Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

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F. Scott Fitzgerald on How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions (Video)

Published December 16, 2021 | Last Updated November 13, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 1 Comment

If you’re celebrating Christmas next week, I hope you have a lovely, joy-filled holiday. If you don’t celebrate or if this is a difficult time for you, I wish you peace and happiness this December.

And I have a writing gift for you — I’ve just uploaded a new YouTube video:

In this video, I look at how F. Scott Fitzgerald writes vivid physical character descriptions in The Great Gatsby. I share four strategies that will help you describe people in both fiction and nonfiction so they come alive for readers.

I hope you enjoy this last writing resource of 2021! Be sure to give it a like, leave a comment (comments are awesome), and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one in the new year.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

  • 📚 “The Great Gatsby” book: https://amzn.to/3pV3GF9 (affiliate link)
  • 🎬 Movie stills from “The Great Gatsby” 2013 film: https://amzn.to/3GMGCiD (affiliate link)
  • 🎥 Dinner Table Exercise (video): https://youtu.be/39XZzQrHfxY
  • 🎥 How to Close Read (video): https://youtu.be/VSwNF-wqL_I
  • 📝 Fitzgerald on Writing Masterful Dialogue: https://nicolebianchi.com/3-tips-fitzgerald-for-writing-masterful-dialogue/
  • 📝 Fitzgerald on Writing Masterful Descriptions: https://nicolebianchi.com/writing-vivid-description/
  • 📬 My email newsletter, The Inkwell: https://nicolebianchi.com/newsletter/

Some of the above links might be affiliate links. Thank you for helping to support the blog!

Filed Under: copywriting, featured, fiction, video, writing

Fun, Unique, and Useful Gift Ideas for Writers

Published December 15, 2021 | Last Updated April 11, 2024 By Nicole Bianchi 2 Comments

Photo by Joshua Lam on Unsplash

Happy December! The gift-giving season is here.

Maybe you’re looking for a special gift for a friend or family member who is a writer. Or maybe you’re looking for a gift for yourself. After all, it’s been a crazy year, and you deserve something special too.

In today’s post, I’ve put together a list of lots of different gift ideas that would be perfect for writers. I haven’t used all of them myself, but after reading the reviews, I am considering adding several to my own Christmas list. 😉

I’d love to hear in the comments if you have any other gift ideas to add — maybe a writing gadget you love and can’t live without.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: featured, inspiration, writing

How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo: 7 Helpful Resources

Published October 22, 2021 | Last Updated April 10, 2024 By Nicole Bianchi 4 Comments

Amelia Bartlett on Unsplash

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is nearly here. If you’ve never heard of NaNoWriMo before, it’s a 30-day challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November.

Now, that’s the official challenge, but I love adapting NaNoWriMo to my own writing goals. It’s a fantastic way to motivate yourself to make progress or get started on any writing project (fiction or nonfiction) that you’ve been procrastinating over.

I’ve put together this article rounding up lots of resources I’ve created over the years to help you crush your writing goals this upcoming month, whether you’re taking part in the challenge or not. Let’s dive in.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: creativity, featured, fiction, inspiration, motivation, productivity, writing

How to Quickly Write Fantastic Essays and Blog Posts: 8-Step Writing Process (Video)

Published October 17, 2021 | Last Updated October 17, 2021 By Nicole Bianchi 1 Comment

In this video, I share an 8-step process that will help you write a fantastic essay, article, or blog post fast, whether your deadline is in a few days or tomorrow morning. ✍️ 😅

I use this process for all of the nonfiction pieces I work on (blog posts, memoir essays, and more). If you have more time to work on your piece, you can devote more time to each step. I definitely recommend spending more time on your paper if you can. Often I’ll devote an entire day or more to each individual step if I’m not working on a tight deadline. Hope this video helps you!

I hope you enjoy the video! It would be awesome if you could give it a thumbs up and leave a comment on YouTube. This helps me know you are enjoying these videos. Do you have any more tips for writing a gripping inciting incident?

Also make sure to subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already!

I’ve just started making YouTube videos and really appreciate your support. I hope the video inspires you with your writing. Thanks for watching! 

**RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO**:

  • 🎥 Writing in Your Head Strategy (video): https://youtu.be/rH1Tpwb4WS0
  • 📝 Thesis Statement Formulas: https://nicolebianchi.com/one-sentence-synopsis
  • 📝 Timed Writing (Pomodoro Technique): https://nicolebianchi.com/anthony-trollope-timed-writing-strategy
  • 📝 7-Step Editing Checklist: https://nicolebianchi.com/edit-writing
  • 📚 ProWritingAid (affiliate link): https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=4955
  • 📬 My email newsletter, The Inkwell: https://nicolebianchi.com/newsletter/

Filed Under: blogging, featured, productivity, writing

How to Write a Powerful Inciting Incident (Video)

Published September 12, 2021 | Last Updated November 13, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 2 Comments

The inciting incident or “call to adventure” is the event that launches the main action of a story, whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction.

When your inciting incident is powerful and upends the life of your protagonist, you have one of the key ingredients for a gripping and unforgettable story that your readers won’t be able to put down.

In this video, I share three rules for crafting powerful inciting incidents and also look at mistakes to avoid when writing this critical part of your story.

I hope you enjoy the video! It would be awesome if you could give it a thumbs up and leave a comment on YouTube. This helps me know you are enjoying these videos. Do you have any more tips for writing a gripping inciting incident?

Also make sure to subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already!

I’ve just started making YouTube videos and really appreciate your support. I hope the video inspires you with your writing. Thanks for watching! 

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

  • 📚 Complete Playlist of Story Structure Videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2…
  • 📚 The Hero’s Journey (video): https://youtu.be/yYSTz1H6buc
  • 📚 The Ordinary World (video): https://youtu.be/VM9l1McnPbo
  • 📚 “Story” by Robert McKee: https://amzn.to/2OayIKC (Amazon affiliate link)
  • 📚 My email newsletter, The Inkwell: https://nicolebianchi.com/newsletter/

Some of the above links might be affiliate links. Thank you for helping to support the blog!

Filed Under: creativity, editing, featured, fiction, video, writing

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Hi, I’m Nicole! I help creatives, business owners, and writers take their writing and copywriting to the next level and grow their online audience. I’m also a published writer of essays and short stories. As a Christian, I seek to follow in the tradition of artists like Johann Sebastian Bach, dedicating all my work Soli Deo gloria.
Find out more about me here.
•••
“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”
– Psalm 45:1

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Nicole Bianchi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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