WHAT YOU WON'T DO

Here's a post from Hope Clark at Funds For Writers:
(It's a great site by the way.)

For some reason, writers are notorious for spouting what they won't do when it comes to honoring their profession,


== I won't self-publish.
== I won't pay an entry fee for a contest.
== I won't write for free.
== I won't write for less than ten cents/word.
== I won't do Facebook.
== I won't travel to self-promote.
== I don't have time to blog.


As a previous administrative director, which meant one of my departments was human resources, I used to tell people never to put what you couldn't do on a resume. Now, as a writer, I advise others in my profession to only talk positive in a query.


Don't say you are retired which can insinuate fixed income, limited resources, or inability to travel to young eyes. Instead of saying retired, say you write full-time and your time is your own to promote and write.


Don't say you are a new writer without clips. Instead talk about your strengths and knowledge about the subject matter being pitched.


Don't say you are fresh out of school trying to find your place.
Say you have a degree and propose you have the qualities that
would make for a good employee, columnist, freelance contributor.


It isn't about what you won't do. You define yourself too tightly and tell the world that you can be narrow-minded. You also tout your weaknesses in many people's perspectives, and in this day of rampant competition, you want to be remembered for who you are, not what you aren't.


Instead, state what you PREFER to do. Hear how pro-active and positive that sounds?


You prefer wholesome writing (you are not anti-erotica).
You like contests (you aren't anti-entry fee).
You promote heavily online and in your region (you aren't anti-travel).
You maintain a website (you aren't anti-blog).


Ears perk up when you define what you aren't, but that's how people cull who's in their world. Nobody likes negative. You might be selective, but let your positive choices drive your image, not the negative.

16 Ways to Put More Enthusiasm in Your Work and Life

By John Wood


The year was 1907 …


Frank Bettger received the shock of his life when his manager informed him he was fired from his Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Tri-State baseball team because he was too lazy.


On his way out the door, his manager told Bettger to put some life and enthusiasm into his work.


Upon reporting to his new team in Chester, Pennsylvania, in the Atlantic League, Bettger went from making $175 per month to just $25 per month.


Unhappy about his demotion and his dramatic drop in pay, Bettger decided to take the manager’s advice to heart and inject some enthusiasm into his game.


It wasn't long before people began to take notice. He soon landed a position with the New Haven, Connecticut, team in the New England League.


Inspired by his promotion, he made up his mind to build himself a reputation for being one of the most enthusiastic ball players in the league.


The New Haven newspaper took notice:


“This new player, Bettger, has a barrel of enthusiasm. He inspired our boys. They not only own the game, but looked better than at any time this season.”


Within 10 days, his enthusiasm had catapulted him from $25 a month to $185 a month.


It didn’t happen because he suddenly became a better ball player – it happened solely because he added enthusiasm to his game.


Two years later, an injury forced Bettger to give up playing ball. Bettger then channeled his enthusiasm into a 32-year-long successful sales career. He later wrote the inspirational book How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling in which he observed that …


“Enthusiasm is by far the highest paid quality on earth, probably because it is one of the rarest; yet it is one of the most contagious.”


Could you use more enthusiasm in your life?


The benefits of living a more enthusiastic life can't be overstated …


You'll have more confidence.


You'll be more productive.


People will view you in a more positive light, which will open you up to more and better opportunities.


Plus, you'll experience more peace of mind at the end of every day.


So how do you go about it?


Here are 16 things you can do on a daily basis that will help you ignite enthusiasm:


1. To become more enthusiastic, act more enthusiastic – This is Frank Bettger's number one enthusiasm rule. Bettger used to challenge people to put this rule into action for 30 days, telling them that if they did, it could easily revolutionize their life. Bettger says to stand up each morning and say the following:


"Force yourself to act enthusiastic, and you'll become more enthusiastic."


