Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How to Write Like John Steinbeck: Techniques for Powerful Prose

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Photo of John Steinbeck's book "Travels with Charley"

This summer, I read Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck. In this fascinating travelogue, Steinbeck blends truth with a touch of fiction as he recounts a 1960 road trip he took across the United States accompanied by his faithful poodle, Charley.

Steinbeck is a masterful writer. It was interesting to read his musings on the different states and see how he turns ordinary moments into memorable stories (though his description of the school protest in New Orleans was saddening). 

While reading, I wrote down any passages that particularly struck me with their eloquence. That helped me study them on an even deeper level and fully appreciate Steinbeck’s techniques for structure and style.

In today’s post, I’m sharing three passages where Steinbeck recounts his travels in New England during the fall. I thought they would be particularly fitting as I am returning to blogging here in September after taking a break from the blog over the summer. Tomorrow is the first official day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere!

Let’s see what techniques Steinbeck uses that we can steal to make our own writing more powerful.

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The Best Writing Advice from Famous Authors to Change Your Life (Video)

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Hi! I hope your writing projects are off to a fantastic start this September. After a summer break to re-energize my creativity, it’s great to be back to writing here.

The last time I wrote, I shared that I was working on a novel draft, having just hit the 52,000-word mark. I’m excited to report that the manuscript has now grown to nearly 70,000 words. It’s been quite a journey, and I’m eagerly writing the final pages. I’m hoping I’ll have some time in the upcoming weeks to share more about this project in a blog post.

In the meantime, I’ve also been busy working on a new video and just uploaded it to the YouTube channel. Watch it here or below.

Several years ago I wrote a blog post sharing the best writing advice I’d found from the letters of famous authors. I’ve adapted it for this new video. Discover inspiring advice from Louisa May Alcott, John Steinbeck, J. R. R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, T. S. Eliot, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Click on the CC button for subtitles if needed. I’d love for this video to inspire as many writers as possible. You can help by giving it a like on YouTube to encourage the algorithm to share it with more people. 

And I always love hearing your thoughts in the comments. Thank you!

I hope this video gives you a boost of motivation as we welcome a new season this month.

It’s the perfect time to revisit old projects (or start new ones!), reignite our creativity, and press on towards our goals with renewed enthusiasm as we race towards the end of the year.

In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

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Five of the Best Creative Writing Exercises (video)

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It’s been a few months since I last sent this email newsletter. I’ve been busy working on a novel draft (just reached 50K words!) and working on various projects for clients. I hope all of your writing projects have been going well too. 

But I did finally manage to put the finishing touches on a new video and just published it to YouTube (I hope you’ll find it helpful).

These exercises will help you practice essential skills like crafting vivid descriptions, writing effective dialogue, creating compelling characters, and much more.

You can click on the CC button for subtitles. I’d love for this video to inspire as many writers as possible. You can help by giving it a like on YouTube to encourage the algorithm to share it with more people. 

And I always love hearing your thoughts in the comments. Thank you!

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Jack London’s Strategies for Writing Success (Video)

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Jack London was one of the most popular American writers and the highest paid of the 1900s. In a 1903 article for “The Editor” magazine, he shared the secrets of how he learned to write, persevere, and become a famous author. Discover these secrets in this new video on the Youtube channel.

I previously shared London’s advice in a blog post, but now I have updated and expanded that post and turned it into this video.

You can click on the CC button for subtitles. I’d love for this video to inspire as many writers as possible. You can help by giving it a like on YouTube to encourage the algorithm to share it with more people. 

And I always love hearing your thoughts in the comments. Thank you!

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The 5 Best Passages From Books I Read in 2023: Steal These Powerful Writing Techniques

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Photo by Suzy Hazelwood

This past year, I read over twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction. Several of those books were amazing reads, others left me a little disappointed. But I learned something new from each one that helped me improve my own writing.

As I read, I tried to pay attention to how the authors implemented storytelling principles, how they handled transitions, how they crafted their opening sentences and concluding paragraphs, etc.

When I came across a paragraph that struck me with its eloquence, I wrote it down. That helped me study it on an even deeper level and absorb the author’s techniques for structure and style.

In today’s blog post, I’m sharing five of the best paragraphs (in no particular order) that I collected in 2023 and what I learned from them. Let’s dive in.

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