The Renegade Writer Blog

My husband and I recently co-wrote an article for a trade magazine. When I happened to look at the text weeks after we turned in the article, I noticed that one of the subheds read, “Insert snappy subhed here.” And we had turned it in that way! When the article came out, however, the editor […]

I started taking a meditation class at the local yoga studio, and my teacher said it’s her job in life to “fail well.” That really resonated with me, and I think it pertains to writing as well as to the rest of life. As writers, we need to really put ourselves out there and do […]

I am honored to have been interviewed for the fab FreelanceSwitch blog! I talk about how I got started, my advice for beginning writers, and my new organization Creative Professionals for Animal Welfare (creativePAW). [lf]
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Renegade reader Alicia Cosgrove (Wordwych on The RW blog) has a great tip for transcribing interviews. I’ll let her tell you herself:
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I write for a small local newspaper, doing human interest stories and local news. This, of course, requires me to interview many people, both by phone and in person with laptop balanced on anything […]

(Reprinted from Writer’s Digest)
by Linda Formichelli
My article, for a trade magazine, was called “Sucking Up to Housecleaning Managers: Trends in Vacuums.” Twelve hundred words. On vacuums. With such riveting statements as, “The housekeeper uses an upright with a beater brush and edging tools to vacuum narrower corridors and to do edging. In office areas with […]

I wish I were one of those freelancers with a perfectly organized office. I long for a clear desk and floor space that doesn’t require fancy footwork to get around. I spend hours looking at organized offices on flickr — and dreaming.
Recently I noticed how much the clutter was getting to me. I have plenty […]

Hi! Thanks to everyone who signed up for Creative Professionals for Animal Welfare (creativePAW). We already have over 60 volunteers! Most of them are writers, but we also have photographers, PR people, web designers, illustrators, and others. We also have 6 or 7 animal welfare organizations that have signed up.
I heard from an organization that […]

The second edition of Kelly James-Enger’s fabulous book Ready, Aim, Specialize was just released by Marion Street press, publisher of The Renegade Writer and other writing books. Here’s the scoop:
When you develop a writing specialty, you set yourself apart from other freelancers, save time researching and writing articles and command higher fees for your work.
Contrary […]

It’s finally done…the site for my new organization, Creative Professionals for Animal Welfare (creativePAW). The organization’s mission is to help animal welfare organizations find creative professionals (such as writers, editors, illustrators, and web designers) who are willing to do volunteer work to help with the orgs’ marketing, education, fundraising, and PR efforts.
Please check out the […]

Every once in a while, I’m faced with a maddeningly blank screen as I try to get my head around how to write an article. Usually in this case, the topic is unfamiliar to me, or I have a lot of research and interviews and don’t know where to start. Here’s how I handle […]