I know it's been a while

I haven't visited here for a while. I just don't seem to get the time. If you want some business writing tips, why not visit my website blog  I post there at least once a week.

Just right - it doesn't have to be

The first thing my inner teacher taught me about writing was that if I wanted to be a writer I had to write. In the early stages I found this very difficult. Like every blank canvas is a potential masterpiece, every blank sheet of paper, or new blank document on my word processor, has the potential to be brilliant … until that first mark. 

Inner doubts lurk in our minds. Tiny voices whisper:

What if I am not good enough?

What if I have nothing to say? 

The thing is, when it comes to writing, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you write.

After writing comes refinement. After writing that first draft you can think about your choice of vocabulary, your sentence constructions, the narrative voice you use, the characters, the world they inhabit and all those other important things.

But if you don’t write, if you wait until everything is perfect before you make a mark, you will never start. 

So ignore the voices in your head, and write. Resist the temptation to read another book on writing (if you’re like me you have shelves of these). Ignore the housework, or the gardening. It doesn’t matter what you write; it doesn’t matter how good, bad or indifferent it is. Once you’ve got it down you can come back to it and improve it, or throw it out. The important thing is that to be a writer, you have to write.

Why I write ...

Margaret Atwood, in the introduction to her delightful book about writing, Negotiating with the Dead, wrote about the feeling of “finding yourself in a great library as a young writer, and gazing around at the thousands of books in it, and wondering if you really have anything of value to add.”

I write for other people. I write what they need or want me to write. They tell me what it is they want written – and this sometimes makes life a little easier. I don’t have to think up amazing topics or profound insights. And I love writing so this is all quite fun.

But I do often wonder if deep within me there is something “of value to add”. I’m not talking about an extraordinary, unexpected addition to scholarship. What I would really like to achieve is the ability to write just one or two phrases that stick in people’s minds – phrases that they quote at dinner with friends because they express so perfectly an idea they wish to convey. They won’t need to find the words because they have mine.

Of course, there are other things I want to achieve with my writing. I want to make a good living. I want to have time to explore new ideas and find ways to communicate them. I even want to one day dream up a fascinating plot for a novel.

Meanwhile, I will keep writing what others want me to write. And put my occasional thoughts on writing into this blog.

The dictionary is your friend

Or if it isn’t, it should be.

Why do you read and write? The power of our language is that it can take us anywhere. It can create emotions, show us places we’ve never seen, allow us into the minds of strangers –real or fictional. It allows us to communicate with each other with varying degrees of sophistication and effectiveness. And along with all this, language is fun.

I love dictionaries. The English language is incredibly rich. It includes hundreds of thousands of words (how many exactly is a difficult question, but there are definitely a lot).

This means that there is a word for just about everything. And for many things there are words and words and words. 

It is a gift to have the opportunity to explore this rich vocabulary and learn new words. There are times when I read deliberately to learn new words, but sometimes I don’t want to face the risk of not finding words I don’t know. I want a guarantee that something new is going to seep into my brain.

This is when it’s time to get lost. You know that wonderful feeling when you’re in an unknown city or town and you just wander to see what you can see. That’s what I like to do with words. I like to get lost inside my trusty hardcopy dictionaries, or delve into one online, or range around the dictionary on my Kindle. I can spend hours lost in a dictionary of synonyms.

The words you use and the way you use them is what makes your writing unique. The way you as a writer put words into the mouths of your characters is what differentiates them and gives them life. They are an essential tool of your trade. Put aside some time to get lost – I’m sure you won’t regret it.

And if you find any really great words you think others will love, please leave them in a comment …

Quotes

Today I want to talk about using quotes. First, an admission. I don’t have anything original to say on the topic.

Why use quotes?

In the words of Joe Glaser in Understanding Style, “At times the best words you can use are someone else’s.” Paul LaRocque in The Concise Guide to Copy Editing states, “Quotations add life, authority and veracity to a story …”

How long should they be?

LaRocque’s advice to editors is to not be “slaves to the quoted word. Paraphrase when necessary. Cut when necessary.” If you’re quoting someone you’ve interviewed, put yourself in the position of your reader. Would you want to read every word they said. Thing is, when we speak we use a lot of redundancy. We say things over and over again. Repeatedly. It’s not nice to read, is it? So be ruthless. Cut.

Very Important Thing to Remember

Attribute the quote. Don’t pretend the words are yours if they are not. In most writing it is enough to use the name of the person who wrote or said the words. Glaser says, “Include the title of the piece if you think it will be useful to the reader.” He also states that in academia and research there are more rigorous requirements which you must follow.

An otherwise dull piece of work can be enlivened by quotes. They change the pace. They add another voice, and thus add interest. They can also lead the reader to discover new insights when they follow up on the source of a quote. 

Useful things really.

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!)


UE86FCTES5KY