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A common piece of writing advice is ‘write what you know.’

When I first heard this advice, I thought it was odd. I don’t remember where I first heard it, but I remember thinking that as far as writing tips went, it was absurd.

What about writing from your imagination or your feelings? How do genres like science fiction and fantasy fit into the idea that you should only write what you know?

It all seemed rather limiting. Was I supposed to write about American suburbia? That’s what I knew, and it was the last thing I wanted to write about.

One of the reasons memoir doesn’t appeal to me as a writer is because I don’t want to write what I know. I don’t want to relive my life. I want to use writing to live outside of my life, to explore what I don’t know.

I decided to disregard the advice and write whatever I wanted.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/writing-tips-write-know/

“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” ~William S. Burroughs
There is no greater satisfaction in writing than spreading fire with words.
The best starting point for creating content that connects with people is to uncover an emotional spark inside yourself.
When you can find that, and lay it bare in the form of your words, your spark will ignite in the minds of others.
Sometimes those sparks are found without trying.
But it can also be powerful to ask yourself questions to spur new thoughts that lead to emotional ideas that make the task of writing a joy (for the most part).
Ask these questions, and see how...

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/writing-spark-fire-minds-readers-ask-questions/

The use of vivid language is one of the main qualities of good writing. Good writing follows a flow. Good writing is focused. Good writing is written for a purpose. Good writing is grammatically correct and readable. However, it is vivid description that connects a good writing to the readers.
Vivid language appeals to the readers’ senses, experiences and consciousness. When a piece resonates with your readers, it stands out and is utterly unforgettable. However, when writing is bland, it fails to connect. Vivid writing is meaningful and powerful.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/3-tips-writing-vivid-language/

The best way to become a better writer is to write consistently; but another effective way is to read. Thus, below are 10 recommended books you can read if you want to become a better writer.

1. Steering the Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin

2. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/10-recommended-books-help-become-better-writer/

Errors can mar one’s writing and this can be more embarrassing if one allows such errors get out without noticing them. Errors could detract a great deal from one’s writing and put off the audience from the message being portrayed. It also question the writer’s credibility, as regards the qualification he or she has in authoring the literary piece.
But for the sake of this write-up, we shall be considering a list of word pairs or triplets often mistaken for the other. Some words sound alike but spelt differently. Due attention should be drawn to them to avoid misrepresentation when writing.
They’re, There, Their:

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/common-errors-often-make-writing/

Do you sometimes feel too occupied to be creative?
Productivity and creativity in writing, sometimes seem to be two opposing forces that are impossible to be reconciled. The wall between the duo is the contrast between quantity and quality. While productivity likes tidiness, streamlined process to get the tasks done before deadline, creativity thrives on chaos. You let your mind wander as you take time to explore new topics, perhaps you would stumble upon a new idea.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/breaking-wall-productivity-creativity/

The faintest pen is better than the sharpest memory – Chinese Proverb
Do you find that debatable? The import of the statement is that once you write something, it is cast and can be referred to, unlike what you store in your memory which you may forget.
Writing your ideas and thoughts makes them concrete, so that you do not forget them. It also gives you the opportunity to share them with others.
If we attempt to keep all information we get in our memory, it may leave us disorganized and we can miss many opportunities.


Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/power-writing-ideas-3/

With the growing number of graduates from universities entering into the labour market, and employers having a lot of CVs to go through and make a decision on who to employ, there are some simple hacks you can apply while writing your CV, to help you have an advantage over other applicants, and land the job of your dreams.

Read on to find out about them:

1. Tailor your CV to the job you are applying for: Even though you might be interested in a number of jobs or positions, anytime you want to apply for a job, make sure you revisit your CV, and ensure that it suits the role you intend to apply for. If it doesn’t, tweak it a little to ensure that it suits the job role, and don’t forget to use some terminologies relating to the field to show that you really have knowledge of the job.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/5-cv-writing-hacks-land-job-dreams/

Word order can make or ruin a sentence. Word order refers the arrangement of words in a phrase, clause, or sentence. In many languages, including English, word order plays an important part in determining the meaning of an expression.
Like other aspects of language use, word order is guided by rules. As noted in an earlier post – Grammar Rules for Effective Writing - the rules of grammar are designed to help us communicate clearly, both in our speech and in our writing. The rules of grammar shape the structures of any language from the smallest to the largest unit. When proper grammar is absent, writing is sloppy, inconsistent, and difficult to read. To put it bluntly, we need grammar to make sense.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/grammar-rules-effective-writing-word-order/

Are you dreaming about writing a book but simply don’t know where to start? Start with a plan! What message do you really want to pass across and what kind of people do you want to reach? Do you have in-depth knowledge of the subject that you want to address or do you need to carry out more research? These are questions you should ask yourself before you even start writing at all. These bits of information will help you develop a framework that will help you plan your book. If you have ever wondered why many people never finish their books, one of the reasons is that they did not start with a plan. So they run out of ideas or simply don’t know how to proceed after the first few pages.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/stop-overwhelmed-start-writing/

Writing is a human art which one learns as one grows. This art tends to develop in as much as one commits some constant practice, time, energy, consciousness and a level of knowledge to it.
There is a very wide difference between a child’s handwriting and that of an adult. Though children have little or no writing experience, they still aspire to put pencil or pen to paper, or any available surfaces they find within reach, so as to express what they feel or have been taught.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/what-your-writing-says-about-you/

Writing is a human art which one learns as one grows. This art tends to develop in as much as one commits some constant practice, time, energy, consciousness and a level of knowledge to it.
There is a very wide difference between a child’s handwriting and that of an adult. Though children have little or no writing experience, they still aspire to put pencil or pen to paper, or any available surfaces they find within reach, so as to express what they feel or have been taught.

