A very short story. Once there was a very eager writer. She got up very early in the morning to write. It was so early that even the sun was still sleeping. It was so early that the dew wasn't ripe enough to fall. It was so early that the blackbird opened its eyes with annoyance and said with an angry chirrup, "go back to bed, I am not yet ready to wake the world with my song." Once there was a very eager writer. During the morning – in between errands, chores and the kind of

I have a secret that I am not sharing. It isn't something bad, traumatic or illegal. It is a happy secret, a good thing, a ray of sunshine. It is just personal and I don't feel like letting everybody in. If you are in my life on a regular basis, you will know already to what I am referring (one can't hide all secrets all of the time). For those of you who do know my secret – maybe you have understood my reticence on the subject, and maybe you haven't. Either way, it is a moot

With songs like 'Respect', 'Think', 'Natural Woman' and 'A Change is Gonna Come' drifting in and out of my mind, and with the world honoring the late, great Aretha Franklin; once again I think of the impact that the written word has on humankind. While it is true that in some cases Aretha was the vehicle of these words and not necessarily the writer, her role in bringing the message of these words to a broad, wide and diverse audience in a meaningful and impactful manner, is

I was recently honoured to be interviewed about myself and my chosen profession. The interview consisted of about twenty questions, some of which were easier to answer than others. In order to be as authentic as possible, the idea is not to overthink these things. Just to share the first thing that comes to mind. As a writer, this is not an easy task, because your answer embodies a calling card. It is hard not to be self-conscious. However, putting the writing aside, my real

It doesn't matter whether you are hiring for a writing-related position – such as content writers, editors, user assistance professionals . . . etc. – or, whether you are hiring for any other position, good writers are good for your business and here's why: 1. Good Writers can See the Forest . . . and the Trees Efficient teams that collaborate well are usually made up of team members who complement one another in their skill sets. A very common struggle is to establish a ba

If you are anything like me, then in the numbers versus words battle, words will always win. It isn't a matter of competence or capability – words speak to me and numbers don't. So what's a writer to do when in order to get a proverbial foot in the door of online publishing, one needs to first take on the number olympics? If you want your publication to be found, here are some of hurdles you will need to surmount; get ready to warm up those arithmetic muscles: Carefully choos

Most people see the year out, wipe the slate clean, and then define resolutions that will hopefully set the tone for the new year. I am not knocking the tradition, but it doesn't work for me. I am much more motivated by pressure, and looming targets that need to be reached. Something like a two-week countdown to the year end - now that's a deadline that sets the juices flowing. A bit of background... A little over a year ago, without too much fanfare and very little planning