A Reading List for Writers
When writing for the web you have to know your audience and you have to know how to reach them. Writing clearly and succinctly will help you get your message across. The best tool for good writing is to read, a lot. Countless successful writers – from Stephen King (“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.”) to Tom Perrotta – stress the importance of reading in order to be a great writer. If you have “writer’s block” or are just uninspired to sit down at the keyboard, the best thing you can do is read. The ideas will start to flow. If you need some help on how to improve your writing, there are many books and websites out there to help. Here are a few to look at.
Trawl the Web for Great Tips
The Write Life is an online resource full of great articles to kick start your writing for the web. Guest authors will teach you how to write for SEO (the all-important search engine optimization), write catchy blog post titles, and other tips to gain a crowd of enthusiastic readers.
Get in the “Morning Pages” habit with The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron has helped thousands of people kick start their creativity and writing with The Artist’s Way. Her technique of starting a regular habit of writing your “morning pages” (three pages of uninterrupted and unedited handwritten pages as soon as you wake up) helps to clear out the inner banter. Once you get in the habit, you will be ready to put down your bigger ideas to paper. It helps to be organised and set aside 10 or 15 minutes in the morning to get the job done.
Follow the Advice of Writers You Love
Another great resource for writers is to follow their favourite authors online – what are they reading? Stephen King’s guide to writing has been inspirational for thousands of writers. What are your literary heroes posting on their social media? If you are an aspiring writer, you are more likely to follow tips that emanate from writers you respect. The author of the international bestseller Chocolat, Joanne Harris, believes writing for ten minutes is better than planning to write for an hour and then not following through.
Make Room on your Desk for “The Basics”
Make sure you have read some of the basics on writing well, such as On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction by William Zinsser. Don’t forget reference books. Lack of close at hand reference books can make all the difference between a good writing day and a poor one. How many times have you stopped writing because you can’t find the right word – and therefore, get sidetracked and/or give up? Get a compact Oxford English Dictionary and a Roget’s Thesaurus on your desk – or bookmark their webpages. Having the hard copy saves you from “being distracted” when your WiFi isn’t working. You can still stay productive!
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From the Custom Fit Online team