If you’ve spent any amount of time online looking for writing tips, you’ve probably come across the essay 13 Writing Tips by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club (and several other novels, as well). In that essay, Palahniuk offers some excellent advice for writers. As with many novelists, however, much of his advice is aimed at the budding novelist, such as tip number ten: “Write the book you want to read.”
However, I’d like to take a look at his first writing tip and tell you how I apply it to freelance writing. Here is that first tip:
Number One: Two years ago, when I wrote the first of these essays it was about my “egg timer method” of writing. You never saw that essay, but here’s the method: When you don’t want to write, set an egg timer for one hour (or half hour) and sit down to write until the timer rings. If you still hate writing, you’re free in an hour. But usually, by the time that alarm rings, you’ll be so involved in your work, enjoying it so much, you’ll keep going. Instead of an egg timer, you can put a load of clothes in the washer or dryer and use them to time your work. Alternating the thoughtful task of writing with the mindless work of laundry or dish washing will give you the breaks you need for new ideas and insights to occur. If you don’t know what comes next in the story… clean your toilet. Change the bed sheets. For Christ sakes, dust the computer. A better idea will come.
As much as I love my business, there are times when I don’t feel like writing. There are times I downright hate writing. I don’t hate it the way that I hated configuring Cisco routers near the end of my IT career, but there are moments when I’d rather be doing just about anything else.
So, I do what Palahniuk recommends, after a fashion. When I’m really struggling with staying on task, staying motivated or just keeping from being totally perturbed at what I’m writing, I write in shifts. I set the timer to write for 90 minutes, and i plow through. When my 90 minutes are up, I stop for fifteen. It’s sort of my reward for being a good little writer.
During my free time, I might read a book, play on Facebook, play a video game or even take a 15-minute catnap. The important thing is to disengage – get free of my writing for a few minutes – so I can come back recharged.I’m not looking for “new ideas and insights” in the way that Palahniuk talks about. I’m just looking for a distraction – something to take my mind away from the writing for a little bit.
I guess there’s one more thought to add to this mix, too. I’m at the place in my writing business where I don’t have to take every project that comes along. I can turn down a project, or pass it on to one of my writers, if I think it’s going to be too monotonous or boring.
So, what about you? Do you use built-in “egg timer” breaks in your day? Do you need them with every project, or just with certain ones?
Today’s post is a guest post from David Gurevich. David contacted me with this post idea a while back. I think it’s a good addition to my 178 Ways to Improve Your Internet Writing post. Enjoy!
When we write, we leave the clutter and junk of our lives behind, and enter a world of possibility, where anything can happen. Yet our words are ultimately for other people.
Now matter how beautiful the dream, the original vision, it must be clearly communicated for other people to experience it.
Here are 50 tips to improve your writing. If followed, your writing will drastically improve.
1) Have a trusted editor.
This is number one on the list because it’s that important. An editor takes the decent stuff you throw at them, cuts out the words that aren’t 100% effective, and adds their perspective.
It’s like taking a diamond to a specialist for cutting.
2) Use the active voice.
For the most part, say what people do. Don’t say what is done. John plowed the field, not, the field was plowed by John. Active phrasing keeps your prose alive and interesting.
3) Know grammar – that way, you’ll know exactly what rule you’re breaking.
Read one of the books that make grammar fun like Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
. It’ll make you laugh and teach you something, too. If you want to break the rules, just first make sure you know what they.
4) Always think twice when you use a big word.
It doesn’t matter if you know what eschew means, and it doesn’t matter if your audience might. Use the simplest words you can. It is easier to read and it’s more interesting.
5) Know your audience. Coal miners are very different from astrophysicists who’re different from High Schoolers.
Writing is meant to be read. Make sure you know who your readers are, how they think, and what they like. Write to meet their needs.
6) Keep paragraphs short and to the point.
Simplicity.
It’s effective.
7) Don’t use colloquialisms needlessly.
It’s tempting to include slang or new phrases to make your work sound hip and relevant.
But you risk a lot. First, you stand to alienate those who don’t understand. Second, it can lower the quality of your writing. And finally, with the rapid pace of change, a phrase everyone knows now may be archaic in a few years.
8.) Edit. Always edit.
