• Nonstandard Usage Detracts from Novel: The English language can certainly be said to be in flux when college professors write such stuff as…
• Using the Active Voice to Strengthen Your Writing: Writing in the active voice means constructing sentences where the subject “acts”.
• Email Etiquette: So, being able to write a professional, business-like email is a crucial skill. Daily Writing Tips has already covered the email subject line, but the body of your message also matters.
• 25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About: Of course, all you really need in order to write is a notebook and pen. But there are lots of software packages that can make life easier for writers. Whatever you want to be able to do, there’s almost certainly some software out there to help you.
• Pen Names: A reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, uses his real name in his writing for a weekly newspaper, but is considering using a pen name for other work.
• PC Vitals for Every Freelance Writer: If you’ve never experienced the horror of a computer screen turning stark blue and displaying garbled characters while you are working on it, then lucky you.
• Five Ways to Write Faster: Whether you need to clear a backlog of emails, write an important document at work, finish a short story, or do your homework, spending hours staring at a blank screen and struggling to come up with words won’t help.

June 2008 Most Popular Articles

To deny a statement is simply that. If I say ‘all dogs are grey’, then if you deny or contradict that statement all you have to do is say: ‘No, they’re not.’

However, if you wanted to rebut my statement, you would have to provide a well thought out and reasoned argument that suggests that I might be wrong. This is used in debates, where speakers present evidence that supports a counter argument.

In order to refute my statement about dogs, you would have to prove it wrong, perhaps by showing me a dog of a different color.

Rebut, Refute, Deny

Sharon suggested this in the best way to start out in freelance writing:

I recommend writing every day, even if it’s only for a little while. It makes writing part of your daily routine and it makes it easy to draw on the skills you have built up even if a particular writing project isn’t very inspiring.

And she’s in good company. Stephen King (in On Writing) tells fiction writers to aim for a target of 1,000 words a day, six days a week. Julia Cameron’s bestselling book The Artist’s Way has popularised the idea of “the morning pages” – writing three pages in your journal when you wake up. And if you have a blog, whether a personal or professional one, you might well be trying to publish something new every day (perhaps you want to emulate the success of blogs like ‘Daily Writing Tips’ … ;-))

Knowing that it’s a good idea to write every day, however, doesn’t make it easy to do so! Often, you’ll be busy and struggle to find a chance to write – and when you do have the time, you may not feel creative. Here’s how to write fiction, journal entries or blog posts every day:

Fiction

I’ve found it easiest to write daily when I’m working on a longer piece of fiction, such as a novel. End each day in the middle of a scene (or even in the middle of a sentence), and you’ll never be faced with a blank screen at the start of your writing session.

Have a target number of words or pages to aim for each day – perhaps working towards a deadline. I’d strongly recommend taking part in NaNoWriMo this November (or doing your own novel writing month before then); to “win” you have to write 50,000 words in a month – averaging 1,667 per day. It’s challenging, but will definitely help you to establish the daily writing habit!

If you’re working on short stories, and aiming to write every day, I’d urge you to count planning, outlining and editing as part of your writing. You might find you need to allocate a day for coming up with ideas (brainstorming), a day for planning in more detail, then three or four days to write the first draft.

Journal

You don’t need to write in your journal first thing in the morning. If, like me, you’re a “morning person”, you might well find it’s a good time to think through your plans and hopes for the day in writing … but for many people, finding time to journal before breakfast just isn’t practical.

The important thing with daily journaling is to be consistent with when you do it. Pick a time of day when you’ll always write in your journal (before breakfast, during your lunch hour, last thing at night before you go to bed) and it will quickly become a habit.

Also, try to see your journaling as a treat – a little chunk of time set aside just for you and your thoughts. It might help to buy a really nice notebook to write in (I have a lovely A4 hardback one for my journal), or to have your favourite drink or snack during your journaling time.

Blogging

Just because you want to publish a post every day doesn’t mean you have to write one each day: many bloggers write several posts ahead of time (perhaps at the weekend, if they have full-time jobs) then publish them throughout the week. Skellie, for example, suggests:

Set aside one morning or afternoon on the quietest day of the week where you will write all non-news posts for the following seven days.

However, if you have a news-orientated blog, you’ll need to cover stories as and when they break – writing and publishing on the same day. Or if your blog is a personal diary, you might be trying to keep it updated daily (especially if you’re posting your achievements towards a goal).