Read more at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/what-your-writing-says-about-you/

It’s a Monday morning and you are in a rush to get to work. If you are late, your boss will scold you, or possibly fine you! You are at the bus stop and you hear the conductor shout, ‘Yaba! Yaba!‘ You quickly board the bus and sit down.
While you are almost at your bus stop, the conductor gets in an altercation with a woman because of change. He threatens to beat her, and he is almost pulling out his belt. You feel he is wrong and you should speak up, but you also feel it’s none of your business; you are not the only one in the bus, and if others aren’t doing anything to defend the lady, then you don’t have to. So, you just get down on the bus, and take a bike to work.

In the afternoon, you are going for your lunch break. A little boy stops you and says “Bros, please I haven’t eaten since yesterday, please give me 20 naira”. You want to give him, but then you have a second thought, perhaps the boy is just being greedy; and he had probably eaten. So, you ignore him and go ahead to enjoy your lunch break.

Read more at: http://www.virtuedigest.com/the-little-things-we-do/

There are various advantages to reading novels ranging from having something to give you a little entertainment when you are bored to opening you to a world of imagination and creativity while also building your diction.
Here are 20 classic novels recommended for you:
1. Ulysess by James Joyce
2. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. Middlemarch by George Eliot
5. The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
Continue reading at: http://www.thereadywriters.net/20-recommended-classic-novels-can-read/

What was so captivating about that book that kept you reading till the end in one sitting? It’s the language. The writer clearly understood the secret of using simple language.
Several upcoming writers have been made to believe that the audience are captivated and impressed by big words and complex expressions. On the contrary, renowned writers and Nobel Prize winners have discovered that writing in simple language captivates readers more. The audience’s purpose of reading is to understand and learn. Writing with simplicity doesn’t dumb down your words, but makes them readable and understandable, and more enjoyable.
Ernest Hemingway was a journalist and novelist. A storyteller. He’s one of the great writers of literature. In 1953, he won the Pulitzer prize for “The Old Man and the Sea.” In 1954, he won the Nobel prize for literature. However, there is something unique about his writings. This Nobel prizewinner writes in such simple prose he can even entertain 10-year olds.
Simple language makes your content more accessible.
Writing clearly and precisely makes your piece accessible to readers of different age groups and gender. Using big words, complex and long sentences restricts your audience to people in the same class with you. And these people may not be as many as you think. To put your writings in the hands of many people, it is vital to maintain simplicity in your language use. Your readers should be able to relate with your message without picking up a dictionary for every sentence they read.
For instance, Martin Luther caused many Germans to develop interest in reading the Bible by publishing the Luther Bible. The Luther Bible was the German translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew, which the commoners don’t have access to. He captivated the audience by writing in the language of the majority. To help him in translating into contemporary German, Luther would make forays into nearby towns and markets to listen to people speaking. He wanted to ensure their comprehension by translating as closely as possible to their contemporary language usage.
Before you write, understand the language style of your audience: how they speak and even write, and contextualize your writing. The focus should be about writing the essence of your idea and communicating it in simple words.
Simple language makes your ideas more thoughtful.
Writing clearly is an exercise in thinking deeply. It takes deep thinking and attentiveness to break down lumps in your writing making them easy to comprehend for your least educated reader. It means you have carefully chosen the right expressions and descriptions to drive home your idea. Good writers don’t just use metaphors, they select the ones that ring the best in the readers mind.
The choice of style in writing should not just show the expertise of a writer, but also his ability to analyse and understand what his audience wants. The uniqueness of the writing should captivate readers and keep their eyes glued to the book.
So, when next you are engaged in any writing assignment, consider captivating your readers with simple, yet poignant, language.

There are many reasons why people generally find it tasking to get job offers or invitations for interviews. One of such reasons is the fact that they make unforgivable mistakes when writing their resumes. Resumes are extremely important documents that should be written with the utmost detail and attention to avoid mistakes. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 common mistakes made in resume writing.
Ignoring Keywords
We’re in the information and technology age, as a result, nowadays most resumes are reviewed electronically before they are seen by human eyes. It is, therefore, important to pay attention to keywords when writing your resume. For a good number of organizations or HR consultancy firms, the first round of culling resumes happens through keyword spotting with a hiring software, and if certain keywords are missing from your resume, it is unlikely to make it past the first round. Be sure to use keywords related to the industry you are interested in when writing your resume; use keywords in your job description; be sure to use keywords repeatedly from time to time (but try not to overdo it); and basically just ensure you include exact keywords in your resume and recognize their place in your industry.

