Amanda Stein, Author at Craft Your Content

All posts by Amanda Stein

learn from poetry

4 Tips All Professional Writers Can Learn From Poetry

Poetry. There aren’t many other words in writing that are quite as divisive as this one.

Those who love poetry tend to be completely enamored with it. Those who don’t exactly love it? Well, they may often not only dislike it, but may actually view it as annoying, over-the-top, or gratingly dramatic and flowery.

But if you’re a professional writer of any type (copywriter, journalist, tech blogger, novelist, essayist, non-fiction author, etc.), there’s a lot you can learn about writing from poetry, even if you’re one of its dissenters who find it all but useless.

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parody poem

A Parody Poem for Blocked Writers Who’ve Lost Their Inspiration

Hello, writers! April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, we thought we’d share this forgotten piece of writing we recently stumbled upon, written by none other than Edgar Allan Poe (sources… er… forthcoming).

This month is a time to celebrate the unexpected inspiration that poetry can offer even the most stoically unpoetic copywriter, entrepreneur, or brand marketer. Poetry is when words (and writers) get to play, and that sense of fun and innovation can be infectious.

Steel your heart, for this is a tale of misery, woe, and lost inspiration—a terror every writer has had to face…

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find inspiration as a writer

6 Books to Inspire Professional Writers

There are many ways to find inspiration as a writer: trying out new creativity prompts, eavesdropping on interesting conversations in public (super guilty of this — sorry every-person-who-sits-at-a-table-next-to-me-in-a-diner-ever), or meditating until a brilliant idea pops into your mind.

But the simplest, most certain way to get your creative gears turning?

Reading.

When words are your great love — and corralling them into something cohesive is your career of choice — there’s no better way to spark your motivation and muse than by indulging in your passion.

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achieve excellence

How to Strive for Excellence (Without Burning Out)

Professional writers are a varied breed. But whether you make your living writing web content, fictional best sellers, or the latest headline articles, nearly all authors who stand above have one thing in common: a persistent and committed dedication to excellence.

As noble and rewarding as a quest for excellence can be, it can also come along with some pretty nasty side effects: stress, anxiety, exhaustion, illness, lack of enthusiasm, and a lack of inspiration or motivation (AKA writer’s block).

When we deal with these side effects for too long, we burn out.

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