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Tips for the Writing Life

End-of-the-Year Writing Schedules and the MOST IMPORTANT little post You’ll ever See

January 17, 2019 by Deena Nataf 1 Comment

Created by Rawpixel.com – Freepik.com

 

I hope you are keeping to your writing schedule now that it’s winter in the northern hemisphere and the end-of-the-year madness is in full swing – wait; you don’t have writing schedule? Oy!

Writers need to write.

It’s always best to write first thing in the morning, right after breakfast. That said, some people prefer the afternoons or evenings, so do what’s best for you. Regularity (the same time every day) and consistency (6 days a week) is what you’re aiming for.

 

How to create a realistic writing schedule

Start with 5 or 10 minutes, and work your way up to 15 or 20, then half an hour, then 45 minutes, etc. Find the right amount of daily writing that is comfortable for you and stick with it.

If you have no current project (called a WIP – work in progress), you could follow the Method Writing regimen, or simply write whatever comes into your head. Some writers do this even if they have a WIP, as it gets the creative juices flowing and frees their mind for concentrating on whatever project they’re currently working on.

Other writers prefer to write a certain number of words per day, and that’s fine, too. I’ve just written a bit more than 200 words, so you can see how small of a commitment that is. Start there, and work your way up, week by week, to 1,000 words a day or more. You will get faster as you go along.

If you’re currently working on a specific writing project, spend a bit of time at the end of each daily session outlining what you want to write about the next day. If you’re doing Method Writing, choose a topic for tomorrow. This way, you’ll be ready to spend your entire session writing and not trying to figure out what to write about.

I’ve written a few posts on the importance of daily writing, on creating a schedule, and on motivation. Go ahead and check them out. And remember: don’t lose the momentum just because it’s December!

For those of you who don’t know what to write about, I have an ebook with 144 prompts, so that should keep you busy for a while. You can get it here.

 

Overstatement, understatement, and plain speaking

My sister sent me an interesting article recently, by Roy Peter Clark, from the Poynter website.

Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with the cutesy language Clark sometimes used in the article (not only when he was demonstrating overstatement), and neither is Poynter to my taste. (And there was one egregious error in the essay. See if you can find it, and email me your answer.)

However, the article introduced me to Charles Edward Montague, British author, editor, and veteran of World War I. Montague wrote an essay called “Three Ways of Saying Things: Statement, Overstatement and Understatement,” and that essay is Clark’s jumping off point. As Clark says:

Know when to back off and when to show off.” To back off, especially when a message is inherently dramatic, may require a form of understatement. Permission to show off comes when the subject is quirky or surprising, inviting the writer to do a little dance…


Exaggeration vs. euphemism

Montague is a better writer than Clark, and the examples Clark includes from Montague’s writing are tight and descriptive. Montague Shows more than Tells; the excerpt about Word War I is incredibly visual. I also like what Montague has to say about overstatement. His analogies and clever use of words are worth reading the article for. Here’s one bit:

Almost every leader of an opposition, however talented, says of almost every big government bill which he has to oppose, that it is the most monstrous hash of crude and undigested proposals that he remembers in a long parliamentary experience….Nobody, speaker or hearer, thinks of believing these flourishes….It is all a form, a flourish, a figure of speech, and yet somehow it does serve a purpose, if only to convey a vague impression of robust and salutary trenchancy.

Other than for politics, why else do we have such a desire to be dramatic with overstatement and ironic with understatement (e.g., calling the Atlantic Ocean “the pond”)? Clark summarizes: “The overstater and the understater seem to crave more attention to an idea or bit of news than the item may deserve.”

What we can learn from this

Two lessons can be drawn from the article:

  1. Be more discriminate in deciding whether a fact or statement is worthy of extra attention
  2. Don’t be cute

Deliver the truth directly. This doesn’t mean you have to be boring and always use “to be” words and Tell, like, “World War I was a terrible war. There was a lot of mud and vermin in the trenches.” Use visual, industrial-strength words. Raise the bar on your verb choice. And for an amazing, one-paragraph description of what it was like in the trenches of World War I, read the article.

