#BookExcerpt

Using Pen and Paper Works: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

May 26, 2022
2 min

Using Pen and Paper Works: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

There are so many writing tools at our fingertips right now that it's easy to forget what inspired us to get ideas out of our heads in the first place: good old-fashioned pen and paper. I had this conversation a few days ago with a lady named Michelle. She, too, is an avid writer and self-proclaimed grammar nerd. And while sharing stories about how we each developed a passion for what we do, she asked how I prefer to start the writing process. "Do you go straight to your lapt

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Writing and Procrastination: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Mar 3, 2022
3 min

Writing and Procrastination: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

I found an article about writing and procrastination that suggested writers are the worst procrastinators. The author even admitted – or perhaps embellished for the sake of the piece – that she checked email 3,000 times and found herself engaging in numerous Twitter battles and other nonsense in the course of writing that one article. She's not wrong. Everyone procrastinates, whether with home, work, school, relationships, or something else. And that includes writers. After a

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Recording Your Interviews: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Feb 10, 2022
2 min

Recording Your Interviews: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

In January, a veteran journalist crafted a Twitter post telling other writers to stop recording most of their interviews. In her opinion, recording interviews with sources for your articles is both time-consuming and leads to an over-reliance on quotes. She called it her #journalismtipoftheday. Her tweet was met with wide-sweeping disagreement in the form of roughly 1,200 replies and nearly 2,500 quote tweets. I, too, respectfully disagreed. Recording your interviews: Ensures

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What I Learned While Writing My Book, Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Jan 20, 2022
3 min

What I Learned While Writing My Book, Write Like You Mean It

While watching a few author interviews several years ago, I couldn't help but marvel at how smooth the conversations were. It didn't matter what question was asked or which random direction the discussion went. They knew every inch of their book like the back of their hand. They recited specific passages from memory – as if they had the book open in front of them. They didn't stutter, stammer, or trip themselves up out of sheer nervousness. How could this be? Well ... beyond

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Writing in the Active Voice: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Jan 6, 2022
2 min

Writing in the Active Voice: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

A friend told me the other day that he keeps getting in trouble at work for writing his reports in the passive voice. Granted, no one expects him to be a professional writer, but that hasn't stopped his boss from pleading with him to start writing in the active voice. My reaction when he told me was, "Good for your boss!" Everyone should know the difference between active and passive voice. With active voice, the subject in the sentence acts upon its verb. With passive voice,

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A Few Quick Words on Rejection: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Dec 23, 2021
2 min

A Few Quick Words on Rejection: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

What in the world am I doing writing about rejection right before Christmas? What a downer! But hear me out because not a day goes by where a new writer or a veteran trying something new isn't dealing with or worried about having something they've written get rejected by a publishing house, newspaper, magazine, online site, etc. Writers get told "no" a lot, which can be especially hard during the holidays. I wrote a few quick words on rejection in my new book, Write Like You

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A Wish List for My New Book, Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Dec 16, 2021
3 min

A Wish List for My New Book, Write Like You Mean It

Writing my new book, Write Like You Mean It, wasn't as difficult as initially imagined. Finding a publisher who was just as eager to see the finished product – also not too difficult. Promoting my new book and getting it into everyone's hands? Well, that's a bit different. Friends have enjoyed teasing me for becoming that guy who walks around with a box of books on his hip ... a "traveling book salesman" of sorts. And they're not wrong. Without fail, I have them on hand every

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Writers Want To Get Published: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Dec 9, 2021
3 min

Writers Want To Get Published: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

When you're a writer, your goal is to get published. I know ... that's not exactly "mindblowing news," is it? That's like saying basketball players have a goal of putting the ball in the net, or a lawyer's goal is to win their first case. Of course, we want to get published. As I said in my book, Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word, "to write like you mean it also means to write like you mean it to be read." And that's true for any writer – reg

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Are Book Introductions Worth Reading? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Nov 24, 2021
3 min

Are Book Introductions Worth Reading? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Since the day that my book, Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word, was published, I've had this irrational fear that no one will read the introduction. Why read the intro? Just curl up by the fire and jump right into Chapter 1. And then Chapter 2. And Chapter 3. And so on ... I didn't always read book introductions when I was younger. And it was for the same reasons: I simply couldn't wait to dive into whatever it was that the author was t

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Tell a Story People Want to Read: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Nov 18, 2021
3 min

Tell a Story People Want to Read: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

I was approached recently by a gentleman who was writing a book about poverty. A few of his goals were to shine a light on the epidemic, pepper his first chapter or two with a slew of sobering statistics, and then dive into how he's been getting people out of poverty for good. As he handed it to me, he admitted that what he had so far was too clinical and certainly not something someone would read cover to cover unless they were forced to. It was missing something, and it was

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How Do You Become the Next Great Fiction Writer? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Nov 11, 2021
2 min

How Do You Become the Next Great Fiction Writer? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

In last week's blog, I wrote that my mom has always wanted me to write a children's book. And who knows ... maybe I will someday. I'm certainly not against it – it's just that now is not that time. Do you know who did, though? My father-in-law, Dennis. That's right. In 2018, long before I even thought about writing my first book, Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word, Dennis published a book he'd been sitting on for the better part of 20 years.

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Write That Nonfiction Book Today: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Nov 4, 2021
3 min

Write That Nonfiction Book Today: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

For years, my sweet, loving mother bugged me to write a book. She'd seen my Gamel Funny Farm blogs and laughed until her sides hurt listening to me and my wife share what was going on in our world with the kids. Naturally, she insisted I write a children's book. Now, I get it ... it's smart to say, "Yes, mommy," and follow through on anything your mother says. But not for this one. I mean ... maybe someday I'll write a children's book. But not yet. I had my eyes on nonfiction

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What Is a Writing Chameleon? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Oct 28, 2021
2 min

What Is a Writing Chameleon? An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

I spent the early days of my career writing about sports. And boy, did I ever jump in with both feet! I covered games for the local newspaper every Friday night. I also wrote athlete profiles and feature articles and even uncovered my share of breaking news pieces. Sports writing was fun – and it was ALL I wanted to write about. As time went by, I began to think a little differently. I still loved being a sportswriter. I was just at a game the other night, in fact. But I want

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Overcome Your Fear of Writing: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Steve Gamel

Oct 21, 2021
4 min

Overcome Your Fear of Writing: An Excerpt From Write Like You Mean It

Have you ever written something and been too scared to share it? Do you have what you feel are great stories sitting in piles of spiral notebooks that have never seen the light of day? Are you fearful of the 5,325,001 terrifying outcomes of letting a stranger read your work? You're not alone. Writers of all experience levels and walks of life are burdened by fear every day. We know it's simply part of the creative process, and yet, so many of us let it hold us back – time and

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