non-fiction
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Part 9 is the final part in my ‘ABC‘ of ideas for articles series. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and found it useful. Y is for yesteryear or more precisely, your yesteryear. There are a number of publications which invite articles about your schooldays, food, toys, holidays, shops, jobs and many other memories from the…
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Well, it’s been a few weeks but we’re almost to the end of the ‘ABC’ of ideas for articles. This week, I have ideas for V, W and X. It’s now getting a little tricky – and Y and Z are still to come! V is for vintage, whether the vintage relates to records, clothes,…
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Contractions Building on my tip from last week, this week contractions is the subject of my top tip. A contraction is where words are shortened. As the words are being shortened, an apostrophe needs to be used to indicate the missing letters e.g. I’m is short for I am and so the apostrophe highlights that…
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S is for spooky stories. If you like tales of the paranormal, there are lots of publications dedicated to anything and everything unexplained. The editors are always interested in well-researched articles, from UFO sightings, to myths about strange, terrifying creatures, to ghostly tales of old. T is for true-life tales. All of the women’s weeklies…
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It’s Or Its? We’re taught that an apostrophe should be used to indicate ownership e.g. ‘Sarah’s handbag’ tells us that the handbag belongs to Sarah. So surely the same applies the ‘it’s’? The answer is no (I know, our crazy English language!). So, the rule is, when using ‘its’, no apostrophe is necessary for ownership.…
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My weekly series on ideas for articles now focuses on ‘PQR’: P is for pregnancy and birth. There are numerous magazines on the market covering all aspects from pregnancy, to birth, to afterwards and raising children. Topics such as fashion, diet, exercise, healthy body and mind, pain relief and many more are covered. A lot…
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Now it’s the turn of ‘MNO’ in my weekly series: M is for marriage. We’re often told that marriage is dead, with divorce rates rising but you’d never think it from the plethora of wedding magazines available – ‘Weddings’, ‘Brides’, ‘You and Your Wedding’, ‘Your Wedding’, ‘Wedding Fever’, Wedding Cakes’ – on and on the…
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After ‘GHI’ comes ‘JKL’: J is for jobs. Those of you fortunate enough to earn your living through writing can ignore this, but for the majority of writers, earning untold riches from best-selling novels, screenplays etc remains a dream and so a day job is a necessity. Have you thought about writing about your day…
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This week, it’s the turn of ‘GHI’: G is for gardening. Many of us tend our gardens as a necessity but for others, it’s a labour of love. Just look along the shelves of the newsagents’ and you’ll see a vast number of gardening magazines offering advice, from what to plant when, to different seasons…
Esther Chilton 