 

What I’m reading

These past two weeks I’ve read a bit of trash and also finished Warriors Don’t Cry, which I wrote about in my two previous emails. I didn’t love the book from a technical perspective, but the story is fascinating. I recommend the book, but not only because of the story. It’s also instructive to read books whose writing you don’t always enjoy, as it helps you be more discriminate in evaluating writing styles and abilities. And it’s helpful to learn to separate story from style.

I’ve just finished Kate Atkinson’s Started Early, Took My Dog. Wow; talk about good writing. She’s brilliant, but not for the fainthearted. Her plots are always quirky, and there’s “language,” so not everyone will like her. I hated the whole plot/theme of another book of hers, Life after Life, which I mentioned on my blog a few years ago, but the writing was so good that I ended up finishing the book anyhow. Life after Life is a good example of separating style from story.

I’m now in the middle of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, which is a classic detective novel. It was first published in 1929, and the writing is top-notch. Here’s a book that’s super well-written, even though it’s written in stylized, “tough guy” language. Hammett’s word choice is outstanding and the dialogue characterizes each speaker. The protagonist is so Humphrey Bogart; in fact that’s who played him in the 1941 movie.

The interesting thing about The Maltese Falcon is that it has all the “sex-drugs-and-rock-‘n’-roll” stuff that we’ve unfortunately come to expect in 99 percent of modern thrillers, but Hammett does it subtly and modestly. There are few, if no, gratuitous elements of any kind in this book.

Here’s how Hammett describes one of the bad guys using a popular insult on the protagonist:

The boy spoke two words, the first a short guttural verb, the second, “you.”

Is that totally brilliant or what? Ten points for finesse and elegance!

***

Maintaining an uneven balance between overstatement, understatement, and just plain statement is one of the keys to lively, elegant, and tight writing. And this boils down to knowing how to use description effectively. Charles Edward Montague understood this; Charlotte Bronte and Kate Atkinson, among many other classic and modern writers, did too. Description is a prerequisite of good writing.

Happy writing!
Deena

Deena Nataf
www.BulletproofWriting.com
Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

How to Find Ideas to Write about

September 12, 2018 by Deena Nataf 8 Comments

The reason you are reading this post is because I have run out of writing ideas.

writing ideas What happens when the well goes dry?

There are all sorts of solutions to this problem. Let’s explore them together.

 

Write

Yes, yes, I know; how can you write when you have run out of ideas?

It is crucial that you write every day. This should be nonnegotiable. I will, however, give you one day off a week, so it’s really only six days a week. Here are some ideas to implement if you have no novel, short story, poem, or writing job on your plate:

  • Do Method Writing. Every day, take one small piece of your life – past, present, or even future – and write for 15 to 20 minutes. Describe an event and how you felt while you were experiencing it. Don’t worry; no one needs to read this. Then file it away for possible use in a future writing project.
  • Do free writing. Similar to Method Writing, take 15 to 20 minutes to just dump words on paper. Look at the clock on the wall and describe the second hand. Listen to the children playing outside and make up a story about one of them. Vent about your evil mother-in-law. Write about anything that comes to mind. Think stream-of-consciousness. Nothing has to make sense.
  • Write in longhand. writing ideasResearch has shown that writing in longhand has many benefits, not the least of which is peace of mind. Daily journaling has been shown to improve mood. You don’t necessarily have to journal if you choose to write in longhand; no matter what you write, you will release creative juices you might not experience from using a keyboard. Creative juices = writing ideas.

These three ideas are not exclusively for writer’s block or a dry well of ideas. Even you are working on a project, doing one of these for 15 to 20 minutes every single day will help get you started in the morning (or evening, or whenever you write). Think of them as warm-up exercises.

 

Read

Writers must read.

