In case you’re just tuning in, we’ll be posting mini-interviews with top bloggers here at Blue Duck over the next few weeks. You’ll have the chance to get a sneak peak into how these bloggers improve their writing and what inspires them to do what they do so well. I’ve had a blast reading the answers…
“Pick your gigs wisely, and with integrity. Don’t whore yourself out for a fast buck.” written by Bob Younce In a recent post on Freelance Folder, Bob reminds us that conducting business with integrity is an admirable quality. When I first began writing, I took every single job that came through the door. (Hey, I…
I am constantly looking to improve my writing, and have been struggling with attaining just the right amount of crisp, clean prose while maintaining punch and a flowing cadence. This is my ever-elusive goal. Frustrated by my bang-head-against-wall approach lately, I had a late night/early morning conversation with James Chartrand of Men with Pens yesterday…
Character is a term that most people think they understand. (I mistakenly thought I could accurately define character until recently.)Take a poll in your neighborhood and most will answer that, yes, they have character. But ask them what character is and you may be rewarded with a puzzled, blank stare. If you have a hard…
If you are a parent, you know that there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for your kids. You watch hours of Sponge Bob, pretend to like asparagus, clean up vomit, pinch pennies for that new pair of Sketchers, and read Pat the Bunny for the millionth time. You lose sleep, become poor, skip showers and personal…
As a child, I remember reading through the dictionary and delighting in discovering new words that appealed to me. Some, I fancied for the way they sound when spoken, like atelectasis (the collapse of a lung). Others found their way into my writing and vocabulary because of their definition, like Junoesque (marked by stately beauty)….
“Big is Beautiful!” may work for plus-sized underwear ads, but it fails miserably in the world of online writing. Clear, concise writing is best. You have 500 words or less to take your reader on a journey with a destination of your choosing. The Challenge Your goal is to transport readers from point A to…
“That has got to be one of stupidest movies I have ever seen.” My friend sat curled on the couch with half a snarl as the credits rolled for The Sixth Sense. “You would have had to have seen the whole thing to get it,” I explained. Coming in on the middle of a movie…
“I want my sexy!” screamed my four year old from the bathtub. I could hear his older brother patiently going through a list of possible words, other than sexy, that might placate the little guy. With each incorrect guess, duckie?, cookie?, Saltie?, wedgie?, the demand got louder and louder. I put a stop to the…