Pat Iyer’s Blog
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Make the Most of Your Writing Time
One of the most frequent complaints of my writing students and clients is “I don’t have enough time. How do I fit writing time into my life? I know how you can feel that time is precious and in short supply, and I recommend to those I coach that they make an accurate...
Inner Critic or Inner Guide: Who is Talking
At any stage of my writing, I may hear an inner critic, a voice that says things like, “No, that isn’t good. That’s garbage. Delete it and start over.” My voice can also say, "I love that passage. Write more of those." Do I listen? Do I obey this voice? Maybe. First,...
What’s Your Type?
When I write about errors in manuscripts, I usually focus on punctuation, spelling, and grammar because those are my favorite kinds of errors, meaning that I love correcting them. Literary agents, publishers, and readers notice these errors, and variations in type,...
Readers Make Better Writers
I always loved reading more than almost any other activity. It’s no coincidence that my siblings are also avid readers. I believe this habit made us better writers. Our mother instilled the love of reading in us. Whenever any of us complained about boredom, she said,...
Why Do You Need a Good Vocabulary?
Writers, especially those who are just beginning to write regularly, think that having a good vocabulary means knowing a lot of long, obscure words. What, they rightly ask, is the point of learning words no one will understand? Who wants to read a blog or other piece...
Plagiarism: The Eighth Deadly Sin
It may not rank with the traditional seven deadly sins of pride, greed, wrath, gluttony, lust, gluttony, and sloth, but plagiarism can wreck your writing career much more effectively. One of the issues that comes up frequently in terms of material generated by...
Write Your Story – Something AI Cannot Do
While AI can't write your story, that doesn’t mean it can’t write any stories. You could tell it to write something showing that crime doesn’t pay or to give you ideas for writing that kind of story. But would that be your story? This question takes the debate about...
How to Engage with an Active Voice
While newer writers fall more easily into telling rather than showing in their work, experienced writers don’t have immunity. Here are some ways to use active voice to keep readers. How Much of Your Writing Employs the Active Voice? You can identify passive voice by...
How to Use AI to Create Titles
Writing a title can be difficult. Many of us struggle to describe the essence of what we’ve written in a few words in a way that both engages potential readers and contains the keywords that will rank well on search engines. Have you used AI to create titles? Coming...
How to Be Clear When You Write
You need more than the ability to write concisely to keep your readers. One of the seven deadly writers’ sins is to confuse your reader. When they have to pause to figure out what you’re saying, they lose the drift of what you’re writing, and you may lose a reader. ...
Recent Posts
Make the Most of Your Writing Time
One of the most frequent complaints of my writing students and clients is “I don’t have enough time. How do …Read More »
Inner Critic or Inner Guide: Who is Talking
At any stage of my writing, I may hear an inner critic, a voice that says things like, “No, that …Read More »
What’s Your Type?
When I write about errors in manuscripts, I usually focus on punctuation, spelling, and grammar because those are my favorite …Read More »
Readers Make Better Writers
I always loved reading more than almost any other activity. It’s no coincidence that my siblings are also avid readers. …Read More »
Why Do You Need a Good Vocabulary?
Writers, especially those who are just beginning to write regularly, think that having a good vocabulary means knowing a lot …Read More »