This is another nonnegotiable rule for authors of every stripe. Certainly have a book by your bedside table, and try to carve out a chunk of time every day just to read. Many writers are in the middle of several books. I am frequently in the middle of two physical books, one Kindle book, and a nonfiction volume I read only on the weekend. Each and every one holds a wealth of writing ideas.

Books are full of ideas to write about, and it’s okay to “steal” themes and characters. Just put your own spin and stamp your own voice (or the voice of a new character) on your work.

You’re allowed one trashy novel, but make sure that the rest of your reading list consists of “good” books, old and new classics, history, philosophy, etc. I’m now reading Middlemarch and love it.

Be aware of other reading opportunities, too, such as magazines, newspapers, fliers, your cigarette package. You are bound to discover all sorts of ideas to write about. How about a story of Marlboro Man? Or why you hate the New York Times (doesn’t everyone?). writing ideasPerhaps an advertisement for a lawn mower (human, not machine) will take you back to your salad days when you mowed lawns for pocket money.

And don’t forget that nonfiction is also full of wonderful, creative ideas to write about.

 

Stalk

Take a bus and eavesdrop on a conversation. Join a Facebook writing ideasgroup and read what the other members are thinking about, talking about, preoccupied with. Slink around Quora or Reddit. Call your mother.

For more writing ideas, look at old photo albums. My husband and I infrequently look at the table pictures of our wedding. (Pro tip: tell your wedding photographer not to take any table pictures. You won’t remember who half the people are ten years down the line, and pictures of half-eaten food are gross.)

Google your favorite singer or actor and read about his or her exploits. writing ideasOr Google something you’ve always been interested in but never took the time to learn about. There is so much material you can garner from a Google romp, for both fiction and nonfiction pieces. Keep a list of everything you want to learn more about, and choose one each time your metaphorical ideas database is empty.

Read obituaries. There’s a whole world of ideas and quirky vignettes inside these columns. A word, an episode, and list of family members can set off a whole chain of story events in your head – which you should immediately get down on paper.

 

Go away

There’s nothing like a nice jog or vigorous walk to clear your head and give your brain a break so it can once again fill up with things to write about.

Vacations are nice, too: new scenery, different people, and a change of pace are all excellent sources of idea fiber. (Don’t forget to write 15–20 minutes a day, even on vacation.)writing ideas

Meet a friend for coffee, go to a museum, see a film, go ice skating or bowling (or observe those who are doing it). Go to the beach, take a train ride. There are so many writing opportunities waiting to be discovered! You don’t have to necessarily find an exact and detailed story to write, but just getting away from your desk will go a long way toward firing up those creative brain cells.

***

I’m interested in hearing other ways to prime your writing pump. Let me know in the Comments how you find ideas to write about. And of course,

 

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Famous Author Quotes for Mid-Summer Inspiration

August 1, 2018 by Deena Nataf 5 Comments

illustration of beach photo
It’s August, and the whole world seems to be on vacation. You might be, too, or at least wish you were.
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s hot. The kids are home. No one seems to be doing anything important. Southern Hemisphere readers are probably fed up with the miserable weather and wish it would be spring already.
It’s a tough time to write.
illustration of beach photoIn light of this, I thought now would be a good time for a bit of inspiration and a kick in the pants. I’ve been collecting famous author quotes for the past few years, and I hope they will help keep you writing no matter what: rain or shine, snow or desert wind, school or vacation, employed or jobless, content or anguished. (And by the way, each of these descriptors can serve as the basis for a writing project!)
It’s also a good time to reread your favorite posts from Bulletproof Writing, so I’ve added lots of links below. And while you’re at it, encourage a friend or fellow writer to subscribe. Here’s a pre-populated email you can copy and paste:
Hi, _______!
Check out this great website for writers, and get a free, 5-day writing course!
One more thing: I just read a really helpful post about what Ray Bradbury used to do every morning to  focus himself for his daily writing stint. You can see it here. And check out his quote below.

