First Lens Mentor: Squidoo Tips--How to Write an Essay or Lens Excellently
Ranked #219 in Squidoo Tips, #32,937 overall
The Best Squidoo Lenses are Written with Original Content
The best Squidoo lenses are written with original content, research, and are written from the heart of the author. Squidoo lenses rise to the top when they are compelling reading on just about any topic that you choose; the topic just has to be one that truly interests you.
This lens describes the steps that you need to take to create an excellently written essay or lens. This process works on Squidoo, but will also work in any other format. I am also going to include links to lenses that I feel are great examples of what I am illustrating here, so that you can look at different writing styles, and topics. If you have any questions, feel free to add them in the questions section at the end.
Pictured above left: Excellent Writing Lures Us In--Naughty Kitty in Fish Bowl
Excellent Writing is Colorful
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Coloring Book Collections
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If you love to color or your kids enjoy coloring, there are thousands of web sites with free printable coloring books and coloring sheets to print and color in. You can find a coloring book with a picture of almost anything you wish to color: cartoon...
Write From Your Heart
Invest yourself in your writing, because the result will be well worth the time invested. Make your writing personal. Let us know what makes this particular topic so important to you. Why do we as readers want to spend our few spare moments of time reading your article? Write what you feel.
How Do You Choose What to Write About?
Write about what you already know or research a topic thoroughly
You can either choose to write about a topic that you are already familiar with and well versed in or choose a topic to research thoroughly. If you write about a topic you already know about, you will only have to do minimal research. You can draw on your experiences with the topic, what you have learned, and what you would do the same or differently.
If you choose to research a topic, do so thoroughly. Do not just copy and paste information from another website. People get around the web, and they are looking for new information. They want to read your take on the subject.
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Carnival of Squid: July 2009
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The Carnival of Squid highlights the best lenses on a specific topic for the day. I'm looking for your best submissions and for you to vote for your favorites. The top vote getters will be featured on the Carnival blog each week, along with a Barker'...
Excellent Writing is Fun
How to Write an Essay
How to Write an Essay
Amazon Price: $11.65 (as of 11/30/2009)
Review by Kathi Wyldeck
This book is a great mixture of writing lessons, model essays and topics for writing practice. Narrative, informative, persuasive and literary essays are all covered, plus information on how to present on-screen data, how to write a resume and how to write a job application letter. There are also notes on writers' techniques, as well as lessons and practice in prose and poetry analysis.
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Write Original Content
Make sure that you contribute something of yourself
Writing Down the Bones:
Freeing the Writer Within
Readers are looking for true expertise on a subject. They want to read your article and learn something new. They want to hear your opinion, laugh at your jokes, or feel for your situation.
Readers respond to your personality, your emotions, and your passion when you write. The more you can pour of yourself into your writing, the better the response will be.
Tell people why you like or dislike this topic, why you chose to write about it. How does the topic affect you, the author. Share a bit of yourself with every essay, every lens.
Even if you have permission to copy content, it is not a good idea. Here is a great post to tell you why Why Not Copy/Paste Content? I Have Permission from Squidlog by Drifter.
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Drifter's Tales
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Out from under the murky sludge of his past and into the light of the living, the creature crawls. Using the powers of the Ancients, he smites indifference and the wanton abuse of the human nature that drives some to just slide by. This is Drifter's...
Excellent Writing is Intriguing
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Our goldfish swims upside down
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One of our goldfish swims upside down! The first time I knew of it I heard a little voice ask "Mummy, why is the goldfish swimming upside down?" Oh-oh. That doesn't sound good. Is it going to be tears before bedtime? When I saw this upside down gold...
Create a Reading Experience for Your Audience
Draw them into the subject with you
On Squidoo, there are so many opportunities to allow people to interact. My personal favorite interaction module is the Duel module which allows readers to offer their opinions or debate an issue. Let them tell you what they think to add interest or a lively discussion to your lens. It helps if you ask them a specific question, so that they can really get into the discussion.
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A Trip to a Chinese Wet Market
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Although there are modern supermarkets in China, the absolutely freshest meat and vegetables are to be found at the open air wet markets. I'm going to take you on a virtual field trip to some wet markets in ordinary Chinese towns. Put on some sturdy...
