Dear Professor Write-A-Lot, How should I address an editor in an email?
The same way one would address any stranger: Dear Ms. Smith or Dear Mr. Jones. Such courtesies make one sound professional. After the relationship is established, the formality is dropped. Dear Professor Write-A-Lot, I am grateful to now have the time to write the Great American Novel, but when I walk away from it, I have a hard time getting back into it. Do you have any tips on staying motivated? This question recalls a conversation with the editor of this very ezine. She possesses an unique way of maintaining motivation, and I’ve asked her to share it here. Elizabeth, if you will… Well, I don’t know how unique it is, but this is what I do. When I begin a new project, I assign it a soundtrack. For instance, I am now in the midst of writing a psychological thriller and the score I’ve chosen comes from Tim Burton’s film Sleepy Hollow. The composer, Danny Elfman, creates an ambiance thick with haunting suspense. That, I feel, makes my prose hauntingly suspenseful. I listen to this CD o