Being Too Lengthy
If you’re an average working class professional with less than half a decade of experience, it’s only appropriate for you to condense your resume down to a page or two pages at most. When writing your resume, regardless of your years of experience or professional level, ensure you use words diligently and avoid being unnecessarily verbose. No hiring manager has the time to sift through ‘ramblings’ in your resume to get to the vital information needed to get you past the screening phase. As a result, you need to pay attention to your words and use them responsibly when writing your resume. Additionally, you can ask a family, friend or close contact with some experience in the area of resume writing to help review your resume and advise you on the parts that need to cut out, rephrased or paraphrased.

Being Vague or Unclear
When hiring managers review you resume, one of the most important things that they are concerned with are your quantitative tasks and accomplishments. It can be detrimental to you to be vague about these when writing your resume. Even when putting descriptions about your former positions, you need to be specific with the details of what you accomplished in these positions. Try to put descriptions in your resume in terms of what you have accomplished, rather than simply listing titles and describing everyday tasks.

Typographical and Grammatical Errors
This should be avoided at all cost because it makes the applicant seem careless and irresponsible, or worse, ignorant about correct grammatical terms and structuring. It sets a precedent for employers or hiring managers to draw very unflattering conclusions about your attitude and verbal, writing and grammatical skills. Your resume, therefore, needs to be grammatically perfect; and one way to achieve this is to go over it multiple times after writing it to correct errors. You can also give it to a friend, family or close contact with relevant experience to go over it and help correct errors.

Cutting the Meat Out of Your Resume
The fact that you resume shouldn’t be too wordy, doesn’t mean it should be lacking relevant information. Be wise about the way you write your resume, and avoid cutting things short unnecessarily because you are trying to conform by all means to the one page standard. Just try as much as possible to give concise summaries of important information, but please don’t leave out important information because you are ‘trying to avoid being too wordy’.
Credit: Jumia
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A book review is a critical appraisal of a book. It contains a summary of the content and assesses the importance of the book. It also goes beyond assessment and summary, it's an opportunity for the reviewer to assess the content, quality and relevance of the book.

Typically, a book review ranges from 500-1000 words, but may be longer or shorter depending on the content and complexity of the book being reviewed.

Things to consider before writing a book review:
· Have you read the book?

· Do you like the book?

· What was your favourite part in the book?

· What was your least favourite part in the book?

· Would you recommend the book to others for reading and why?

· Do you have enough information about the book you want to review?


After you have considered these questions and you have your answers, you can now begin to write.

Common features of a book review are:
A presentation on the summary of the book: A good book review presents a concise summary of the book, so that someone who hasn’t read the book would have an idea of what it is about.

An evaluation of the content of the book: In reviewing a book, a reviewer should be able to present some discussion of what he considers note-worthy or important in the book. He or she can also discuss whether or not the arguments made by the author were effective or persuasive.

An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the book: In reviewing a book, the reviewer should be able to point out what he or she considers the strength or weaknesses of the book, whether he would recommend it for reading or not and should also evaluate the authenticity and the overall quality of the book.
Once you adopt the features stated above while reviewing a book, you would have come-up with a perfect book review.

Whether you are a student, clerical officer, secretary, teacher or a speaker, preparing a summary of a document is a skill you will find handy.

A summary suggests that you both understand the body of text you have read, and are able to relay your understanding in concise terms without disrupting the intended meaning.

In order to write a worthwhile summary, ensure that you are able to provide answers to the under-listed:

1. Identify the main idea or theme
2. The mood of the writer
3. The type of writing
4. Ability to give a title to the passage

Let’s look at them closely:

1. Identify the main idea or theme
Summary writing is aided by the ability to understand and identify the main gist of a passage. For instance, a passage on violence could lift other qualities, such as crime, armed robbery, child abuse, rape, etc. From these, you can sum it up to arrive at a suitable theme for the passage.

2. The mood of the writer
This is very visible in some writing whereby the author’s tone or expression informs of what he or she is writing about, the pain he feels, and other similar emotions, and you should be aware of it.

3. The type of writing
Every writing has a category to which it belongs. It is your duty to know if it is descriptive, narrative, argumentative, expository, explanatory, etc.

4. Ability to give title to the passage
Title is a brief statement at the top of the summary or comprehension passage. It could be a means of locating the main idea.

Note that in writing a summary, there are supporting details, which must be differentiated from main detail and should not be exchanged for each other in anyway. There is no space for repetition or redundancy in summary, however you say what is intended straightaway. The idea is to Keep It Short and Simple (KISS).

Care must be taken not to include quotations, metaphors, similes and other figures of speech in your summary. Outright lifting of the author’s word is not permitted; write in your words only. That’s how you get a good summary done.

With over one million love songs available, it’s easy to wonder how songwriters are able to come up with fresh songs.

You may have even attempted writing a tune or two yourself, but you got stuck and abandoned the project.

Writing a love song can be pretty simple and loads of fun if you follow the tips below;

Listen to your favourite love songs: The best way to learn any art or trade is to study the masters. So, if you want to learn how to write a love song, listen to the lyrics of some of the songs you’ve appreciated, study how the words of the songs have been strung together, also, determine why you love the song.

