Writing For Pleasure Instead of Money

November 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Painting The Writing Master by Thomas Eakins
Image via Wikipedia
When you’re a writer, the idea of not writing doesn’t even register to you. It’s not on your radar. You would write, even if you weren’t getting paid. In fact, some people like to write so much that they aren’t even interested in doing it for pay. It would quell their creative freedom and they’d have to conform to what other people (editors) want them to do. If you do that, you won’t be able to write only what you want when you want it. A lot of people who write for a living also write for pleasure, but the kinds of writing they do are very different.
They may do something like copywriting or ad writing for their day job, but at night they write fiction that they hope one day to publish. Even if no one ever showed interest in their fiction, though, they would continue to write it. They see the value of writing for pleasure and doing something relaxing. Even if you write for your day job, don’t forget to take time to write for pleasure. It can keep your creativity high and help you do better at your job, as well as give you an outlet for things that you want to say but can’t say anywhere else.
It’s always nice to make money with the things you write, but it’s even better to have some satisfaction from them. What you write for pleasure can be something you try to sell, or it can be something that you just keep to yourself. A lot of people also publish what they write for pleasure on their blogs or websites, without worrying about money or recognition. When you’re a writer, it doesn’t matter whether you’re getting paid, because you’ll always write.
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What Kind of Writer Do You Want to Be?

October 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
For people who love to write and want to make it their career, there are serious considerations. One of the biggest ones is what kind of writer you actually want to be. Some people are generalists and can write about all kinds of things, but most of them are more specialized in what they focus on. They might write Internet content with great SEO skills, or they might be a copywriter. Maybe they write sales letters, or they work only on fine literature. They could write book or movie reviews, too, or go to places and review them when they get home.
Some writers make more than others, but it’s not just about the money. It’s also about liking what you do and being able to do it on a consistent basis. If you choose a writing specialty that you really don’t like, you may find that you burn out quickly and don’t enjoy what you do. Most people who work as writers get into it because they have a serious love of the written word. They aren’t writers because they get paid for it. They’re writers because they have to write. They can’t imagine doing anything else.
Because they’re so dedicated to their craft, they gravitate to the specialty within their field that they feel the most comfortable with. You should do that, too, if you’re going to work as a writer. If you don’t do the kind of work that you’re comfortable with, you won’t be as good at it and you won’t have as much fun. A job can’t all be fun and games, but working as a writer should never, ever stop you from loving to write. If it does, you’re doing the wrong kind of writing.
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Writing is a Difficult Business

October 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
If you ask around, you’ll hear a lot of people say that they’re writers. That’s mostly because everyone who has a blog today calls themselves writers. Technically, they’re right, but there’s a major distinction between them and people who slave over written words all day long to pay their bills. Many bloggers don’t realize this, which makes ‘real’ writers – those who do it for a living and pay all of their bills that way – very angry. They feel as though their profession is being devalued and no one is taking them seriously. Blogging for fun and saying you’re a writer is like saying you’re an actor when you’re really just a waiter who’s hoping to break into the biz.
It keeps people from taking professional writers seriously and understanding that they work in a legitimate profession. This is less common for writers who work for a particular company. For self-employed professionals, though, the frustration can really mount. That’s part of what makes writing such a difficult business to stay in. Another difficult part is rejection. Whether it’s the publisher who turned down your book or the client who didn’t like your work enough to hire you, rejections happen to all writers.
Even the best out there faced a lot of rejection before they got their start. They still face rejection, even once they’ve made a name for themselves. It’s a tough, demanding business, and if you work from home it’s easy to feel as though you’re never really finished and can just relax. For those who love the written word, though, it’s also the most enjoyable and interesting job that they’ve ever had, and they cannot possible imagine the idea of doing anything else with their life.
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Why Writing Is Something You Can’t Overlook

October 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Writing exercises in school can be slow and boring. The homework just seems to take up time and you’d rather hang out with friends or watch TV. It is very important to be able to write well, and writing is something you can’t overlook because it can open so many doors in your career.

No matter what grade you are in, you should pay careful attention to every writing assignment, and take the criticism of your teachers. Writing is something that you’ll need to do at every level of school, from Kindergarten to medical or law school. You’ll always have to write papers and essays throughout school, but also think about your career.

Many times when you apply for a job, the employer may ask for writing samples. These are a good judge of your level of writing, and how well you are able to communicate. Even things as simple as emails require good writing communication skills and judgment. Both your grammar and cohesiveness of your ideas go toward the employer’s decision as to whether you are a good candidate for the job.

While most jobs entail some form of writing, others almost exclusively exist around it. If you cannot write well, you’ll never have the opportunity to ever work for a newspaper, marketer, business executive and certainly never a teacher. Many writers can even end up working on their own as freelancers, away from the office. Now, there’s something to think about!

