Comments on: A Guide to Writing Well

By: Chris P

Chris P — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:12:40 +0000

I found this post through the Gospel Coalition website.

Three things:

1. Kudos.
2. Thank you.
3. Looking forward to reading more!

& one question:

Any posts/advice for a freelance writer?

Thanks, Joshua.

By: nadeem

nadeem — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:20:44 +0000

Josh
Thank you very much for this extraordinary post. I am a writer and found it so helpful. Can you give me your email? I want to send you one article of mine and want to know your thoughts on that. In my mail I can write that why I want your help in the first place.

Thanks again
nadeem

By: JP

JP — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:52:27 +0000

Great post! There’s a lot of information here that I can definitely use. Been getting writing jobs and this will help me a lot.

By: Daniel Faintuch

Daniel Faintuch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:49:08 +0000

Amazing post.
Thanks!

By: Roxbourne Web Design Birmingham

Roxbourne Web Design Birmingham — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:54:12 +0000

Excellent, thanks for researching, writing and posting that. I suppose we all need a reminder of some rules to apply in certain types of writing.

Maybe the recommendations are best for commercial writing, for website and blog content – not so for writing great works of literary art or even lesser novels – see Shakespear comment.
Alex

By: B. Peterson

B. Peterson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:55:11 +0000

January 6, 2009: I was searching for a phrase that I was sure was written by E. B. White and came across your fascinating article. I simply had to print it for reference when I finally get around to writing that book–in my twilight years.

What stopped my efforts many years ago was reading words that read: “if you have a poor memory you cannot be… a writer…” Since now these words are ringing in my ears again I wonder from which book it came? Does any one out there have any ideas?

By: Person

Person — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:01:51 +0000

Annie Dillard wrote An American Childhood, not This American Life (a radio show).

[Thanks, I've fixed it.]

By: Jeff Jensen

Jeff Jensen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:57:57 +0000

Thanks for posting this! I will be using it really, very much, quite, a lot (or should I just say “often).

By: Josh Sowin

Josh Sowin — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:14:55 +0000

Ah, there it is. Thanks for finding that for me.

By “personal and casual” I mean writing with warmth and humor in a casual way. It is writing like speaking. Catcher in the Rye comes to mind. Here’s a quote as an example:

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”

Perhaps not the best example, but it was handy.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:41:31 +0000

Josh — It’s in the “before you start writing” section:

Before You Start Writing
Before you start writing an article, ask the following questions:
1. How will I address the reader?
(Reporter? Provider of information? Average man or woman?)
2. What pronoun and tense will I use?
(Impersonal reportorial? Personal but formal? Personal and causal?)