Do you know why the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series is so popular? Aside from terrific marketing and unequaled publicity, readers love the stories and personal essays. They are short, personal and teach a lesson or moral. If you would like to be a better writer of the personal essay, opinion pieces, reports and letters to the editor just follow the suggestions listed below:
1. Be brief. Many written reports or stories are 500 words or less. However, there is a general rule that an essay is between two and twenty typed, double-spaced pages. The most important criteria to remember is that a good piece needs to be an unbroken reading experience. The reader will lose interest if it is too long or wordy.
2. Tell a story. A personal essay is a story that has happened to you or that you know about firsthand. The reader assumes that it is nonfiction and that it will contain details and descriptions with which we are familiar. Structure your story around examples, using a pencil as your paintbrush to evoke images and paint a picture in the reader's mind.
3. Make a point. You will want to illustrate your point, teach a lesson, explain a specific topic, or even support or criticize an idea. Your goal is to win sympathy or agreement. Do not turn it into a sermon or a soapbox to present the superiority of your ideas by including "shoulds" or "musts" aimed at the reader.
4. Use your senses. Enliven your essay with sensuous detail like how it smelled, tasted, sounded or felt. Make the reader feel like they are seeing and experiencing it through your body.
5. Tell about the ordinary. Personal essays are often best when they describe a common but freely shared experience. It doesn't have to be about being a survivor of the Twin Towers. Talk about your reaction to 911. Or tell us about watching a sunset or baking bread. When you talk about walking your dog, take us along.
6. Make it engaging. An essay should arouse curiosity about life. Instead of preaching, invite us to consider your point of view by sharing the particular experience that brought you there, describe what happened, how you reacted, and why you interpret your experiences the way you do.
Think about your own interests and areas of special knowledge, activities, skills, attitudes, problems as well as typical obstacles faced in life. Teach us what you gained or lost in your life lesson. It is much easier to be convincing when you can draw from personal and firsthand information. Write it today. Submit it to Chicken Soup for the Soul or your local newspaper and become a published author. There are readers out there who want to share your slice of life.
? 2005 Judy H. Wright
This article has been prepared for your use by Judy H. Wright, author and life educator. You have permission to reprint it in your ezine or newsletter as long as the author and her web address is included http://www.artichokepress.com; 406-549-9813. Check out the website for upcoming workshops, tele-classes and books. You will also find FREE articles and be able to subscribe to the ezine The Artichoke-finding the heart of the story in the journey of life.
cleaning service near Bannockburn ..Writing articles, and promoting them for publication, is one of... Read More
Gasp! I can hear it from the purists now: Matt... Read More
In order to sell your article must do three things:1.... Read More
Why do so many internet marketers waste their time on... Read More
A "Thought Leader" is someone recognized as an authority in... Read More
Okay, so you're getting a feel for this article marketing... Read More
How are you marketing your articles? As a writer prospecting... Read More
Online PR in the form of website and ezine article... Read More
Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers... Read More
This is Part 2 of a 2 part article -... Read More
If you market online, whether it be your own information... Read More
Original quotes, when used at the beginning or at the... Read More
One of my subscribers writes 'I can't hold my tongue... Read More
Good technical articles are challenging to write. They're time-consuming, demanding... Read More
Many writers do not understand that the online writing business... Read More
Ease of Submission With so many article distribution sites out... Read More
Most all ezine publishers need fresh content. Article writing is... Read More
1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted audience.... Read More
When you create your articles in TextPad format, something like... Read More
Anyone who's been in the business for 2 or 3... Read More
Every time I run a course on Freelance Writing, students... Read More
Writing and distributing articles on the internet is one of... Read More
Writing effectively on the internet is the most effective way... Read More
Last month, I began promoting Jason Potash's "Article Announcer." I... Read More
Here's a depressing fact if you sell anything on the... Read More
pet-friendly home cleaners Mundelein ..One of the most effective (and free!) ways to get... Read More
Writing articles is one of the most powerful, if not... Read More
Writing for websites -- content, as it is called --... Read More
Get the Facts you need to start promoting you free... Read More
Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known... Read More
Are you a reluctant marketer for your book? Do you... Read More
There are many different ways to improve link popularity for... Read More
If you want to really make your article "SELL" then... Read More
Never before in the history of the business of writing... Read More
If your business has a website, you're probably searching for... Read More
One of the best things you can do for your... Read More
If you have submitted your articles to EzineArticles.com you have... Read More
You're Invited... Visualize your article going out like a party... Read More
Earlier, I published part 1 of this series, which contained... Read More
Who remembers the 1979 movie, The Jerk with Steve Martin?... Read More
The biggest challenge facing any online business today is how... Read More
Back when I was in college, I belonged to one... Read More
Free publicity can help to spread the word about your... Read More
Hey! Who's that I see, typing feverishly as brilliant ideas... Read More
I'm betting that that 3 out of 4 of you... Read More
The more you write, the larger your impact. If that's... Read More
Submitting well planned articles on-line will increase traffic and can... Read More
These 7 Important Elements are your Blueprint to Article Writing... Read More
This is a perennial question among writers and wannabe's. Many... Read More
Writing articles that are available for reprint is an excellent... Read More
Article Writing |