This quote from American businessman Edward B. Butler (1853-1928) ties into Bettger's advice:


“Every man is enthusiastic at times. One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes – another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years that makes a success out of his life.”


2. Define your goals and what you need to do to achieve them – I know you've heard it before, but if you haven't done it yet, sit down and write down your most important life goals. Then put a plan together to accomplish them.


As Lawrence J. Peter, author of The Peter Principle, says:


"If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else."


3. Get organized – Get a system together that will squeeze the most productivity out of each day and stick to it. Don’t procrastinate or get distracted. Keep focused on the task at hand, and you will turn every workday into a success.


4. Draw strength from the positive – Remember the times in your life when you were enthusiastic. Feed off those positive feelings. Learn from the times you failed, but focus and draw inspiration from your successes.


5. Look for "Aha!" moments – Media giant Oprah Winfrey used to talk about "Aha!" moments on her talk show (she also features them online and in O Magazine). "Aha!" moments are those moments in life when something happens that changes some aspect of your life for the better. Look for your "Aha!" moments. Record them in a journal and refer to them often.


For example, one of the "Aha!" moments from Oprah's site is from the beautiful actress Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire). Pinto, who is from India, has what she calls "a dusky complexion." She says in her country, there was a very prevalent notion that "light skin is more attractive than dark." One day as she was checking into a Los Angeles hotel, a woman who Pinto says was "as pale as pale can be" said to her …


"I'd love to have your skin color. It's so beautiful."


Pinto thought to herself, "What? Where I come from, people want to be your color."


After thinking about it a bit, she decided to stop thinking how her complexion and accent "weren't good enough" and be happy with the way she was.


6. Don’t dwell on the negative – Don’t think about past mistakes. Put them out of your mind. Banish them to the basement. And stop worrying about things you can’t change.


7. Make a list of the things in life you are grateful for – Most of us have a lot in life to be grateful for. It's important to remind ourselves of this every so often. Get a blank piece of paper and a pen and start compiling a list of everything in life you're grateful for: your spouse, family, friends, skills and knowledge, hobbies, health, achievements, and so on. Whenever you need a boost, take this out and remind yourself of all the good things you have in your life.


8. Make a list of things that make you happy – Make another list consisting of things that make you happy. If you love going to your child's or grandchild's baseball game, put it down. List all the events and activities you do that bring you pleasure. Use it as a reminder of all the joy that is possible in life.


9. Don't try to solve the entire world's problems at once – It can feel quite overwhelming if you look to where you want to be in life and where you are now – along with all the things you have to do to fill the gap.


Feeling overwhelmed can often lead to total paralysis in terms of moving closer to your goals and aspirations. It's important to remind yourself that “life is a marathon, not a sprint." Focus on one thing at a time with steady, consistent action, and you'll get where you want and need to be in life.


10. Identify what’s holding you back and find a solution – For instance, if you are overweight, get a plan together to shed those extra pounds. If you’re petrified of speaking in front of a crowd of people, enroll in a public speaking course.


If you don't know what companies to target for your business, sit down and figure it out. Make a list and put together a strategy to market your services to them.


Don’t procrastinate; do it today.


11. Surround yourself with enthusiastic people – Enthusiasm really is contagious. When you feed off other people’s energy, great things will happen. On the flipside, get rid of the negative people in your life that zap your energy. If you can’t convince them to be enthusiastic, avoid them.


12. Perform random acts of kindness – As Jesus says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The one thing the world can always use more of is kindness. Always be on the lookout to help someone in need, even it's just with a friendly smile and a kind word.


13. Derive strength from your role models – Choose someone in your life whose success you want to mirror. It could be a friend or someone you've never met but has attained a level of success that you wish to achieve – and then emulate them. Motivational expert and bestselling author Anthony Robbins says it best …


"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results."


14. Don't listen to the naysayers – Don't listen to the people who criticize you without being constructive or always seem to discourage you.


