Tips for Non-Professional Writers
If you are not a professional writer, and don't aspire to being one, but sometimes get
burdened with the task of writing a newsletter or similar article, then you have probably
found yourself at least once staring at a blank sheet wondering where to start. Welcome to
the club! You're not the first! The phenomenon known as 'writer's block' has probably been
around since the first hieroglyphics. However, that is no consolation when it comes to
overcoming a bad case of it, especially with a deadline looming. Here are a few tips that
might help next time.
Give Yourself Time
The most obvious thing is to give yourself plenty of time so that ideas can form
gradually and assume some shape before you put pen to paper. If you are one of that rare
breed, a natural writer, and you organize your timetable to allow a lead-in time for idea
development, the creative impulses might work quite naturally at the time you appointed for
sitting down and committing yourself to paper. This rarely happens though if, like most of
us, you are not a natural writer (meaning that it might be something you enjoy doing, even
something you are thought of as being very good at, but you have to labor over it to get it
right). Then it can sometimes be very difficult if you are not 'in the mood' at the
appointed time. Far better if you allow yourself adequate time to think about what you are
going to write and then set about the assignment when you feel ready and with plenty of time
for revisions, proofing etc.
Show Your Expertise
Obviously, it can help tremendously if you are an expert, or at least a reasonably
accomplished authority, on the subject concerned—but it isn't essential. A working
knowledge is often quite enough if you are willing to put some effort into research. Many
writers do not relish this part of their calling but know the value of it and incorporate it
into their everyday lives. They make notes of interesting things that happen around them,
things they hear, and so on. You can do the same simply by always having a small notepad and
pencil on you. They read avidly and become adept at spotting a well-turned phrase or an
interesting new viewpoint. They adopt the habit of clipping items out of magazines and
newspapers whenever something catches their eye.
Clip and Archive
Clippings can generate ideas for articles, provide material that can be used within a
piece, or sometimes get archived for years until their time suddenly arrives. Many writers
keep hundreds of clippings in files and folders, all categorized by topic, indexed by source
and date stamped. One word of warning if you adopt this practice though: always double-check
any facts that are gleaned from clippings.
Research
Systematic research may include public libraries, indices such as the Writer's Market
index and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (these are two of hundreds in the USA
but similar indices are available in other countries), the Internet and other online
services, encyclopedias, dictionaries and yearbooks, etc. Many industrial and non-profit
associations and similar organizations maintain their own databases, some of which are
searchable for a fee but many of which are free to anyone who wants to use them.
Interviewing
Interviewing experts is a popular and effective alternative to researching for a piece
and, of course, lends a legitimate subjective angle. Be prepared to encounter all the same
problems faced in a typical sales situation. For example, you may have to identify the key
person in advance, if she is not already known to you, and make contact to set up the
interview (even dodging 'minders' along the way). The interview itself is not unlike a sales
situation except that your objective is to encourage the interviewee to open up a discourse
with you. As in any well-conducted sales interview, the more input from the 'prospect' and
the less from the 'salesperson', the better.
Ask short, pointed questions and encourage detailed and involved answers. Once again,
planning is the key to success. You need to know exactly what questions you are going to ask
and how you are going to broach them. Carry a list to be sure you don't overlook the
important ones. Don't be afraid of admitting your ignorance of a subject, where this is the
case; it often helps the interviewee to open up more and, after all, the information they
provide is for your readers, not for you. Most 'experts' love to air their knowledge to
anyone who shows an interest in the subject they are so passionate about. "I'm sorry, I
don't understand. Can you explain that in more detail?" is often all that is needed to
get a reluctant interviewee to open up with complete enthusiasm. It is a matter of building
up trust. Putting the interviewee in the position of teacher and appointing yourself as
pupil gives her the feeling of being in command. Don't allow your own ego to dominate the
interview.
Getting Organized
Most articles are made up of a title, intended to command attention; an opener, being the
first paragraph and meant to arouse further interest; the main body text or the 'meat' of
the article; and the closing paragraph, which very often takes the form of a summary.
Bearing this in mind, gather all your clippings, key idea notes, interview transcripts etc.
and juggle them around until you settle on an order of inclusion that follows this logical
pattern. Sketch out the final sequence on a piece of paper. This will be the basic structure
of your article.
Using Titles
Put some thought into the title. People scan the contents of publications by reading
titles and if you want your piece to be read then you need to make it as appealing as
possible for the readership you are writing for. Many professional writers keep lists of
article titles that caught their eye and adapt them later for their own use. Some get their
inspiration for article content from working titles. The point about working titles is that
they allow you to focus on the subject in hand knowing that your final choice of title might
be very different. Very often you will find that your final title becomes obvious to you
from key words or phrases in the piece before you have finished writing it. Do bear in mind
though, that if an editor is going to be involved in the process, she has the right to
change the title to fit the style of the publication so your choice may not, in the end, be
used. That possibility is very much lessened if you choose a strong title yourself.
The First Draft
The first paragraph is the article opener. This is where you announce what the text that
follows is going to be all about. A well-focused opener makes it much easier to stick to the
point of the article in the main body. Keep your readership in mind as you write. This will
enable you to write in a style that suits them. Write as you would speak. Some find the
whole process easier if they dictate a whole article first and then edit the transcript. Try
it using a tape recorder or dictaphone if you find that writing down the words prevents a
proper flow from developing. But, most important of all, get it down. Don't worry about
grammar or spelling or even if it makes good sense. Your first draft should be just that and
will need editing to fine-tune your piece ready for publishing. Expect a third or even a
fourth draft before completion. A good tip for most people is to allow a gap between
completion of the final draft and final proofing, preferably overnight. It is quite
surprising how easy it can sometimes be to resolve a part that you previously struggled with
given the passage of a little time.
The Summary
Use the ending to summarize the main points of your article. Draw a conclusion from the
summary that emphasizes the main point, possibly by using an anecdote or a quotation. And
finish off the piece with a straight statement about what lessons were illustrated or offer
advice to show how to benefit from what was discussed.
Casual article writing can be a chore or a surprisingly satisfying undertaking. For the
non-professional writer it's all a matter of planning.
© 1999 Mike Alexander (Revised 2003)
|
Mike Alexander is the creator and owner of '101 Newsletter Answers', the 'How-To'
place where the focus is on 'Power Communicating' with newsletters. http://www.101newsletteranswers.com
|
|
Permission to publish this article is granted at no charge
provided it remains unaltered including the author's 'bio' (shown immediately above
this). To receive a plain text version, send a message from your regular
email address to <archives> (without the brackets) at the domain
<101newsletteranswers.com>. In the Subject field, put <arciv11> if
you would like it formatted to 60 characters a line plus underlined headings etc, or
<uarciv11> if you would prefer a 'ready-to-format' version with no line breaks.
Whenever possible, the author would also appreciate an
electronic copy of the publication in which it appeared. Please send any such messages
to <articleinc> at the domain <101newsletteranswers.com> with the ezine or
website title as the message Subject.
To return to where you came from, close this
window or use the menu bar at the bottom of the page.
|
Important Email Information
To lessen the chances of email addresses falling prey to address harvesting software (as
used by spammers) we avoid showing them in full. Instead, we only show prefixes (what
comes before '@'). Please be sure to add the @ and (usually) 101newsletteranswers.com.
Subscribe To Our Ezine
|