Sit down and write

  • Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” – Isabel Allende
  • Show up and be the vessel, not the source. – Elizabeth Gilbert, in her stunning TED talk
  • The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one. – Nora Roberts
  • If the sun rises today, I will write. – Judy Walnoh

 

 

Worth rememberinglight bulb photo

  • “Write about what you know” is the most stupid thing I’ve heard. It encourages people to write a dull autobiography. It’s the reverse of firing the imagination and potential of writers. – Kazuo Ishiguro (Read more about writing what you know and what you don’t know here, here, and here.)
  • The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. – Sylvia Plath
  • The road to unfinished writing is paved with the phrase, “Maybe I’ll just check ___ real quick.” Sue Weems

The act of writing

  • I hate writing, I love having written. – Dorothy Parker
  • Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. E. L. Doctorow
  • A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. – Thomas Mann
  • I like to write when I feel spiteful. It is like having a good sneeze. – D. H. Lawrence

 

writing photo

The secret to good writing

  • Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. – Barbara Kingsolver
  • There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. – Willa Cather
  • Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. – C.S. Lewis
  • The secret of it all is to write in the gush, the throb, the flood, of the moment – to put things down without deliberation – without worrying about their style – without waiting for a fit time or place. I always worked that way. I took the first scrap of paper, the first doorstep, the first desk, and wrote – wrote, wrote. …By writing at the instant the very heartbeat of life is caught. – Walt Whitman
  • If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it. – Toni Morrison

Practical advice

  • Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write fifty-two bad short stories in a row. – Ray Bradbury
  • Make your characters want something right away even if it’s only a glass of water. – Kurt Vonnegut

 

***

Which of these pieces of advice are the most valuable to you? Why? Which ones will you integrate into your daily writing habit? Let me know in the Comments. And as always,

 

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

How to Be a Successful Professional Writer (or Editor)

July 17, 2018 by Deena Nataf 6 Comments

professional writer

I know they’re ugly

A story of shoes

I desperately needed a new pair of house shoes.

I went to one store, where I bought a pair of supposedly leather shoes. The salesperson swore up and down they were leather.

When I got home, I noticed a transparent sticker on the bottom of one of the shoes, and it said they were entirely synthetic.

The next day, I went with my husband to get my money back. Where I live, the buyer has 48 hours to return an item for a full refund. However, we had to yell, threaten, and take a picture of an illegal sign in the store (“No cash returns”) until they agreed to give me my money back – and then they made up some cockamamie story about how they can’t open the register until after the weekend.

I then went to another store down the street, bought another pair of house shoes, and after also having to exchange them for a smaller size a few days later (while the proprietors were hurling abuse at me), I now, finally, have shoes that I can actually wear.

 

Why am I telling you this?

Because these proprietors were more interested in making a sale than in serving their customers.

professional writerNowadays, it’s all about the consumer. But this doesn’t mean we’re allowed to be nasty customers and vendors have to lick our boots.

A vendor must know exactly what he or she will and won’t do for a customer or client, but it can be done nicely and within the law. The consumer can express his or her requirements, and if the vendor can fulfill them, the consumer should expect to receive what they asked for.

Trust and integrity are the are the name of the game.

 

The professional writer and editor

The same is true with regard to professional writers, editors – and really any freelancer. Put a sign with the word “SERVICE” on your wall or computer; it will remind you of your raison d’être.

True, I’ve always said on this blog that writers have to write for themselves, and I still believe that. However, when you are being paid for your services, you need to serve. On the other hand, having work parameters allows you to write “for yourself,” while still fulfilling your clients’ needs.

Here are a few things you can do as a professional writer or editor in order to deliver outstanding product, while still protecting yourself.

 

Always have a contract

contract photoPlease, people, don’t “feel bad” or “be embarrassed” about insisting on a contract. NO WORK should be done until you have set out in writing exactly what you will and will not be providing to your client. Be as detailed as possible.

You need dates and deadlines as well. This goes for both you and the client. For instance, if you are writing or editing an article, specify the date you will return the piece, the date the client must give it back to you with their corrections, and a date when you will hand in the finished product.

