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Rules of the Writing Road
About an hour east of Chicago, I looked at my college roommate, who was at that moment driving a large moving truck towing a car, and said, “There’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.”
If you’re on a road trip, especially one anywhere in the general vicinity of the great city of Chicago, you’re pretty much contractually obligated to quote The Blues Brothers.
Whether you’re “on a mission from God,” hitting the road with your best friend to escape a sedate life, or headed to a drag queen pageant, road trips are the basis for a lot of stories, both personal and fictionalized.
Stop Comparing, Start Writing — How to Become a Real Writer
“He thinks you just need to get a job.”
My brow furrowed while I took a quick, defensive inhale of breath. I’d been sitting across the table from my aunt on a hazy, summer afternoon, discussing my career path and where it might lead over lemonade and paninis.
She mentioned that my uncle, apparently, thought I was unemployed.
“But… I’m not…,” I stammered, nearly choking on my swallow of sandwich.
“Ohhhh yes, yes, I know. You do that blogging,” she zipped back, tapping her fingers in the air on an imaginary keyboard.
My eyes swiveled downward, a millisecond-long “Is it worth it to bother explaining/correcting?” internal debate raging my head, and I decided that I would not spend the afternoon teasing out the semantics of my job description.
9 Creative Ways to Write About Your Products
Don’t let the way you write about your products descend into a mediocre jargon-fest — put some life and soul into your writing by getting creative.
Unleash your inner word artist and write about your products like Shakespeare wrote about his lovers. Dance, play, evoke, tease — use everything within your powers to get customers genuinely excited about what you’re selling.
A blah product description will leave customers unimpressed, and a badly formulated press release will burn bridges with journalists. Here are 9 creative ways you can spice up your product descriptions or blog posts — banish boring boilerplate copy and start writing like you’ve actually got something to say.
8 Sneaky Ways to Read More
I love to read. Whether it’s high literature or illiterate garble, I gobble up words like they’re candy.
I love to read dense 19th-century novels at a leisurely pace, political magazines while I make food, the inflight magazine on the plane, a great online article on my phone, or even just the ingredients on my bag of chips (not recommended).
The first time I found myself in a university literature department, I was overwhelmed with joy to be surrounded by like-minded souls who shared my total love of words. “Yes, I used to read my dad’s newspaper and the shampoo bottle in the shower as a kid, too,” said one of my newfound friends. I had found my tribe!