Writing with Jennifer

  This article from No Film School is about using outlines in writing screenplays, but I'd make the argument that it applies to all kinds of writing. I love the point he makes about knowing what happens next. This is always a big source of stress, and there is a sense of freedom once you get the question answered. 

When I work on a manuscript for a client, the dialogue is almost always something that needs attention. Why is it so hard to write what a character is saying? Why does it rarely sound natural? Here are some dialogue mistakes I see often.  1. Using dialogue as description Save the flowery language and floaty wording for the stuff in between the dialogue. When your characters are speaking, let them speak like regular people. Regular people do not describe the stuff around them out loud. They might use their voices to provide clues about the setting or to foreshadow some fantastical upcoming event, but don't give your characters the burden on having to set the whole stage.  "Look at that adorable dog," said Amy. "He is sitting quietly by the tree with his whispy fur blowing softly around his face. The tree is old if the large circumference of the trunk is any clue. Its leaves are the color of jade. What a nice tree, and what a nice dog." Poor Amy. You can almost fe...

Check out this article from Berkeley News.  It's about a study that showed how conservatives and liberals had emotional reactions when they heard certain "hot button" words.  I love this. Why didn't I get a Ph.D. in rhetoric? (It's because I'm kind of lazy and also I had children) If you've studied persuasive writing at all, you know that there are buzz words you can include to make the reader think, and ultimately do, what you want. Certain words compel people to take action, especially to get out their wallets. In that same way, you can play upon people's natural leanings with your choice of words. That's one reason it's critical to know your audience.  Now there is that overlapping area between compelling and lying (using the words "sale" and "quality" are great ways of getting attention but they might be completely false... words like "quality," "terrific," "best" are particularly useful if ...

Don't we all dream of a month in a little cabin away from it all in the woods or by the sea where we can sit and write all day, taking short breaks only to walk along the shore or enjoy the homemade soup that our unseen care-taker brings to the door just when we are ready for it?  That's how I could do NaNoWriMo. Instead, I am in a too-small house with beloved, but needy, pets (no comma) and children who demand my time. I have a cell phone, a television, and a reliable connection to the time-wasting black hole that is the holy internet.  What could go wrong?  We all face different types of distractions. Mine fall into 4 basic categories.  1. Frustrating Surprises I hate surprise distractions. It is completely unnerving to me to be all set to work and then have something sprung upon m me that I cannot come up with a plan to make go away.  Example: My children have the task of keeping our little box clean. I noticed that one of the cats decided to ignore the litte...

Now that NaNoWriMo has fully begun (what election?), the art of the outline has likely come into play.  Many writers use outlines when tackling a big project like a 50,000-word novel or another significant piece of writing. It's helpful to have a roadmap to keep the big picture in your head and give you a resource to turn to when you run into a brick wall and are trying to figure out what comes next.  Some writers don't do an outline at all. They prefer to just write and see where the story takes them. They may or may not have an end game or landmarks in mind. This is a great approach where creativity rules supreme but in my experience, it reduces the chances of the whole thing actually coming together as a whole.  On the other end of the spectrum is being too rigid with your structure. Every fiction writer knows that sometimes a character hijacks a story, and the author is just along for the ride. It's almost always best to ride that wave as far as you can because that c...

  Aspiring novel writers have a love-hate relationship with November, and it's not because of all the facial hair. November is NaNoWriMo, the time of year when we challenge ourselves to write, or at least get a good start on, that novel we've been putting off our whole lives.  This fabulously high-pressure movement started in San Francisco way back in 1999, but it really caught fire just a few years ago. Now you can find groups and contests and all kinds of activities related to the subject. In fact, you can use these diversions to procrastinate even further if you're so inclined.  There are some tips and tricks to getting the most out of the month.  1.Take a Break from Time Killers Think of November as lent for writers. You need to temporarily dump the stuff that wastes your time. No, I'm not talking about your spouse and children... although, if you could get away to a quiet retreat for the month, it definitely wouldn't hurt. But I'm really talking about socia...

Much of my paid work has been ghostwriting. It's something I enjoy, especially when it comes to children's books. But it does present some challenges you don't encounter when writing a book of your own.  Ghostwriting articles or short pieces tends to be easy because in most cases you are dealing with clients who don't really care about writing. They want the articles to make sense, of course, and usually to have the right SEO content to collect all the clicks. But they aren't going to argue with you about creative choices.  Book authors are different. These are people who have nurtured an idea for a long time and have a strong connection to the process and the result. Children's book authors in need of ghostwriters are often artists who have done their own illustrations and know the story they want to tell but don't have the writing skills to make it happen in a way that can put the book on the shelf next to professionally written titles.  Occasionally, peop...