There should be monetary consequences for a client’s returning the piece late. I’m not even going to discuss your missing a deadline, because you can never let this happen.

Do not start to work until you get a deposit, somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the estimated total cost of the project. Enumerate when the next payment(s) is expected, and how much you are to be paid. Generally, you should be paid either after you finish a draft or on a certain date. No work begins before you receive your initial deposit, and no work continues until you receive your incremental payment. Final draft is sent to the client only after final payment is received.

I know this is difficult, especially for women, but I cannot emphasize its importance enough. If it makes you feel any better, it’s still hard for me to do this.

 

Your responsibilities

You, too, have responsibilities to your client.

First of all, be nice. Even though this whole contract thing feels a bit tough – nay, cruel – you can do everything with a smile and an attitude of accommodation. Be positive.

Consider the following pre-contract proposal:

Here’s what I propose: If you can sign the contract and give me your guidelines/provide the manuscript by [date], I can write/edit X and send it back to you by [date]. If I receive the manuscript back from you with all queries answered by [date], I can give you a final draft on [date].

If you’d like me to also do Y, I’d be happy to do it for an additional $___.

Included in my package are two versions of the final copy: one with tracking and a clean one without. All queries will be in comment bubbles.

I will also provide you with a style sheet at no additional cost.

You’ll hear from me every week/day/ten days with a progress report. And of course, please feel free to contact me any time with questions or concerns.contract photo

Once you get the gig and have delineated what you and the client are each responsible for, write up a contract with all this information and get it signed, or at least approved in writing via email.

 

Other ways to serve your client

Make sure you understand exactly what the client wants

If you have a writing assignment, how many words? If you’re editing someone else’s work, what kind of editing does the author desire: just a quick eyeballing, a copy edit, a language edit, or an in-depth, line-by-line editing job? For both writers and editors, who is the audience: age, gender, secular or religious, etc.? Ask the client for the demographics, as you won’t want to use the word “ubiquitous” in a book for young children, or allow a curse word if the article is for a church publication.

Make sense

The work should be as perfect as you can make it, within the time frame you and the client have worked out. Cross your t’s and dot your i’s, and remember your grammar and spelling. If you’re writing, self-edit before you turn it in (see the following 5 articles for details: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). If you’re editing, make the author look good by giving them a comprehensible manuscript in their own voice.

Make a style sheet

Your clients will love you for this. Unless you have been given a set of guidelines by your client, write down every ambiguous word or “rule” you run into or make up. For example, how are you going to spell Ann? Or Anne? or Ayn? Will it be “God, Who told Noah to build the Ark,” or God, who told Noah to build the Ark”? Or is it “ark”? If you’ve been given a style sheet by your client, create a new document comprising any new words, phrases, or rules, and send it along with your piece.

professional writerIf you are working on fiction, it is essential to write down every single detail: names, dates, places, and relationships. I have read several semi-professional books where the name of Martha’s sister is Joan in chapter 1 and Bonnie in chapter 6. Moreover, if the book takes place in Hawaii during the month of August, you cannot say, “The next day it snowed, so we couldn’t go to school.” Whether you are writing or editing, go that extra mile and hand in a style sheet.

 

Take pride in your work

No matter what you are working on, be it a novel, a board book for two-year-olds, a memoir, or a how-to book on growing your own mushrooms, treat each project as if it’s the most important thing ever written. You’ll feel good about yourself, your client will think you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, and you’ll get many more jobs from happy clients or their friends and colleagues.

I’ll close here with a wonderful article I read recently. This amazing woman elevated the obituary column of the New York Times to an art form. There is much to learn from her.

***

Have I missed anything that relates to serving your client? If I have, please add it in the Comments. And no matter what you are currently working on, I wish you

 

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Self-Editing: Prepare for Your Editor with a Final Read-Through (Part 3)

April 17, 2018 by Deena Nataf 2 Comments

For the first post in the series on self-editing, click here.