Determine your audience: Decide who you are writing for. Is it your girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancé, mother, son, or a group of music lovers?

Determine the theme of the song: Do you want to write a love song that talks about how lovely it is to be in love or about how you have loved and lost? Determine what you want your song to be all about, and then begin to write.

Personalize your love song: Although, there are a lot of love songs out there and a lot of experiences being in or out of love, when writing your song, write from your own love experience to make it unique and real.

Write with passion: Writing with passion gives your song authenticity and makes it interesting. So, as you write, think of your love experience and fuel the passion from it to your writing such that anyone who listens to your song can feel like they were a part of the experience too.

Once you have ticked all the boxes of tips given above, you can be sure that you have most likely written the perfect love song.

Storytelling is as old as mankind itself. Stories are sometimes told spontaneously, in passing the time during leisure with friends, children, family members, workmates, schoolmates, etc. Whatever the reason, story-telling is enjoyable.

So what makes a great and interesting story?

Your story should be an attention-grabber:
Often, the way you story starts determines if readers will go beyond the first page. For the best of result, the approach is starting in a way that your readers would get glued to the piece. The introduction paragraph needs to perform this task and this could be by a figurative expression, an exclamation, sigh, etc. depending what you are trying to portray.

Build your story naturally:
As your story develops, let it lead you naturally to the end. A forced ending or middle can kill a story faster than you think. Let your characters evoke emotions in your readers as they evolve. That is not to say your story should be predictable, but it should have a natural flow to the narrative.

Be interesting:
You have to learn the right blend of realism, fantasy, the absurd, humour, seriousness. Make story-telling an art. You should know what can trigger emotion or thought in your readers, same way you have what triggers yours. Let that play out creatively.

Creatively connect the dots:
Narration requires an element of description, which calls for the use of adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptive words or phrases etc. Let each sentence link well with the preceding one.

Use Suspense:
This is a skill every storyteller needs to develop. In spite of the fact that your readers know the subject or title and also the starting point of your narration, they should not get to the end of it before you. Your ability to hold the main gist until it appears you have exhausted your narration should be your aim.

Ghostwriting as the name may suggest is not about writing ghost stories, it is actually writing for someone else as if you were that person— and yes, it is legal.
So, if you love writing, the question might be how do you get paid what you deserve while doing what you love? Well, the answer is simple; you can become a ghostwriter. So, listed below are five simple ways you can get clients, serve them, retain them and also make lots of money as a ghostwriter:
1. Ask the Question: In case you are wondering what question; ask almost everyone you know if they have always wanted to own a book. Chances are, some of people the people you ask will say, “Yes. I’ve always wanted to write a book but…” and once you follow the conversation you could land some ghostwriting book jobs.

2. Join the Club: Aside from asking people about their interests in owning a book; also join the association of ghost writer. The association is geared towards ghostwriters which is a great source for networking and finding clients. So, you can join the association for a fee and sign up as both a ghostwriter and a speaker.

3. Charge Reasonably: There’s a lot of price variation in the marketplace for ghostwriting, but once you charge your clients reasonably and offer quality service you will retain your clients, thus frequently making money.

4. Set Clear Expectations: When you have a client or a prospect, set clear expectations about your deliverables in terms of the quantity of the job which might be the number of words or pages you intend to deliver on; also the quality which might be proofreading and editorial aspect of the job and as well as the time of delivery. That way, both you and the client would be on the same page.

5. Deliver: Once you have set clear expectations, make sure you deliver on everything that has been agreed and make your client happy.

Once you do these things listed above, you won’t only get clients, you also get referrals and you keep earning lots of money as a ghostwriter.

Inspiration can be hard to find sometimes when you need to write. However, that doesn’t mean you need to abandon your writing project. What you need do is to find your inspiration and begin to write a great piece.

We have compiled a list of tips to help you get inspiration when you need to write.

Read on...
1. Listen to music. The right kind of music can have a positive effect on you and get those creative juices flowing when you find yourself staring at a blank screen for far too long. So, when you need inspiration, find a tune that can help kick start your writing. You may be surprised at how well this works for you.

2. Look at your environment: A lot of inspiration can come from your environment. Taking an evening stroll can help you clear your head. A short nature walk or a visit to the park to simply observe other people at play may give you brilliant ideas that will inspire you to write.

3. Read: One of the best ways to get inspiration for your own work is to read the work of others. So, when you need to write, go online and read some great articles or stories. If you have a library close by, spend some time there poring over great books written by others.

4. Start to write: Sometimes, the best way to get inspiration is just to begin. Take a pen and a note pad and begin to write, don’t stop to review your work or correct any error, just write all your thoughts and ideas down. By the time you go over what you have written, you will find that you have enough material to begin your writing project.

5. Take a nap: A lot of people have found inspiration in their sleep. So, sometimes all you need to do is to take a short nap and relax your brain. When you wake up, you just may have ideas flowing in torrents.