The College Guide to Essay Writing
The College Guide to Essay Writing
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 12/01/2009)
Review
In her book, "The College Guide to Essay Writing',Jill Rossiter begins by stating, "The ability to communicate effectively in writing is a vital skill."
How very true.
Her book is masterful in solving the mysteries of lucent writing in a simple organized manner. Everything she recommends is worthwhile considering before putting pen to paper.
"Know Your Audience" is an admonition that is important in writing as well as in speaking. She breaks down this topic, as she does the other topics, in an easy, understandable way.
I wish I had this concise book when I was attempting to write when in college. It would have made writing a far richer and certainly a more pleasant experience.
I strongly recommend this book.
Harry Chinchinian M.S., M.D.
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Excellent Writing is Fantastical
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Make Your Own Fairy Wings
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The most essential part of any fairy costume or persona is a really great pair of wings! Fairy wings are good for costume parties, conventions, gatherings, street fairs, parades, Halloween, May Day festivals, stage plays and rainy days. This lens will...
What is Your Opinion?
What makes a lens or an article worth your time to read?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byWhat I really like. . .
Donita_Marie says:
A well written article or story, with meaning and something I can learn. I find reading long drawn our paragraphs hard to enjoy. I like the facts, the emotion, and the shorter paragraphs. I can be drawn into almost any subject if it is interesting.
Posted August 17, 2009
kiwisoutback says:
The personal experience usually comes through in a great lens topic. You can tell when a lensmaster knows their stuff on that topic, and it usually comes from an actual experience that they've had.
Posted June 07, 2009
The_Party_Animal says:
I like to laugh when I read - I love to add humor in my work when I can. There is nothing better to giggle and smile when you read something. Although this can not be done in all types - it is my style and what I love to read.
Posted June 05, 2009
Jewelsofawe says:
I agree. I love a more personal lens and will usually read them.
Posted June 05, 2009
drifter0658 says:
I know soon after digging into a topic if I should continue or not. There has to be a passion which is fed by some opinion or experience.
Posted June 05, 2009
Stazjia says:
Some people write so well that I will be drawn into reading about a subject in which I'd normally have no interest. They do it by a combination of personality and expertise. Their personal interest shines through as does their experience of the subject. I've read many lenses on Squidoo about things I normally wouldn't care about and enjoyed what I've read. Sometimes enough to seek out more information.
Posted June 05, 2009
Heather426 says:
It has to be on a subject I am interested in, and I like the lens itself to be pretty. After that comes excellent writing...
Posted June 04, 2009
aj2008 says:
Original content, personal experiences and glimpsing the Lensmaster's "heart".
Posted June 04, 2009
My favorite thing is. . .
WhiteOak50 says:
I have found that if you try writing a lens on things that are not that important to you, they lack an energy. That is one reason I have deleted several lenses, and decided to write more about things I fully care about.
Posted June 05, 2009
Excellent Writing Tells a Story
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In A Flash - Our Burn Injury Story
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Poof!...in a flash, that's how long it takes for someones world to come to a crashing halt. For us it happened at 6:58 pm on August 6th 2002. For us it started with an argument over lasagna on a very hot day and a dead Robin that did a kamikaze on t...
How to Write
Offering practical advice in a lucid, no-nonsense style, How to Write will be ideal for both students and professional people who need to write during the course of their work.
Topic areas include:
How to begin, including prep work, producing drafts, and making outlines
Sentence construction, including word order, punctuation, and use of metaphors
Paragraph construction, including types of paragraphs, readability, and size reduction
Tips on research and using reference works
How to Write
Amazon Price: $8.54 (as of 12/01/2009)
Review
I had the great good fortune of studying with scholar and poet Alastair Fowler, and of experiencing this book when he offered aspects of it as a talk for graduate students. As soon as I learned it was a book I bought it. His insights are fresh and energizing, and he truly inspires one to write and to feel confident about it. Someone here suggested it's only for beginners, but I think that's balderdash (and I write for a living). Dr. Fowler's use of language may be (perhaps deceptively) clear, but his ideas have underpinned many a successful doctoral dissertation and well-written scholarly book.
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Writing Your First or Second Lens?
