Compelling Content and Design for Your Blog
A writing friend asked me to visit her blog. I was excited because I loved her writing. When I clicked on the URL she sent, I was surprised to find a series of long blog posts written in blocks...
Continue ReadingThree Tips to Keep Writing During the Holidays (and a COMPEL Challenge and giveaways!)
Happy Thanksgiving from COMPEL Training! Can you believe the holidays are already upon us? It’s amazing how fast a year goes by! If there’s one thing I know about the holiday season, it’s how easy it is to let our...
Continue Reading Writing for Take-Home Papers
The take-home paper market is often overlooked by writers, and yet the opportunity is huge. Consider the colorful Sunday school paper your children receive at church. Think about the adult publication filled with inspirational stories, teaching, and faith-filled facts handed...
Continue Reading Beating the Rejection Blues
When you receive a rejection from a magazine editor, you may toss your query or article in the trash. After all, if the editor didn’t like it, why bother? You might be surprised...
Continue Reading Develop the Habit of Meeting a Word Count
Have you ever seen the movie where the writer bangs his head against the wall while a white, empty computer screen flashes in the background? We can run into the same frustration if we...
Continue Reading Finding Your Writing Voice
What is a writing voice? It's how you write your words. Hemingway sounds different than Grisham. Voskamp sounds different than TerKeurst. You sound different than the writer sitting next to you. The problem is that we often try to...
Continue Reading Creating Your Writing Workspace
Last night I watched an episode of a makeover show. In it, a single mom worked from home preparing natural recipes in her kitchen. She sat on an uncomfortable stool, her knees pressed into the cabinet. Her laptop...
Continue Reading
You Have a Story to Tell
I really want to write a book about my life. I can't tell you how many people I've heard say that sentence over the years. In fact, I read a statistic once that said 90% of people think they...
Continue Reading The Art of Exaggeration
A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. You might think that hyperbole has no place in nonfiction but if used well it places a bit of fun in your writing. Let's look at this example...
Continue Reading Storytelling in Nonfiction
When we think of dialogue or setting a scene, we often delegate that to fiction. However, storytelling is just as powerful in nonfiction.
Consider this story.
“Can you name the one person you are angry with?” The teenaged girl twirled a...Continue Reading