Category Archives for Writing
The Six Best Podcasts for Professional Writers
Podcasts have been around for a while, but have been really gaining momentum within the past few years. Covering anything and everything from education and music to sports and comedy — whatever you’re into, there’s most likely a podcast about it. And if you’re here, you’re probably into writing.
I’ve collected some of the best podcasts for those who make their living by writing (or aspire to). Whether you’re looking to further your career, push your writing to the next level, or just find some entertainment fit for a wordsmith, you’ll discover your podcast match-made-in-heaven below.
The 5 Craziest Words in English and How to Use Them
Writers, just go ahead and admit it: your guilty pleasure is words.
Long words, interesting words, crazy words. You collect them in secret, maybe storing them somewhere in the hope that you can use them someday — but when the opportunity finally arises, you feel too pretentious.
Well, today I’m here to give you courage. I’m going to introduce you to five new words to add to your arsenal — and I’m going to outline the perfect places for you to slip them into conversation or your writing in a way that feels perfectly natural.
World Building as Brand Strategy
I was a latecomer to the podcasting trend. It wasn’t until a 16-hour drive to my home state about four years ago that I really got hooked. I listened to the entire season of “Serial” and also started binge-listening to this wonderfully weird fiction podcast.
It started with the words: “A friendly desert community, where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale.”
There was a dog park where dogs and people were not allowed and government agents from a vague, yet menacing government agency and angels that can’t be angels because angels don’t exist (but there are tall winged beings, and they’re all named Erika).
Because it’s so distinctive and strange, it’s a place I would know the second I stepped across the city limit. But it’s also a place I see every day in the world around me in little details.
Both those things are true because the creators of Night Vale, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, have built a tangible, engaging world that is both strange and familiar.
Creating your brand is like building a fictional world. You have to invite your reader into a place that you’ve fully realized. There are characters and backstories and inside jokes—all shared with the reader.
4 Unconventional Ways to Find Writing Inspiration
If you love to write, then you understand the struggle to constantly find inspiration that will take you to greater heights.
When you Google the phrase “writing inspiration,” you will be bombarded with all manner of links on quotes, helpful aids, ideas, and case studies that will help you find inspiration as a writer.
I work as a full-time professional freelance writer. More often than not, I have to come up with my own ideas – from scratch. In all honesty, that is the worst part of my job.
Because of the sheer volume of articles that I tend to handle on a monthly basis, there comes a time when my brain just goes on strike. When that happens, everything comes to a screeching halt. No longer will ideas flow in my head. Even with subjects I write about on a regular basis, I get nothing.
Zilch.