by Margot Carmichael Lester | Nov 13, 2018 | Content & Content Operations, Writing/How to Write
There's been a lot of terrific reporting out of the horrible fire situation in California, but I found a passage from an LA Times enterprise story that particularly spoke to me. The details are so rich, with details about large landscapes and tiny detritus. It would...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Dec 3, 2010 | Best Practice, Writing/How to Write
Details are a problem for every writer. Some people never have enough, some folks always have too many, and others go either way depending on the piece. Planning for details It's hard to get exactly the right details on the first try. That's pretty much because what...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Aug 13, 2010 | Best Practice, Writing/How to Write
Since I'm working on the revision chapter for our book on business writing, I thought I'd share an easy strategy for getting more details into your work. It's the IDEA-DETAILS, which I've shown here before for pre-writing/planning (here and here). This little dude's...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Jul 7, 2010 | Best Practice, Writing/How to Write
I spend a lot of time talking to writers and kids about "the right details". For me, the right details are the evidence, examples and explanations that paint a vivid picture for your reader -- and create deeper understanding. But that's a technical definition. Here's...
by Pete Andersen | Nov 15, 2022 | Writing/How to Write
There's a lot of advice out there for folks who want to write their personal histories or memoirs. A lot of it is crap. That's why Margot asked Peter Andersen to set the record straight. "Among his many talents, Pete is a gifted memoir whisperer," she explains. "When...