6. Ask for Ideas from Friends: If you don’t know what to write, you can just ask your friends, colleagues at work or family members. Even if they don’t have any idea to give you, simply starting a conversation with them can give you some inspiration on what to write.

7. Meditate: Meditating is a great way to get inspiration for a lot of things particularly writing. So, when you find that you have nothing to write, simply try meditating.

If you have any other tips that work for you, please share them with us.

Many of us watch a drama series on TV and know we can write something just as entertaining. Or we read a good novel and imagine what it would be like when turned into a movie.

As audacious as the idea sounds, you too can write your own drama series, thus contributing your quota to the ever growing world of arts and entertainment.

This article will guide you through a simple step-by-step approach to getting your script turned into an award-winning show.

Create An Idea:
The starting point for making any TV drama series is creating an idea that will sell. It can be a universal truth, or some deep experience you have learnt a thing or two from. Your idea becomes the one constant around which every other variable revolves.

Write The Script:
Like the role a compass plays in guiding a sailor, your idea and story determine how your script will evolve. Your script is more than just the story, it encompasses your characters’ words, actions, movements, locations. It brings your idea to life. Your script also serves as the guide to all the crew and actors engaged in the drama series production. It clearly communicates every action and nuance to all those involved in your drama production.

Think About the Production:
It is important to decide the direction you, as a producer/scriptwriter, want the drama series to go. If you are producing yourself, then you need to decide on actors, director, sound engineer, the prop, costumes, etc. In case you are contracting a production company, then prepare a short pitch (a page of what is expected of the show).

Understand the Value of Your Creative Ideas:
Production companies offer money in exchange for your creative ideas for onward translation into films or visuals. You should have done your homework well so that you are privy to what obtains in the industry. That way, if you are writing for a production company, you don’t lose out.

Produce a Pilot:
A pilot is the very first episode in a series. It allows you assess audience reception to your work and gives you the opportunity to do a better job.

Go Ahead With the Filming:
If your pilot received a great review, then it is time to start filming. You can do this in front of a live studio audience if you have the right props, or you may choose to do a recording which is treated, fine-tuned and aired at a later date.

Get the Needed Publicity for Your Production:
As there are so many shows vying for the attention of the same audience, you will need to go a step further than having a great show to ensuring people know about the show. Engage the services of professionals to give you the required publicity to get noticed.

Good luck and don’t forget to share your success story with us.

You may have an inspiring life experience, which others can learn from; so, why not put all of those into writing?

Perhaps, you might say you do not have any interesting story to tell about yourself that demands writing an autobiography. That is hardly the case. Truth is, you are more interesting than you probably think. Your personal history, relationships, and experiences are parts of yourself you can share with others.

Consider this thought:
No single person has a smooth sail in life from the start to finish; same way none has had or would have a rough sail all through. The only possibility is a mixture of both the good and bad times.

So, consider writing your autobiography. And as you do, also take down these writing tips to help smooth your way to an attention-grabbing narration.

Have a Feel for the Work:
Your autobiography won’t be the documented life of any individual. That being said, you can get inspired by reading the life experiences that have already been written. Personalities like Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela, Obafemi Awolowo, Abraham Lincoln, etc have ready literary pieces you can lay your hands on as a guide to writing yours. Try them out.

Know Your Target Audience:
If you are writing strictly for your family and close circle of friends, then your narrative should convey a familiar personality, context, etc. However, you can add little-known titbits about yourself, especially thoughts and feelings.
Remember that the general public would be grateful if you give details in clear description of personalities, places, events, which they may not ordinarily be familiar with. Use complex word pictures to capture the settings and characters involved.

Wind your Autobiography Around a Theme/Concept:
Themes are the unifying lines which help you focus on your autobiography. Think of something that everyone can relate with. You may use any of these to start with: The Rise from Grass to Grace; The Story of a Legend; The Many Turns of Life, Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears the Crown, among others.
The essence is to stick to a major theme that conveniently covers your life story and properly spell it out in your writing.

Collate Your Memories:
Writing an autobiography is like going back many years and building a story of yourself from the scratch, which may be a tough task. Do not shy away from relying on the account of older fellows in the family, who can indeed give insight. Diaries of events, albums, letters, family heritages, etc are sources of information that can aid your narration.

Make It Interesting As Possible:
It is your life story and one expects an interesting account capable of keeping readers attentive through the whole piece. Be descriptive enough but, do not include unnecessary mentions, sentences or phrases that can put your readers off. Your ability to use words to create mental pictures of scenes, events and relationship, will do your life account a lot of good.

Adopt a Writing Tool:
There are tons of autobiography templates online that can guide your writing, especially in coming up with an outline. These templates provide a guide on what you should document and often come with specific questions you need to answer to make your narrative complete.

Edit Your Work:
Get an editor to check through for errors of spelling, fact, expression, etc. It is also advisable you do not publish straightaway, until you have had a satisfactory proofreading and rechecking that certifies you are okay.

Take time off, perhaps, for few days once you complete the work before revisiting the piece and by then you would have been a bit removed from that self-attachment, tension, staleness, etc.

Remember, yours is a story worth telling. Good luck!

An application letter, sometimes referred to as a cover letter, is a document sent with a C.V to provide additional information about one’s skills, experience, and qualifications.

