Turning Planning Upside Down

I don’t like planning. I’m not particularly spontaneous, but I’m not that skilled when it comes to planning either. I have to force myself to do it. 

Everything I read suggests planning should happen at the beginning, before writing. You know. You have an idea for an article. You work out the structure. You write down the main points and then you fill in the content later.

Or, for those of us who are more “visual”, there’s the mind map. Write words in colour, join them together, add some pictures. It’s still planning.

Problem is sometimes the ideas just aren’t there at the beginning. I look at my topic and try to think of the main points and my mind goes blank. In fact this is what happens to me most of the time. If I try to plan up front I end up with a piece of paper, one or two words, and I’m in a panic because I don’t have a clue what to put down as my main headings.

That said I have discovered a technique that works for me. I write, then plan, then write, then edit.

This is how it works:

•  A client commissions me to write on a certain topic or I have an idea for an article 

• I sit at my computer and start typing. I just put down all the things I can think of about the topic (and I admit, sometimes I get ideas for other articles. When this happens I open another document and dump them in there while I think of them.)

• When I run out of things to type I look at what I’ve written and, on a sheet of paper, write an outline. I work out which order my existing paragraphs need to go in and design an overview

•  As I’m doing the overview more ideas pop into my head and I include them. If I feel like writing about them straight away, I do that (no point in letting the muse escape)

• I look to see where there are gaps – what have I put in the overview that I haven’t written about, what do I need to research?

• I write the additional bits

• I put everything in order

• I have a cup of coffee (well, let me be honest here – I probably have more than one cup of coffee, I might watch an episode of my current favourite TV show, have a good night’s sleep, go out, read a book – what I’m saying is, “I take a break.”)

•  Next it’s time to look at the file again. I read it aloud. Does it flow? Does it make sense? Am I repeating words? What about the rhythm?

• I polish, scrub and shine what I have written

• Another cup of coffee (etc. etc. etc.)

• Back for another read (aloud – this is important) and a final polish

• Done

Next time you're stumped at the planning stage, try writing. You’re a writer after all, not a planner. So write. Planning can happen later.

Just Keep Writing ...

Life as a freelancer can be tough. You no longer get a regular pay check. You have to find your own clients. You probably don't have a marketing department to make sure the right people know about your services.

All of this can lead to a lot of stress.

If you find you're suffering from this kind of stress, if you find yourself questioning the value of your freelance journey, I urge you to remember one thing. Why you started on this path in the first place.

For most of you I would bet there's one reason, and one reason only, that you decided to become a freelance writer. It's because you love writing.

Writing has been part of all of my previous jobs - but one day I realised that writing for someone else, as only part of my job, wasn't enough. I wanted to write more. I wanted to have the freedom to write everyday. I wanted to indulge my passion and, at the same time, make a living.

It's a hard road at first. Finding clients is a challenge. I've been successful with a couple of different websites where people advertise jobs for freelancers. I decided to use social media to get the word out that I write. It isn't easy. It isn't quick. I am not yet making millions.

But because I am loving what I'm doing, life has taken on a whole new meaning.

So, if it starts to get you down. If you're tempted to get a salaried job, any job, because you don't think you can make it on your own, remember why you started. And write. And write some more. And keep writing.

When you don't have a client to write for, write anyway. Start a blog. Write a novel. Write some articles. Write a letter. It's all honing your craft and you'll be creating content that you'll probably be able to use in the future.

Just keep writing.

(If you really don't know what to write, comment on a blog post. Comment on mine!)


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The Power of Numbers

I love writing, and almost as much as I love writing I love reading about writing. This morning, as I was easing into my day, I decided to dip into one of my favourite books on writing and rediscovered something I’d forgotten – a short section entitled “Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind”. Roy Peter Clark claims that the number of elements we choose sends a subliminal message. 

Here’s a quick summary:

One:    “That girl is smart.” The reader focuses on that particular quality and no other. Clark suggests writers should use one for ‘power’.

Two:   “That girl is smart and sweet.” The reader now has to balance two characteristics. Use two when you want the reader to contrast and compare.

Three: “That girl is smart, sweet, and determined.” Three sends a message of wholeness, completeness. 

Four:   “That girl is smart, sweet, determined, and neurotic.” Four or more is when we want to “list, inventory, compile, and expand”. Four or more creates a flow, a ‘literary effect’.

So next time you’re writing, try making a deliberate choice about how many elements you include, rather than just letting the words run rampant on the page. Make a conscious decision about number. Play with it. Try different alternatives and discover the effects for yourself so that your reader can discover them later.

To illustrate his point, Clark includes some fantastic examples in his book; I encourage you to take a look. My favourite is the example he gives from Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem:

Context is everything. Dress me up and see. I’m a carnival barker, an auctioneer, a downtown performance artist, a speaker in tongues, a senator drunk on filibuster. I’ve got Tourette’s.