15. Get your energy level up – It's easier to be enthusiastic if you have lots of energy and feel good about yourself physically. Eating the right foods and exercising regularly will ensure you have energy to spare at the end of every day.


16. Remember, it's you who chooses how you view the world – You determine your destiny. It's as easy to have a negative view of your world as it is to have a positive view, so always choose the view that makes you happier and moves you closer to your goals.


Henry Ford once said …


“You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. With it, there is accomplishment. Without it there are only alibis.”


For freelance writers, enthusiasm is key.


If you’re not excited about the product you're selling or don't particularly have an interest in your chosen niche, not only will it come through in your writing, but it will also hamper your efforts to get new clients.


If you feel you could use more enthusiasm in your life, acknowledge it. The sooner you do, the sooner you can start to fix the problem.


Why not start right now?


Print these enthusiasm suggestions out and make them part of your day. People will start to take notice, and I guarantee you’ll be more successful and live a happier, more satisfying life … and because you're more excited about your career, you’ll write better copy, too.


I will leave you with a quote from American author, advertising executive, and politician Bruce Barton (1896-1967), who once said …


“If you give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be – enthusiasm.”

How to Reset Kindle's Furthest Page Read

From a blog:
I have written a couple of times on how Amazon needed to have some way for customers to update their ‘Furthest Page Read’ settings without going thru the hassle of a phone call or email to Customer Service. Thanks to dyingc from the MobileReads forum, there is a way to do it yourself although somewhat clunky.


Here’s the issue -


When using Whispersync, staying on the correct page across multiple devices works great–until you decide to re-read your content.


You read thru a book on either your Kindle and your iPhone (or another Kindle).  First time thru, you stay in sync on any device.  Later you decide to either re-read or restart the book. Unfortunately, the ‘Sync to Furthest Page Read’ will always be the furthest page you got to, so your furthest read page remains at either the end of the book or the furthest page you got to and Whispersync will be let you know when you open that book on the device.  You can tell it not to go to the furthest page and continue reading.  Go to the other device and try to sync, and you will be taken to the furthest page read, not the place you were at when you stopped reading on the other device.


This is a problem in a couple of ways.  The simplest is that it makes it hard to re-read or restart any book and use Whispersync to keep your place on more than one device.


Solution – Reset the Furthest Page Read
Use the same device for all of the steps below before opening the book on a different one, the below example is using a single Kindle


   1. Set the Synchronization off  on your Amazon Account (Go to Amazon -> Your Account -> Manage Your Kindle -> Manage Kindle Device Synchronization -> click the “Turn the Synchronization off” button to turn off the synchronization)
   2. Wait about a minute, then exit & re-enter your book
   3. Go to the beginning of your book on the Kindle
   4. Sync to the furthest  page. If it tells you that you’re on the furthest location, you’re good to go. 
         1. If not, select Cancel on the sync message, exit and re-enter the book to attempt the reset again.  (I think that the Amazon databases have to get reset-thus the delay; in any case, it always works for me on the 2nd attempt)
   5. Turn on the synchronization setting on your Account – your Furthest Page read will be reset to your new location.
   6. On your other devices–if further along in the book, you will have to go to the beginning of the book, but once done the Furthest Page Read location will sync with your Kindle.


Like I said, its not the most elegant solution, but it works.

Multiplication Philanthropy - Dan Pallotta - Harvard Business Review

Multiplication Philanthropy - Dan Pallotta - Harvard Business Review:

Leverage is the mantra of the times in philanthropy, and rightly so. People want to know that the charities they support are using donations as effectively as possible. Donors and institutional funders are more demanding, more discerning, and less detached. They're no longer content with writing a check and securing their place in heaven. They want results.

But they're looking for them in the wrong places. They're missing the greatest leverage point of all: the multiplying effects of smart investments in fundraising. If you want to maximize the social effects of your donation, why would you buy, for example, $100,000 worth of great educational programming for inner city kids when the same $100,000 directed toward fundraising could generate enough money to buy $1 million worth of it?

