You learn so much from the process of analyzing the work of others. If you want to improve your own writing, find examples of the form that interests you and immerse yourself in it until something about its structure winds its way into your unconscious. Read writing that is popular, and try to figure out why it works.

If it is an anniversary or an event, submit your piece at least two weeks early.

When you decide that your personal details

But never fight with your audience. Anger needs to be a bonding mechanism, not something that creates a wall.

How fast or how slowly did the writer get to something we considered crucial?

Kill the jargon.

Starting with an apparent shared liberal understanding and then pointing out an example of how it was being contradicted was a smart way to go into a story.

The next time you are in a coffee shop, or the library, or watching a soccer game, look at the people. Listen to their conversations. Think about whether you’re seeing something you haven’t seen before.

You are more likely to believe what you already agree with.