Knowing When to Trust What You Have Learned

Do you ask your boss or colleagues for approval too often? Do you seek the answers from your co-workers, no matter how many times you’ve done the same task? Is the urge to ask for help all too strong?

Perhaps you are a little self-critical or skeptical. Perhaps a little lazy.

Or maybe you’re encumbered by what I call excessive doubt.

While I am still learning to completely overcome self-criticism, I can say this:

“It’s imperative that, every now and again, we drop by to check in with ourselves.”

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How to Edit a Friend’s Writing

Unless you’ve managed to keep it a secret, the people closest to you know that you use writing as a tool of expression. Maybe you specialize in poetry, original stories, or articles for niche websites, but the bottom line is you know how to write. You know all the rules to follow and how to break them, and you know how to edit your own work.

If that’s the case, then a friend of yours will inevitably ask you this question: “Can you look over my writing for me?”Continue reading

You Don’t Have to Be a Novelist to Be a Writer

We all know the feeling. That hesitation when you tell someone you’re a writer.

That moment of awkward silence before the high pitched “oh!” and some variation of “that’s nice.” Most people automatically assume that by calling yourself a writer, you’re saying that you sit at home every day writing the next great masterpiece in literature. Or the newest round of Twilight fan fiction.

But that’s simply not true.Continue reading

A Very Brief Guide To Citing Sources in a Bibliography

You’ve been hard at work creating an original nonfiction book. You’ve come up with new ideas, and your labors have resulted in a unique contribution to knowledge, which will inform and guide readers as they encounter challenges you’ve experienced, thought hard about, and researched.

It’s clear to you how much you owe to your sources of knowledge, and you hope your readers will go on to deepen their understanding of the topic by looking to some of the exemplary resources you’ve drawn from.

In order to do this, you’ll need to provide them with a clear path to finding these resources. To this end, you’ll cite your sources and create an organized bibliography, works cited, reference list, or notes section.Continue reading