The application letter is expected to provide relevant information detailing your reasons for applying for the job and why you should be considered for the position.

Note that your application letter is not a summary of what is on your resume. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s look at what you can do to create a winning application letter.

Go straight to the point: In your first paragraph, explain your reason for writing the letter, make sure you mention the company’s name, the role you are applying for, how you found out about the vacancy and why you think you are a strong candidate for the job.

Write something that is not in your C.V: Write some great skills that you have that are not already in your C.V and highlight some of your major strengths too. Also, while writing, try to display some knowledge about the role you are applying for.

Close in a professional way: At the closing of your letter, don’t forget to say thank you. Also, add your contact details in case they would like to contact you and state how you intend to follow up with the application.

By following these steps, you would have written a great application letter that would land a strong impression on your future employer.

Writing is an act of repetition. We do it, then we do it again and again and again, getting a little bit better, and a little bit closer to our goals, with each iteration. Don’t go into editing looking for perfection. Rather, go into editing with the plot clear in your head, a good feeling for your characters and a linear understanding of the story so you can identify scenes that help and scenes that don’t help the story progress.
All right, let’s get to the list.
Trim the FatThe most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat. – Robert Heinlein
If you’ve ever had a conversation about editing with a professional editor, or author who has done a substantial amount of editing, or even just an English teacher, you’ve probably been told to trim the fat. It is one of the most important pieces of editing advice you’ll receive, so I repeat it not to drone on about trimming, but to emphasize just how important this exercise is for your book.
Read aloud
If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. – Stephen King
Mr. King is referring to reading other writers (he claims to read upwards of 80 books a year!), but I’m going to re-purpose his comment and turn it on the author. Reading what you’ve written is a tough exercise for some. It might seem silly, but actually reading what you’ve written can be a chore. You’ve just poured all these words out, now they belong to other readers, don’t they?
All authors can benefit from hearing how their words sound. Spoken aloud, you might discover your dialog is stiff or doesn’t fit the character as well as you thought it did. Or that the snappy phrasing you’ve used is actually confusing. So much can come to the surface when you change up the way you’re interacting with your text.
In the context of editing, I suggest giving the manuscript a look for grammar and spelling before reading it aloud. I find that I can catch a majority of typos and the like on the first read, and this frees up my critical thinking faculties so I can concentrate on how the text sounds as I read it. Spelling errors will tend to really stand out when you’re reading aloud.
Spelling & Grammar
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. – Mark Twain
You should aim to correct 99% of all grammar and spelling errors. I won’t say 100%, because that would mean the book never gets released while you go over it again and again looking for that one typo or misused word. Catching almost all of the mistakes is enough so long as you are diligent about spelling on the pages that matter the most. Those pages being the cover, the blurb, and the front matter. Any piece of the book a customer will see while looking online at your work.
Think Like an Editor
The artist, in this model, is like the optometrist, always asking: Is it better like this? Or like this? – George Saunders
You are thinking like an editor, right? That’s what this entire process is about!
True enough. But what I mean here is to think like a different person who also happens to be an editor. Detach yourself from your work, and look at it critically as an editor. Just as the optometrist tries different lens until the patience’s vision is clear, the editor (you) should look for the ways you can make the manuscript as clear and concise as possible.
As an editor, you must be willing to ruthlessly cut and alter your manuscript in service of the story. No line is safe. If you ever come to a line or even a single word you think “I can’t change that” then you’re not doing a fair job of editing. You might find in the long run that your awesome line doesn’t need to be cut, but you have to be willing to look at it with the red pen in hand and not be afraid to strike that line down.
To get in an editorial mind set, I like to read a style guide or two before I dive into editing. I recommend The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. If you don’t have a copy, I urge you to get one. Your local bookstore has a copy, I’m certain. This little handbook has seen more than it’s fair share of use and abuse on my writing desk. There are likely some great guides that are specific to your genre or form of writing as well. Just get something well written and sourced, to get your mind thinking like an editor.
Getting yourself out of the writing frame of mind and into the editing one can be tough. This is another good reason to leave some space between finishing the manuscript and starting the editing process.
Befriend your Characters
When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature. – Ernest Hemingway
People are not characters.
This last tip focuses heavily on fiction writers, but non-fiction writers may find it useful too. Basically, if the character dialog or tone is too mechanical or distant, the reader will not be held in the story. If characters converse in a way that does not ring true for them as a character or the way people actually converse, you risk loosing a reader’s attention.
I think this may be one of the most uniquely challenging aspects of writing good fiction. I’ve literally put down books because the dialog or characters don’t ring true.
So, how do you befriend your characters? Simple. Get to know them. I really like to use a character design sheet to create and document a variety of details about characters. This can be incredibly useful while writing a novel, because there’s a very real chance the nature of your important characters will change as the book develops.
Final Thoughts
Editing can be a chore. I’ve struggled with it for years. I still struggle with it. These tips are things I’ve found helpful for my own work, but that doesn’t mean they’ll work perfectly for you. Just remember that the purpose of editing is always to make the story better, to make it easier for readers to relate to, and to help you improve as a writer.
CREDIT: Lulu Blogpost

A Curriculum Vitae is your own way of communicating your abilities, experiences, qualifications and skills in order to secure a job you desire.

