Launching a blog? Start with this checklist!

Once upon a time, I had a blog. It was my online debut in writing: a small piece of electronic real estate that belonged to me. My own little blank canvas on which my imagination would run wild. My stage, where I'd be "discovered" and hailed as the next big literary sensation.

At first I posted to it every day. Diligently. Joyfully. Then I ran out of energy. The blog went into a coma from which it roused occasionally with a stray post or two, then relapsed. Today it is officially dead. Despite this, I say my maiden blog was very successful, though not in any way I had imagined. It didn't make me rich or...

Read the full article in the December 2015 issue of Writing World

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1500 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"These are EXCELLENT questions, and really, I had not thought things through to nearly this extent. We have some other pieces on blogs but nothing that approached it in quite that way!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

Is writing every day a bad idea?

We've all heard the arguments: Practice makes perfect. Writing every day will force us to develop a habit. It's a great way to get over writer's block. Writing more improves writing. It achieves the aim, gets the job done. We've all believed it. Even tried it. We start off by setting ourselves ambitious goals. After doing the maths we arrive at a magic number. An "ideal" goal. Like writing 2000 words a day. Perhaps for the first few days we even manage it. And we feel proud of ourselves. Gradually, though, we start to slip up. Miss a day here, two there. An ill child. A surprise visit. An overflowing...

Read the full article in the November 2015 issue of Writing World

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1050 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"OH, yes!  I was just thinking along these lines recently - ... the idea that you can get something meaningful done when you're carving off a 15-minute sliver of time here or trying to write something in line there.  Creativity does NOT come in 15-minute spurts."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

Dealing with success

Imagine getting a story accepted today. Yay! Now imagine getting another one accepted tomorrow. Fabulous, right? And now imagine getting yet another one accepted the day after. OMG, are you kidding? Totally awesome! But wait, there's one more acceptance waiting for you the following day, another one the next day and one more, and one more, and so on... until days turn into weeks into months into a year and soon you've had all your stories accepted for publication. It sounds thrilling now, but how would you be feeling at the end of the year? As excited as before? It's not too difficult to guess...

Read the full article in the October 2015 issue of Writing World

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1115 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"Dang. I REALLY like it... I really like the issue of complacency."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

All rights may be all right (And what to do when they're not)

When I was recently invited to guest-blog for a software technology company, I was in seventh heaven. "We would love to have you contribute to our blog," said the manager. "You are a very experienced writer and we are always looking for truly creative and informative content. I’ve read some of your material and I think your type of work would be great for us. I need someone with a technical background who understands how to reach out to our audience of techies." The gig promised regular lucrative work and I couldn't wait to start.

Until I read the contract.
 
"We would need sole publishing rights...

Read the full article in the September 2015 issue of Writing World

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2070 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I like the piece... Wow, this is great! I love the negotiating strategies."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

 

KISS - Keep it simple, sweetheart! (How to write about a complex subject in a simple way)

I’ve been working in the Information Technology industry in various capacities for the last decade. Anyone who does not live under a rock will know that the IT field, along with biotech, space and genetics, has been one of the fastest growing, changing and revolutionising areas of work in the world. From the invention of the wheel, to the first cloned sheep, to putting the “smart” into every single smart gadget available on the market today, we’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Little wonder then, that this progress needs – and indeed deserves – to be documented, not only...

Read the full article in the March 2015 issue of Writing World

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2000 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"This is a great article"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"I like the angle; I think it is right on point; and it exemplifies the article's theme—a clear handling of a multi-faceted subjects."

Susan M. Tierney

Editor-in-Chief

Children's Writer

Are you a happy writer?

I am a part-time writer. Unlike the author who says he is busy writing an eight hundred page opus of a five part “trilogy” in the midst of two blog posts and a feature length article every day, I'm lucky if I can get eight sentences written down in eight weeks. The only things I do manage to write about are reminders for doctors' appointments and kindergarten events.

I don't earn much money from writing. A hundred quid now, a couple of them in six months' time just about keeps me in chocolate cake and icecream at every birthday.

I've never won an award. I've come close—short listed, honorable mention...

Read the full article in the February 2015 issue of Writing World

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1250 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I like the idea behind this article, that of defining happiness for yourself in the writing process. This is an extremely important point of view for all writers, and all people, really... This piece is really trying to offer a perspective through which to view the writing life."