For the second post in the series on self-editing, click here.

For the fourth post in the series on self-editing, click here.

For the fifth post in the series on self-editing, click here.

 

editor photo

 

Every author needs an editor.

But that’s not an excuse to throw a manuscript at an editor without first taking the time to go over it yourself with a fine-tooth comb.

When you’ve read your piece what feels like a million times, and you swear that it’s ready…

read it one more time.

And then read it again. If you’ve done a final read-through for technical issues, then do this last one for contextual issues, and vice versa.

There are many reasons for doing a last read-through of your article or manuscript before submitting it to an editor. And yes, I do mean even after you’ve read it six or seven times. We’re going to explore them in this post.

 

Submitting to a paid editor

Once you’ve done your final read-through(s), you are ready to send your piece or manuscript to an editor for editing.

Huh?

A paid editor is your first stop after you write “Final” on your work. He or she will fix up your prose, making it tighter and more readable – and giving it a better chance of being read by an audience and/or accepted for publication.

Why you need an editor even if you did a final read-through

You need an editor because you must always have a second pair of eyes on your manuscript. You are much too close to it to see all the issues.pair of eyes photo

Some editors will fix up technical issues such as spelling and grammar, and some will do more of a conceptual edit. Some will do both, but they’ll probably have to go over your piece twice. We usually label those who work on technical issues “copy editors,” but don’t get hung up on titles. For argument’s sake, however, think of the difference between a copy editor and an editor as like the difference between a math major and an English major. It’s two different types of brain power, and not every editor can do both.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your sister’s mother-in-law’s upstairs neighbor’s cousin can “edit” your manuscript because she studied English in college, or because she edited the school newspaper when she was in the 12th grade.editing“Qualifications” such as these do not an editor make.

On the other hand, one doesn’t need to have been an English major in order to be a good editor; it’s a combination of skill and gift. But one does have to be a professional editor. I happen to have been an English major, but I am definitely an exception to the rule. Some of the best editors I know majored in semiotics, linguistics, math, accounting, international relations, actuarial science, European history, and law.

Why you need to reread your work before you send it to your editor

  1. It’ll be cheaper. If your editor has to do your dirty work, such as making sure all commas are inside the quotation marks or checking spelling consistency (biblical or Biblical? Marc or Mark?), you are wasting their time and taking their attention away from big-picture questions like, “Does this sentence make sense?”
  2. Your editor will be able to spend more time on the content. Money aside, grammar and spelling mistakes fill up an editor’s head space. If you want someone to correct these more “technical” issues, then hire a copy editor in addition to an editor.
  3. You will find new mistakes. Believe me, there will always be a super-embarrassing gaffe for you to find during the last read-through, and now is your time to catch and fix it.

I must admit, I originally wasn’t going to include #3 in my list, as I was concerned it would only generate the ODD in all of us. So listen up: There comes a time when you need to let go of your manuscript. You will always find new mistakes and you can always think of a new way to say something, but you must know when to stop, click Save, and write Final on your document. editing

 

 

Submitting to a publisher

If you are submitting a manuscript or article to a publisher, there are a few other reasons to give your piece a final read-through besides finding that one doozy of a mistake:

  1. You will definitely have a better chance of your work being accepted if all the t‘s are crossed and all the i‘s are dotted. As I’ve said before on this blog, unless you’re J. K. Rowling – or even Daniel Silva – acquisition editors will not tolerate a manuscript or article with technical mistakes. Think of it from the editor’s point of view: poorly edited and typo-ridden manuscripts feels to an editor like the author simply couldn’t be bothered (or worse, doesn’t know how to write). So why should the editor bother publishing it?

When I did acquisitions at a publishing house, I also rejected books where it was clear the author never went over his or her book more than once or twice. Some didn’t take the time to get rid of spelling or punctuation mistakes – or even to make sure each sentence ended with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. And don’t get me started on their cover letters.

