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Helen frowns while reading her draft story.

She purses her lips, and wonders, Why does the story feel flat? Why does it seem to drag on? Where has the drama gone? Is it too long?

Okay, she thinks. Time to cut down my story. She removes a few sentences here, scraps a whole paragraph there, shortens another sentence. After crossing out words for over 20 minutes, she’s reduced her word count almost by half. Phew. With a sigh of relief, she treats herself to Jasmine tea with carrot cake.

But, hey, what happened to her story? Read more »

Remember the red pen of your high school teacher?

Whenever you repeated a word in a sentence, there it was: the angry red mark. Ouch.

Over time, like most writers, you probably learned to avoid word repetition, and you diligently replaced duplicated words with synonyms or pronouns.

But did you know word repetition can add rhythm to your writing? That it can strengthen your message, and make it more memorable? And that repetition can shape your voice? Read more »

Feeling overwhelmed by all the writing advice on the web?

Perhaps you’ve read a couple of books to improve your writing skills. And you’ve subscribed to the most popular blogs on writing. But still … It’s hard to know where to start, right?

Let me help you and give you a clear action plan. Are you up for it? Read more »

When to write out numbers as words? And when to use digits?

The advice of style guides and usability experts differs, so here’s a quick overview to guide you in this tricky debate. Learn why you may be better off to ignore the style guides …Read more »

At 3 AM, I was tossing and turning. I tried to push A.’s hurtful message out of my mind, so I could fall asleep again. But it wouldn’t work. My body tensed.

Why couldn’t I let go? Why couldn’t I stop thinking about his message? Why did the message hurt me so much?

Here’s how I let go and fell asleep again …Read more »

Full of enthusiasm, I started reading my next book: Essentialism. This New York Times bestseller, with almost 1,500 reviews on Amazon at an average of 4.6 stars, must be good, right?

I had looked forward to reading it for several months. So, I downloaded the book on my Kindle. I started reading. It was a little late and I was tired, so I didn’t get far.

The next day, I picked up my Kindle again. But the stories felt a little flat, and the book failed to grip me. I got bored.

Sound familiar? Read more »

When is writing good enough?

A tricky question, eh?

I’ve been there, too. Waking up with that dreadful feeling I can’t press Publish yet. Editing endlessly. Wondering what the heck is wrong with my writing.

When can one say, let’s hit publish because this is good enough?

In the early years of my writing career, that was an almost impossible question. Read more »

Long sentences?

Really?!?

Yes, long sentences can add a sense of poetry and rhythm to your writing—as long as you know how to write a good one, without running out of breath.

Shall I show you how? Read more »

Sometimes, blogging can feel like a complicated task.

So many things to think about. Headlines. Word choice. Stories. Subheads. Simple sentences. Rhythm. Active voice. Clinchers. Openings. Metaphors. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Does it feel a tad overwhelming? Let’s go back to the basics today. Learn the 7 essential techniques to delight readers with scrumptious goodness.Read more »

How often do you shrug your shoulders when reading an email? And press delete?

Many writers sound cold-hearted. They make reading feel like hard work. Their messages push readers away rather than pull them closer.

Want to engage your readers with more conversational writing?Read more »