HeyJaredThe Writer's Guide
How-to writing advice, inspiration and one-on-one mentoring for academics, professionals, journalists, PIOs, bloggers and others who want to become more effective and efficient nonfiction writers.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 16
- Latest publication
- Oct 1, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Aug 18, 2026
Latest issues
Rewrite Your Bio in 20 Words or Less (Tiny Writing Challenge) (opens the original)
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Many writers are more than just writers. You might be a researcher or psychologist, perhaps an entrepreneur or a yoga instructor. Maybe you blog on the side about your profession or, just for the joy of it, you cultivate a gardening newsletter. Then again, perhaps you’re a full-time journalist, novelist or technical writer. Whatever you are, what are you? Let’s find out via this prompt:Without looking at your existing bio(s), write a new bio in 20 words or less.The goal: Communicate to your core
Dear Writer: Don’t Call Yourself a ‘Content Writer’ or ‘Content Creator’ (opens the original)
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Hey fellow writers. Ooh, I’m gonna ruffle some feathers with this one. But if a writer’s views don’t piss a few people off now and then, the writer doesn’t have much interesting to say. Starting arguments isn’t my goal, of course, but can be a byproduct of wading into topics worth writing about. —RobRecently I ran across a social media post from a self-described “aspiring content writer” who was contemplating his next blog post and asking for advice. I dropped him this suggestion:“Think about wh
The Delayed Lede (Tiny Writing Challenge) (opens the original)
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The delayed lede can be an effective story starter, sparking reader curiosity. It starts with a sentence or paragraph (or maybe a few grafs in a longish feature) that’s highly descriptive or suspenseful, definitely intriguing, maybe unexpected or offbeat, sometimes downright gripping. Those first lines could offer an anecdote, a compelling datapoint or historical perspective. It might sound totally mysterious. The beginning does not give away the premise, but leads readers into the actual lede,
How to Do Subheads Right (opens the original)
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Hey fellow writers. Oh, the irony! I expected this to be one of the easiest little how-to essays I’ve ever written, and it turned out to be a total bugger. I struggled more than usual with this piece, and ultimately had to seek my own advice on outlining and subhead-writing to wrestle it to the ground. Full disclosures below. —RobLast week I explained the purpose of outlines and offered a formula for creating the simplest version. The post ill
Generative AI Induces ‘Cognitive Surrender,” Undermining the Ability to Learn (opens the original)
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Hey fellow writers: This story might not seem like it’s about writing, but it totally is. Science reveals what happens when we let AI do our research, writing or other critical-thinking and creative tasks. Matters not if you’re a student or a professional user of words. The post is another in my series on Anthro Intelligence (ai). —Rob<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uLnf!,f_auto,q_auto
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