My Writing on Medium

Access all my top articles and stories right here

photo by Mariacristina photography

I'm 1.95m tall, write books and I can fly.
(One of these statements may be false.)

Hi, I'm Phil - a writer and an educator from the UK. Currently, I live in Spain, and I help multilingual writers build authority and charge more.

If you’d like to read about my journey to becoming a writing coach, check out the following article:

Why I became a language coach
(Language Hub)

If you want to know a few of my weird secrets, read 10 Things About Me (A Smiling World)

On Medium, I publish articles about the English language, literature, the craft of writing, and I publish original stories and poetry too. Access the stories via the links below (publication in brackets).

The English Language

• The Ultimate Editing Checklist for International Writers
• How Dedicated Writers Boost Vocabulary Every Day (The Writing Cooperative)
• Are Traditional Language Schools Dying? (Language Hub)
• (Book Review) Creative Multilingualism: A Manifesto (Read to Learn)
• Technical Corner: Stop Getting Apostrophes Wrong! (The Shortform)
• Technical Corner: Let’s Get Hyphens Right
• Technical Corner: When to Capitalise Words (The Shortform)
• Technical Corner: Subject-Verb Agreement
• Technical Corner: Avoid the Dreaded Comma Splice (The Shortform)
• Technical Corner: What are Parallel Structures?
• Technical Corner: Countable or Uncountable (Illumination)
• Technical Corner: Do you Know ALL the Comma Rules? (Synergy)
• We All Share the English Language (A Smiling Word)
• Top 4 Errors From Multilingual Writers — Plus All the Quick Fixes (Language Talk)

The Craft of Writing:

• The Three Keys to Writing a Memorable Bio (New Writers Welcome)
• Stop Using Overly Academic Linking Terms (The Hub)
• Show vs Tell (The Shortform)
• Why Persuading the Reading and Inspiring Your Audience are not the Same (Synergy)
• Using Grammarly Won’t Make you a Better Writer (New Writers Welcome)
• Choose the Right Outfit for your Writing: The 4 Levels of Writing Formality (The Hub)
• Sonic Writing: Do Your Words Sing Sweet Music or Hit the Wrong Note? (The Writing Cooperative)
• How to Format Your Writing to Maximise Your Chances of Success (New Writers Welcome)
• Writing Faster is not about Concentration or Hard Work (Three Minute Thoughts)
• Why Writers Must Vary Their Writing Style + how to do it (The Writing Cooperative)
• Razor-Sharp Writing: 7 Clear-Cut Methods to Trim Your Sentences (New Writers Welcome)
• Building the Perfect Writing Structure One Layer at a Time (The Writing Cooperative)
• Don’t Write a Word Until You’ve Nailed Your Plan (Synergy)
• The Ideas Factory: From Creative Spark to Fully Charged (New Writers Welcome)
• Hook the Reader without Using Clickbait Headlines (The Writing Cooperative)
• Storify Your Blogs: 3 Ideas You Can Use Today (Thought Thinkers)
• 5 Swift Tips for Writing Short Stories (Writing101)

The Writing Industry

• LinkedIn vs Medium for Freelance Writers in 2023 (New Writers Welcome)
• Is this the Platform Young Authors Have Been Waiting for? (Synergy)
• The Writing Robots are Taking Over (Predict)
• Why I’ll Never Write for Money Again (Synergy)
• Why I Hate the Word Content (Writing 101)
• Why Do We Still Play Chess? (Thought Thinkers)
• Why Niche Writers Earn More (New Writers Welcome)
• Writing on LinkedIn is a Pyramid Scheme (The Writing Cooperative)
• 5 Sizzling Post Ideas for Freelance Writers (Writing 101)
• Why Can’t I Find a Well Paid Writing Job? (Writing 101)
• Find Your Tribe: Why Every Writer Should Join a Community (The Writing Cooperative)
• One Tip to Revolutionize Your Content Design (The Shortform)
• Six Skills Pro Writers Need to Avoid the Chopping Block in 2024 (New Writers Welcome)
• Turn Clunky into Funky (Writing 101)
• The Roadmap to a Rock-Solid Writing Business
• How NOT to Introduce Yourself as a Writer on LinkedIn (Writing 101)

Humour

• Nine and a Half Comedy Techniques Which (Might) Make Readers Laugh (New Writers Welcome)
• Increase your Writing Productivity by 350% (Thought Thinkers)
• My Top 5 Favourite Writing Jokes (The Shortform)
• Top 10 Things about Me (A Smiling World)
• The 7 most overused words on LinkedIn (The Shortform)
• Sarcasm Saved My Life: How to write funny on LinkedIn (New Writers Welcome)
• A-Z of Awful Marketing Buzzwords (Thought Thinkers)
• Stack Funny on Top of Funny: more tips on writing funny slideshows (New Writers Welcome)
• The Art of Totally Ignoring Vanity Metrics (Thought Thinkers)
• My Epic Quest for a LinkedIn Top Voice Badge

The World of Literature:

• The Rise of the NiFs (The Writing Cooperative)
• The Rise and Fall of the Short Story (Irrelevant Matters)
• What Exactly is Time? (Irrelevant Matters)
• The Unbreakable Bond Between Short Stories and the Natural World (The Writing Cooperative)
• My Creative Muse is Divorcing Me. How can I win it Back? (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• Never Let Your Story Ideas Escape — Part 1, Part 2 (Writing 101)
• 3 Engaging Types of Short Fiction to Read in 2024 (Thought Thinkers)

Original Stories and Poetry

• Raft (The Lark)
• The Great Inversion (The Shortform)
• The Seventh Day (Pure Fiction)
• Rings Around the Palms (The Lark)
• Peloton (The Journal of Radical Wonder)
• Satellite of Love (Pure Fiction)
• Two Nights Only (The Lark)
• Two Passengers (Total Fiction)
• An Ode to Procrastination (The Lark)
• Home Invasion (The Journal of Radical Wonder)
• The Change (Three Minute Thoughts)
• Spanish Soldiers (The Lark)
• Frozen Stiff (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• Overlooking the Lake (Pure Fiction)
• Saudade (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• Dog on a Balcony. No Dog on a Balcony (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• A Difference in Temperature (The Journal of Radical Wonder).
• How to Make a Ford Mondeo Fly (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• Bin Day (Writing101)
• Herr Friedrich’s Fabulous Kabarett (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• One Hundred and Thirty-Five Seconds (The Journal of Radical Wonder)
• The Little Shop of Babalawo Eugenio (Pure Fiction)
• Godfrey Loses His Voice (The Fiction Writers’ Den)
• A Simulation (Lit Up)
• Energy, Death, and Treasure in Future Algeria (Predict)

Philip Charter is a writing coach from the UK who works with multilingual content writers. Download his free writing tips eBook, How to Become a Proficient English Writer.

He is the author of two collections of short fiction and Fifteen Brief Moments in Time, a novella-in-flash.

Please feel free to connect on LinkedIn or get in touch via email.