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Do you ever read a draft and feel it’s a tad boring?

It happens to all of us.

You might think that writing with personality should come naturally. But writing often doesn’t work like that. We have to work a little harder to inject personality into our writing.

And while I can’t deny it is work, it’s not as difficult as it may sound. Check out these 3 steps for writing with oodles of personality.Read more »

Do you ever feel stuck writing a first sentence?

Even bestselling writers can feel paralyzed when writing that all-important first line. Stephen King admits he can mull over his first sentences for months.

So, what can you do if you’re in a hurry? And you want to write a compelling first line, pronto?Read more »

I used to think writing required ironclad discipline. Or at least steely willpower.

But there’s an amazingly simple mind trick to writing more (or doing anything else that might feel impossible).

This mind trick seems so powerful, that I can’t believe I haven’t discovered it before …Read more »

“I feel overwhelmed,” he emailed me. “There’s so much information on your website. Where should I start? What are the basic writing techniques I should learn?”

My friendly emailer suggested an article about basic writing techniques—for anyone starting out, who’s feeling overwhelmed or looking for a quick refresher.

Sound good? Read more »

The idea of writing from the heart used to feel alien to me.

Isn’t it a little woo-woo? I write a business blog, not a memoir nor a love letter, so why would I write from my heart? Read more »

Hillary rests her head in her hands, and sighs.

Whenever she reads the work of her favorite bloggers, she feels down. Why can they write so well? Why does her own writing suck?

She reads her draft blog post again. It doesn’t sing. It isn’t clear. It feels unoriginal. Why?Read more »

Hector thinks it’s infuriating. He knows he has good ideas. He is damn sure he can help his audience. He has the facts to prove his claims. Not fake facts, but real facts backed by science.

But still … people aren’t listening. Sometimes he wants to scream. HEY YOU. LISTEN TO ME. I KNOW BETTER. But he knows it wouldn’t work.

So how can he coax skeptical readers to listen and follow his advice?
Read more »

Do you ever write about yourself?

And when you read your draft, do you wonder … What will people think of me? Am I making a fool of myself? Is this too embarrassing? Am I undermining my professional image?

I ask myself all those questions, too. But I’ve learned we can’t hide ourselves as bloggers. Read more »

A new year. A new opportunity to commit to writing consistently.

But we all know how it goes, don’t we? Fast forward a few months, and staying committed to writing feels harder and harder. New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep.

I am not a disciplined person, but somehow I learned to blog consistently for 5 years. Want to know how? Read more »

When you look back on 2017, what do you think of? Which of your achievements are you most proud of?

As I was reviewing my 2017, I got anxious about writing this “end of year” post. It’s kind of ironic. I’ve been more anxious about writing this post than anything else I’ve written this year.

And yet, this post is about creative courage. Crazy, eh? Read more »