Here is a great place to start
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Making your First Lens Mentor
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EVERYBODY can Squidoo! You can too! It might take you an afternoon to 'get the hang of it', but that afternoon can be LOTS of fun. You don't need to be an expert in anything 'internet-y' to be able to build a beautiful, useful and successful Squido...
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Review
"On Writing Well belongs on any shelf of serious reference works for writers."
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 12/01/2009)
Review by Bob Dickson
When I opened this book the first time, I fancied myself a good writer. I had just landed a job as a copywriter, and I felt pretty good about myself. Then my boss walked into my office and dropped a copy of Zinsser's classic on my desk. "This is your first assignment," he said. So I read.
What a revelation! According to Zinsser, I was guilty of a multitude of sins: clutter, fuzzy thinking, poor usage, passive verbs, you name it. So I repented, and now I'm a disciple.
This book is as engaging as it is instructive. It's so easy to read and understand, you can't help but improve. It spells out everything that's wrong most people's writing, then provides simple solutions. You'll cut pounds of fat from your writing. Your sentences will sparkle and your paragraphs will dance. Best of all, your readers will read, not groan.
The book is billed for writers of nonfiction, but its benefits extend to all writers. If you enjoy writing, even if you hate to write but find yourself in a profession that demands it, this book will vastly improve your work. It should grace every writer's bookshelf, right next to Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" and Kilpatrick's "The Writer's Art."
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Excellent Writing Raises Questions
There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith
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Scarlet Widow
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I've always been a spiritual person, a person with strong faith, and have tried to live by the teachings of my church. I embraced the scriptures, even as a small child, believing that by being a good person, following the teachings, and accepting...
Don't Make Your Reader Slog Through Grammatical and Spelling Errors
You also undermine your authority if you don't care enough to proofread your work, and make it easy on your reader. Numerous errors are an easy way to turn off a reader.
How to Write. . .
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Excellent Writing is Passionate, Full of Emotion
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Living With Dysthymia | Chronic Low Grade Depression
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Since the time I was about 17 years old, I have been living with Dysthymia (depression), which is chronic low grade depression and anxiety. I was diagnosed with this condition in high school, but at that time, there was no treatment for dysthymia oth...
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher
After that he spent a decade at Yale University, where his office as master of Branford College was beneath a 44-bell carillon. At Yale he originated his famous "nonfiction workshop," which would launch the careers of many exceptional writers and editors. That course led to his classic book, On Writing Well, which he wrote during the summer of 1974 in a crude shed in Connecticut. In this new memoir Zinsser recalls the processes that went into creating that original edition and revising it over the next 30 years to keep pace with changes in the language and culture of America. His journey brings him back to New York City and to writing articles and books in quirky rented offices, one of which had a fire pole.
Written with humor and with gratitude for a lifetime of change and self-discovery, relishing a rich cast of characters that ranges from Yale's president Kingman Brewster to the actor Peter Sellers and the gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Writing Places never loses its anchor in the craft of writing-how writing is taught, learned and finally brought to a high level of enjoyment.
Writing Places: The Life Journey of a Writer and Teacher
Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 12/01/2009)
About the
As a writer, editor and teacher, William Zinsser continues to be a mentor to countless people who want to write with clarity and confidence. His 18 books include On Writing Well, which has sold almost 1.5 million copies. He lives in New York with his wife, Caroline Zinsser, and teaches at the New School and at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
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Excellent Writing Draws Our Attention
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Ancient Roman Recipes
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When we think of the food of Ancient Rome, it's usually images of huge banquets which come to mind. But there was a lot more to Roman food than exotic dishes served by slaves at orgies. Lavish feasts there were, but also perfectly ordinary meals,...
Break Up Your Subject Matter
Don't run on and on
Make your writing clear, and concise so that they can pick up your point easily, but assume that they are intelligent.
Writing online is more casual than a book. People don't want to stumble over fancy words. Talk to them as if they are standing in front of you or sitting beside you. Figure out who you are talking to (your target audience) then picture that person, and write to them. That makes the communication more personal between you and the reader.
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Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square
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This lens is a picture journal of transformation as we move our gallery, Lake Erie Artists Gallery from downtown Cleveland, Ohio to Shaker Square, our new home on the border of Shaker Heights and Cleveland. This is going to be a very exciting proces...