Even the wealthiest and most sophisticated are oblivious to the opportunity — in fact, they actively avoid it. They follow conventional wisdom and direct their money to the programs of carefully vetted organizations, scrupulously avoiding fundraising support. Or they back new approaches by leading thinkers in philanthropy — models that also bypass fundraising investment — and think they're on the cutting edge. Either way, they're squandering the real and massive potential of their capital.

The venture philanthropy movement, for instance, gets it only half right. Donors are strongly urged to seek out the organizations with the best, most innovative programs and fund those programs. And we should be looking for organizations with breakthrough programs. But once we find them, we should direct giving not toward the programs but toward the organizations' fundraising and development operations so that they can multiply the funds available for programs.

The notion of catalytic philanthropy, while important, leaves the same half of the real potential unaddressed. In a nutshell, catalytic philanthropy exhorts the individual donor to take the bull by the horns. Instead of addressing a social problem by writing a check to an existing charity, donors create a new effort from the ground up. They take responsibility for all aspects of a particular social initiative, from accountability for results to mobilizing a campaign for change. But even here, donors aren't being coached to invest in the fundraising apparatus of their initiative. The founding donor can create a great model, but who's going to expand it and whence will those funds come?

Even capacity-building, though better than not-capacity-building, is missing the larger opportunity. It lumps fundraising in with finance, human resources, leadership training, technology, and other administrative functions. But fundraising alone has the capacity to multiply money. Indeed, it has the capacity to multiply the money available for the other components of capacity-building. So if you want to build capacity, don't fund technology and HR, fund the fundraising for those things.

The cutting edge is investment in fundraising. Yet everyone tries to suppress it, invoking a flawed theory of social change that says the less you spend on fundraising, the more you have for programs. That's true if it's a zero sum game. But it's not. Imagine a $10 million pie with $8 million going to programs and with the 20% fundraising slice taking $2 million away from programs. The last thing we want to do is make that a $3 million slice, leaving only $7 million for programs. But that's not how it works. If done correctly, the extra million enlarges the pie — substantially. A $10 million pie becomes a $15 million pie, and the $7 million available for programs grows to $12 million.

Charities invest in fundraising because the money they get back is greater than the money they put in. There are longstanding, proven correlations between the amount spent on the various fundraising methods and how much each will return. Those correlations are all positive. A Giving USA study found that a dollar invested in a major gift program produces, on average, $24 in revenue. A dollar invested in a direct mail program produces $10. A dollar invested in a special event produces $3.20.

Fundraising multiplies the potential of charitable gifts. There's nothing radical about this. It's only radical to those who have no experience with it. That lack of experience, endemic among donors, is a significant liability. It's one reason that charitable giving has remained constant in the U.S. at 2% of GDP ever since we have been measuring it, and has not budged. How could it? Donors don't want charities to spend money on fundraising. But imagine, if we could move that 2% to 2.5% or 3%, we could put our dreams on steroids. Each half a point represents $75 billion — annually.

That dream won't come to pass by funding programs, because program funding cannot multiply anything. It is a paradox, I know, but funding programs annihilates our real potential to fund programs.

The smart money is in multiplication.

Which of These Success Factors Do You Already Have?

By Roy Furr

Full article here.

