Entries Tagged 'writing' ↓

Making the most of Time

The great difficulty that we face as writers is the lack of time.

It is easy to think – If only we had the luxury of retiring to a cottage in the Mountains then all our writing difficulties will be solved. However, it is not just about how much time we have, but, how we use it. To maximise our potential as writers we need to make sure we make the best use of time; if we don’t have enough time, we just have to create some extra time.

Some tips for effective writing practises

Dedicate half a day to Writing.

A full day of writing seems quite an onerous task, but, if we give 3-4 hours of writing we can get into the flow of creative writing energy without being overwhelmed. When we are in the right space, writing comes more easily. We should give these time slots a high priority; when we write we should avoid getting distracted by things that can wait for another time. If we are writing articles, don’t just do one at a time; often when I get into the flow of writing I find that the next 2 or 3 articles come quite quickly. Leave the uploading of articles to your site for another time – perhaps in the evening, when you are too tired to write.

Know What to Say.

Sometimes the hardest thing about writing is knowing the direction to take and what to say. Always keep a list of titles that you would like to write. When you sit down to write, this gives you a good choice of things to write about. If the title is a little vague write down a list of 6-7 key phrases which will make up the body of your writing.

Writing Without Inhibition

When you sit down to write it is important that you try to write without expecting perfection at first attempt. It is worth seeing the first draft as a place to put ideas down; this means you have the confidence to write down quickly. Sometimes, if we are highly concentrated, this form of quick writing may actually be quite effective. There is greater power in our writing when we can write – without long pauses to daydream or worry about we should write. Of course we will check, edit and delete where necessary. But, it is important to have something to edit with first. If you are a slow writer, practice writing quicker – just as an experiment and see how you get on.

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I am currently on holiday in the Carribean – an idyllic resort in the Dominican Republic. I hoped that a holiday would provide lots of free time to enable more writing. However, I’ve found that despite having more free time, I actually feel less inclined to write.

Here are some Tips for Writing on Holiday.

It is better to have a complete break and mentally switch off. Rather than being under pressure to write, but not having any inclination to do so.

A break can be good for recharging the batteries.

Maybe you have a commercial / work oriented blog. When your on holiday these topics may seem even less inspiring. Take the opportunity to write on other topics that do motivate you.

Fortunately, on one self improvement blog I had pre written 4 blog entries that I could publish over the course of two weeks. This gives you a break and also enables you to keep your blog ticking over. Another option is to invite guest bloggers to write for you.

Like anywhere else, writing is easier under certain circumstances. If you can find a bit of peace and quite writing will be much easier than taking your laptop to the beach (plus, sand and computers don’t mix very well.)

This holiday has shown me the importance of maximising your productivity in a busy day. When you are so busy you think – if only I had more free time to write. – But, now I have more free time, I am doing less writing.

A good article does not magically appear out of thin air. Even the best writers have to work very hard at producing good quality articles.

A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
~ Thomas Mann, Essays of Three Decades, 1947

However, if you breakdown the article writing process into several steps, it becomes easier to organise your thoughts and produce a memorable article. It is worth noting that here, we are aiming for excellence rather than mediocrity. Mediocre articles will generally sink without trace; unless you can really stand out from the crowd your article will have little long term impact.

1. Think of a Title.

• A good title is essential to creating the initial interest which is so important on the internet.
• If the title is insipid, you’ve lost 50% of your potential readers before they get to the first paragraph.
• Of course, make sure you know what you are writing about – Writers can not live on good headlines alone
• 7 Tips for creating eye-catching titles

2. Have a Clear Objective

To a large extent this will be determined by the title. But, when writing an article think about:

• Who is the target audience?
• What do I hope to achieve with this article?
• What can I add of value that hasn’t been said before?
• What is the optimum length?
• Don’t try to cover too many things in one article. Break it down into separate sections
• Write with Confidence and authority.
• related reading: The Beautiful Post at Skellie.org

3. Plan 7 -10 Points which are the main 7 paragraphs of the article.

You don’t have to write in list format (although, they often work well on the internet) However it is a good idea to have a plan; this breaks down the essay into manageable sections.

An example of an Article Plan is like this

How To Write A Good Email

1. Short / Concise
2. Be Polite
3. Wait before sending important emails
4. Is it better to phone?
5. Stick to the point

(BTW: How to write a good email)

Then all you have to do is expand on the points and explain it. It becomes less daunting to write a 1,000 word article when you have this structure.

4. Write with Enthusiasm

• The next stage is to get in the flow of writing.
• Don’t aim for perfection, just write the ideas that come out. (Try imagine talking if you get stuck).
• You don’t have to begin at the start. Begin anywhere.
• See – Write like there’s no tomorrow.- then edit at Daily Blog Tips

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