Writing is something you can’t overlook also because it provides an outlet to creativity express your ideas. If you’ve got stories running through your head, and perhaps daydream about them, you can write, or type them (another important skill), and eventually try to submit it to magazines or publishers. You never know, you may end up a famous novelist, journalist or songwriter someday.

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Managing Time When Multiple Freelance Writing Gigs Come In

October 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Freelancing can be difficult at times, even when you are a good writer. Being an expert sometimes comes with an additional stress factor: dealing with multiple projects and managing your time. When multiple freelance writing gigs stack up, you can manage them efficiently without being stressed out. It just takes a little organization.

Deadlines are the first thing you need to look at. No client is going to praise your work if you don’t submit it in time. Write out all of the deadlines on a bulletin board near your work desk. The due date of your work is the first consideration in deciding what you need to do first, along with of course, the size of the project and the amount of research you need to do.

Coming up with ideas is the first roadblock many writers hit. Realize that it is okay to brainstorm or even write out ideas that don’t quite fit together initially. You can always edit later, or copy and paste from files where you are just keeping a list of ideas.

A great piece of writing does not have to take a great deal of time to accomplish. If you can organize your ideas and have the structure of the copy in your head, then the project can come together quickly. Using work from the past is possible, but specific ideas should be re-written. Even plagiarizing your own work can be detrimental, especially online. The best way to manage multiple freelance writing gigs is to be able to do each assignment efficiently.

In your research, always ask yourself about what topics are hot at the moment, or what kind of information would be useful to the reader. This will narrow down your writing focus and lessen the time it takes to come up with an idea.

Finally, manage your downtime. Working constantly will cause you to burn out and make mistakes. Set a schedule for breaks or take short ones when you feel tired; you’ll be more acute afterward and better manage your multiple freelance writing gigs.

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Techniques for Creative Writing to Get Great Stories

October 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This is a short story about the best dude ever.
Image via Wikipedia
Almost anyone can do creative writing, because you are pretty much free to say whatever you want. This form of writing includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and other organizations of words on a page that tell a story. To be good at it, however, you need to consider several techniques for creative writing in order to catch the interest of readers.

First, a story needs a point of view. You can narrate the story from your own perspective, or have a character in the narrative do so. The prose can be narrated in first person or third person, while an omniscient character can tell the story as a whole from their perspective or of all the characters involved. It is your decision to make. You should make it before you even begin writing, along with knowing who the main characters will be.

Creative writing stories are made more realistic by using dialog. It makes it more interesting too. You can even strengthen the personalities of characters by giving them dialects and by providing the reader with a picture of how they talk and interact.

Techniques for creative writing come no more engaging than description. You can describe any setting, what a particular situation is and even the weather. The better you are at description, the more the reader can visualize the story. It can be distracting if there is too much described, but you don’t want to end up with too little description either. Finding a balance can be trial and error, but you can end up with a great story just by getting feedback and editing the text.

What’s going on in the present doesn’t have to be the sole focus of the story. You can fill in details by providing flashbacks. These can detail events in the past that are important to the plot or the life of a character. You can also hint at things that might happen in the future by using foreshadowing.

By mastering all of these techniques for creative writing, you will keep readers engaged in your stories, and can strive to someday become a published author.

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Why you should subscribe to a Literary Magazine

September 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Every amateur writer hopes to see his name in print. While that occasion comes early on for many, other have to wait a while longer before they get can get there. Though many writers look for fancier ways to seek attention, going old school may, in fact, be more rewarding.

A literary magazine is the most effective way to get some much needed love. If you’re not sure of which Literary Magazine to subscribe to, shop around. Subscription.com carries all kinds of magazines, one of which will suit your fancy.With editors, fellow writers and possible fans, all getting a glimpse of your work, you could be two submissions away from hitting the jackpot. While you should constantly try to get your name featured in a literary magazine, here’s why you should also subscribe to one:

•    Read and learn: For a writer to learn and perfect his art is a tedious process. However, a literary magazine can serve as an important learning tool. An amateur writer can absorb the style, the vocabulary and the flair with which the featured author writes. Over time, following a veteran writer and his prose can imbibe a similar flair in a newbie writer.

•    Contests & Features: When you subscribe to a particular literary magazine, you automatically open up several doors for yourself. Each periodical carries with itself an invitation for newer stories, poems and prose. When you submit your work, you can gauge your skills against others who are published and get a fair evaluation of your work. Beyond that, you open up newer possibilities to get your work published as editors from various publishing houses read the magazines and keep a look out for fresher talent.

•    Use as reference: If you have been published in a literary magazine, you can always use that as an additional reference on your resume. Not only does it reflect your capabilities, it also gives the editor the confidence that he is hiring the right guy! If you are still struggling to find your foothold, you can use the contact details of the authors who have been published, to network with them.

You may not see prompt results but don’t let that scare you. Every effort you take brings you closer to your ultimate goal.

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