Skip to content

the hangout for new and inexperienced writers of nonfiction

  • About us
  • Be a guest blogger
  • Contact
  • Writing and editing services
  • Ghostwriting service
  • Writers’ forums
  • Useful links and resources
  • Workshops

Menu

  • Home
  • Writing genres
    • Life story
    • Autobiography and memoir
    • Family history
    • Oral history
    • Local and social history
    • Scrapbook and photo journaling
    • Food writing
    • Travel writing
    • Company histories
    • Creative nonfiction
  • Blogging
  • Writing tips and tools
    • Writing tips
    • Writing tools
    • Editing and proofreading
  • Grammar and style
    • English grammar tips
    • Writing style
  • Writer’s markets
  • Courses
  • Shop

Month: January 2018

How to start writing the stories behind your photos

How to start writing the stories behind your photos

Do you have countless photos tucked away in albums or boxes or numerous collections you have downloaded from your camera or phone? How often do you look at them or show them to family and friends? Probably not very often and

Chris 01/31/201811/05/2020 Scrapbook and photo journaling No Comments Read more

Titles – tips on how to write an attention-grabbing title

Titles

Good titles are the best way of grabbing the attention of your audience. Have you ever been drawn to a book in a bookshop, an article in a magazine or a blog on a website by its title? Or, have you ever rejected

Chris 01/19/2018 Writing style No Comments Read more

Starting to write – just do it

Starting to write

Don’t let a fear of getting something wrong put you off writing. Your grammar may not be perfect, you may make some spelling mistakes or you may put a comma in the wrong place but none of this should discourage

Chris 01/19/2018 Writing tips No Comments Read more

Malapropism – what is it and how did it get its name?

malapropism

In my blog post Frequently misused words – damp squid and other blunders I included some words which are often misused, so now let me introduce you to the world of the malapropism. What is a malapropism? If you don’t know

Chris 01/18/2018 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Split infinitives – yes, no or don’t really care

Split infinitives

If you don’t know what split infinitives are, here’s one of the most famous examples. It was spoken at the beginning of many of the television episodes and films of Star Trek (it was first used for an episode in September

Chris 01/18/2018 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Pen and paper or a computer – which do you prefer?

pen and paper or a computer

Some people have a strong opinion about whether it is better to write using a pen and paper or a computer but I guess for most of us it is more a question of what is most convenient at the time. For example, would

Chris 01/18/2018 Writing tips No Comments Read more

Get over your fear of writing – find the courage and just do it

Get over your fear of writing

If you want to write your life story, your memoirs, your family history (or whatever genre you specialise in) but have never had the courage to get started, why not make this the year you get over your fear of writing and actually do it.

Chris 01/18/2018 Writing tips No Comments Read more

Cinquains – what are they and how do you write one?

cinquains

My blog on six-word memoirs is all about brevity and and so continuing with this theme let me introduce you to the world of cinquains. What is a cinquain? A cinquain (pronounced sin-cain) comes from the Latin for five and

Chris 01/18/201801/18/2018 Writing style No Comments Read more

Write a blog post that tells a story by following these simple tips

Write a blog post that tells a story

It doesn’t matter whether you are blogging your way to an entire family history, or the complete story of your life story, or any other non-fiction genre, if you write a blog post that tells a story it will help to draw

Chris 01/17/2018 Blogging No Comments Read more

Write for yourself or for your readers – or is this the last thing on your mind?

Write for yourself or for your readers

If you are a new or inexperienced writer thinking about whether you should write for yourself or for your readers might be the last thing on your mind. However, if you would like to share your stories then read on to see how your content

Chris 01/12/201801/12/2018 Writing tips No Comments Read more
  • « Previous

Recent Posts

  • Create a family photo book
  • Could a ghostwriter help you write your story?
  • Processing your oral history interview
  • Recording an oral history interview – what equipment do you need?
  • Setting up your oral history interview
Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved.Theme: Spacious Pro by ThemeGrill. Powered by: WordPress
  • Privacy Policy
  • Acceptable use policy
  • Terms of website use