UnmemorableTitle.co.uk Launched

Dear All,

Thanks for reading my WordPress blog, and thanks very much for the kind feedback you’ve all left for me.

However, I’d like to announce that I’ve moved. You can now find me over at the Unmemorable Title SEO & Copywriting Blog

I hope to see you all there very soon!

Andrew

The Best Advice I Have For Young Writers

If I have just one piece of good advice to give any budding young writers, it’d be this – join the BBC’s h2g2 website. h2g2 won’t just help you become a better writer – it can help your career. The writing and html skills I picked up as a Guide Researcher helped me hone the skills I needed to land my last two jobs.

h2g2 is the brainchild of the late Douglas Adams, and was intended to be the “Earth Edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. Sort of a Wikipedia three years before the Wiki concept. Now it survives on the BBC website as a combination message board / writing workshop / Peer Reviewed encyclopaedia. It’s this combination that makes h2g2 such an attractive prospect for fledgling writers.

Community

A message board seems like a strange thing to tout as helpful to writers, but the h2g2 community is much more than just a forum. Regardless of what you choose to write, the community will be your audience. By interacting with other researchers, you’ll learn how to gauge what an audience is looking for from your pieces. Are they Edited Guide readers looking to be informed? Fiction readers looking to be entertained? Readers of the fortnightly newsletter who are looking for a little of both? If trying to work out just what this disparate group of users wants is a daunting task, don’t worry – the community isn’t just your audience. It’s also your teacher.

Writing Workshop

There’s nothing more dispiriting to the beginner (or indeed any writer) than having to thrust your latest piece under the noses of disinterested friends and family and hope that someone can give you helpful feedback. Having people who will read, evaluate and comment on your work is good for both writing style and morale. However, being able to smile while people tell you how wonderful and promising your pieces are is one thing – being able to take the harshest constructive criticisms they can throw at you is another. When your teacher turns critic, you’ll soon develop the thick skin needed to become a successful writer.

Peer Review

Every entry submitted to the Edited Guide must first pass scrutiny in h2g2’s Peer Review. Here the site’s sub editors, pedants and anyone passing through will dissect your work and let you know just what they think. However, constructive criticism is something every good writer has to take into account – and a pedantic sub editor is nothing compared to a paying client. By exposing yourself to harsh but fair criticism, you’ll be developing skills crucial to your career.

There is one final reason to take a look at this hidden gem – it’s not every day you get an opportunity to join a welcoming and friendly community who can help you fulfil your writing potential. So what are you waiting for? Don’t Panic! Dive in.