Elmore Leonard excelled at just about every kind of popular writing you can imagine. He wrote pulp fiction, Westerns, and crime fiction. Many of his books also became movies. Leonard wrote “10 Rules for Writing,” published in the New York Times in 2001. Then, he wrote an 11th rule that sums up the other 10. Here it » Read More
Category: Better Writing
3 Ways to Improve Your Creativity
A couple of decades back, I helped a large company develop and launch a course on creativity and innovation. Our classes ran about 24 people, and in the first session, we asked for a show of hands of the people who were creative. Usually, we got two or three hands. Sometimes, we didn’t get any. For whatever reason » Read More
Better Writing: Make Your Writing Session More Productive with a Startup Ritual
Most of my clients write their books while they’re also working full-time. They have families and other social relationships and things that they like to do for fun. It’s hard to squeeze writing time into their already-crammed schedules. They must get the most from every writing session. A startup ritual helps them » Read More
4 Questions to Ask Before You Write a Word
It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a blog post or a book or a sales letter or an email. It’s a good idea to think before you write. Here are four questions to ask before you write a word. Who Will Read This? Good writing starts with knowing the reader. Describe a real person who will read your » Read More
Better Writing: How to Help Your Brain Get Great Ideas
Graham Wallas is the sort of person who makes you realize how little you’ve accomplished. He wrote several books on social psychology. The best known of those is Human Nature in Politics. He was a cofounder of the London School of Economics. Then, in 1926, he wrote The Art of Thought. Chapter 4 in that book describes » Read More