Excellent Writing Opens Our Mind to New Ideas
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50 Things You Can Recycle
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You've heard of people recycling everything from printer paper to your old jeans, but you can recycle nearly everything in your life. If it can't be reused, then it most likely can be recycled instead. Car batteries and tires? Yes, those can be recyc...
Excellent Writing Creates a Reputation and a Following
The better your writing, the more devoted a fan base you will have
On the internet, we can't really have "word of mouth" because we don't actually speak to each other, so it is more like "word of tweet" or "word of social networking" or "viral marketing." But it is all really the same thing. For those of us that are old enough, it is like the old commercial on TV, "then one friend tells another, who tells another."
This is exactly the same thing. People are social creatures. We talk, we gossip, and we "spread the word," whatever that word might be. Reputations are built one article at a time, one lens at a time. The better each one is, the more people will follow you and tell their friends about you.
Excellent Writing Makes Us Want to Read it Again and Again and Recommend it to Friends
What Does Excellent Writing Mean to You?
What do you do to write excellently or what do you want to do better?
All of us always have room for improvement on our work, as we become more experienced, we learn more, or new techniques become available. We are pressed for time, and do the best we can with the time and resources we have. What do you do to improve?
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- kimmanleyort kimmanleyort Oct 29, 2009 @ 9:15 am
- Excellent lens, Paula! I love how you have pointed to some of the best examples of writing on Squidoo. Valuable resource for all lensmasters.
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- sandyspider sandyspider Jun 9, 2009 @ 10:35 am
- Very helpful lens. Thanks.
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- Intuitive Intuitive Jun 8, 2009 @ 10:29 am
- Excellent writing actually makes me feel heard, even though I'm doing the reading, not the writing. It all takes me on a journey of self discovery and takes me into another world for a while.
Really well written lens. 5*
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- kiwisoutback kiwisoutback Jun 7, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
- Great idea, I need to make one of these for my mentoring as well. Gramatically, you can have a perfect lens, it can be well illustrated, and it can be well researched, but if isn't captivating from the first few sentences, you've lost them. Squid Angel blessed!
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- wyrm11268 wyrm11268 Jun 6, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
- What a beautifully written lens!
I too prefer to read lenses where you feel like a part of the writer shines through.
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- debnet debnet Jun 6, 2009 @ 6:44 am
- I love original content. Thanks for the tips Paula :)
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- Sylviane_Nuccio Sylviane_Nuccio Jun 5, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
- Very interesting lens. *****
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- BevsPaper BevsPaper Jun 5, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
- Very good advice and thank you so much for including my lens!
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- The_Party_Animal The_Party_Animal Jun 5, 2009 @ 5:05 pm
- I say make it fun!!! This was fun....5 Big ones 4 u
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- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Jun 5, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
- Love this lens!
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- drifter0658 drifter0658 Jun 5, 2009 @ 11:18 am
- The best writing is where the author begins the tale and the readers willfully finish it. I read that somewhere recently and think it's so true.
Another book I'd like to suggest is 'Writing Down The Bones' by Natalie Goldberg. This book has become my bible.
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- Jimmie Jimmie Jun 5, 2009 @ 6:54 am
- Thanks for featuring my Chinese Wet Market lens! What a nice surprise to see that on this excellent lens!
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- capriliz capriliz Jun 4, 2009 @ 11:46 pm
- Great advice. Very nicely done. Love your images!
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- Heather426 Heather426 Jun 4, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
- really nice lens! very helpful
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- ArtByLinda ArtByLinda Jun 4, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
- Excellent lens Paula, very well written!
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- aj2008 aj2008 Jun 4, 2009 @ 11:05 am
- Excellent writing is like spreading a meal in front of a guest. You want them to enjoy it and not leave the table feeling they have not enjoyed the experience!
Great lens Paula and I would like to see it added to a compulsory reading list for all Lensmasters! Blessings!
About lakeerieartists
Lensmaster lakeerieartists has been a member since June 5 2008, has rated 2,099 lenses, favorited 135, and has created 253 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "Making your First Lens Mentor". See all my lenses
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