Bill Kenower

Editor

Author Magazine

"I really love this. I have to say, it speaks to me - because I am doing so many fulfilling things in my life, and writing often is not at the top of the list. So I feel guilty that I'm not WRITING even when I'm doing other things that make me happy. I'm sure there are a lot of us in a similar situation. I think what this conveys is that "being a writer" is part of what you are as a total person, not 100% of what you are. So much of what is written about "being a writer" makes it seem that if you're not devoting 23 out of 24 hours of your day to it, you're not "serious." As opposed to - you're a writer, maybe you're a mom, maybe you are a photographer, maybe you have a day job - it's part of the package, not the total package. I think it... will make a great editorial.
That's a great editorial, really. There's so much out there on being the non-stop, full-time, full-speed-ahead writer, as if that's the ONLY kind that makes you a "real" writer. The idea that writing, for some of us, is something we do "in addition" to all the OTHER things we do just isn't "fashionable." I thank you for saying it so well!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

Your prose or mine? Have YOU ever been tempted to plagiarise?

'No! Not ever!' cry famous writers in unison when asked if they have ever felt like using a piece of writing not their own. 'There's plenty of good writing out there, but I've never been tempted to lift anybody else's material,' says Janet Evanovich, who writes the popular Stephanie Plum adventure books. Fellow author David Nobbs, famous for his Reggie Perrin series, agrees. 'I don't think I've ever deliberately plagiarised anybody.' And Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the best-selling novel The Deep End of the Ocean, echoes the sentiment. 'Never on purpose. The only time I wrote something...

Read the full article in the June 2013 issue of Writing World

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1550 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I think you've identified an important issue"

Lauren McKeon

Editor

This Magazine

"I like the piece"

Stuart Woods

Editor

Quill & Quire

Less is more - 15 Quick, clever and clean tricks to reduce manuscript word count

"Maximum length: 3000. Firm limit. No exceptions. And we don't mean 3001. Word count will be the first thing checked, so please pay particular attention to it."

Magazines threaten to reject submissions outright if writers have not adhered to the specified word limit. However, for writers, stringent constraints in wordage are a constant worry. Without being allowed any latitude in the inches, how will you be able to express yourself freely and exactly as you want? Will you be able to do justice to your story? Won't all the chopping and changing morph the very essence of the prose?
 
Word count...

Read the full article in the March 2013 issue of Writing World

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1955 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"This is an interesting article and I do like it. Works for me! I also didn't know that trick about using Word to insert the word count automatically!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

Love thy enemy (How your competitors can help you make money)

We all can do without competition. Be it for the time of that much sought after nanny for the children, that plum freelance assignment, or that exclusive house in the highly desirable and posh neighbourhood, competition can sour things up pretty rapidly and thoroughly. As professional writers, we are particularly vulnerable to competition, which comes not just from our contemporaries but also from those who are long dead and gone but have left their lasting mark in the annals of literature.

However, did you know that your competition can actually come to your aid? Other writers help us...

Read the full article in the January 2013 issue of Writing World

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1520 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"That's definitely a good article... The article felt richer and more detailed. I particularly liked your example of coming up with the piece on titles -- it struck me as a great example of what one can do if one thinks creatively."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

The art of negotiation (16 tips on how to ask for more money)

How many times have you wished that you were being paid just a little bit more? How many times have you wondered whether it was "good form" to ask for just a bit more pay? How many times have you actually done so?

If a magazine has shown interest in your article or story, chances are they are inclined towards publishing you. In such a situation, a little bit of negotiation might just bring you extra benefits. No magazine minds some amount of haggling over price. In fact, a few may even expect it and advertise their pay scales accordingly. As long as you are not too pushy and know when to back down, you...

Read the full article in the September 2011 issue of Writing World

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2680 words
Nonfiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I love it! It's fabulous!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

A rose by any other name... means you weren't paying enough attention in Science class

Like Stephenie Meyer, who woke up one morning with the entire Twilight saga all mapped out and neatly compartmentalised into a trilogy in a dream, you too find yourself struck by inspiration on the evening walk to the corner curry shop. While the man at the till is taking his time totting up the bill, you fret and agonise about being five hundred yards away from your trusty laptop. The minute the curry is in the microwave, you are furiously scribbling the main outline of the plot that promises to shake up the world… you are only about twelve months and one willing publisher away from your destiny...

Read the full article in the April 2011 issue of Writing World

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1645 words
Humour/Science Fiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I definitely enjoyed it! I like it very much. I like the idea of asking authors how they choose names. Perfect! This is a very nice examination of the whole question... a good round-up of how different authors picked names."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"Great title."

Suzanne Ruthven

Editor

The New Writer

Who are you? (How to write a good bio)

"Please provide a short third-person bio along with your submission." The familiar polite request beams up at me cheerfully from the guidelines of an illustrious magazine. It is just what I have been dreading.

If you are the type who breaks out in sweat when asked to introduce yourself in front of a sea of unknown questioning faces, then you are not alone. It is the single worst request in the world, guaranteed to put anyone in an anxious quandary. What to reveal? How much of it? Why do they want to know anyway? Now visualise the number of onlookers multiplied by a few thousands, as in the readership...
Read the full article in the September 2010 issue of Writing World

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1820 words
Humour
US publication