2. An editor receives too many submissions to bother with something that makes no sense. Or is unrealistic. Or unclear. After you have read your piece one last time for technical mistakes, read it one last time for clarity: Does it say what it’s supposed to say? If it’s fiction, are the characters well-drawn and is the story consistent and believable? Is the dialogue true-to-life? If it’s nonfiction, is your thesis well-set out and provable? Does it hold your interest? Read things aloud if you have to.

 

If all else fails…

While I am a strong advocate for an author’s attention to detail, I do understand that some of you are more “forest” than “tree” types, and checking punctuation, grammar, etc. isn’t your thing. Here are three suggestions:

  1. Make it your thing, at least for the time it takes you to go over your work.
  2. Spend money on a copy editor to do all the dirty work for you.
  3. Learn the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Bulletproof Writing has lots of helpful and fun grammar posts for you!

 

***

Sorry for nagging, guys, but this was important. There’s nothing like a final read-through (or two) AFTER you’ve self-edited according to the guidelines I set out in my first two self-editing posts – which you can read here and here.

Yes, it’s a pain in the neck, but it’ll be worth it when you receive your acceptance letter and a bunch of praise about your writing ability.

Are there any other points to look out for, either during the final read-through or while you’re editing your own work? Let me know in the Comments. And, as always,

 

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Comedy Grammar, Tips for the Writing Life

There Is No such Thing as Motivation…and What to Do Instead

July 30, 2017 by Deena Nataf 10 Comments

The inevitable has occurred.

You read some article or post (such as this one, this one, or this one) about getting consistently motivated to write. You get all fired up, plan a new schedule, and turn over a new leaf with the greatest intentions.

Things are going pretty well. You’re writing every day, and meeting your time or word quotient. You even start getting a bit smug. Ha – you cracked the writing code!finding motivation to write

Then one of four things happens:

  1. Life.
  2. Work.
  3. Boredom.
  4. Fear.

A kid gets sick, a holiday comes around. You get a freelancing job you hate, or you’re writing a story or article that sucks all the confidence out of you. Writing suddenly takes so long, and you realize that along the way it stopped being fun.

You can’t seem to get yourself up in the morning. Or you keep getting up from your computer to eat another piece of chocolate or make another cup of tea. You forget why you wanted to become a writer, and you start thinking: “Why make life harder for myself than it already is?”

 

The myth of inspiration

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you probably already know that I am not an advocate of waiting for inspiration to write. I recommend just showing up, every day.

That is so not romantic, I know. But it really is the only way to be a writer. “Inspiration,” if there really is such a thing, comes while you’re in the trenches, writing away even if you don’t want to.

If you have a light bulb moment – an idea for an article, or a phrase you might be able to tease into a short story – for goodness’ sake, write it down in a dedicated notebook or in an app such as Evernote.writing motivation

But don’t mistake a good idea with “inspiration.” Get those ideas down, but continue your daily writing as if they never emerged.

 

Motivating yourself to be motivated

To be perfectly honest, I also don’t believe in motivation. This is possibly because I have none.

Don’t tell anyone, but the only thing I’m motivated to do is drink tea, eat chocolate, and read.

Paradoxically, I have a strict wake-up time, and generally, as soon as my alarm rings I jump out of bed and go directly into the bathroom.

writing motivation

bandrat for freedigitalphotos.net

And that’s when the little red man with pointy ears and a pitchfork jumps onto my left shoulder and whispers, “Oh, come on, just go back to bed. You’re exhausted, and what does it matter if you start an hour later?”

The little white man is still sleeping, and he hasn’t yet landed on my right shoulder. In fact, I haven’t seen him in a while…

No lie: I have this exact conversation with the red man every. single. morning.

 

And then I go back to my bedroom, turn on the light, and start getting dressed. I’ve accepted the fact that the little red man will do this every single weekday without fail. Like lower back pain, I live with him.

For more bad news on motivation, read this.

 

There is no magic pill

And how I wish there were. Think how popular my blog would be if I had a pill to give you.pill photo

In lieu of drugs, there is but one solution to the “inspiration-motivation” issue, and here it is:

Don’t think.

