Writing

Nothing is written in stone, but word count guidelines can give you a useful clue for a new writing project. You might be staring at a blank page and wondering where to start and how many words you should write. It doesn’t matter if you’re a new blogger, content writer, or author; the number of…

How much of your valuable writing time do you lose fighting with new technology and applications? Trying new tools, apps, and software is always tempting, but how much new or extra value do they bring to your writing or publishing projects? The most time-consuming aspect is the learning curve when using a new tool or…

Writing is an art, and you never stop learning and practicing. One of the most effective ways to improve your writing skills is to learn from writers. By that, I don’t mean copying or stealing a writer’s technique or style. But you can look at the different techniques, structures of sentences, or how some writers…

The first rule of starting sentences with numbers is an easy one to remember. Don’t do it. But a number beginning a sentence is usually grammatically correct, either as a word or a numeral. So why do most style guides like MLA Style and The AP Stylebook say it’s wrong? The most common reasons are clarity,…

Yes, writers fear the rise of AI writing tools, such as ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and Google Gemini, which threatens to automate and devalue their work. Like me, you probably had an instant negative reaction to AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools and could only see downsides. It’s a natural response because of the ease and simplicity…

Is history repeating itself? The concerns writers have today with AI (artificial intelligence) must be similar to how scribes feared the printing press. It’s not difficult to draw comparisons because AI, like the printing press, poses threats to writers’ jobs and livelihoods. Technology, particularly automation, has always created change and upheaval, and adapting to it…

Setting yourself positive habits can keep you on an even keel when you are new to writing. It’s usually a surprise for new writers to discover that creative writing can be a messy and even chaotic process. Yes, writing is a journey, yet it can have multiple destinations or even dead ends. Learning to write…

Can you protect your online writing from being copied or scaped? The answer is an emphatic no. Not a single word of your writing is safe on the Internet. In years past, it was ebook pirates that were of most concern. But times have changed, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) has opened Pandora’s box. AI is…

Filler words and phrases are precisely what the name implies. They fill space without adding any real or extra meaning to a sentence. We often use them when we speak while waiting for our words to arrive. Typical examples are, um, uh, basically, simply, what I’m trying to say is, or needless to say. But in…

When you write fiction, articles, or blog posts, you usually use informal writing. It’s also the most common form of writing for messages, personal emails, and social media posts. You know that it’s a conversational style with simpler structures than formal writing. But how do we define it, and how can you be sure you are not…