Pat's 7 Secrets

Short and Sweet

Hi gang!

I just wanted to tell you that my first Short has been published at Amazon.com. It's a profile of Mohandas K. Gandhi, and I decided to publish that one first for a couple of reasons.

First, it's fresh in my mind, so I wrote what I knew. But I'm also hoping that if people like the Short they'll buy the book, where they can find much more great information.

But not all my Shorts will be on such heavy topics. I did send one in yesterday about Gloria Steinem for the same reasons as above, but they take about 60 days to publish. So... keep your eyes out.

Here's the link to Gandhi: http:ovweb.net/gandhi7

Or, check out my other books here: http://ovweb.net/pmbooks7

OK, but let's get onto your writing lesson for this session.

Many of you asked in the survey how to come up with ideas.

Hmm... Here's the truth: Ideas are ALL around you!

What did you eat for breakfast? Perhaps a new product? Write a review of it.

Did you read the newspaper? What story popped out at you? Can you write a story about it?

I did that for an educational publisher once. I read a story about a kid who saved another boy who had fallen through ice on a pond. I just dramatized it and voila! I was paid for a story that I took from the newspaper. Of course, I didn't plagiarize a bit of it; I just used the idea to create characters and then a story of my own.

Have you read a book lately? How about a review?

If you're an online marketer, there are stories everywhere! Just surf awhile and you'll see them. What's a traffic exchange? Explain it. How do you optimize a page for search engines? If you know, write that. (It's a hot topic right now, and something I'm learning and working on with Tellman Knudson.) You'll have a winner!

What kind of pet do you have? If it's a pure breed, what can you write about it? If not, so what? Write a story that involved your cat.

When you get the advice to "Write what you know," it means to write about stuff that interests you or that you're good at. It doesn't mean to write your life.

Here's an exercise for you: Go into a magazine and read it cover to cover. Which story interested you the most? Can you focus it? By that, I mean, can you come up with a different angle about the same story? Write it!

For instance:

I heard a news report this morning that a study was done that proved that men are smarter than women.

Pshaw! Of course, I'd say that, being a woman and all. :-) But if you are a woman, wouldn't it be fascinating to dig up facts and studies to prove that scientist wrong? If you're a man, you could do a great humor piece. Though I'm cautious in advising this, you can get away with a lot, if you can be funny. However, it's very hard to do.

So, there you have it. O-b-s-e-r-v-e

And you'll find stories every single day.

So much to write about; so little time.

Ciao!

posted by Pat Marcello @ Friday, September 15, 2006