Ann Handley dives into brand-new data about the writing process and why it’s so important for writers to maintain a daily practice in 2024.
What’s Your Writing Process? [Sneak Peek At New Data] Read More »
Ann Handley shares a new challenge she’s embarked on to write 1,000 words a day and tips she’s found that set her up for success.
Surprising Things I’ve Learned Writing 1000 Words a Day Read More »
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * <Hand over heart; eyes to the heavens.> This year, you resolve to…. 1. WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Get it out of your head. Get it onto the page. It’ll be lousy. It’ll be ugly. GOOD FOR YOU. You did it! Have a snack. ➡️ How to create that first draft: “Rework the horse.” 2. NEVER PUBLISH THE FIRST DRAFT. Rewriting sounds about as much fun as recovering from a Moderna booster. But please-please-please do it! Even if what you are going to publish is “just” an email. “Only” a LinkedIn post. “Merely” a marketing article. The difference between mediocre and not-mediocre is one more round of revisions. The difference between something you make excuses
How to Get Better at Writing: 10 Ideas to Ignite Your Best Work This Year Read More »
A version of this story appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Long before I wrote books and your favorite newsletter 😊, I wrote for a financial newspaper about Federal Reserve regs and housing prices. A high point of my career there was a headline I wrote for a story about NACHA (the National Automated Clearing House Association, a US electronic payment regulatory system). The headline: “NACHA Business.” My pun game was strong even then. The headline. I loved it. The editor did not. (Still salty about it TBH.) * * * Eventually I went on to work for the Boston Globe, among other pubs. And while I left journalism a long time ago, writing for newspapers gifted me the biggest lesson of my career. The lesson: No one is
How to Turn Editing Into the Best Part of Writing Read More »
