Freelance Writing

Writing Faster Than The Speed of Thought

If you ask me what my biggest writing fault is, I will answer “I over run with my sentences.”

You can disagree and think my writing is faulted for very different reasons, but certainly, my opinion is that I get lost and ramble on when I should just “.”

When I get into the flow and my fingers are dancing on the keyboard, the words just come and it is almost like speaking. The problem is that when we speak, we make so many errors with our English simply because the brain is processing thought far faster than it can process appropriate speech. When you get into that writers groove, the written word becomes imbued with the same errors that characterise spoken English.

A sure sign of “written thought” is the cliche. When I’m up against a deadline and my commissioning agent is yelling down the email pipe “Where are my 500 words on yak fur!”; cliches abound. The problem for me is that I find it hard to recognise when I’m using a cliche, so worn are the bad habits I have acquired with my English over the years. Frankly, it takes a second reading some time beyond any practical deadline for me to pick them up, or a second pair of eyes.
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The Super Proofreader’s Rule of Thumb

My first day back from the New Year and I would like to wish everyone a great year! I’m going to start it off right, with a story about freelancing and how to get off to a good start. Proofreaders are here to make you look good and here’s an example.

It was the year end, so I decided to take a look at a few things the other day. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I’ve got to admit that I feel a little inspired when I see how great other freelancers are doing. I looked at one such freelancer’s earnings and found him in the $70,000 USD range. That doesn’t even include work not accounted for in that particular profile.

It motivates me because that’s the potential we all have. But, I can’t help to think how much more potential I have over that writer because there were so many errors in his profile it was unbelievable. Yes, I looked. It was interesting and confusing at the same time. I guess it was an experience that humbled me a bit too.

It’s kind of a thing with me. I like to know my competition. I looked at the work he had done over the last year and I was impressed. But, I couldn’t get past the thought of wondering how in the world he got all those jobs. If I wanted someone to write something for me, I wouldn’t want to see any errors in his profile.
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Read This Now – It’s for YOU!

Read this because it’s for you – yes, YOU!

You’re here because you write and are looking for some perspective and resources. I know that because this is a writing site and blog – easy enough for me to know who you are.

Now ask yourself this question – Why are you reading this NOW?

It’s a dominating, eye-catching headline for this post so you read the first line above – the first line reiterates this post is for you again. Now we are getting into why you’re still reading this post.

You’re still reading this post because the headline caught your eye, you managed to get engaged with the first line of the post and you became intrigued or hooked just enough to continue reading.

My Point is Simple!!

5 Reasons to Take a Break from the Keyboard

On a windy Sunday morning, I’m sitting at the PC for the second time of the day. I woke up at 6 buzzing with a slight hangover from the excesses of a boozy Saturday night with my cronies. Several coffees later I sat down to start writing at 8 full of good intentions.

The result was absolutely nothing. I just sat there and fiddled, checking email, checking google, and playing around instead of working.

As an example of gaining ideas to post about, this one is pretty lame – knowing when to leave the keyboard because you can’t write due to a hangover! Nevertheless, sometimes you do need to take a break from keybashing and there are warning signs to look for that should sound an alarm. When writing you need to be mentally and physically on your toes.

#1 Procrastination

At #1, procrastination is a sure sign you need to take a breather. If you’re surfing the internet and getting hooked on topics at a tangent which have no direct bearing on your assignment in hand, this is a sure sign you need to take a break. This is my number one sin as I’m forever getting sidetracked but procrastination takes many more forms than just idle surfing the internet to no effect. Sales people call this “soldiering”; making up chores and tasks in order to give yourself the feeling that you are being productive when in fact you are not.

#2 Not Knowing Where to Start

Strunk & White – The Elements of Style

In my quieter moments I surf the internet just like anyone else involved primarily in writing web content. I regularly read CopyBlogger which is a mine of writing tips and resources, but I particularly picked up on a post by Brian Clark
bemoaning the adverse comments scattered about blog posts by English usage Nazi’s. I think he has a fair set of points but they are not the subject of this post here. Brian was posting about common errors and by all means read his post, I thoroughly enjoy his blogging but bear in mind this is American writing and grammatical tips.

I followed through the post and picked up on a couple of names – Strunk & White – and clicking on the hyperlink, there we go through to Wikipedia and the entry for their tome. Reading the Wikipedia entry has motivated me to purchase a copy through eBay not least because of the simple, straight-forward advice that Messrs. Strunk & White appear to be dishing out.
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Fighting Writer’s Block

I wrote about getting started in writing, that sometimes the beginning is the hardest part. But, writer’s block is a completely different monster. See, getting started is often difficult but at least the writer has something to say. Writer’s block is where you hit a mental wall and you have absolutely nothing at all.

Some people would look at you crazy and wonder why you would want to write if you have nothing to write about. But, a writer has a need to write. And sometimes, things just need said even when a writer can’t seem to form the words.

How do you get through it is the question? There are several ways to combat writer’s block. Force yourself through or gradually get back into it, there’s always a way.

Freewrite

You may have been taught this before, but it works rather well. Freewriting is a method in which you start writing all of your thoughts down on a piece of paper. You don’t think about grammar or spelling errors. You don’t worry about punctuation. You just write, and write, and write. Before long, you’ll actually have something to write about.

Anything and everything that comes across your mind, that’s what you write. Don’t censor yourself. And if you have absolutely nothing going on in your mind, write about that.
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