Related Articles

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  Dealing with Criticism

  5895 readersNo matter what you do in life, at some stage you are bound to find yourself on the receiving end of criticism. Whether it’s at work, at home, at school or at play, someone will find fault with what you’re doing. Of course, if you’re a writer, you have to actively solicit such criticism in

• Q&A: Eleven Ways to Become a Sucker for the Unfamiliar

  3024 readersKit Dunsmore asked: How do you deal with the different stages of a writing project, especially the ones that are least natural for you? A: At the personal level, what stops me from pushing through the unfamiliar is always fear. Fear that I’ll fail, t...

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  How to Criticise Your Creative

  1294 readersIf you want stunning copy or a striking design, communication is critical. You're going to cast your eye over a first draft, and you're going to give an opinion. If you do this right, you're on the way to having a truly amazing piece of work created. If you do it wrong, you'll be lucky

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  How to be an Editor’s Best Friend – And Take Feedback

  3525 readersExtraordinary writing exists because of extraordinary rewriting. Contrary to popular belief, the right words don’t just come forward ready, willing and able. They are discovered, fought for, and captured. Writing, as you know, is hard work. Your editor stands alone as the biggest ally in this battle for the correct and powerful use of language. Embrace him

• Be Extraordinary

  2167 readersHow many hours does it take to write a novel–a good one, a publishable one? How many hours will you have to spend thinking about that story, then actually typing out a draft, and then revising-revising-revising? Many. Possibly many more than you think. So the goal is to make those hours count. To be sure

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  One is a Lonely Number – Why You Need a Writing Mentor

  1894 readersA guest post by Jules Clancy from stonesoup This writing business can be a lonely endeavour. We’ve all been there. Self imprisoned in our lonely garrets – or more likely behind our laptops. Reaching out to the world with our writing but feeling helpless and alone. Fear not fellow writers. There is hope. I’ve recently discovered a

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  Revision, or The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal

  1433 readersI’m often asked by poets who are just beginning to get serious about their craft: What is the most important thing for a poet to do in order to get better and, subsequently, get published? I have a simple yet frightening answer: revision. I know a few of my readers may have already shut off their

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  Blog Struggles: The Online Blogging Diary Begins

  2617 readers…I have always sought to be understood and, while I was taken to task by critics or colleagues, I thought they were right, assuming I had not been clear enough to be understood. This assumption allowed me to work my whole life without hatred and even without bitterness toward criticism, regardless of its source. I

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  Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Has Rocky Public Run-Through

  1526 readersSpider-Man: Turn Off The Dark (the Broadway musical based on the comic book hero) staged its first public run-through yesterday, and The New York Times counted five full stops during the program. While the article admitted these early shows are &#8220...

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  What’s More Scary: Fear of Failure or Success? – Which One Bothers You More?

  1255 readersFear of failure is something that I think most writers live with. In order to work, we have to either be answering ads, pitching our services to prospective clients, sending our queries or writing and marketing our own products. Sometimes we get the gig, and other times we don’t. Most of the time, we realize