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Find Your Author’s Voice — Fast

You can find your writer’s voice using tools you have since birth: Your senses! Train your mind to pay attention to what you see, hear, smell, and feel. Look at the details around you, and remember what you noticed. Use a notebook to jot down everything that stands out. Train Your Mind to Find Your…

Self-Editing Using Hemmingway’s Iceberg Theory

If you want your writing to feel robust and focused, what you know should dwarf what ends in your book — by far. Let’s look at the Iceberg Theory, a brainchild of Ernest Hemmingway, who first described it in 1932. The Tip of Hemmingway’s Iceberg What ends in your book is the tip of the iceberg;…

Should I write practical or literary nonfiction? I recommend writing both. Here’s why. Practical nonfiction is all about your message—the only criterion for its success is the reader’s understanding. Creativity, however valuable, doesn’t add to the purpose of the writing. Literary nonfiction, on the other hand, is born of a love for writing itself. When…

This Shining Blade

A vignette of historical fiction by Niels C. Kwakernaak Written in the Winter of 2013 WIPING THE SWEAT off my forehead, I looked down from the hilltop, in dire need of a rest. The sun was setting and the last rays of light shone brightly against the roof tiles of the Holy Virgin’s inn. As…

Your Best Story tip #10 — FREEWRITING: Thinking on Paper 

FREEWRITING is thinking on paper. And in this video, I talk about how it can help you in your thought and writing process. Warm regards, Niels Kwakernaak Writer and Editor @ Your Best Story – Writing & Editing Services www.yourbeststory.net

Your Best Story tip #9 — The Reverse Outline

Do you want to improve your blog instantly? In this video, I show you a tried and true way to ensure that: You hook your reader Your reader will be able to follow your argument You won’t wander off and lose your reader’s attention Your blog or article keeps resonating in your reader’s mind I’m…

Your Best Story tip #8 — The semicolon in compound sentences

What in the world are semicolons good for? In this video, I discuss one function of this often-misunderstood punctuation mark. (By the way, how do you like my piano jingle at the end? That is what came out of me when I sat behind my old upright this morning. ;)) Kind regards, Niels Kwakernaak Writer…

Your Best Story tip #7 — Self-editing like Orwell and Tolkien

What is the secret of great writers like Orwell and Tolkien? Self-editing! Master writers—in fiction as well as business writing—know how to kill their darlings. In this video, I compare a few early drafts of works by Orwell and Tolkien with their final, published versions. Enjoy!

Your Best Story tip #6 — Be consistent

What is the worst writing error ever? My vote goes to subject-verb disagreement. Especially when authors use long and complicated sentences, the result is often catastrophic—the writer loses his way in the forest of words, and as a result, the reader has no idea of who is doing what. This, of course, is bad news…

Your Best Story tip #5 — The audience ARE?

Can you say “the audience ARE going to a meet and greet”? In this video, I talk about the how and why of subject-verb agreement and the big exception to the rule.