Write with Excellence

When you want to tell your story

A friend of a friend contacted me recently wanting to know how to turn her life story into a book. Since I realized there might be other people with the same question, I decided to post my reply here.

Who are you? Writing from the first person point-of-view

Assuming the reader knows who you are is one of the most common mistakes I see both in personal stories and fiction. When using the first person point of view, many writers just start telling the story, assuming that

How to make your stories better – whether they’re true or fiction

At a recent conference, where I was taking pitches and doing critiques, I was reminded of some of the most common problems of new and even not-so-new writers. I ended up getting a copy of this book from the

4 key things I believe all new writers need to know

I’ve been writing since I was tiny. And over the years, I’ve probably made every mistake possible. Okay, maybe not every mistake. But a whole lot of them! Plus I have a medal in English, and I taught English

How to create realistic characters

Yesterday, on my personal website, I posted a character sketch of my “hero” Glen Sauten, the protagonist of my first published book, The Best of Friends. If you’re writing fiction, you might want to check it out. The truth

10 writing tools I can’t live without

Honestly, if all we had to write with were notepads and typewriters, I’d be the most frustrated writer alive. I love technology and all the things it helps me do! So here are the 10 tools I’d have great

Choose writing goals for the year

Yesterday, on my main website/blog, I posted my writing goals for 2014, along with some details on how I plan to achieve them. While the post was about me and my goals, I also added some information that I

You’ve written a book: now what? The 8 steps I advise

Most of the time when new writers tell me they’ve written a book, what they actually mean is that they’ve completed a first draft of a book. And my advice is, “Don’t rush off to find a publisher for

Writers find ideas by exploring topics that stir their passion

When you write an essay, article, or non-fiction book, you normally have a specific idea you want to get across (very similar to the theme or thesis you have when you write an essay). Many writers have an idea

Writers find ideas by keeping up with the news and current events

Many writers get ideas from listening to the news, reading newspapers or the internet, watching programs about current affairs, noticing topics that are trending… In fact, being alert to what’s going on in the world is usually a great

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