13 creative writing tips

Writing tip #1 Don’t wait around for too much inspiration or imaginative leaps, just get into a rhythm.  Writing tip #2 Make notes or an outline for your next session of writing or have a sentence already half written to flow on with and maximise your time at your desk. Writing tip #3 It’s important for you to articulate what your character is doing in your story. Their actions and dialogue have to be for a tangible reason that is more than just doing it because they feel like it.  Writing tip #4 In between your writing times, make sure you: relax think about writing are doing something else that is not related to writing Writing tip #5 When it comes to writing and creating, there’s an opportunity to trust the unconscious. Recognise its gifts, which can often take place in between writing times. Allow these moments of clarity and these treasures to bubble up.  When it comes to writing and creating, there’s an opportunity to trust the unconscious Writing tip #6 Never be satisfied with a cliché. If you think it’s a cliché, then it probably is. I forget exactly who it was but an Australian author once told me in a workshop that ‘a cliché is a lazy sentence, which is a slippery slope to mediocrity.’ And you’re better off not dropping your standards from the start because every sentence is important and they all matter. Writing tip #7 Be prepared to write the ordinary things. For example, don’t forget to make your characters walk through that door, walk down to the street and catch a taxi to get to where the next prominent scene takes place. The reader wants to know how they got to the party and makes reading a smooth process. Writing tip #8 Silences sometimes need to be written and then deleted, often leaving an implied residue that will make a difference to your writing. You can also try this with dialogue. Writing tip #9 Keep your writing and idea to yourself so that you don’t lose momentum and lose interest in writing it out. Try to resist rereading what you’ve written until you’ve finished the whole first draft. The writer is the first reader. If you tell too many people your story, you’ll no longer need to write it. Writing tip #10 Recognise that the first draft is just that. You can add layers of significance and emotive lines over time. Writing tip #11 Research but don’t over research. Often researching can be an excuse not to write and a crutch to avoid using the imagination. This can be known as analysis paralysis. Writing tip #12 When it comes to process: whatever gets the book out is the best process for you. Hemingway rose at 7am and started writing straight away. Murakami started at 4am. Or Henry Miller declared that you need to ‘work according to program, not mood.’ But really, whatever works for you (as in actually gets words on the page until something is finished) is the best process for you.  Writing tip #13 Think about your message. Why are you writing this story? What are you saying? What are you saying about humanity? Once you are clear on your project’s message, it will be inherently easier to stick to the point of your story and cut out at least some of the overwhelm.  If you love reading, why not check out my fiction books?

Ebooks are pivotal for marketing

Writing and releasing an ebook is a powerful marketing tool that comes with many benefits. Not just that satisfied feeling that you’ve accomplished something that is tangible and braggable. But it actually has real advantages to for your digital marketing. Although it can take some time and energy to write, the effort really pays off.  I advocate for ebooks as a mighty lead magnet (eg, something that entices people to sign up to your marketing list). Mainly because ‘…98% of your traffic isn’t ready to buy right now, and 70% of all website visitors on average will never return to your website.’ So capturing email addresses whilst you can is crucial.  Here are some real world benefits of having an ebook in your marketing plan. Credibility People have revered books for centuries. And for good reason. Books are one of the most influential tools that have ever existed for people. With an ebook you have a tool to put yourself in a locus of influence (for good, of course). Position yourself as an expert in your field so that you are the first name that people think of when considering the services you offer.  Plus, sharing your information in the form of an ebook offers that additional credibility. When people see how knowledgeable you are about a topic, you literally give them the proof that you know what you are doing and have more knowledge that your competitors or someone just entering the field.  Or if you are a startup venture or don’t have an established brand, an ebook is the perfect way to showcase and demonstrate loads of information so that it builds trust.  Control You have a bit more creative control over an ebook (than other forms of communications) and there is no hard and fast rule as to how it looks. You can go full hog and give over all your best information in thirty thousand words or you can keep it tight and enticing with your most favourite salient points in four thousand words and a few images.  More sales As mentioned above, an ebook is an effective lead magnet and attracts sign ups to email distribution list, particularly if it’s free. ‘People like to get things for free. It makes us feel like we’re getting a better value. That’s why all those infomercials on TV double your order for free, or throw in free gifts. It makes something that might seem expensive to begin with seem like a bargain, because of all the “free” things you’re getting. Tap into that same psychological drive by offering an incentive to your customers.’ Upsell An ebook is also an opportunity to sell your services or products even further, either by introducing your target demographic to an additional service that you offer or a more expensive or premium arm of services or products. You can also use it to cross sell or really solidify your businesses key message. Are you really the most creative hairdresser in the area? It’s a relevant and non pushy way to upsell to the people who are already interested in your knowledge. Longevity Ebooks are also great because people can take them away and read them at their own leisure, meaning that you will be top of mind when someone is reading your book in bed at night, on their lunch break or morning commute. Not just when they are Googling you— there is longevity in this type of content.  Value Ebooks immediately create a sense of value in a reader’s mind. Intrinsically, they promise a wealth of knowledge and people really feel like they are scoring a deal when they hand over their email address (or few dollars if you are selling it).  Easy It’s relatively easy to write and create (or outsource). You can easily publish yourself without specialised knowledge and without spending a fortune. You can upload to your site or email marketing list straight away. Do you know what else is great about an ebook? It’s an opportunity to repurpose your content. You can take your existing knowledge, presentation notes, enewsletters or blog posts and rewrite them in an ebook format.  Flexible You can include additional content that supports your key message, not just text. Ebooks— particularly pdfs— are amenable to worksheets, images, charts, hyperlinks, templates and more! And it’s all packaged up in one convenient place, rather than making your reader trawl through stuff on your website. I have always advocated creating a book for your business as part of your marketing plan. Here’s what I said in an interview with Huffpost a few years ago: “Self publishing my book has a lot of intrinsic value. Now I can refer to myself as an author, instead of just a writer. It’s also been a wonderful learning experience and has given me an insight into the publishing and bookselling industry that I might not have seen if I went with a traditional publisher,” Jones said. Don’t wait any longer to get your customised content out into the world and get those elusive email sign ups. Discover how you can get your ebook ghostwritten for you by a professional ebook copywriter now. 