There are different kinds of writer's block, but it's something most of us - maybe all of us? - experience from time to time. Sometimes it's having an idea in mind, but staring at the screen unsure how to begin. A similar theme is being stuck in the middle of a project - having completed section A, knowing everything about section C, but completely lacking section B.  Often for me, it just feels like I've turned on the faucet but the water just won't flow.  There are a couple of different approaches to writer's block. Your success will depend on what kind of block you're dealing with and your personality. To further complicate things, what works for you one day may not work the next.  Approach #1: Push Through Just do it. It's like eating your brussels sprouts. Tell yourself firmly that you're just going to sit down at your desk and not get up until you have 2000 words or a completed chapter or 3 hours have passed or whatever the goal is.  I've h...

I recently had some content stolen.  So sadly, I'm writing a post about how to avoid this happening and what to do once it does happen. I'm currently in the process of dealing with it and would welcome advice.  One thing I've learned is that it makes sense to use a couple of tools.  1. Google Alerts Pop your content into Google Alerts to get reports when that content is picked up on the web. You should do this with any work you're posting for sale.  It can also let you know when work you've legitimately sold is published, so that's a good side benefit.  2. Plagiarism Checker Grammarly has one, and I love Grammarly but I'm all about free stuff. People like Scribbr, but they charge a fee too.  I found this one  and it seems to be okay.   I'm definitely open to (read begging for) recommendations.  I've also discovered that plagiarism is one of those words I never learned how to spell.  I still haven't heard back from the site that curr...

The world of fiction has always been a little bit less than rigid when it comes to distinguishing categories of books for non-adults.  Once there was only fiction for children and fiction for adults. And even this was a bit bewildering. Little Women , for example, was considered a work for children, but the length and some of the themes are more fit for adults. I would argue that one of my favorite children's books, Alice in Wonderland , is strictly for adults. What child could appreciate Lewis Carrol's trippy imagery or sharp humor?  In more modern times we have had children's books, which included picture books and slightly longer books with chapters ( Ramona the Pest ) and young adult books ( Jacob Have I Loved ) with YA being a genre targeted toward teens. Then YA absolutely exploded,, and plenty of adults started reading these too. I know many fully adult readers, including myself, who find young adult fiction as mesmerizing as work created for adults. The YA label use...

 Okay, so I was dumb. I mean, I know that things can easily be stolen online. But I didn't think it was going to happen to me.  And today it did. It didn't cost me much in terms of money, but it cost me something. And I'm pretty upset about the whole thing.  I had posted an article on Constant Content several years ago. I thought it was a damn good article, but no one bought it. So today I decided to take it off Constant Content and try it on Content Gather.  Big mistake.  It turned out that the article was stolen! Content Gather ran its plagiarism check, and there it was posted on some company's blog. I've contacted the owners of that blog to find out where they got my content, but I haven't had a response.  THIS IS THE CRAZY PART: Do you know that part of Content Gather's terms of use state that you aren't supposed to upload content that was written for ANY OTHER SITE OR ANY OTHER PURPOSE?  For me - and lots of other writers - Content Gather is a pla...

Weddings are one of my favorite things to write about. I'm already married and haven't had a wedding in a very long time, but I'm still addicted to bridal fashion and all things wedding planning.  This blog post  written for Southern Brides is an example of how to use experts in your work. It gives the work more legitimacy and offers a plug for the people who were quoted. It's a win-win (and a win for the blog or magazine lucky enough to get your work!).

Before the COVID hit, I spent some time working for a small publishing company. I went into it as a writer, not knowing what publishing was all about. I learned a lot. For example, there are approximately 7 million kinds of paper (Okay, I might be exaggerating, but it's a lot!) My job was to help walk authors through the process from start to finish. Here are a few things I learned that are crucial to writers.  You need editors.  I spoke to so many writers who told me that their manuscripts were "already edited." None of them were right. That's because most people have not invested in a professional editor, and editing is often still needed even after a professional has been over the work.  At a minimum, you need a couple of different types of editors on your team. A developmental editor is one who looks at plot, consistency, story flow, character arcs, and other literary elements of the work. That person may also notice spelling and grammar issues, but that's not...

Great writers need great tools. Here are some that I use often. Grammarly Proofreading for spelling and grammar is essential. No matter how much education you have in editing and no matter how many times you've looked over your own work, you are likely to miss something. That's where Grammarly comes in. No, it's not perfect and it doesn't replace a human proofreader. But it's a helpful tool.  Hemingway Editor Simply paste in your work, and you'll get instant feedback about passive voice, adverbs, and how hard your work is to read. You'll also get insight into the reading level of your writing. The site is free to use online, but you can also pay $19.99 to have it downloaded to your desktop.  Omni Writing Calculator If your writing goals are overwhelming you, a site like this can help. This calculator tracks how many words you need to write each day in order to meet your goals. You set the goal and the date, and the calculator will tell you what you need to d...

