06 Feb 10 What Freelance Writers Should Read?

My love for short and intriguing answer is pushing me to say “read anything that you can lay your hand on to”, but, my slightly more normal self asks my crazy mind to explain. So, here goes the explanation.

A freelance writer should read anything that succeeds in catching, holding, and retaining his attention. Because the more diverse your reading habit will be the better equipped you will be to handle the challenges posed by freelance writing. You should care less about following a genre through head to tail. Well, doing it will be make you an expert and may be better accomplished as a writer of that particular genre, but expertise in one and dumbness in rest of the subjects is not what you should eye for. You need to have sufficient control on as many genres as possible.

What did you say— you will be master of one and will research for the rest?

I know many freelancers doing that, and quite a few have attained some degrees of success while treading down this road. But more often than not an article written by a freelance writer who has no prior knowledge or intuitive understanding of the subject matter lacks depth. To add depth and texture to your writing, you need to learn various things.

Freelance writing poses unique challenge that is seldom faced by fiction or non-fiction writers. Therefore, the solution used by freelance writers should also be different.

Read as much as you can, and from as many genres as you feel comfortable in!

Learning is a complex process, and acquiring knowledge is even more complex. One never knows which piece of text or byte of media triggers what. Sometimes the knowledge gained is a direct result of the things you are reading, while at other times, it is gained because the things you are reading have activated some unknown part of the brain which has triggered something else then something else, and the end result of all this could be the new understanding you have developed.

So, to help your brain form new pattern and new understanding, you need to provide it as many types of fodders as possible.

Tags: Acquiring Knowledge, Byte, Challenges, Crazy Mind, Dumbness, End Result, Fiction Writers, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writers, Freelance Writing, Freelancers, Genre, Genres, Love, Non Fiction, Part Of The Brain, Prior Knowledge, Reading Habit, Subject Matter, Texture

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29 Oct 09 What is Writing Prompt and How to Use It

Often times, we find ourselves staring on a blank sheet, or on a blank word processor hoping to get some idea, but as the luck would have it, nothing comes to my mind. After waiting for hours, when nothing happens, we feel the frustration. If you have been into writing then you must be aware of the monster called writer’s block. How many times have you faced this monster? This monster comes to haunt all of us, and even the award winning writers are not safe from this.

It is where when we need writing prompts to help us get out of this rut. Writing prompt can be anything that can make us write. It could be a picture, a word, a phrase, a quotation, an illustration, a person, a place, or anything. Anything that prompts us to write can be called writing prompt.

You will need writing prompts a lot in your writing career, hence I will ask you to maintain a list of writing prompts that can pull you out of the writer’s block. If you think, you are not going to face writer’s block in your career then either writing is not something in which you are going to make your career, or you are not planning to write much, at least not regularly.

How to use writing prompt

Make a list of writing prompts that will help you get out of the writer’s block. Always remember, writing prompt for a fiction writer cannot be same as writing prompt for a non-fiction writer. Writing prompt used by a self-help writer cannot be same as writing prompt used by writer writing on health-related issues. Hence, see what works for you and make a list of it.
Like anything else, writing using prompts also depends upon practice. The more you practice the more quickly you can get out of the block.
When faced with the writer’s block. Start with choosing any random prompt from the list, and then write on it continuously for 10-15 minutes.

In the next blog post, I will tell you how to build your own list of writing prompts. Till then practice what you have learned.

Tags: 15 Minutes, Blank Sheet, Face, Fiction Writer, Fiction Writing, Frustration, Health Issues, Health Related Issues, Illustration, Lot, Monster, Non Fiction, Phrase, Quotation, Random, Word Processor, Writer Health, Writer S Block, Writing Career, Writing Fiction, Writing Help, Writing Prompts

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27 Aug 09 Freelance Writing Checklist Part -1

If you are starting out as a freelance writer then there must be many things bugging you, or is there anything about freelance writing that can possibly bug you?

These questions are the two aspects of the same story, but with different protagonists: do you know what it takes to be successful as a freelance writer? This blog-post and the coming ones will provide you with a list of things that you must accomplish before venturing out for freelance writing.

I have organized this list of items to verify before jumping on the freelancing bandwagon based on the closeness of the topic to a freelance writing fresher. We (You and I) will begin this journey with you and your attitude towards writing, then will move ahead to see how the market is and what all you need to know before you commit. So, let’s get going.

Have you rounded of your writing skills?

Writing for someone else for money or without money is entirely different from writing for yourself or your term papers. The former requires precision in writing techniques, which may or may not require in getting the latter job done. I do not doubt your writing skill. I just want to say is go and brush up your grammar and writing skills to prepare yourself for better gigs.

What type of writer you are?

This is the second basic question you need to ask yourself. Are you a fiction writer or a non-fiction writer? If fiction is your genre, do you write stories, or poems? If you are a story writer, do you write short story, very short story, novella, or novel? What kind of story on that: crime, detective, erotic, historical, psychological, etc.? If you are a non-fiction writer, what kind of non-fiction you write? Do you write articles, press releases, sales letters, blogs, website content, political essays, term papers, magazine articles, news stories, or what?

As you can see this is a huge question, and you must have guessed, you will require a soul searching to know which genre fits your type. Not everyone is a “writing Leonardo “who can write on anything and everything with equal gusto, and produce equally mesmerizing output. Some people can do that, and rest of us can just hope to.

Where is your portfolio?

If you thought only a designer (graphic, fashion, web, hair, or any kind), a model, or a photographer, etc., needs a portfolio then it’s time for me to break the news: “A freelance writer also needs a portfolio!”

Build a portfolio that consists of writing samples from all the genres you want to get work in. yes, you can write in more than one genre!

Give me your URL?

C’mon, don’t say, you don’t know what a URL is!

Just joking.

When you are starting out, you many not feel the need to have a website, but once you move up the ladder, you will feel the need for one, and then you might think, “Why I didn’t have it yet?”

You are going to need it eventually, then why not now?

Tags: Bandwagon, Closeness, Detective, Fiction Writer, Freelance Writer, Freelance Writing, Grammar, Latter Job, Leonardo, Magazine Articles, Many Things, Non Fiction, Novella, Political Essays, Protagonists, Sales Letters, Short Story, Story Writer, Term papers, Writing Skill, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques

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06 Feb 10 What Freelance Writers Should Read?

27 Aug 09 Freelance Writing Checklist Part -1

Have you rounded of your writing skills?

What type of writer you are?

Where is your portfolio?

Give me your URL?

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