Strange and Unbelievable Myths About Writers
When you think of a writer, what image comes to mind? An eccentric hermit who locks themselves up in a remote cabin, stays up all night writing, and drinks far too much alcohol? Like most stereotypes, these are not generally an accurate depiction of reality. In fact, most clichés about writers couldn’t be further from the truth. In this fun blog from Authors Publ...
January 22, 2021 READ MORE
The Bizarre Writing Habits of Famous Authors
For even the most skilled writers, it takes a special kind of motivation to turn out literary hits. While some writers may rely on a good cup of coffee, and perhaps some inspirational music, there are others who take a less conventional approach to finding motivation. Take Benjamin Franklin, for example. He felt that his best work was done if he wrote while he was nude....
October 22, 2019 READ MORE
Pen Names and The Famous Writers Who Use Them
If you have ever read a book and found yourself thinking that the style and way of writing seemed very familiar, it is possible that the book you are reading was actually written by your favorite author —only under a pen name. A pen name, also known as a nom de plume or a pseudonym, is an assumed name used by an author, in place of their own name. Some authors wri...
April 10, 2019 READ MORE
How to Write 50,000 Words in 30 Days, Make New Friends, and Squash Writer’s Block
Image via Wikipedia Dust off your laptops, start doing some preliminary research, and clear your schedule for November: The beginning of next month marks the 10th anniversary of National Novel Writing Month. Here’s the deal. Anyone can participate (you just need to register on the NaNoWriMo site). Writing begins Novembers 1st and ends November 30th at midnight. The o...
October 16, 2009 READ MORE
Why Copywriters and Journalists Just Can’t Get Along
Versatile writers are hard to find. For a long time I was surprised when I’d get great journalism samples from a writer, but the minute I put them on a copywriting project, it was a total flop – and vice versa. But I’ve finally discovered the disconnect: the real reason that some writers have such a hard time, fundamentally, switching between these two genres. The re...
September 4, 2009 READ MORE
Misused Quotation Marks are “Bad”
When it comes to writing, there are dozens of rules just begging to be broken. Some are flexible and give you a little wiggle room -- like hyphenation or deciding whether to use the comma before the “and” in lists. But there are other grammar rules that you just don’t break. You don’t tweak them; you don’t adjust them to suit your personal preferences. Ever. Ca...
September 1, 2009 READ MORE
Killer Tips for Streamlining Your Copy, Part 1
As any writer knows, getting that first draft down on paper is only half the battle. Whether you’re writing web copy, a sales email, or a journalistic article, chances are, you and your editing team will go through a few rounds of tweaking and fine-tuning before your work is really done. So, I’ve decided to do a little mini-series to share some of my favorite writing a...
May 8, 2009 READ MORE
