writing tips
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Making changes in your life? Then why not write about them? Have you gone back to college to gain a degree or further your education? What’s it like being a mature student? Do you have any tips on studying to share? General interest magazines, women’s magazines, specialist publications and student magazines would be interested in
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Make sure you’re up-to-date Whether you’re working on a short story, article or filler to send to a magazine, in order to ensure that you know exactly what the editor is looking for, you must analyse the publication carefully. An up-to-date copy is essential. It’s no good borrowing a two-year-old copy of one of Aunty
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Entering a short story competition? Think outside the box. When I ran my last short story competition, a lot of entries focused on death and an apocalyptic world. Jot down several ideas. The first few will probably be themes a lot of entrants will write about. Ignore these and let your mind push you forward
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Fabulous Photographs If you’re writing an article for a magazine, always make sure you have clear, high quality photographs to accompany it. These can often be a deciding factor in an editor accepting your article. Even if you have written an entertaining and informative piece, if you only have drab, grainy photos to accompany it,
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Holiday Writing Surely holidays aren’t for writing? Holidays are for relaxing and doing nothing. For some they are but for others, they’re a time to see sights and enjoy new experiences. This is excellent fodder for stories and articles, as well as fillers and letters. You could just take some notes and photos so you
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Researching your market – analyse the publication as a whole You might buy a magazine to analyse because you have an idea for an article but don’t just analyse the articles. It’s a good idea to study the whole of the magazine. This will give you an idea of the readership of the publication and
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Involve Your Reader Not sure how to open your short story? Try addressing your reader directly. It instantly makes them feel part of your story. Here’s an example: Just one more, that’s all I was going to take. You know that, don’t you? You understand. Well, they didn’t. And they wouldn’t listen. Looked at me
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If you’re writing something funny, don’t over-explain the humour. It’s very easy to feel as if you have to explain exactly why something is funny. You don’t. Keeping it brief and to the point will ensure the humour comes through. Too long and windy and the humour is lost. *** And here’s a tip from
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Writing Anniversary/Seasonal Pieces Every day marks the anniversary of when someone famous died or when a unique invention first came to light. General interest magazines often feature this sort of article. Additionally, depending on who the person is or what invention your article relates to, you may find a multitude of magazines interested in an
Esther Chilton 