gratitude journal

The Benefits of Keeping a Gratitude Journal

A journal is a log, usually with dated entries. Some journals are topical (dream journals, travel journals, freewriting journals), while others are left open to explore just about anything. Many topical journals are meant to improve the quality of life. For example, people who are working to lose weight might keep a diet and exercise…Read More

pens for writers

15 Quick and Dirty Writing Tips

The first time someone told me, “show, don’t tell,” I had no idea what they were talking about. Show what? Isn’t writing, by its very nature, telling? I was a young writer and didn’t yet understand the many elements of good writing. But I kept hearing that advice over and over: show, don’t tell. Then,…Read More

best writing ideas

How to Cultivate and Save Your Best Writing Ideas

Doesn’t it seem like the best writing ideas come at the most inconvenient times? It happens when you’re driving, in the shower, or eating dinner at a restaurant. Unfortunately, you’re not sitting in front of your computer, and even if you were, you don’t always have time to stop what you’re doing to make notes…Read More

avoid adverbs

Writing Tips: Abolish the Adverbs

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” ~ Stephen King In the writing world, adverbs have a bad reputation for being weak and causing unnecessary clutter. But sometimes adverbs are necessary, and other times, they liven up a sentence or strengthen a description. Today we’re going to explore adverbs and take a look at…Read More

writing tips carry a notebook

Writing Tips: Carry a Notebook

It’s one of those writing tips that pops up everywhere — on lists of writing advice, in quotes bequeathed to us by the masters of writing, and even from the mouths of our teachers and professors: carry a notebook at all times. After all, you never know when a great idea will strike. It would…Read More

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