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How To Find Freelance Copywriting Jobs
Your goal is to land a few nice, secure freelance copywriting jobs, but how do you get them? The most important factor in finding these jobs is that you pursue the job you are looking for with all of your ducks in a row, so to speak. Here are a...
HOW TO GIVE YOUR BUSINESS WRITING A TWIST OF THE NOSE
What happens when you twist someone's nose? To begin with, you get their full attention. No distractions. No mind wandering. That's why it's important to put a nose-twist into your own 'important' business communications. HERE'S HOW...
Keeping your readers interested when writing non-fiction
Writing non-fiction might be the easiest of all writings, but it’s not always the easiest to keep your readers interested. When writing non-fiction the best thing to do is research, even when the story is about you, research. Readers are generally...
Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing
Something that's always surprised me about the freelance writing business is just how many writers there are out there who don't seem to realize that they're running a business. <strong>Succeeding in the Business of Freelance...
Writing Tips For Novice Authors
If you are reading this article then you probably have asked yourself at some point in your life, "Do I have what it takes to become an author?"
I believe that successful authors, those who actually write and finish that novel, or book of...
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Self-Editing Your Writing
Much of what I do at my "day job" involves editing what others have
written. Eliminating typos, repairing damaged grammar, replacing
missing or misused punctuation--I relish editing, in a roll-up-my-
shirtsleeves and rub-my-hands-together sort of way.
Often I get to transform a garbled attempt to communicate into
something that's clear, concise and, well, readable. Change a word
here, slice a few there, and I can add pizzazz to something that
started out flat and lifeless. I like to think of myself as a highly
skilled word surgeon, deftly able to remove extraneous verbiage with
my scalpel--er, pen--and often performing complete paragraph
transplants with total success.
That is, until it comes to performing surgery on my own writing.
Then I frequently feel like a word surgeon with fake credentials.
There are times when I simply cannot see how even one of my golden
words could be improved, much less removed. How dare editors impose
restrictive word limits? If I'd thought that any words weren't
necessary, I wouldn't have written them in the first place, right?
Maybe, for me, editors will make an exception. Once they read my
incredibly crafted piece, they'll bend their own rules, run it as
written, even thank me for ignoring their guidelines...
Or, more likely, they won't run the piece at all. If they do,
they'll whittle it down to size themselves, and who knows what damage
they'll cause? Not all editors can call themselves word surgeons,
you know. Some treat our writing with all the delicacy of a
demolition crew clearing the way for a new super highway.
So if we want to keep what we've written intact and adhere to
editorial guidelines at the same time, we need to self-edit. But how
can we objectively view anything that we've subjectively written?
How do we unemotionally apply our editor's scalpel to work that we
poured our hearts into?
I believe the that the first step in self-editing is to leave what
you've written alone for a while, to detach yourself from it.
Recently, I wrote an essay specifically for the "My Inspiration"
section of the National Association of Women Writers' newsletter,
"NAWW Weekly." In its original version, my article weighed in at a
porky 900-plus words. The editor's word limit? Six hundred, maximum.
Eliminate over 300 words? Where? Squelching my first impulse to
submit it in its entirety, and my second impulse not to submit it at
all, I let the essay sit for several days. When I returned to it, I
immediately found several wordy phrases that I could painlessly
delete. Rewriting other sentences from passive to active voice
reduced the word count even
further (while grammar sites and books
deal with passive/active voice at length, there's a nice summary here:
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/grammar/active.htm).
Yet, even with these changes, my piece remained too lengthy. Did I
really want to slice it down further, at the risk of losing my reason
for writing it? What, precisely, *was* my reason for writing it?
That's when I had an "ah ha" moment. I reviewed the essay again, and
I began to find entire paragraphs that, although nicely written (in
my humble opinion!), did not *directly* contribute to the main
point. Although these paragraphs provided additional background and
perhaps a dash or two of color, could the essay survive without
them? The answer was undeniably "yes."
So, with nary a whimper, I wielded my pen/scalpel on those
paragraphs, which brought the piece under the word limit. This
enabled me to submit it guiltlessly, knowing I'd managed to walk that
line between respecting the editor's guidelines and maintaining the
integrity of what I wanted to communicate.
Okay, I'll admit that I *did* save the original version as well.
Perhaps I'll submit the longer, more lush essay to another
publication someday. But I'm pleased with the edited one as well.
And yes, the essay ran.
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NAWWWeekly/message/45)
So what did I learn from this exercise that I want to share with you?
1. First, go ahead and just write what you want to write.
2. Then leave it alone for a while. At least a day or so, maybe
longer.
3. When you reread it for the first time, eliminate the obvious
flaws. Cut out unnecessary phrases. Rework long, rambling sentences
into shorter, sharp ones.
4. Ask yourself why you are truly writing the piece, and whether
every paragraph contributes to your reason(s) for writing it. Delete
those that don't make the grade. To assist you through this most
difficult step, focus on the fact that you want to get your work
published. This enables you to let go of any sentences that stand in
the way of you and your goal.
Finally, to help ease the pain of self-surgery, save your original
work under one document name, and your edited result under another.
You may be able to use those discarded paragraphs in another piece
down the road.
About the Author
Mary Anne Hahn has written numerous articles on writing, the writing life,
business and career topics. She is also editor and publisher of
WriteSuccess, the free biweekly ezine of ideas, information and
inspiration for people who want to pursue SUCCESSFUL writing careers.
Ti subscribe, mailto:writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
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| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. |
| www.nanowrimo.org |
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| Apply by Dec. 11 Reporting and Writing the Untold Stories Apply by Dec. 11 ... Reporting & Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms. Apply by Jan. 10 ... |
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| This short online course provides a practical introduction to writing fiction. During the course you will be expected to write two short pieces for ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| The BBC's online resource for writing drama and comedy for television, radio and film. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
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| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
| www.sfwa.org |
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| A concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar. |
| www.junketstudies.com |
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| NAEP assesses student performance in writing periodically in grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation, and in grades 4 and 8 for the states. |
| nces.ed.gov |
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| www.technorati.com |
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| Includes step-by-step instructions on researching and writing, how to find information online and offline, as well as links to useful resources. |
| www.ipl.org |
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| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
| dictionary.reference.com |
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| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
| www.writingfix.com |
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| Includes articles on critical reading, planning, researching, style and editing, grammar and punctuation. |
| www.utoronto.ca |
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