Writing Articles from the Heart: How to Write & Sell Your Life Experiences

I agree with the previous reviewer who found this book a little dated.However...that said, her one chapter, "Three Surefire Ways to Organize What You Have to Say " contains the most down-to-earth and ... well... *surefire* way of writing any kind of article that I have seen in any writing book. Period.In true cookbook fashion, Holmes will help you assemble your ingredients and stir them together in the most reliable way possible. As with any good recipe, there's plenty of room for creativity, but Holmes is there to coach you along the way.Of course, the price is probably on the high side, just for that one chapter. :-) But if you can see past her sentimentalism, there are plenty of other gems in here as well.I have written many articles using Holmes' formula(s), and I try to always check back with this one little chapter, just to make sure I'm on course. Time and again, I have found it has helped me smooth out my articles' rough edges and produce polished pieces I can show off with pride.

Some basic writing guidelines are timeless...and I think Marjorie Holmes proves that here. If you want to celebrate the wonderful "stuff" of your daily life and put it on paper then this book is for you. I teach a personal writing workshop using this book and it's always a hit.

This book gave me wonderful new insights into myself and my goal to help others learn from my mistakes and life experiences. I have always enjoyed keeping journals and diaries and now I have a new use for these records of my personal experiences. This book provides many wonderful but practical suggestions for identifying topics to write about, organizing your material before you write, identifying who to submit your work to for publication and much more. It also provides great information on writing technique. Chapters 11 & 12 identify the five fundamentals of all good creative writing and the basics of tone, focus and pace. Chapter 17 was very helpful, describing ways to identify potential publishers/editors to submit your work to. The basic premise underlying this book is similar to that described in Dale Carnegie's Quick and Easy Ways to Effective Public Speaking. He calls it the Magic Formula...talk about something you've earned the right to talk about (through personal experience or knowledge), begin with the incident, describe the action you want the listener (or reader in this case) to take, then list the benefits to the listener (reader) if they take that action. Writing Articles from the Heart is a wonderful book for novice and experienced writers and speakers.