Write something, then edit it, then edit it some more.
9) Focus on writing. Turn off the cellphone – no multitasking.
If you want to produce great writing, then dedicate time to doing just that – writing.
A little distraction is OK. Some people, after all, work better with music playing or other stimuli. What you need to avoid are things that require a significant amount of your attention, and so distract you.
Music, OK. Instant messaging? Not so good.
10) Adverbs are OK, but like fatty food, cut back on them.
Don’t substitute adverbs for effective description. Things can be done quickly, furiously, happily, whatever. The problem arises when you rely on those adverbs to describe things that are better shown.
For instance, you might write, “He furiously shut the door.” That gets you a B. It’s decent writing. But if you want to make it A level writing, you might want to describe with verbs and nouns what happened.
Adverbs are also a problem when they become too excessive in and of themselves.
11) Use imagery and central metaphors to build emotional impact.
Have themes to your work. Use powerful images and metaphors to build a lasting emotional impact.
12) Break up long sentences with short ones. And vice versa.
13) Write in a natural tone. Nothing stilted that would make your friends give you a questioning look.
If anything you write would make a close friend break out laughing – and not at your wit – then there’s a problem. Think of your poor reader. Now go, make your writing simpler. Use as few words as possible to say as much as possible.
14) Join a writing group. Group pressure means results.
15) Hold yourself accountable. Make goals and meet them.
Start small. Promise yourself that you’ll work at least 10 minutes a day on that big project you’re passionate about but never do. Then meet that goal. Before you know it, 10 minutes – which you can easily do – becomes 20, then 45. And at that point you’re making real progress on your dream of writing.
16) Know when you’re done.
Orwell thought his book 1984 wasn’t edited well enough. If he had listened to himself, he’d have kept working on it, and we wouldn’t have a classic. Now, you absolutely need to edit your ass off and make sure everything is great.
But there also needs to be an ending.
17) The vast majority of writing doesn’t use swearwords.
18) Cut out any unnecessary words.
Read a paragraph you’re not happy with. Find every single word that doesn’t need to be there and delete it. Readability will skyrocket.
19) Feel free to disregard your first draft. It’s just paper or kilobytes.
You don’t need to stick to your first draft. Feel free to start all over again.
20) Using “I” is OK if done correctly.
You’re taught as a kid that “I” shouldn’t be in your papers. That’s not always true. When you have a relevant opinion, it’s not a sin to put yourself in the paper. You’re the one writing it after all.
21) The more you write, the better you become.
I swear that I used to suck at writing. Teachers told me I had to redo work. I might still suck – that’s your call – but hours and hours of practice writing have improved my ability a lot.
Even if you’re not happy with your writing as it is, it will get better. Just work at it.
22) Read great literature.
23) Give yourself a writing space.
24) The best way to succeed is the Butt in Chair method. You sit, you work. No questions.
25) Realize that a critic may be wrong.
26) Have a consistent writing schedule.
27) Favor the most concise style, but you don’t have to be Hemmingway.
28) Don’t betray the readers trust with something absurd.
29) In writing, you first create a world – then have to follow its rules.
If casting a spell requires an animal sacrifice in chapter 1, then requires herbal potions in chapter 4, and finally in chapter 10 doesn’t require anything (George, our beloved protagonist, just starts slinging fireballs with no explanation), you’re letting your readers down.
Follow the rules that exist in your world. Consistency!
30) Have a writing ritual. Myself, I always have a cup of tea first.
31) Avoid cliches.
Cliches are best avoided. The problem with them is that they are too easy, and that they don’t necessarily add a lot to your writing. You want to be original.
32) Avoid excessively witty, self-serving in-jokes.
A witty self-serving in-joke would have been to write “avoid cliches like the plague.” There is, as always, a fine line, and err on the side of respecting your readers.
33) When being creative, suspend your inner critic.
You want to try something new? Cut off the electricity to the inner critic center in your mind, and start writing! Magic is happening.
34) Listen to your inner critic after being creative.
After you have a creative breakthrough, you then have to take the hard road of editing and revision.
35) Know the difference between British and American style.
36) Whatever you write about, do your research first. Know what you write about.