Proofreading, copyediting or ghostwriting?

Ever wondered whether you need proofreading, copyediting or ghostwriting?   It can be hard to tell which of these services you need for your current project. Firstly, I’ll break down what each means and why you might need it. Putting your work on display without seeking the below services is like preparing for the party of the year but neglecting to put on a fabulous outfit.    It’s also important to note that editors and proofreaders are not always copywriters (unless you are multifaceted like I happen to be). ​   Proofreading Proofreading is the detailed talent of going through each and every word and piece of syntax in your written work. It identifies spelling errors and incorrect or missing grammatical marks.   One of the most common things I see when I am proofreading is misspelling words by writing their American counterpart. UK and Australian English use different spelling for the same words a lot of the time. If you are an avid consumer of American culture, you might not even realise [realize] that you’re spelling things differently. ​Proofreading adds a more professional layer and content to your work, which is important if it is public facing.  You need proofreading if you are a writer or have lots of experience writing and just need that final polish to your work before it is published or shared.  Copyediting   Copyediting is the rigorous reviewing of written work. However, copyediting is not just spellchecking. It goes beyond that and it requires skills in knowing how to structure work, how readers think and how to order topics. ​Often, copyediting also involves fact checking of names, dates and titles. I generally recommend what is known as a “hard edit” when it comes to copyediting.    Hard editThe hard edit includes sentence and paragraph structure, thorough proofreading as well as consistency for style, topic order (how the entire manuscript is structured) and correct grammar. This type of copyediting will include improved word choice and readability, consistent tone, eliminate repetitive, redundant and awkward phrasing, consistent language to appeal to your demographic (readers and potential publishers). It will also include suggestions for weak story points and additional points that are suggested to write. An overall structural edit will also be supplied, meaning the order of topics, the flow of the writing and manuscript, chapters and time structure may be changed or suggested differently (where appropriate). This hard edit is also known as a stylistic, line edit or developmental edit and does not include significant rewriting or ghostwriting. Great for: books, manuscripts, larger documents, annual reports, magazines, lengthy writing, essays/academic papers. Who should get copyediting: if you’re a subject matter expert but not a professional writer or editor and have written a long piece of work, then copyediting will refine that piece for you. Also, great for anyone that expects their project to be viewed by the world! Warning: this is a really thorough (and, some may say, tough) editing process and could be quite upsetting when I ‘kill your darlings’ but if your objective is to have your work published or viewed publically, this is something you will have to endure. If you just want someone to tell you whether your writing is good or not, you need a manuscript assessment (for books) or a mentor (for professional writing).   This is an actual example of some of my client copyediting work.   Ghostwriter   Hiring a ghostwriter means that a professional writer creates your work from scratch. It’s often in the form of a memoir or business book but can also be articles or speeches. Quite often, celebrities and well known people hire a ghostwriter to write their books. In fact, around 60 per cent of celebrity books are ghost written.   The ghostwriter conducts extensive interviews, research and data collecting. As well as writing the complete work, emulating the tone of the focal person. Ghostwriting is a lot of work, so is a significant investment- both financially and in time. It’s not just about writing about someone. But working very closely with the person to get to know them, coaching them through the process and the tough bits and eeking out the right information. This is an artform. A ghostwriter service is for someone who has the money to invest. Plus has had an interesting life and wants a professional memoir or business book written. but does not have the time to write it. It’s a terrific service for people who don’t have any writing training or inclination. A ghost written book is a great promotional tool for your business or personal profile. And is an incredible legacy for your future generations of family or mentees.​Most professional writers can take about 100 hours to write a non fiction book, not including research. And it can take years for most people to complete their book.