In these situations, a deadline and a sense of responsibility to your readers can work wonders. Promise on your blog that there’ll be a new post each day, then set yourself a private daily deadline (eg. 8pm) and aim to hit “publish” before then. Even when you’re not in the mood to write, the embarrassment of letting your readers down will motivate you to get typing…

Are you trying to write every day? What sort of writing are you doing – and is it going well? Do you have any great advice for other Daily Writing Tips readers who want to establish a daily writing habit? Let us know with the comment form below!

How To Write Every Day (and why you should)

The first three tenses, present, past, and future, present few problems. Only third person singular in the present tense differs in form:

Present tense of regular (weak) verbs:

Today I walk. Today he walks.

Tomorrow I shall/will walk.

The dwindling class of irregular (strong) verbs must be learned individually.

Today I go. Today he goes.

Tomorrow I shall/will go.

The other three tenses, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect, are formed with the helping verbs have, has, and had.

perfect: used to express an event that has just finished, and to describe an event which, although in the past, has effects that continue into the present.

Queen Elizabeth has reigned for 56 years.

pluperfect (past perfect): used to express an event that took place before another action, also in the past.

I had driven all the way to Oklahoma when I realized my mistake.

future perfect: used to express an event that will have taken place at some time in the future.

As of February 26, I shall have been in this job six years.

For complete conjugation tables of weak and strong English verbs, see the Wikipedia article.

English Grammar 101: Verb Tense

I just discovered your page and I love it. Please teach me before we sign off the mail with “warm regards” etc ,we also always using some phrasal sentences such as “please look into this matter” or “thank you in advance”, “I would be very appreciate on your help in this matter”, etc. Could you please write some more like those in different contents of mails?

What Juan’s describing here are stock phrases. If you write a lot of emails, you’ll often find yourself facing the same sorts of situations again and again, and you’ll often see stock phrases used in business emails to convey a professional, helpful and friendly tone. I agree with Juan that it can definitely help to have some ready-crafted sentences on hand for including in your emails – either just keeping them in mind, or creating a document on your computer to hold them ready for copy-and-pasting.

The trick is to make them heart-felt rather than copied-and-pasted. There are a few phrases which I see constantly in emails from huge technical support firms, government offices and similar organisations: used carelessly, they can feel distancing or insincere.

I’ve listed some options below for different types of email situations, such as:

• When you’re initiating email contact with someone new
• When you’ve answered someone’s question
• When you’re asking the recipient to take some action
• When you need a response (but not necessarily any action taking)
• When you’ve heard nothing back and want to chase up a reply

Unless your boss is particularly uptight, why not try going with the more informal ones? I work in a small technical support team who have a great reputation for being friendly, helpful and accessible – in part, because we use everyday language and remember that we’re writing to people, not just trying to knock another email out of the queue. Here’s some examples you might want to use, or modify, for your own email messages … feel free to bookmark the page, or print it out for easy reference.

When you’re initiating email contact with someone new

Very formal

“Might I take a moment of your time…” (to begin the email)

“Please may I introduce myself…” (to begin the email)

“Many thanks again for your time.” (to end the email)

More informal/friendly

“I’m just emailing to ask…” (to begin the email)

“I’m a friend of Bob’s…” (to begin the email)

“Just let me know if you have any questions.” (to end the email)

“Drop me an email, or give me a ring, if you want any more information.” (to end the email)

When you’ve answered someone’s question(s)

Very formal

“I trust the above resolves your queries. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.”

More informal/friendly

“I know that’s a lot to take in, so let me know if anything I’ve said doesn’t make sense.”

“Hope the above helps, but email again if you’re still having any difficulties.”

When you’re asking the recipient to take some action

Very formal

“I would appreciate your help in this matter.”

More informal/friendly

“Could you look into this?”

“Would you mind checking it out for me?”

“Thanks in advance.”

“Can you get back to me once you’ve had a chance to investigate?”

“I’d love to hear your advice on this one.”

When you need a response (but not necessarily any action taking)

Very formal

“I await a response at your earliest convenience.”

More informal/friendly

“Can you drop me a quick word so I know you’ve received this?”

“Look forward to hearing from you.”

When you’ve heard nothing back and want to chase up a reply

Very formal

“In reference to my email of June 20th …”

More informal/friendly

“Just wondered if you got my email (June 20th)?”

“When you get a moment, could you drop me a line about my last email?”

Do you have any favourite stock phrases that you use in your work emails? Add yours in the comments!

Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business Emails