Writing your CV requires conscious effort. Employers have also identified some flaws that reduce the chances of job seekers getting call backs simply because they do not know or are careless about the presentation of their CV.

For the purpose of this writing, we would list and discuss ten mistakes applicants must refrain from in order to scale through job interviews and get the appointment afterwards:

Irrelevant information:
No employer has all the time in the world to check through your CV; they scan through your CV within a minute or less. So, do not fill it with needless information that would only jeopardize your chances. Data like religion, height, weight, etc. should be excluded.

Hiding significant information:
What else does your CV do if not to sell your personality vis-à-vis the job you aspire to and this should be communicated right away to your prospective employer in your CV. You can use highlights or bullet points to emphasize your strong areas and important information.

Ambiguous expressions:
On no condition should you use words or phrases like ‘several’, ‘a few’, ‘many’ in your CV, which are not definite enough. They can only make your CV unclear and hence, become unacceptable to your interviewer. Especially when you are meant to state the years of work experience, mention exactly the number of years, designation or role, and nothing more. Perhaps, you made significant sales in your previous employment, state precisely the figure or amount for your interviewer to know that you are sure of your responses, and that you are not faking it.

Wide or close gaps between employment dates:
The onus lies on you to explain the reasons you were out of employment for such a long time, maybe due to a professional course, travel, or any other necessities, etc. In case it is a close gap in date, which some employers frown at, you should let them know the reason too. You may offer that the close dates or short stay in an employment is occasioned by a job opportunity in your professional field or interest, necessitating the shift, etc.

Being economical with the truth:
Know that your CV is representative of your worth. However, do not include a qualification and work title that you know nothing about. Saying exactly what you are or have (qualities, previous salary, grade level, skills, etc.) presents you as an honest person and that could be just what the interviewer or employer needs to approve you as the best fit for the job.

Too lengthy expressions:
Describe yourself or ability in the shortest possible way because it will help you keep your employer interested in going through your CV. Adopting a short but precise CV helps keep your material to a maximum of two pages, which is acceptable for the so busy employers who have tons of other stuff to attend to.

Heavy graphics design:
Focus on the most important things, which are your experience, qualification and skills. Employers are interested in what you have got to offer other than mundane add-ons (though they may cite it in the course of interview). Let your CV be typed in a screen friendly font like Ariel, Times New Roman, etc. and with a size not exceeding 10 or 12 for the body text, while the heading and subheading can take a slightly larger size.

A clueless introduction:
Instead of a vague introduction, we recommend a direct expression of your ability or experience with words like “A sales representative with 10 years of work experience in the financial sector”. This is acceptable than saying ‘results-oriented, team player, achiever,’ etc. Mind you, the interviewer’s first port of call might be your introduction and if you can get the required attention there, you will be good for it.

Enlisting Referees:
Except it is called for, do not, for any reason, list a number of referees, which takes up a lot of space in your CV. Better state that ‘References will be presented on request’. Preferably too, list your references on another sheet of paper for evaluation by the employer.

Grammatical errors:
This is termed a credibility killer by some people. Do not ruin your chances of getting a job by any error in grammar, spelling, or expression. Therefore, make sure you check and cross check your CV for errors and get someone else to do this for you too.
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A summary is a condensed version of a larger reading.

The idea behind writing a summary is to save your reader a lengthy reading as only main ideas of the piece are stated; other details that one can do without at the moment of reading are deliberately left out.

Summarising is not re-writing.

Inasmuch as it is not a re-write, paraphrases are often used except in cases where some exact words or phrases of the author will give the summary some weight- and they can’t be paraphrased. In this case, quotation marks are employed.

The following tips will help you get your summary done well:

1. The first step is to read and digest general content of article.


2. Next step is to do another reading; this time, fishing out the main ideas and understanding them, as one can only successfully paraphrase with an in-depth understanding of the original.


3. Now, do your first draft without consulting the original work, after which you make comparisons to make sure no major point is left out.


4. It helps to begin by introducing the type of piece, title of piece, the name of author and then the idea or message they are trying to convey. For example, In the novel, or in the article (type), Evil Under the Sun (title), Agatha Christie (author) through the character, Hercule Poirot, explains… (idea).


5. Because it is not a rewrite, one should be careful not to introduce their thoughts or opinions in a summary. This is so the main points in the original work are not missed by your reader, and introduced thoughts are not mistaken for that of author.


6. The language of your summary should mostly be in the present tense.


7. Lastly, what is called ‘summarising language’ is used intermittently. An example, the author is of the opinion that…, the novel depicts…. This serves as a constant reminder to your reader that the piece being read is a summary of another’s work.

Writing a brief is the first task you need to complete when you are charged with managing an advertising campaign.

Your brief gives a background information on a product or service which will guide the creative team in the performance of its role in getting ready the finished advert copy, among other things.

It is the foundation of any advertising or marketing campaign and essentially holds the marketing campaign together.