If you want to convincingly write about a car salesman, learn how they think. What phrases they use, what makes them happy. Knowing those details will shine through your writing and give it authenticity.
37) Show don’t tell for the most part.
38) Tell, don’t show, when doing otherwise would be boring or plain stupid.
39) Make your writing have an exciting, forward pace.
40) Don’t overuse ellipses or dashes.
Some authors liter their writing with… way too… often. Or – they uses dashes far too often – making things that don’t deserve it have it. Ellipses and dashes can be very effective. Just don’t abuse ‘em.
41) You start writing to please yourself, but succeed by pleasing others.
42) Don’t be afraid to describe something that has to be described.
43) Fancy fonts, underlining and bolding work – in business writing. Not fiction.
Different genres have different stylistic rules. Always write stuff that works without highlighting, italicizing, or whatever. But remember to take advantage of the presentation options you have.
44) Always prefer the word “said.” Grunting, snorting and chortling gets old fast.
45) Believe in yourself.
46) Be dramatic by being subtle.
47) Write for your readers.
Mentioned several times, but explicitly said here. Don’t write for yourself. Write to help your reader out, to entertain them, or to inform them. Their needs must be met, and you need to meet them.
48) Use punctuation appropriately.
49) Mix long paragraphs with short paragraphs.
50) Keep things moving along.
Take pride in your hard work, and reward important landmarks. Keep working hard and having fun. You’re the most amazing person, even if only to those who love you. You owe it to them to write your best!
David Gurevich is chosen by companies to make abstruse issues simple. You can check him out at his blog, Health and Life, a Medical Blog , where he blogs – logically enough – about health and medical issues.
Do you know what you would do if your freelance writing business tanked tomorrow? Chances are you’ve thought about it. Every small business owner, somewhere in the back of their mind, has a Plan B. Maybe you figure you’ll go back to school and finish your degree. Maybe you figure you’ll take a job in your former career (if you have one).
Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of this, of course. But there’s another kind of contingency planning that’s worth thinking about:
What will you do if you succeed?
I’ve written many times before about the fact that this business can have its ups and downs, and that you’ve got to refuse as best you can to participate in the downs. That’s essential if you’re going to stay in business. But this other aspect – the up times – deserves some attention, too.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
Here’s a good example of what I’m talking about. Maybe August was a slow month for you. Then, BOOM! September 1st hits and you land a gig that will carry you the rest of the way through the month, and make up for August’s leanness. You jump into the project, fat and happy.
Something happens, though. Plugging away at this new gig, you back off on your marketing efforts. You slack off on follow-up sales emails, or you leave off checking the freelance web sites for a week. Human nature is such that success brings contentment, and contentment can, unfortunately, sap your motivation.
Being prepared for success means not being lulled into complacency by your success. It means working just as hard every day at growing your business, whether you’ve made gangbusters that day or whether you’ve made bupkus.Take advantage of your success and keep the momentum going.
Today’s Success is Tomorrow’s Seed
There’s another aspect to this idea of planning for success, one that’s much more concrete. The fact is this: a successful business knows where it wants to go. Whether you want to be the Queen of Long-Form Sales Pages, Bloggerman or CEO of Web Writers Inc., you’ve got some idea of what ultimate success is going to look like.
If you’re going to hit the big time and really reach those goals, however, you need to have a pretty good idea of how to get there, and it should involve being successful today. Today’s successes are the seeds from which those goals will ultimately grow. Leverage today’s success to make tomorrow even bigger.
You can do this in many different ways. Maybe you can actually shave a little bit of money off the top of a payment to do some advertising. Maybe it’s as simple as adding a particularly good piece to your portfolio. Whatever it is, you need to be always thinking about “how can I use this success to power the growth of my business?”
The Inner Monologue
There are enough other folks out there writing about the power of positive thinking, the dangers of negative self-talk, and how you can’t let fear hold you back. These things are all true, and you’ve heard them before; I don’t need to rehash it here.
I will say, though, that you need to let success increase your confidence. Just as much as losing a sale is an ego blow, making a big sale can pump you right up. When you experience some success, be OK with it. Accept it. Let it work against all of that self-doubt you’ve got going on. Don’t get cocky or arrogant, but allow yourself to take credit for your success.
