Pat Iyer’s Blog
Writing Skills
Why Dialogue Makes Your Writing Come Alive
One of my clients, who is an attorney, questioned me recently on the use of dialogue. Trained to be precise, she was uneasy when I transformed long passages of narrative into lively dialogue. Her memoir was about events that took place several years before, and she...
Why Professional Writing Matters More Than You Think
You may never meet many of your prospects in person before they decide whether to hire you. Instead, they meet you through your professional writing. And they judge you accordingly. I personally heard an internet marketer make the argument that typos make you human....
How to Write to Build Trust
Have you wondered, "How do I write so prospects think, 'This person understands my problem?'" How do I build trust? One of the fastest ways to lose a potential client is to sound generic. Prospects who are reading your blog posts, emails, LinkedIn articles, and...
Are You a Highly Skilled Professional Struggling to Start Your Book?
Are you a highly skilled professional struggling to start your book? Attorneys, physicians, legal nurse consultants, and public speakers often operate under high pressure, where mistakes are costly and standards are high. They’ve trained for years, built respected...
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...
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...
Can AI Hurt You?
Can AI hurt you? Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyone’s life. The news media covers it extensively, and every writers’ publication I receive has at least one article about the topic per issue. Those who love technology are thrilled by the...
When You Can’t Write to Keep Your Reader’s Attention
I’m sure you’ve had the experience of listening to someone give a speech or presentation and found yourself losing interest. The subject may interest you; it may be one you want to know more about, but you can’t keep your attention on the speaker. The same thing...