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.

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.

For the Love of Words

 

I love words. I read dictionaries for fun. I read the words aloud to discover which flow from my tongue, and which cause me to stumble. I love to unearth new, unfamiliar words and to revisit old friends. Words matter. It’s not just about meaning and communication. They create the rhythm of your writing. Word choice is an art. It’s rare for me to review a draft for a professional piece I’ve written and not change maybe 10% of the words. It’s about using words that your readers understand, but that they probably don’t use. You want to keep your writing fresh and interesting, and avoid overusing certain words and phrases.

Words are the building blocks for what writers do. Appropriate word choice helps make your meaning clear, and helps you avoid that enemy of lax communication – confusion.

Of course not all of the confusion when we communicate comes from the actual words. Some of it is the result of how we string them together. By using fewer words, and striving to use words accurately, we make it easier for our readers to know exactly what we are saying. And by making sure our sentences aren’t too long, we make sure they remember what happened at the beginning of the sentence when they get to the end.

When writing in English you have a lot of words to choose from. According to the Oxford English Dictionary’s website, the second edition contains, “... full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is made up of exclamations, conjunctions, prepositions, suffixes, etc. And these figures don't take account of entries with senses for different word classes (such as noun and adjective).” The site then suggests that there are at least a quarter of a million distinct English words.

So when you’re lost for words, you can be fairly confident that the right word to express what you want to express exists – take the time to look for it. It’s fun and your writing will thank you for it.

Musings on Finding Research Contacts

In my last post I mentioned internet searches, Wikipedia and journals/magazines as sources for research. There will probably be times when you look at these and still don’t feel as though you understand the topic well. So what’s next?

Find an expert. Use whatever contacts you have to see if they know anything about the topic or know someone who knows ...

1.      Ask your client to recommend someone you can talk to. (I do this when I accept a job. I mention that it might be helpful to talk to someone to find out the latest and can they recommend someone. They may be able to, they may not. Leave it too late to ask them and you’ll look like you don’t know what you’re doing, and that’s the last thing you want.)

2.      Check your LinkedIn contacts list (I do hope you have one!)

3.      Check out the LinkedIn groups. Are there any groups on the topic? Who’s active on the discussion?

4.      Collect names from the searches you’ve done. Who has written articles? Who has been quoted? Can you find an email address for them? Or a phone number?

Make sure you keep records of all your contacts. They’re a valuable resource and you’ve invested time and effort into finding them. Keep them up-to-date.

Most importantly, let your expert know how valuable they have been. Thank them. Acknowledge them in your article if that’s appropriate. And if ever they ask you for a favour, make sure you try to help them out.

There are plenty of books on research. One I’ve found particularly useful is The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb and Williams. And remember an internet search on research techniques will swamp you with more than enough links to get you on your way.

Musings about Article Writing: You've Got a Topic. Now What?

Sometimes as a freelance writer I’m lucky. Clients employ me to write articles about topics I know something about. Other times I’m employed for my writing skills alone, rather than my knowledge. In both cases I need to do some research. Of course how much or how little depends on what I know already. 

Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a hoarder. I love collecting information. I love researching. My biggest problem is knowing when to stop. But when it’s a new topic, the problem is often knowing where to start.

In case this is a challenge you face too, I thought I’d share a couple of musings with you.

1.  Ask your client for a short list of key words or concepts, some of the jargon that’s used by people who know about the topic
2. Use these words/concepts for targeted internet search using your favourite search engine – I say use your favourite because you’re comfortable with it and know how it works, which means you will be able to find information more quickly
3. Scan through the sites. If any of them are for journals or specialist magazines, take a quick look and see if you think they will throw any light on the topic
4. Take a look at Wikipedia – it’s not always reliable, it’s not always comprehensive, but it does often provide a ‘quick and dirty’ view of the topic to get you started

Robert W. Bly has a great list in his book Secrets of a Freelance Writer and my next post on this blog will have a few more ideas.

Do you have any tips for researching new topics?
 

Musings about Style

Yesterday a potential client rejected my services because they ‘preferred another style’. As a professional writer I take pride in meeting my clients’ requirements. I write about what they want me to write, and I write it in the style that they want. And I can do this. On my blog you’ll probably see the ‘chatty, informal me’, but there’s a ‘business me’, an ‘academic me’, and many more varieties of me. 

This is just one of the frustrations of trying to make it as a freelance writer. But frustrations aside, I cherish the opportunity to spend my days doing something that I love. I delight in being able to rationalise all the time I spend reading about writing. I call it ‘professional development’.

On the issue of style, one of the most useful and practical books I have found is Joe Glaser’s Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. My favourite chapter at the moment is about “Finding Fresh Words”. 

I’ve been writing a large number of descriptions of holiday villas. Keeping them fresh was a challenge. It’s unlikely that someone will sit and read them all and think, “There’s that phrase again” or, “Didn’t I read those words about another villa I looked at”. But for me the task was not only to create interesting and informative descriptions for people planning to rent a villa. I wanted to enjoy writing them. I wanted to learn something from writing them. I wanted to discover how to create an image that had the potential to alter a reader’s way of looking at something familiar. I mean, that’s what I love about writing. 

When I tackle a new topic, I find it useful to start with finding out who will be reading what I’ve written, and what they usually read. I look at how others writing about the same subject write. What vocabulary do they use? I read what’s already been written and determine what I like, and don’t like, what’s effective and what isn’t. 

To tackle the villa descriptions I immersed myself in travel writing – good and bad. I added words and expressions to a list. Some I changed, some I kept the same. Then I found words and images I could use in a place where I hadn’t gone to look for them. I found them in fiction, in the novels that I was reading when I needed a break from writing.

Hope this has been useful. Do you have any tips on changing style, or hints for writing about new topics?

My Freelance Journey begins

A few months back I decided to try spending my time doing the things I enjoy. Corporate life had lost its shine. The allure of a regular pay cheque had worn off - at least for a while. Reading and writing are two of the things I enjoy most in this life. There don't seem to be too many ways to make money from reading, so I thought I would give writing a shot. Now I'm a freelance writer. This has not been an easy journey. And it may be a disaster - although I hope not. Meanwhile, along the way I've learned things and I'm learning new things every day - about writing, about style, about organising myself, about myself. Hope you enjoy reading my musings, and maybe find some useful gems amongst my words.

Feel free to visit now and then. I'll be talking about resources and techniques I've found useful, or maybe expressing my frustrations. I'd love to hear your ideas, comments, hints, tips or just about anything else (read: 'I don't want spam!')

It's all about sharing.

Until next time ...