How to Write–3 Tips to Make Your Writing Magnetic
When you write, are you enthusiastic about what you share? Do you use word pictures to describe things in an appealing way to your readers? Do you know how to write in a way that engages your reader and enthralls them with your writing?
Last spring, a friend called me, “I have to go to a meeting at this lovely resort, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, on top of Petit Jean mountain. The drive is scenic and it seemed like something you’d enjoy. I have an extra bed in the room, and wondered if you would like to go along?”
“Well, yes–sounds wonderful.”
We drove up there and she was right, I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of mountain with its creeks and forests.
During our stay at the Institute, I wandered into the gift store and looked at the handcrafted glass bowls and local pottery.
I ambled over to the children’s section and glanced through the educational toys for my grandsons. An older woman in an elegant turquoise blouse approached me. “That is our children’s toys section. Our book section is around the corner. We have a lot of books on the history of the state.”
She pointed to the enclosed glass box, “We have beautiful blown glass and we also have it in jewelry. In fact take a look at this.” She held up an exquisite turquoise piece of glass jewelry on a sliver neck ring that curved into an interesting circle in the front where the pendant hung.
The beauty of the necklace captivated me, “It’s stunning.”
“Yes, this glassware is all handmade by a local artist. Each piece is a little different. We also have handmade soaps, pottery from local potters and books you don’t see everywhere. We have a lot of unusual things.”
She went on about all the store had to offer. The gift store was lovely to begin with but she greatly enhanced it with her descriptions. She wasn’t pushy. She simply engaged me. Suddenly the store and its contents seemed more valuable and precious. Her descriptions made me want to buy the gift items. In fact they were almost irresistible. I had to leave with something from this store.
How can you do the same in your writing? If you blog or you want to write a story, how can you take something ordinary and make it appealing?
When you write a blog post, devotional or inspiring story, use these tips below.
3 Tips to Make Your Writing Magnetic
1. See the beauty in the everyday things and share it. Think about how you can focus on a beautiful event, and add to its beauty and value as the store clerk did when she held up the stunning necklace. A writer friend of mine is writing a book in which she shares her experiences of love and care for her daughters as the Mother of the Bride. She writes with such warmth that enhances the beauty of the mother, daughter bond.
2. Look for the lessons to be learned from every day events. Recently, one of my students in my “How to Write for Fun and Profit” online writing course, wrote a story about what bike riding meant to her when she was young. She wove an inspiring message in her story and made an ordinary activity totally charming.
3. Use metaphors and similes to give magic your descriptions as you paint word pictures. Stimulate your creativity and come up with riveting ideas to “show” your reader what is going on rather than “tell” them.
If you don’t know how to do this, check out the “How to Write for Fun and Profit” online writing course. Even if you know how to write but you want to improve your writing skills, 
you will benefit from the course. If you’ve already taken the course, review some of the lessons and practice. Read books to stimulate your creativity and increase your knowledge how to write well
Creative writing will enhance your blog posts or stories. If you want to make money writing, you will irresistibly draw your customers to you.
Most of all, you will have fun as you learn how to write and express your creativity. Everyone wins when you learn how to write well!
Go Now ~ Enjoy the Gift of Writing!
How do you make your writing magnetic? Share with us in the comments below.
Idea photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
blown glassware photo courtesy of Winthrop Rockfeller Institute Gift Shop
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7 Writing Tips From A Famous Author–Charles Dickens
How would you like to be remembered as a writer?
Could you and your writings be honored in a public way like Charles Dickens?
In Britain, Prince Charles led a global celebration to celebrate Dickens’ 200 hundredth birthday. Read-a-thons were held all over the world to commemorate his writings. Even the internet took note. On the Google search engine, a Google doodle of characters from his novels greeted internet surfers.
What can you learn from Dickens that will improve your writing? What are you writing today that can impact your world in a positive way through your stories, articles or blog posts?
Charles Dickens was a popular English novelist in the mid eighteen hundreds. He felt compelled to address some of the social issues of the day such as poor child labor laws. Through his novel writing, he raised the level of awareness of the injustices and the unfair treatment of orphans and child laborers.
One of his most famous novels was “Oliver Twist,” about an orphan boy who suffered grave mistreatment. It was even made into a movie that impacts us today.
Dickens sought to encourage others to be more charitable by highlighting the plight of the poor. Millions have watched the movie or seen plays of “The Christmas Carol” and have been warned by Scrooge’s behavior and inspired to be more generous to those in need such as Tiny Tim and his family.
Dickens used vivid stories to challenge the social injustices of his day, to highlight the plight of the poor and the hardships of the working class.
This awareness of injustice and sensitivity to the poor came in part out of his own misery. When he was twelve, his father was sent to debtor’s prison and he had to go to work. He sat in a cold, dark room with rats running around, as he put labels on shoe polish cans to earn a living.
Later he drew on these experiences to create strong characters and scenes in his creative writing. He knew how to tell a story!
What can you learn from him as a writer?
7 Writing Tips From Dickens’ Writings
1. Opening sentences. He used gripping opening sentences to grab the attention of his readers. One of his openings has even become a classic line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the first line from “The Tale of Two Cities.”
2. Powerful endings. He used cliff hangers at the end of his chapters to leave his readers hanging. In those days, chapters were released one at a time and people would line up to get the next installment because they were so eager to find out what happened next.
3. Vivid descriptions. Here’s an example. “She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.” (Great Expectations. Ch.8.) His descriptions gave the reader ability to feel, see, smell and hear the people and scenes. Stories came alive through his descriptions.
4. Strong characters. Dickens was a master at creating characters who linger in our minds and have become a part of our culture such as Ebenezer Scrooge. “Bah, humbug” has even become part of our language.
5. Drama. He used action and dialogue in such a way that pulled the reader into the story. His novels were easily made into movies because of his mastery of dramatic techniques.
6. Social justice writing. He used the pen to confront the evils of the day and sway public opinion. He raised the level of awareness of injustice through the use of his stories.
7. Transformed his personal suffering into helping others. He used his own life experiences and misery to be able to help others in similar situations.
A friend of mine, Lucille Zimmerman said, “I believe writing should be powerful, raw, and beautiful. It should make you think, and act, and it should change you!”
Dickens’ creative writing did that and so can yours. You can learn how to write and pick up writing tips from creative writers such as Charles Dickens. You may not be as famous as Charles Dickens but in your own way, in your corner of the world, you can learn how to write in such a way to impact your arena of influence.
If you want to learn how to write or how to write better, you can also take courses such as “How to Write for Fun and Profit.” However you decide to learn, do take the time to improve your writing skills so you can write well.
Learn how to write a story. Write your stories, blog posts and articles in ways that captivate, challenge and change your readers’ lives for the better.