Tell me if this is familiar: You read an opinion piece in the local paper in which someone lays out an impassioned case on an issue. If you already agree with the writer, you think, “Amen!” And if you don’t, you think, “Geeze, that person is really ranting about that topic.” That is, if you read […]
Writing
The Pause Before Publishing
Savoring the Moment of Possibility A diver stands poised at the edge of the board in a competition, and everyone hushes and watches. The orchestra stops its cacophonous tuning in a full house and awaits the conductor’s arrival. The audience quiets, anticipating the performance to come in silence. Some moments are ripe with anticipation and possibility. Writing […]
How Shortcuts Cheat the Writer
We’ve all heard those seductive promises: Write your novel in a weekend! Make six figures from blogging this year You can become a best-selling author using ghostwriters Although the titles are fictional, their real-world counterparts abound on the Internet. If you dream of publishing a book or “being a writer,” these promises are compelling. I’m […]
Writing to Persuade: A Book Review
Short Version If you want to change people’s opinions with your words, and particularly if you want to write an opinion piece that makes an impact, read this new book by the former editor of the New York Times Op-Ed page. Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall interweaves fun, behind-the-scenes stories about the workings of the Times […]
How to Set a Deadline that Works
Does your next writing project have a deadline? If not, I suggest you give yourself one. The larger the project, the more important it is to have a deadline. Deadlines make the work better There’s scientific research for this from Dan Ariely, described in his book Predictably Irrational. If you don’t want to read the […]
Why Writing Takes More, and Less, Time than You Think
People often ask me how long it took me to write something: a book, a blog post, a paper, whatever. I suspect what they want to know is this: how many hours did you put into it? I never know how to answer. Even if I tracked my time, where would I draw the line? […]