The Success Factors

1. You have an unshakable belief in yourself. This may be the greatest of all Success Factors. It comes from knowing who you are. You are a remarkable person who is the embodiment of Love and Life. And from this place of knowing, you can have confidence you will accomplish great things. When someone recognizes this in themselves, it’s like light radiates from every cell of their body. 
2. You write your own rules. Rules are imposed on us from every direction. From infancy, others tell us how we must live our lives. Top performers recognize and live with these rules on a daily basis — yet when a rule doesn’t make sense, top performers don’t hesitate to break or rewrite it to suit their vision. Nothing is impossible — although sometimes the rules must change drastically to make things happen.
3. You’re always learning and improving. Great people never stop learning and improving themselves. They learn from books. ... Applied to your career, this means always working to develop new skills and master your craft.
4. You connect ideas in new and unique ways. As they’re learning, top performers don’t just file every new insight and idea into its own separate file. They’re always looking for relations and interconnectedness of ideas, in order to see things and understand things in new ways. ...“How can this be related to something I already know?” 
5. You’re always moving forward, because that’s what you do. You develop the habit of never stopping moving — even if it’s just your subconscious processing the day’s thoughts and activities and planning tomorrow as you wind down for the evening. This is howsmall good things snowball into big good things, and you accomplish more.
6. You embrace chaos and uncertainty. When you’re living big — always creating a new and higher answer to “How high is high?” — there will be a lot of chaos and uncertainty in your life. It’s not comfortable. ... It takes practice to become comfortable doing this. And even more practice to embrace it. Yet it’s what top performers do and what you should practice doing, too.
7. You’ll jump in when others won’t.  … you have to practice jumping in. Sometimes you’ll find shark-infested waters and you’ll have to skedaddle your little butt up out of the water before you get bitten too hard. Yet more often, you’ll find the water far warmer and more enriching — andwaaaay less scary — than you could have ever imagined.
8. You’ll try, and try, and try again. Failure is a fact of life. The final Success Factor common in top performers is the unwillingness to let failure stop them from getting back up and trying again. They fail, and fail again. And, get back up and try, and try again. ... Why not fail as fast as you can — trying, and trying again — until you get there? Very few will remember your failures … and many will recognize and applaud your success.

So, which of these Success Factors do you have? Which are you working on?

The only three true job interview questions

The only three true job interview questions article found here, with lots of further links.

The only three true job interview questions are:
1.  Can you do the job?
2.  Will you love the job?
3.  Can we tolerate working with you?

That’s it.  Those three.  Think back, every question you’ve ever posed to others or had asked of you in a job interview is a subset of a deeper in-depth follow-up to one of these three key questions.  Each question potentially may be asked using different words, but every question, however it is phrased, is just a variation on one of these topics: Strengths, Motivation, and Fit.

Summary of American Gridlock pt 1

Beautiful Mind discovered via the deduction from five axioms of a theory of bargaining completely devoid of any data: There is only one variable that matters to the bargaining outcome—the degree of risk aversion of Player 1 compared to that of Player 2. Nash showed that, the more risk averse one player is relative to the other, the more he will get "bargained down" to accept a smaller share of the pie. No information overload here. The same holds true in much of physics. Just recall the elegant simplicity of the great "laws" of Newton and Einstein, respectively: F = MA and E = MC². Only three variables in each. No information overload here either.

The irony in all this is the widespread failure to appreciate the complete irrelevance of most of the data now available for problem solving. The great poet T.S. Eliot stressed this point some eighty years ago with his prescient query: "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? And where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" Bingo!

The Four Basic Assumptions or Goals: Whatever policy is adopted to get the economy moving, it must satisfy these four policy requirements —requirements which play the role of First Principles in our analysis. Like any set of First Principles, these national goals should strike you as being as "reasonable" as apple pie and motherhood are desirable. (1)Much more rapid GDP growth; (2) Much reduced Unemployment; (3) A contented bond market unlikely to go on strike; and (4) Infrastructure reconstruction before our infrastructure "goes critical" which is now expected to start happening in many different areas.

The Policy Solution: I propose that a Marshall Plan sufficiently large to redress our infrastructure crisis (a good $1 trillion per year) is the only solution that achieves these four goals. By infrastructure, I do not only refer to roads and bridges, but to the nation's electric and refinery grid, public transportation, and new modes of delivering medical and educational services. These proposals are fleshed out at length in American Gridlock. Your initial skepticism will probably take the form of two questions: First, does the nation have the physical resources for an investment of this magnitude — one which can easily show to be "needed"? Second, does the government have the financial resources to fund such a program? Surely it does not.

