Procrastination is a serious problem for writers and when taken to excess, it can be fatal to the craft. Procrastination can manifest itself in many different ways, but the result is the same: writing is deferred. When it is time to write: These are all forms of procrastination. In your writing career, you have likely […]
Category: Writing and Publishing
Writing and publishing articles by author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Last month I shared my perspective on ghostwriting. I urged caution for those who hire ghostwriters (give your ghostwriters credit) and understanding of those who are ghostwriters (because I do ghostwriting). Then, I read “The Cheating Epidemic” in the May Reader’s Digest, which addressed academic ghostwriting. The article chronicles a prolific writer who earned a […]
Proofing your own work is hard for most people. After all, you know what you intended to say, so that is what you tend to see when you proofread your writing. Proofing is a huge challenge for me, as you have likely seen in past posts. I am much more likely to catch errors when […]
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What Are You Reading?
In last week’s post, I pointed out the value and importance of reading in order to become a better writer. The question then becomes, What should I read?
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Are You Reading?
A piece of writing advice that shocked me was to spend as much time reading as writing. That’s ridiculous. If I do that, the little time I have to write will be cut in half. Not counting my day job, I can only carve out a couple of hours a day to write, so cutting […]
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Why I Back Up My Writing
Early in my career, I worked as a tech writer. I knew the importance of making copies of my work, so I would faithfully make a backup each Friday as I wrapped up the workweek. One Friday was particularly hectic and in a rush to begin my weekend, I postponed making my backup, planning to […]
A concept not fully realized by the reading public is the idea of “ghostwriting,” sometimes called work-for-hire. Ghostwriting is when other people pay you to write for them, which they then legally claim and market as their own work—and you can’t. Ghostwriting is more widespread than most people realize. At some publishers, I’ve heard that […]
An earlier post was titled “Write Every Day.” This advice was a bit hyperbolic. It was designed to garner attention and encourage aspiring writers to pursue writing diligently and take the craft seriously. Even so, it is far from an absolute law or inflexible rule. The points are: For some that may dictate writing every […]
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How Do You Write?
Depending on one’s perspective, the “how” part of writing is either self-evident or an endless mystery. I offer a few initial thoughts on the topic of “how to write.” Writing Tools First is tools. Writing Mode Second is mode. That may sound funny, but here is what I mean: Writing Process Third is process. Here […]
Like physical exercises, which are beneficial for your body, writing exercises are beneficial for developing your skill as a writer. While exercise is seldom pleasant, it is a wise and worthy pursuit. Here are some exercises to consider in developing your craft as a wordsmith: Personally, I have done most of these at one time […]