One way to make your articles stand out is to add quotes from people who know what they're talking about. It's a simple way of instantly elevating your content.  You don't have to go after anyone famous here. Just consider who you know.  If you're writing about cat care, ask your vet to chime in. If you want to write about gardening, head down to the local garden center. Most people will be willing to talk to you. Some might be intimidated at first, but reassure them that they can just speak normally.  In the event that you don't know someone personally who can speak to your topic, reach out to friends on social media. Somebody always knows somebody.  Identify your expert source by name and business. (Dr. Barbara Catlover of the Feline Hospital in Catsville, New Jersey says, "If a cat hisses, it means you are about to be bitten.") It's that simple. 

The Internet has changed a lot about writing. The online world has caused a significant decrease in people's attention spans as well as the way we read. Successful online content is broken up into easily digestible chunks separated by spacing as headings that act as a roadmap through the article.  This is the reason for the rise of the listicle.  A listicle is simply an article written in the form of a list. A listicle title usually contains a number: 9 Reasons Why Pocupines Love to Dance, 10 Ways to Make Your Science Teacher Fall in Love With You. You get it. People like the numbers because it organizes the article for their brains. They know what to expect.  A listicle looks like this:  Title Introduction 1. (numbers or bullets) Content 2. Content 3.  Content Conclusion Obviously, you can have any number of points or reasons or whatever you are going to call them in your listicle.  This is a great format for people trying to sell their first articles to o...

There are several different ways to score freelance writing gigs.  Research writer's guidelines for a specific publication and send a pitch Cold pitch blogs and publications Cold pitch business owners about website copy Apply for jobs on a freelance writing job board.  This post is about the 4th option. Here's a quick list of my favorite places to look for freelance jobs.  ProBlogger ProBlogger is my favorite. I'm not sure why, but the listings tend to be straightforward, and the site is easy to navigate. It's free to search and apply to jobs, and I have had good luck with the listings being legit.  BloggingPro I like this one, too, but I haven't been as successful here for some reason. It's similar to ProBlogger - easy to navigate and free to use.  FreelancWritingGigs Another similar job board.  FreelanceWriting Yes, they are all different sites. They just seem to be exactly the same.  SimplyHired The listings here tend to be for more long-term jobs t...

In my last post , I discussed content mills and why you might want to use one as a freelance writer. Here I'm going to list some popular content mills that are appropriate for writers beginning their freelance careers. These sites do require you to apply and may ask for samples of your work, but you don't need a publishing background to write for them.  Of course, information on these sites could change at any time. Content mills come and go on the regular. They've been known to disappear completely or suddenly shake up their platforms. So be sure to do your research on any of these sites that interest you.  Mills for Beginners Zerys This is a platform that is good for writers who want more experience. It doesn't pay much. Current reports are that most writers start at less than one cent per word but can work up to about 4 cents per word. Writers grab jobs from a list and are ranked with stars.  OneSpace This is another good option for those new to freelancing, but you ...

The phrase might sound a little bland, but content mills can be helpful to freelance writers. A content mill is basically a place where writers churn out content for the Internet. Clients go to these websites to buy articles, blog posts, and general online copy. When the content sells, the site gets a cut and so does the author.  The details vary from site to site, but contact mills do have some things in common. Here are some good reasons to write for a content mill.  You'll get paid... probably.  Content mills are infamous for not paying much. You're probably looking at a cent or two per word. Some offer more money as you build a reputation on the site. A few have areas where you can bid for projects or even set your own prices.  In general, you'll get paid if you are able to successfully complete assignments. Spend some time researching a content mill before you sign up to find out what others have experienced.  It's a way to get experience. Content mills can...

Most beginning authors shy away from cold pitching, and there's a good reason for that. It hardly ever works. But when it does, it's an absolutely fantastic feeling.  Cold pitching is where you send an article or a query for an article or story to an editor who hasn't asked for it. This might happen if you have something to contribute to a publication but you can't find any writer's guidelines. So you track down the email of the right editor, and you pitch your idea.  The reason cold pitches rarely result in a home run is that magazine editors have tons of articles pitched to them nearly every day of their professional lives (and probably most days in their personal lives as well).  Here are some tips for the cold pitch.  Do your homework. Make sure you've looked everywhere for those writer's guidelines. If they exist, the editor will expect you to use them.  Know that your pitch is right for the publication. If you are going to gain that editor's attent...