Interview with Lynda McDaniel, author of "Words at Work"

1. What is the latest book or movie that made you cry? It’s not a new movie, but I recently saw it again. Shopgirl by Steve MartinSteve Martin. I think the movie worked even better than the book. It’s a very touching look at love, warts and all.
2. What fictional character is most like you? Delia Grinstead in Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler. The whole idea of running away and starting over is so intoxicating to me. I’ve done it at least three times in my life. I still find it an interesting notion, though I like where I am now in my life.
3. What is the greatest album ever? Beethoven’s Ninth, Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. Beethoven’s egalitarian politics ring out loud and clear.
4. Ok, Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter? Star Wars. It was the first and best. I saw it after a long trans-Atlantic flight. I didn’t want to go. It dazzled me in a way I still remember all these years later.
5. What is your ideal brain food? Tea and cakes at 4:00 p.m. I spent quite a bit of time in England, and afternoon tea is magical. Simple ingredients elevated to luxury through tradition, bone china, and the blessing of a quiet break in the day.
6. What accomplishment are you most proud of and why? Words at Work won the top award in the National Best Books 2009 Awards (in category of writing/publishing). I wrote this book (my fifth) from my heart—a way to share lessons I learned the hard way in order to help others have it a little easier. I couldn’t get it published traditionally, so I self-published. That meant I could make it exactly the way I wanted. The fact that it’s earning critical acclaim from Kirkus and other reviewers and now has won an award is particularly gratifying.
7. You want to be remembered for....? Being a loyal—and fun—friend.
8. Of those who've come before, the most inspirational are? Brenda Ueland, author of If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit. More than any other book, this book inspired me to both honor my own creativity and learn how to improve upon it. Brenda is amazing. She lived earlier in the 20th century, but I use present tense because she still seems so alive. Her words jump off the page. I could hear her voice in my head as I wrote Words at Work—and I hope I succeeded in sharing the same kind of inspiration and encouragement with my readers. Also Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and the classic, On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
9. The creative masterpiece you wish bore your signature? The Given Day by Dennis LehaneDennis Lehane. Everything a book should be: beautifully written, intriguing, engaging, and best of all redemptive.
10. Your hidden talents are? Collage artist – working with my hands is especially fun after so much head work while writing. Also cooking – Just as I don’t like ho-hum writing, I don’t like boring meals.

Lynda McDaniel loves to get people fired up about writing. Whether she’s coaching, training, or writing books, she digs into her satchel of proven techniques and personal experiences to help them increase their confidence and catapult their creativity. As they work together, her clients can better access their own problem-solving and creative-thinking skills and draw from their strengths and stories—the ones that set them apart from the rest and help them excel at work.

In August 2009, Lynda published her latest book, Words at Work: Powerful business writing delivers increased sales, improved results and even a promotion or two. It draws on her lifetime of writing books, articles, and business documents with essays and instruction. More than how to dot Is and cross Ts, Words at Work teaches readers how to think big and write big. It explores how to mine their creativity and write their ideas in an organized and compelling way so that they can persuade, sell, teach, improve, guide, explain, change, contribute, motivate, praise, recommend, propose, and create.

Her next book is entitled Words at Work-Book. The companion to Words at Work, it takes readers deeper into the fundamentals of good writing. (Available fall 2009.) Too often today, business writing is like the literary equivalent of fast food: slapped together, full of fat, and hard to digest. Through interesting, short quizzes, and fun exercises, readers refresh their understanding of grammar, punctuation, and style. And by the time they finish Words @ Work-Book, they’ll be ready to write letters that get results, documents that demand attention, and proposals that persuade.

In 2005, she created and produced Compelling Communications©, a series of business-writing seminars. Her coaching and seminar clients include the City of Seattle, Cutter & Buck, First ChoiceFirst Choice Health, Kroll Security, Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seneca Real Estate Group, Sound Inpatients Physicians, T-Mobile, U.S. Small Business Administration, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington, and YMCA.

She brings bring more than 25 years of writing experience to her seminars, presentations and books. National companies I’ve written for include DuPont, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Her long career as a journalist includes feature articles for magazines and newspapers such as Law & Politics, Associations Now, Southern Living, Country Living, Yoga Journal, University of Chicago Magazine, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, guideposts.com, andwashingtonpost.com.

Lynda spent years learning how to write and tell great stories, and she loves to share all the tools and tips she’s learned along the way. And she still writes, every day. She has an unflagging commitment to both the science and art of writing. www.lyndmcdaniel.com and www.lyndamcdaniel.com/blog.asp. Or www.afcbw.com

In her latest book—Words at Work: Powerful business writing delivers increased sales, improved results, and even a promotion or two—Lynda McDaniel shares tools and techniques she developed over her long career as a writer and business writing coach.

Not taught in school

Words at Work helps fill in the gap between what’s taught in school and what’s needed on the job. Many topics covered in Words @ Work are very different from those in most business writing books.

Like these five unique ways to improve business writing:

Eureka!—Tap into your creativity in just 10 minutes to improve your writing—and your career.

· Stories—Tell tales and keep your audience captivated. Stories appeal to our emotions, which is what makes us buy. Not selling anything? Think again. Everything we write is a sales piece.

· Projection—Pay attention to your thoughts about others—they’re telling you something important about your hopes, your dreams, and your writing.

· Deconstruction—Borrow from the best to make your writing better. Study the work of professional writers to learn how to make your own writing sing.

· Bad writers just stopped too soon—Edit in short, sharp bursts rather than one longer session. With each shorter session, your brain helps you find more mistakes and misstatements.

Step by step

Each chapter starts with a short essay from McDaniel’s life that illustrates a key issue about the writing process. The rest of the chapter includes detailed explanations and examples about that issue. Topics include:

· Listen to your gut

· Write for your readers

· Overcome the fear of starting

· Write fast first drafts

· Tap into your creativity

· Edit your way to success, to name a few