. Its job is to clearly communicate the benefit that you will deliver to the reader in exchange for their valuable time.

When I come across a piece of interesting writing solely based on its headline or title, I am immediately curios. But when that writing gives a message at odds with its title or headline, I quickly lose interest. The title should be captivating and catchy but its fundamental function is to signal the gist of the content that follows.

Helpful Hints -

A Chevrolet engine tucked in the body of BMW can only entice someone to ride – once. Similarly, a writer promising to deliver BMW experience with a Chevrolet content can only breed a sense of annoyance and betrayal for his or her readers. Clarity and authenticity are the two pillars of good writing. An attempt to entice readers with catchy titles only to disappoint them with regurgitated content can be a lethal combination. Always beware of that trap.

6. Hackneyed expressions

Content that carries overused and overblown term lacks a light sense of freshness. When a writer indulges in too many trite sayings in his or her content, the central message gets lost like a needle in the haystack of the prose.

Helpful Hints -

Readers are seeking a fresh vantage point. Overuse of trite expressions can turn off the very readers you are trying to impress. Get rid of “in my humble opinion,” “fit as fiddle,” “a sight for sore eyes”. Review your writing several times to spot these bugs and squash them.

7. Need for invention

The greatest folly of a writer is the constant need to be inventive. We all have a fair understanding about life. Why spend endless hours and effort in the vain hope of shocking the world with new revelations when all we need to do is to portray the existing human condition more effectively? The pursuit of invention often leads to dubious content in the eyes of the very readers you are trying to engage.

Helpful Hints -

Writing is an art. A writer’s mantra should be to depict a vivid and accurate view of the human condition. The self-imposed pressure to always create an original story is misguided.  Shakespeare was not the first writer who wrote about the family feuds, jealousy and murder. He became one of the greatest writers in history by writing about human frailty with a remarkable clarity and insight so that readers instantly relate their problems to those characters. This is what made Shakespeare an immortal writer.

In this article, I have considered several characteristics of content that send out negative signals to your readers.  By following the hints I suggest, you can attract, rather than repel, your readers.

Let’s have a conversation. What turns you off a writer’s content when you read it? How do you avoid crucifying your own content?

You can read more by author Shilpan Patel at Success Soul. His articles include Warren Buffett’s 7 Secrets for Living a Happy and Simple Life and Mark Twain’s Thoughts on 3 Topics You’d Rather not Discuss.

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.

I had a look at my blog at Goodlife Zen to find what my secret message is. I think it’s something like this: Let’s sit down together and talk about some fascinating aspects of life. I immediately spotted that the follow-on,  …and see how that knowledge can transform you, is missing. Ouch!

Once you understand what your message is, you can change it.

But that change is fundamental, and you need to approach it with care. Think of that change in terms of sailing: it’s not about repainting your boat, or changing tack. Changing your secret message means changing your destination.

What’s the secret message in your writing?
Do you want to change it? If so, how?

It’s fun to decode the hidden message of successful blogs. How do you see Leo’s secret message at Zen Habits?

Please share your ideas and discoveries about secret messages in the comments.

Note from Mary:

I look forward to my work as Chief Editor of Write to Done. I fell in love with this blog the moment Leo created it. He and I want to develop WTD as a place where we can all grow as writers. It’s like a comfortable roadside inn on the writer’s lonely path. Here we can find companionship, encouragement, and inspiration to become the brilliant writer hidden within!

Please lend a hand by subscribing, commenting, and making suggestions. Together, we can make this a great place!

I welcome submissions for guest posts. Please email me an outline of your article to writetodone [at] gmail [dot]com.