Writing Tips
Ellen’s writing tips have appeared on SheWrites.com, an online community of women writers. Take a look:
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Who Cares About Your Family Story? Ten Tips to Ensure Readers Will Care
Ten ways to keep readers engaged with the story that engages you.
Searching for a publisher: Seven tips and a slice of apple cake
Delicious suggestions for writers on the path to publication.
Focus on the What: Critiquing with Compassion and Rigor
What’s the best way to help fellow writers do their best work?
Are You a Scientist or a Writer – or Both?
Albert Einstein said the best scientists are artists. But are artists also scientists?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Hate Book Promotion?
Are you a writer who wishes you could just write–nothing else–and watch everything else just fall into place?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: The Kite, the Beach Ball, and the Stone: Six Ways to Set Your Own Pace After Publication
When your book is published, get the word out – at your own speed.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: How to Fill an Empty Room
Unless you’re famous, even a bookstore (in fact, especially a bookstore) is just an empty room – and it’s your job to fill it.
Up-close & Universal: Balancing Big and Small in Memoir-Writing
As the winner of the 2013 Grub Street National Book Prize, I lectured at the “Muse & the Marketplace” conference in Boston on the increasing importance of memoir, types of memoirs, and ten tips for writing a successful memoir.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Stuck? Go for a walk!
New research shows that walking boosts creative thinking.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: An intimate perch: blending the personal into the story of a social movement
I set out to write the kind of book I was hungry for when I started out as a social change organizer fifty years ago – a book that would offer an intimate perch from which to explore a social movement. The result: “Working 9 to 5: A women’s movement, a labor union, and the iconic movie” (Chicago Review Press, foreword by Jane Fonda)
Does a writer’s satisfaction stem from the number of readers? How do we measure success?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: A Writer’s Best Resource – Right in Your Neighborhood
What’s the world’s best resource for writers? The hands-down answers: libraries! Six ways to make use of this fantastic local treasure.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: My Mother, the Writer
Having a writing mother, being a writing mother – both precious privileges.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Four ways to share your work in progress – without showing the manuscript
I once heard about a woman (a mother, of course) who wrote an entire novel in secret – in the bathtub. Most of us want to share along the way — but when, how, and with whom?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Are You a World-Changer?
“I arise in the morning,” E.B. White wrote, “torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” Explore the intersection between writing and activism.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: “Inchy by inchy, Leonardo da Vinci.”
Wise – and surprising – words for writers to live by.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Writing the Intimate
What I’ve learned about writing about painful memories.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Ten Ingredients for a Successful Book Talk
Where should I speak? How do I approach speaking venues? What makes a great talk?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: What makes you smile – and why it matters
Transform your writing career by paying attention…
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Book Party: Five Steps to Success
Planning a book party? Follow these steps and you can’t go wrong.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Reuse, recycle!
Getting noticed as a writer means being seen, and seen again, in many different places. Give your work new life!
TIPS OF THE TRADE: The Best Writers’ Group
How to find, or start, a writers’ group – and what makes it work.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Are you a writer? Or a person who writes?
For you, is writing a means, an end, or some of both? Is it a craft? A calling?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Writer on vacation: five great tips
Taking a break doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your literary pursuits at home.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Finding flow
“Once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our efforts to taste it again.”
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Your Family Story Toolbox
“Whether you write fiction or nonfiction,” says Ursula Le Guin, master of science fiction fantasy, “all storytellers work with the same box of tools.” So what’s in the toolbox?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Positive Reinforcement in the ‘Hood? Rate your community
Does your community support you as a writer? Use this checklist for some great ideas.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: In which Hirsh Leib opens my eyes
Writing depends on taking notice. How do we see–and keep on seeing?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Are you sure you want to write a page-turner?
“I couldn’t put it down.” Is that really the praise every author is looking for? Should it be?
TIPS OF THE TRADE: A Writer Walks into a Conference
Even for a seasoned author, a writers’ conference can be daunting. Top ways to get the most out of it.
Mistakes, Missing Links, and Other Wonderful Problems
Every family story has gaps. But those missing pieces may turn out to be exactly what makes your writing great.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Why I always read the acknowledgments first
Never thank a cat…and other idiosyncratic advice.
What Makes a Perfect Book Party?
A home-made podium, a dry run… and a lake.
TIPS OF THE TRADE: Interviewing: Let Go of the Reins
I used to favor an aggressive interview style. Not anymore.
Hint: try a “log-line.”
TIPS OF THE TRADE: 5 Ways to be Book Promotion Buddies
Team up for help with book promotion.
Turn your book talk into a multi-media presentation
…while avoiding “PowerPoint hell.”
TIPS OF THE TRADE: And the Award Goes To…Socially Engaged Fiction
Are you writing a novel about “the world as it is with an eye for how it could be”? If so, Barbara Kingsolver may have a prize for you.