EXPLORE THE BUSINESS OF GRANT PROPOSAL WRITING

By Gail R. Shapiro

Many professional writers are asked to help charities write proposals for grants. How do you get started as a professional proposal writer?

Most of us began by volunteering to raise funds for a non-profit organization with which we already were involved. Others started by answering an ad for a grant writer. (Note: this term often is used incorrectly. The one who writes the proposal is a "grant proposal writer," the one who gives the money writes the grant). Many times, little or no compensation is offered by small or start-up non-profit organizations asking for proposal writing help. You obviously can choose to volunteer your time, either to get more experience in learning how to write proposals, or because you love the mission of the organization.


But for those who dream of becoming a paid professional in the field, it's important to understand that grant proposal writing is not simply creative writing. It takes training, as well as technical knowledge, both in non-profit management as well as in the "business" of your client's organization. It can also require knowledge of the funders in your particular geographic area, as well as each one's specific focus and priorities.

Most grant proposal writers are hired by non-profits, schools, and agencies. Many others are free-lance consultants working for a regular group of clients or taking occasional assignments. Beware of offers to pay you a percentage of monies raised! Working on a percentage basis (or small fee plus percentage) not only is not advantageous either to the client or the writer, but it also violates the Code of Ethics of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org), to which many of us belong. It is unlikely that a professional who cares about advancing philanthropy and donor-based fundraising would work on a commission basis. In addition to being unethical, it devalues your time and skills.

Most proposal writers charge by the project or by the hour, as it is difficult to tell ahead of time how long it will take to prepare a proposal, particularly if one has not worked before with a particular client. Much depends on what the client already has prepared, how cooperative they are about getting information to the writer in a timely way, whether this proposal is a top priority for them, and so on.

Before you accept even a volunteer position as a proposal writer, be sure that the program or project for which the client is requesting funds is fully developed, has a feasible budget, and a good evaluation component. Developing this material is the duty of the program staff who will be implementing the project or program. Missing any one of these components means that, in addition to being a proposal writer, you will be expected to serve as: program developer, evaluation specialist, and maybe even budget developer.

An experienced proposal writer normally has some knowledge of all these components and skills. If you are called upon to do more than write the proposal itself, make sure you are properly compensated. If you don't have experience in these areas, then volunteering with a NPO may be a good place to start one's career. Keep copies of all proposals you write, even those that are not successful. You can learn as much from failures as from successes.

Always be mindful of your client's confidentiality and proprietary information - grants are competitive, and the agency most likely will not want their work shared with others.

While the field is competitive, there is always room for good people in any profession. If you are not directly involved in providing vital services to a specific population to help them improve or change their lives, or in making your community more livable or beautiful, or in protecting our environment, then obtaining money for those who do this work is a great contribution to make to the world. We wish you well in your endeavors.

Carla C. Cataldo and Gail R. ShapiroExcerpt adapted from:Get That Grant, The Quick-Start Guide to Successful Proposals

BIOGail R. Shapiro, Ed.M, and Carla C. Cataldo, M.P.P., offer consulting services to non-profit organizations. Together they have 55 years of experience writing successful proposals in education, health, human services, transportation, the arts, and other fields. They have taught hundreds of students nationwide how to write polished, winning grant proposals. 

Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List | Poynter.

Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List | Poynter.

Fifty Writing Tools: Quick List

by Roy Peter ClarkPublished June 30, 2006 2:32 pmUpdated Aug. 2, 2011 2:38 pm

Use this quick list of Writing Tools as a handy reference. Copy it and keep it in your wallet or journal, or near your desk or keyboard. Share it and add to it.

I. Nuts and Bolts

1. Begin sentences with subjects and verbs.
Make meaning early, then let weaker elements branch to the right.

2. Order words for emphasis.
Place strong words at the beginning and at the end.

3. Activate your verbs.

Strong verbs create action, save words, and reveal the players.