Writing Voices

Do you ever read your writing aloud? It’s an easy technique that can help us find our "voices". If you’re writing fiction you are going to want each character to sound unique. They each need to have their own vocabularies, their own idioms. The way they express themselves will give your readers clues as to who they are and where they come from. Reading any dialogue or interior monologue aloud will help you work out if you are being consistent. 

As well as reading aloud, ask yourself some questions about each character. You might think about these as you’re writing; you might think of them when you’re editing; or you may define your characters’ voices before you introduce them. Here are a few questions to help you on your way:

1.    What level of language do they speak? Do they use slang, or perhaps a lot of jargon? Do they use abstract or concrete expressions?

2.    Do they make a lot of references to pop culture, or perhaps to travels they have undertaken? Do they refer to art and literature; are their conversations about watching the football on TV, or playing tennis?

3.     Do they usually use long or short sentences when they speak? Are they complex sentences? Do they use a variety of sentence structures?

4.     How large is the character’s vocabulary? Do they spend their time reading literature, or popular magazines, or both? What kinds of words are they most comfortable with?

Each time you put words into a character’s mouth you are telling your reader more about that character. You need your characters to be believable, so match their language with their background and experience. 

And remember to read your work aloud. It will help you discover if it’s you, the writer, on the page, or if you have succeeded in bringing your characters to life.

A word or two about writing ebooks

I’ve been researching writing and publishing ebooks and thought it might be useful to put together some of the tips I’ve picked up for those of you thinking of following this path.

1.      My top tip – If you’ve never written a book, or thought about writing a book, an ebook is a great way to start. Whereas the thought of writing hundreds of pages for a traditional book can be overwhelming, writing and publishing ebooks is much more manageable. For a start, they are shorter. And you don’t have to agonise for hours about whether you will find an agent or a publisher – you can publish them yourself. Easily. Cheaply.

2.      Debbie Dragon at ReliableWriters.com says you should start with a road map. It's excellent advice. By putting together your road map - marking the start, finish and landmarks along the route - you’re making the project manageable. You're dividing the book into bite-size chunks, and you’re working out about how long the book’s going to be. Once you’ve decided on the topic for your ebook, open a document in your word processor or text editor and add the following:

a.       Title page – just the title and author – nothing fancy at this stage

b.      The chapter headings listed as a table of contents (the main topics you plan to cover)

Then write each chapter as though it were a separate article.

3.      Write. It does seem odd to say this, but when I started I ended up preparing outlines but never actually writing the books. If you don’t write it, you can’t sell it. You can’t even give it to your family.

Musings about Editing

Most of us make errors when we write. That’s what drafts are for. Australian author Peter Carey reportedly wrote twelve drafts of his novel The Tax Inspector. Some people do a series of edits, each focusing on a different aspect of their writing – it could be a plot thread, a location, a particular character, narrative voice, verb choice. However you do it, one thing is important in both fiction and non-fiction writing – getting rid of the words that you don’t need, that don’t fit or that are downright wrong.

Here are some tips on how to do it:

1.      Get rid of wordy phrases. You know the type of thing: “at this point in time”, “in order to”. Short and clear is what you are aiming for, especially in business writing. And it’s not just the number of words. Be thrifty with syllables. When you’re tempted to use a three or four syllable word, see if you can find one that works as well but only has one or two syllables.

2.      Use everyday words. When you see an “expedite” or “optimize” creeping into your sentence, or if an event is going to “afford an opportunity”, stop. Think. Look up dictionaries, thesauruses, anything. Find another way to write it.  

3.      Avoid clichés. They are tired. Refuse to use any phrase or expression you’ve heard often before. As Mark Tredinnick writes in The Little Red Writing Book, “they belong to someone else.” Write every sentence your way.

Once you’ve banished the useless words, there are a couple of other things to think about – your sentences and the logical flow of your writing. 

1.      Use different sentence structures. Mix up short and long sentences, simple and complex sentences. Add variety in form, always remembering the importance of clarity. Keep your writing interesting. But don’t write long sentences just for the sake of it. Write them when you need them.

2.      Work from a plan when you write. If you are editing something that you didn’t plan, read it and write out the plan. Are the ideas expressed in logically? Have you used paragraphs correctly? If you didn’t plan first, at least make the effort to plan afterwards and fix up any errors.

Many people believe that setting down the ideas is the most interesting, and therefore most important, aspect of writing. But writing is about communicating. You might be setting the ideas down, and they may be brilliant ideas, but someone else is going to be reading them. You want to be sure that they understand what you mean and, if possible, that they enjoy reading your work.