Making a Scene in Your Memoir

How to know what to keep and what to cull Let’s get straight into it. Memoirs are highlight reels, not hefty director’s cuts. Nobody wants to read a day-by-day account of your life. I don’t care if you’re Taylor Swift or Jeff Goldblum (two celebs I’m very curious...

Does Reading Make You a Better Writer? Avoiding the Creativity Trap

Reading as a writer We are big believers in the importance of reading as writers. We have talked about it many times before, such as in this blog, but are there any pitfalls? Of course there are, nothing is perfect. Before we begin, it is important to reinforce the...

7 books you might want to read about writing nonfiction

As a writer, you can never read too much. Reading is like … well, erm, I won’t cobble together a simile to describe how I feel about reading as a writer, because Pam Allyn’s is unbeatable and worth repeating: “Reading is like breathing in; writing is like breathing...

Working title

How to craft a great title for your nonfiction book that will work for you It’s time to look beneath the surface of book titles and find out what makes them fly, or flop. Does it matter what you call your book if the content is cracking? Are there any golden rules to...

Why you need a writer’s notebook

Writer’s Notebook – pretentious accessory or crucial equipment? You may have heard people talking about having a “writer’s notebook”, and wondered what it is, and what you should be using it for. What is a writer’s notebook? Well,...