4. Be passive-aggressive.
Use passive verbs to showcase the “victim” of action.

5. Watch those adverbs. Use them to change the meaning of the verb.

6. Take it easy on the -ings.
Prefer the simple present or past.

7. Fear not the long sentence.
Take the reader on a journey of language and meaning.

8. Establish a pattern, then give it a twist.
Build parallel constructions, but cut across the grain.

9. Let punctuation control pace and space.
Learn the rules, but realize you have more options than you think.

10. Cut big, then small.
Prune the big limbs, then shake out the dead leaves.

II. Special Effects

11. Prefer the simple over the technical.
Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs at points of complexity.

12. Give key words their space.
Do not repeat a distinctive word unless you intend a specific effect.

13. Play with words, even in serious stories.
Choose words the average writer avoids but the average reader understands.14. Get the name of the dog.

Dig for the concrete and specific, details that appeal to the senses.

15. Pay attention to names.
Interesting names attract the writer � and the reader.

16. Seek original images.
Reject clich�s and first-level creativity.

17. Riff on the creative language of others.
Make word lists, free-associate, be surprised by language.

18. Set the pace with sentence length.
Vary sentences to influence the reader’s speed.

19. Vary the lengths of paragraphs.
Go short or long — or make a “turn”– to match your intent.

20. Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind.
One, two, three, or four: Each sends a secret message to the reader.

21. Know when to back off and when to show off.
When the topic is most serious, understate; when least serious, exaggerate.
22. Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction.
Learn when to show, when to tell, and when to do both.

23. Tune your voice.
Read drafts aloud.

III. Blueprints

24. Work from a plan.
Index the big parts of your work.

25. Learn the difference between reports and stories.
Use one to render information, the other to render experience.

26. Use dialogue as a form of action.
Dialogue advances narrative; quotes delay it.
27. Reveal traits of character.
Show characteristics through scenes, details, and dialogue.

28. Put odd and interesting things next to each other.
Help the reader learn from contrast.
29. Foreshadow dramatic events or powerful conclusions.
Plant important clues early.

30. To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers.
To propel readers, make them wait.
31. Build your work around a key question.
Good stories need an engine, a question the action answers for the reader.
32. Place gold coins along the path.
Reward the reader with high points, especially in the middle.

33. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Purposeful repetition links the parts.

34. Write from different cinematic angles.
Turn your notebook into a “camera.”

35. Report and write for scenes.
Then align them in a meaningful sequence.

36. Mix narrative modes.
Combine story forms using the “broken line.”

37. In short pieces of writing, don’t waste a syllable.
Shape shorter works with wit and polish.

38. Prefer archetypes to stereotypes.
Use subtle symbols, not crashing cymbals.

39. Write toward an ending.
Help readers close the circle of meaning.

IV. Useful Habits

40. Draft a mission statement for your work.
To sharpen your learning, write about your writing.

41. Turn procrastination into rehearsal.
Plan and write it first in your head.

42. Do your homework well in advance.
Prepare for the expected — and unexpected.

43. Read for both form and content.
Examine the machinery beneath the text.

44. Save string.
For big projects, save scraps others would toss.

45. Break long projects into parts.
Then assemble the pieces into something whole.

46. Take interest in all crafts that support your work.
To do your best, help others do their best.

47. Recruit your own support group.
Create a corps of helpers for feedback.

48. Limit self-criticism in early drafts.
Turn it loose during revision.

49. Learn from your critics.
Tolerate even unreasonable criticism.

50. Own the tools of your craft.
Build a writing workbench to store your tools.

All of these tips are available via podcast through iTunes.

To purchase a copy of “Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer,” visit your local or online bookstore or click here (as an Amazon affiliate, Poynter will receive a small cut of the profit). You can contact the author at: rclark@poynter.org.