Ah, the freelance writer.
Most people assume that freelancing is one of the most laid-back and easiest career paths ever to happen to man. True: there’s no need to go suit-and-tie every morning, no rush hour commute, no boss to drive you up the wall every single day.
What most people don’t realize, however, is that freelancing means you’re on your own. Literally. There’s no company to handle your tax payments, bills, client invoices, HMO, etc. More importantly, you don’t get to have a legal pit bull that’ll …

For casual students of English grammar, there’s a set of hard and fast rules no writer can ever hope to escape. A singular noun must be paired with a singular verb; the Subject-Verb Agreement is the backbone of every sentence. To break these grammatical rules is tantamount to blasphemy and could easily send a writer to pariah status in the blink of an eye.
True, a lot of grammatical rules are here to stay. You still can’t go around passing off phrases as sentences, and — as far …

I’ve been out of touch this past weekend thanks to a combination of back pain and the installation of the entire Sims 2 collection on my Mac. It took me weeks to finally get the installation done (thanks to a random list of things I’d rather not discuss), and back pain had rendered me completely immobile for days.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with this strip from xkcd.com to think about. I’ve said time and again that writing is not a science. There’s no point forcing it to conform …

I just mentioned a while ago that I was in search of a more reliable web host than my current provider. My current host is completely free, hence the usual down time that’s been really bugging me lately. So then, I went on a search for a better web host; one that won’t be too hard on my wallet and still let me sleep soundly each night.
After rummaging through several hosts, I noticed that many of them seemed okay at first glance, though more thorough research often revealed quite …

I’ve noticed that my website is down a lot more often these days, particularly in the wee hours of the morning. It’s frustrating, not to mention quite damaging to my aspirations as a professional blogger. I can blame that problem on my choice of web host. I’ve been using a free web hosting service since I started, mainly because I’m not exactly earning thousands from my websites. It’s been less than three months since I began this website, so I’m not exactly about to throw money …

People always leave.
Yes, they leave right after reading a few sentences in your opening paragraph. That is, if they don’t find anything worthwhile.
This is a fast-paced world; if you don’t have them by the first line of your book or article, it’s over. You could have the best ideas in the world but it would be useless. Readers do not have time to read every article or book every written; they can only read so much. Unless you’re an established author with a serious fan base, you have to …

…can be yours if you purchase this book/e-book/package/collection!
Now where have I seen that before? Just yesterday, I was walking through a bookstore (yet again) when I spotted something that got me interested. It was a pretty thick book, and, after perusing it for a while, I realized that it was geared specifically towards aspiring writers who wanted to write the next great novel.
I didn’t read it thoroughly, but the blurb alone promised great things to the buyer. This book will give you all the necessary information on …

I mentioned a few posts ago that reading is very important for writers. Now what should I come across but Sharp Words’ interesting books meme? If that’s not serendipity then I don’t know what is.
Or maybe it’s just my lazy weekend self that’s talking.
Anyway, here are the rules of this cute and geeky meme:

Look at the list and bold those you have read.
Italicize those you intend to read.
Underline the books you LOVE.
Reprint this list in your own so we can try and track down these people who’ve read …

I have a bit of an OC complex, as you may have noticed by now, and I keep an eye out for this blog’s statistics.
“Obsessed” is an understatement, really.
This morning, when I noticed that my Technorati authority had gone up a few points, I immediately clicked the widget to see what made it so. I was in for a big surprise.
Apparently, Kat S., a good online friend from my LJ days, found this website useful enough to nominate me one of the Top Ten Emerging Influential Bloggers of 2008.
Surprise!
First …

One of the biggest things that most people ask me to teach them is how to write.
It’s not that I don’t want to teach people; it’s just that there really is no powerful secret method or sure-fire process to improve one’s writing skills. I’ve never really figured out how I learned to write. In fact, I just remember studying grammar in school and somehow getting the hang of things. I didn’t take any special lessons and had no additional courses. There’s no magic bullet.
Which is why …