7 simple things every writer should do.
Posted: May 13th, 2011 | No Comments »This is real back to basics stuff and I must confess I am writing this for myself as much as anyone else.
I think that when working as a professional writer of any type, it’s hard sometimes not to get bogged down in the other ‘stuff’ that goes alongside. Tax returns, marketing and the like. So it’s important to remind yourself every now and again of the tricks that both improve your skills and allow you to rekindle your passion for the written word.
1 Read
Lots. As obvious tips go, this has to be King!
Books (fact and fiction), magazines, newspapers, websites, orange juice cartons. Anything you can get your paws on really.
Read as wide a range of styles and tones as you can find.
Pick up an author you’ve never heard of – or a genre you’ve previously avoided. You may not like everything you read, but I guarantee you’ll learn something from it; a new concept, a new word or even just how not to write!
2 Keep a notepad and pen by the side of your bed
Now for the Queen of obvious tips.
If you’re anything like me you’ll just be settling down for some shut eye when inspiration strikes and chances are you won’t remember that idea or catchy opening line by the time your alarm starts shrieking.
While you’re at it, it would be worth getting another notepad for your handbag/rucksack/baby changing bag (delete as appropriate). I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been out with the baby in the buggy when he has decided to take an unscheduled nap. Aha, some free time. If only I’d remembered to take some paper and a pen I could have nipped into a cafe and bashed out an entire blog post by the time the sprog wakes up!
(Of course if you’re more technologically inclined apply the same logic to your smart phone, laptop etc. I’m afraid I’m still attached to my old school pen and paper approach!)
3 Write something every day
Whether you are between novels, between projects or generally just waiting for inspiration to hit, write something down anyway. You might not come up with anything worth publishing or you might hit upon an idea for a future article, if you don’t put pen to paper (or digit to keyboard) you’ll never know.
4 Break the rules every now and then
I know you technically shouldn’t start a sentence with ‘and’. I do it anyway. And it works – sometimes! Just don’t tell my former English teacher; that would be a detention for sure.
5 Keep it short and sweet
I recall with fondness my university days when I would check the document word count every five minutes; when writing a 10,000 word essay, long winded sentences were the order of the day (or so I thought!). After all, the pub beckoned…
Happily I have since discovered that less is sometimes more. So while you’ll still sometimes find me taking the scenic route in my writing, sometimes short and to the point is what is required. Especially when writing marketing materials and you have to grab your reader’s attention as rapidly as possible.
This leads me nicely to tip number 6
6 Know your medium
And know your audience.
When I am reading a website I’m looking for the most relevant information in the shortest amount of time possible. That’s coming from a chick who loves words. You probably have even less time to hook a ‘normal’ person. By contrast, when I’m chilling of an evening with a novel, I’ll happy drift through a sea of imagery and apparently never-ending sentences.
Websites are immediate, fleeting. Print has a much longer shelf life. Consider this in your writing – the same rules do not apply to all mediums and all audiences
Most importantly,
7 Enjoy your writing
Without ignoring the above advice, sometimes more is more. Technically, your writing should not contain any ‘unnecessary’ words or sentences, and concise is the goal. However, writing should be fun and if you’re a wordy kind of person, there is no harm in harping on – as long as it’s appropriate to the audience and medium. I like a good adjective now and again…
Filed under: Mind your language |
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