Five non fiction writing techniques

You’re ready to write a non fiction book but you’re hesitant to start for any number of reasons. Perhaps you are swimming in self doubt, overwhelmed or just not sure where to you start. You’ve identified a non fiction topic to write about and you may have even picked a title and can picture the cover in your mind’s eye. You just haven’t written a single word of the draft manuscript. That is okay! You’re actually probably way more ahead than you realise. I wrote both my books, Promote Your Spiritual Business and Thirty Days to Conscious Success in less than a year each because I genuinely enjoyed the process and was very committed to getting it done. And even though I write for a living, I STILL understand the pain of starting some written work – at times, it can be ghastly! But an idea is just an idea, it’s not a book! Until it’s written, it’s just thoughts. So you actually need to start. Every single successful project in the history of time was started at some point. But an idea is just an idea, it’s not a book! Until it’s written, it’s just thoughts. If you’re having trouble starting, pick one of the following non fiction writing techniques: Do some research Set a timer for thirty minutes and do some serious, hard core internet research on your predetermined topic. Cut and paste as many relevant sections, paragraphs, links, stats and quotes as appeals to you. And put in a Word document. You’ll come back to this document at the right time to expand on relevant sections. Or use the research to back up your opinions in the book. Unearth what you already know Open your Word document and type the heading ‘What I know about TOPIC (this is the topic you will be writing about)’. You can also apply the same action step to keywords that will be in your book. This is your chance to write down dot points of what you already know. I guarantee that you will shock yourself with how much you know about this topic. We often don’t even know how much we know… Donald Rumsfeld proclaims that we no longer know what we know and what we don’t. Most adults have a finite capacity of storing and collecting information. So it’s not implausible that there is at the very, very least one book’s worth of information readily available in your brain. I’m confident there is enough information there to write as many books as you can be bothered! ‘…if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage.’ Scientific American. Set up an interview Interview yourself! Write out a list of questions that you would ask someone else about the topic. Then set about asking yourself. You may even like to prerecord yourself, or rope in a friend to ask you these questions. Just having a different voice can be a really effective process in unearthing your knowledge. Shoosh! Get really quiet. You may already be familiar with a little thing taken the world by a peaceful storm, called mindfulness. If you’re a mindfulness junkie, there’s an opportunity to commence that right now. But if you’re unfamiliar with it, just get really quiet and really still. Distractions have no place here! It doesn’t even have to be long – five to fifteen minutes are ideal. Empty the mind of all your thoughts and when it feels as empty as possible (this is no small feat, by the way) invite thoughts about your topic in. Keep a notepad handy nearby and jot down every single thing that comes to mind, even if it is “purple monkey dishwasher”. You will get something useful out of it. Even if it is one keyword that will spur you to undertake step one, two or three. Notes Find your notes from a workshop you have attended in the last year or so on your chosen area (or closely linked) and gather up your notes. From these notes you will type them up (even if they have been previously typed) and highlight keywords or topics that you will expand on by doing step one or two. Have you attended a workshop that is on a different topic? Grab your notes from that find the similarities between your topics. You may even find some beautiful metaphors or ways to cross pollinate knowledge here.  Didn’t take any notes? Tsk tsk. But not all is lost! Your action step is to enrol in a couple of workshops, seminars, webinars, ecourses or similar on your topic and when you attend, take so many notes that you are left with a hand cramp at the end! Don’t aim for creativity when note taking, just get as much data down as you can. When you type them up later, you’ll be able to interpret in your own writing style, with your own take and research to make them meld seamlessly into your book. Pay particular attention to the extra resources, such as books, podcasts, links, key people that the lecturer, teacher or course provider recommends. As this is where you will extend your knowledge and get those extra nuggets of information that make your book juicy with information. Once you’ve written it, it’s time to engage a copyeditor. There are no excuses left to not starting your book and being well on your way to a bestselling author with these non fiction writing techniques! All you have to do is pick one of the action steps above and do it. You may like to pick an action step for each day and dedicate yourself to completing it. At the end of the week, you’ll be so energised and motivated by what you’ve achieved that it’s likely you’ll want to continue