23 Websites that Make Your Writing Stronger

by suzannah on February 6, 2010 · 10 comments

Man lifting weights

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway

How strong is your writing?

No matter how good you think it is, there’s always room for improvement. In most cases, plenty of room. Luckily, there are some amazing websites out there that’ll help you take your writing to the next level.

Want to strengthen your story, empower your performance,  and beef up on the publishing business?

Here are 23 sites (in no particular order) I look to for daily inspiration and advice: … click here to continue reading >>

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Writers Face Off on 13 Hot Topics

by suzannah on February 2, 2010 · 25 comments

Man karate

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed there were certain topics writers just can’t agree on.

Discussion seems to be a huge part of the writing life, especially because there are so many hot topics to choose from. And, as we move toward the digital age, I believe the number of friendly arguments will continue to grow.

If you had to cast your vote for one side or the other, which would you choose?

  1. (S)he, S/he, Him/Her vs. They, Them. Should ‘they’ be used in place of ‘he’ or ’she’ when the person’s sex is unknown? If not, do you prefer to see said person referred to as ‘he or she,’ ‘he/she,’ ’s/he,’ or ‘(s)he’?
  2. Literary vs. Genre. Which style of writing are you committing your life to–literary or genre–and why? Which do you prefer to read?
  3. Print books vs. E-books. Will E-books take over print books, or will they continue to be secondary? If you could only choose one format, which would get your vote?
  4. Kindle vs. iPad. Devoted reading device, or multi-functionality? With all the recent hype over the iPad, do you think you’ll be converted? … click here to continue reading >>

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The Top 5 Frustrations of the Writing Life

January 29, 2010
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Most of us who dream of becoming published writers start off with an unrealistic picture of how it all works.
There’s the dream of sitting in cafes with one’s notebook, mingling with artsy types at book signings, or seeing one’s novel on the bestseller list. Very few of us, when we first began, stopped to give [...]

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Do You Mispronounce These Common Words?

January 26, 2010
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What’s your pet mispronunciation?
I once had a school teacher who said hippo–crissy for hypocrisy, and polly-gammy for polygamy. I thought it was pretty funny.
While hippo-crissy and polly-gammy are fairly extreme examples, most of us are less-than-perfect when it comes to speech. We swap letters, we slur, we substitute.
I was recently looking through this post on [...]

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The 3 Things Writers Will Never Agree On

January 23, 2010
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Last week, I was thrilled to receive a message from literary agent Nathan Bransford, of Curtis Brown Ltd., letting me know I was one of 3 winners in his recent blogging contest.
It was a tremendous honour to have my article, Are You a Word Nerd or a Grammar Rebel? aired on Nathan’s website. The post [...]

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6 Ways to Hook Your Readers from the Very First Line

January 20, 2010
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Although I consider myself an avid reader, I must admit I have a short attention span when it comes to getting into books. If you fail to grab my attention in the first few lines, I start spacing out.
Most readers are like me. Most people don’t want to spend the first 50 pages trying to [...]

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