To write or get a good creative brief, a mix of due preparation, good habits, proper account management, creative direction and effective training, all come into play.

Let’s look at some helpful steps to getting a great brief out there.

Get the Information You Need from the Client
Writing a good creative brief is dependent on the information provided by the client. That’s why it is important you leave no stone when it comes to asking questions and seeking clarification.

Every information about the product or service you want to advertise should be provided in detail: the strength, weakness, target audience, what problem does it solve, etc.

Use the Product Or Service
Believe it or not, if you have not tested the product or service for yourself, you may not hit the right spots with your campaign. Note this may not necessarily be you if the product or service does not apply, but you can get a consumer to give you a rating and take it from there.

Document All the Thought Gathered
You simply have to write things down. There’s no way around that. Your experience with the client and the product/service should go into documentation among other things like the advertising and client’s objectives, the budget, deadline, etc.

Arrange Your Thoughts
Set with all the needed information, you can now begin to put them together to get a unified piece that make practical sense to you and to anyone else.

NOTE:
No two briefs are exactly same owing to the difference in ideas, products/service, objectives/goals, etc. However, there is a template which is followed in writing a creative brief and these are as follows:
Background
Target Audience
Objectives
Tone of voice
Single Minded Proposition (Also called Unique Selling Proposition (USP), Key Message, Direction)
Key benefits
Reasons to believe
Audience Takeaway
Deliverables (Outdoor, Print, TV etc)
Budget
Schedule

Develop your ‘Single Minded Proposition’
The SMP is also regarded as Key Takeaway or Message. Regardless of what you call it, the important thing is that you need a key point that becomes the core around which your entire brief revolves. It shows the creative team the right way to go.


Shorten the Document to a Simple Draft
Done with the SMP, and the needed information, it’s time to write a concise, and not wordy brief. Remove any unnecessary babble and retain only the most needed in the brief.

Get Feedback
Yes, it is the duty of your line supervisor to review your work, just as much as it is your duty to present your work for review. Discuss the brief with him or her, ask questions, seek clarifications or feedback, etc.


Get the Client's Endorsement
This is needful owing to the fact that the client owns the job and would also foot the bill. Doing a good job requires allowing the client give their impression about the brief and the general direction for the campaign. Let the client be involved from the start to the end. It amounts to waste of time to do a job alone only to get a disapproval of the client at the end.

The Ready Writers has furnished you with these workable steps; try it out and see yourself writing a great creative brief eventually.

Writing a brief is the first task you need to complete when you are charged with managing an advertising campaign.

Your brief gives a background information on a product or service which will guide the creative team in the performance of its role in getting ready the finished advert copy, among other things.

It is the foundation of any advertising or marketing campaign and essentially holds the marketing campaign together.

To write or get a good creative brief, a mix of due preparation, good habits, proper account management, creative direction and effective training, all come into play.

Let’s look at some helpful steps to getting a great brief out there.

Get the Information You Need from the Client
Writing a good creative brief is dependent on the information provided by the client. That’s why it is important you leave no stone when it comes to asking questions and seeking clarification.

Every information about the product or service you want to advertise should be provided in detail: the strength, weakness, target audience, what problem does it solve, etc.

Use the Product Or Service
Believe it or not, if you have not tested the product or service for yourself, you may not hit the right spots with your campaign. Note this may not necessarily be you if the product or service does not apply, but you can get a consumer to give you a rating and take it from there.

Document All the Thought Gathered
You simply have to write things down. There’s no way around that. Your experience with the client and the product/service should go into documentation among other things like the advertising and client’s objectives, the budget, deadline, etc.

Arrange Your Thoughts
Set with all the needed information, you can now begin to put them together to get a unified piece that make practical sense to you and to anyone else.

NOTE:
No two briefs are exactly same owing to the difference in ideas, products/service, objectives/goals, etc. However, there is a template which is followed in writing a creative brief and these are as follows:
Background
Target Audience
Objectives
Tone of voice
Single Minded Proposition (Also called Unique Selling Proposition (USP), Key Message, Direction)
Key benefits
Reasons to believe
Audience Takeaway
Deliverables (Outdoor, Print, TV etc)
Budget
Schedule

Develop your ‘Single Minded Proposition’
The SMP is also regarded as Key Takeaway or Message. Regardless of what you call it, the important thing is that you need a key point that becomes the core around which your entire brief revolves. It shows the creative team the right way to go.


Shorten the Document to a Simple Draft
Done with the SMP, and the needed information, it’s time to write a concise, and not wordy brief. Remove any unnecessary babble and retain only the most needed in the brief.

Get Feedback
Yes, it is the duty of your line supervisor to review your work, just as much as it is your duty to present your work for review. Discuss the brief with him or her, ask questions, seek clarifications or feedback, etc.


Get the Client's Endorsement
This is needful owing to the fact that the client owns the job and would also foot the bill. Doing a good job requires allowing the client give their impression about the brief and the general direction for the campaign. Let the client be involved from the start to the end. It amounts to waste of time to do a job alone only to get a disapproval of the client at the end.

The Ready Writers has furnished you with these workable steps; try it out and see yourself writing a great creative brief eventually.