Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

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How to Write Great Dialogue: A Masterclass from Thriller Writer Eric Ambler

Published August 25, 2023 | Last Updated August 26, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 2 Comments

Photo by cottonbro studio

Dialogue is tricky to write. If it isn’t done well, it can slow down the entire narrative of a story, boring readers to tears. In real life, people will pull up a chair and just talk and talk. But if this happens too often in a story, it won’t make for a fascinating read.

Instead, dialogue becomes much more engaging when characters are doing something while speaking. That something could be anything: cooking a meal, eating a meal, cleaning up after the meal, dancing in the kitchen once it is clean. You get the picture.

I recently came across a wonderful example of this in a 1938 novel by Eric Ambler, Epitaph for a Spy. Ambler is regarded as having invented the modern suspense novel, bringing a realism to the spy genre. As a fan of film noir movies (I’ve seen several films based on Ambler’s work), I decided to pick up this book.

Here’s the story: Josef Vadassy is staying at the Hotel de la Reserve on the French Riviera, hoping to enjoy a few days of relaxation before returning to his language teaching job in Paris. However, when the camera film he drops off to be developed reveals photographs he has not taken of nearby naval defenses, the police arrest him. In order to prove his innocence, he must discover who is the true spy at his hotel.

This was a fun summer read. Since it is one of the very first spy novels, it does read more like a whodunnit, and the plot is a little contrived at the end. There are also conversations where a character will monologue and tell his entire life story in one chapter. This was a convention of the time. (I actually enjoyed them!) Despite these shortcomings, there are many skillfully written parts.

In one, Vadassy tries to question a guest named Schimler to find out if Schimler owns a camera. The dialogue takes place during a game of billiards and is an excellent masterclass in how to interweave dialogue with action. Let’s see how Ambler uses this backdrop to make the conversation as fast and tense as the game.

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Filed Under: featured, writing

How to Self-Publish a Book (Part 2): Launching a New Website!

Published August 11, 2023 | Last Updated August 14, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 2 Comments

Photo by Leyre Labarga

Hello, fellow writers!

It’s been several months since my last update about my self-publishing adventure. However, I am excited to report that I’ve spent those months working hard to get a new site built and start implementing the first steps of my self-publishing marketing plan.

Now I’m ready to pull back the curtain and reveal it to all of you! 

First, be sure to check out my previous post (chapter 1 of this adventure) for all the background details about my book and my marketing strategy. 

My goal with this series of posts is to share my experiments. I’m looking forward to seeing what works and what doesn’t with self-publishing and marketing a book. I’m hoping that this can help other writers who want to build an audience and more effectively market their work too. 

Let’s dive in.

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Filed Under: featured, inspiration, marketing, writing

Powerful Productivity Strategies of Famous Writers

Published July 22, 2023 | Last Updated July 22, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi Leave a Comment

Does it ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day for everything that you want to accomplish?

You want to write a novel or short stories or blog posts or start a daily writing routine, but right now you’re just too busy?

You’re not alone.

Even the most prolific writers struggled with the problem of only having twenty-four hours in a single day.

However, they knew how to optimize their time and work efficiently so they could finish their writing projects and share their stories with the world.

Read on to discover the productivity strategies of Ernest Hemingway, Agatha Christie, John Steinbeck and many other successful writers that will help you to supercharge your writing productivity and inspire more people with your words. 

I’ve also made a video version of this blog post that you can watch below:

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

How to Self-Publish a Book in 2023: Part 1

Published March 10, 2023 | Last Updated March 11, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 5 Comments

Photo by Mikołaj on Unsplash

Back in January, I shared my writing goals for 2023 and what I was planning for this website and my YouTube channel this year. 

One of my goals was to finally take the first steps towards self-publishing a book. (I like the term “indie publishing” better, but I’m using the term “self-publishing” for SEO reasons).

This book will be the first I ever self-publish. So, as I wrote in my January post, I’ll be focusing on researching and experimenting to find out what works and what doesn’t. Then I’ll share what I learn here on the blog. I’m excited for this adventure, and I hope you will enjoy reading these updates and find them helpful.

In February, I began working on planning out a marketing strategy. While my book is a novel, I believe these strategies can be used for a nonfiction book as well. 

I’ll break these down into steps for those of you who also want to self-publish a book or more effectively market a traditionally published book. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into chapter one of my indie publishing adventure.

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Filed Under: creativity, featured, marketing, writing

The Future of Blogging + My Writing Goals for 2023

Published January 29, 2023 | Last Updated February 1, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 2 Comments

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

I sent this blog’s very first email newsletter way back in 2016. That’s seven years ago! 

A lot has changed in the blogging world since then. In fact, it was just around that time that video was rising in popularity, and people were beginning to ask whether blogging was dying.

Funnily enough, Vine (the popular short form video platform at the time) did end up dying. But short form video did not. Instagram reels, Tik Tok videos, and YouTube shorts have become all the rage.

So, seven years later, is blogging dead? 

I have to admit that I’ve worried over that question. It has seemed that people have been losing interest in blogging over the years. Many of the bloggers I knew back in 2016 have long stopped blogging. Even I started creating YouTube videos in addition to my blog posts.

However, over the past year or so I’ve sensed a shift.

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Filed Under: blogging, creativity, featured, marketing, 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.
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“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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