by Margot Carmichael Lester | Dec 4, 2019 | Writing/How to Write
I'm superstitious and I'm always seeing "signs". I have to wear the same sweatshirt when Carolina plays basketball until we lose and then I switch. When I see a red-tailed hawk, I think it signals good luck. And when two good pieces about storytelling and a promo for...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Nov 15, 2019 | Blogs & Blogging, Writing/How to Write
One of my favorite things is teaching others to write more persuasively to advocate for the things they care most about. This weekend, I'm taking my show on the road to the North Carolina AIDS Action Network's annual conference, Building Power Across the Spectrum, in...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Oct 8, 2019 | Content & Content Operations, Writing/How to Write
October is Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month. In observance of that, here's an easy way to infuse more empathy -- a key component of emotional intelligence -- into your content. The Feelings Before & After Strategy helps us understand where our audience is...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Sep 11, 2019 | Writing/How to Write
September is Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month. Here are a handful of slide decks featuring the strategies and tips we employ here at The Word Factory and with our clients. These also are among my most popular training/presentation topics. Hit me up if you'd like...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | Jun 11, 2019 | Blogs & Blogging, Writing/How to Write
"What's one simple thing I can do to write better fast?" I get this question a lot and my answer is always the same: Cut. Ann Handley says everybody writes. I say everybody overwrites. In fact, Poynter's Chip Scanlon estimates that we all overwrite by 15-20%. Yes, all...
by Margot Carmichael Lester | May 28, 2019 | Writing/How to Write
A friend's brother recently contacted me for help creating a letter of interest for a new job. This is something I help clients with a lot. It's hard to write about ourselves -- even professional writers struggle with that. It's even harder when we have a huge...