I kid you not. Just do. Know the night before exactly when you will get up the next morning, and what you will do from hour to hour. And then do it mindlessly. Pretend you’re in the army and your schedule is your sergeant.

When I had a bout of insanity was getting up to run at 5:00 in the morning, three times a week, for almost a year, turning off my brain was the only way I could do it. (And anyway, who can think at 5:00 in the morning?)

Apply this to any activity, and it will get you closer to your goal.

 

Goals vs. consistency

Goals are essential, but don’t start worshiping them. It’s more important to be consistent. In other words,

Show up every day.

As I wrote in a recent post, articulate your goals. However, never allow them to become an excuse not to do. Don’t say to yourself, “I’ve forgotten why I’m doing this, so until I remember, I’ll just get another cup of coffee.”

Remember, don’t think. If you have no writing project or job, for instance, that is not an excuse for not writing today. This is where consistency trumps goals.

When things get tough and you start to think, go ahead and ponder your goals. I used to do this at the beginning of my runs, when I hadn’t yet warmed up and was freezing to death. My micro goal was to finish the run without collapsing or getting mugged, and my macro goal was to run a 10K in the Jerusalem Marathon.writing motivation

On the other hand, when I couldn’t care less about why I was running and thought, “Who am I kidding?” (actually, I thought, “Whom am I kidding?”), I would fall back on, “I run three times a week.” In other words, I was just showing up, being mindlessly consistent.

 

A few nice clichés

Here are four phrases hanging on the wall in back of my computer. Take your pick:

  • Don’t chase goals; chase consistency.
  • Done is better than perfect.
  • Action trumps thinking.
  • What I want is bigger and more important than the fear that prevents me from achieving it.

 

Putting systems in place

Creating systems makes it easier for you to write no matter what is going on in your life or in your head, because systems eliminate choice. Same leitmotif: The less you think about the noise, the easier it will be for you to act.

Here’s a wonderful post by Ramit Sethi about creating systems. You might not need to go to the extreme that he articulates, but there are some golden nuggets there. (Swear word alert.)

 

***

While I hope you never run out of “motivation” or “inspiration” to write, remember that at best you don’t need them, and at worst they don’t even exist. Write, don’t think; show up every day; kick that red man off your shoulder; sit down and feel your fear – and write anyway.

Are you experiencing a writing low after an initial spurt of motivational energy? Let this post help you take action in spite of all the obstacles. And let me know in the Comments what worked.

 

Happy writing!

Bulletproof Writing

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

 

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

How Setting Boundaries Sets You Up for Writing Success

June 20, 2017 by Deena Nataf 2 Comments

Tell me if this sounds familiar to you:

You get to the computer first thing in the morning, excited that you have six uninterrupted hours to get everything done: make a dent in your freelance work, add a chapter to your memoir, do your daily Method Writing, answer emails…

What’s first?

How long for each task?

When’s lunch?

Oy, the phone’s ringing.

 

When I started this blog, I knew I’d have to revamp my day. I got up at 6:00 every morning. My workday started at 7:30. Some days I’d work on my latest freelance project for two hours, and then leave the house for another job. Other days I worked at home, changing tasks every two hours.

I found that working every day on each project for a relatively short amount of time was in keeping with my energetic personality. I even wrote a blog post about it.

 

What happened when everything fell apart

I recently took three months off from one of my part-time jobs, and as June 1st rolled around I started panicking: how was I ever going to get everything done once I started back at the office?

The leave of absence helped me to concentrate on this blog as well as complete a few freelance projects, but I can’t in good conscience say that I was consistently organized and did the same thing at the same time every single day. Many times I felt as if I were spinning my wheels, never really focusing on anything to the exclusion of everything else.

And sneaking in a few chapters of whichever novel I was currently reading was not exactly helping either.

I knew I could not continue at this frenetic pace of switching tasks every two hours, putting in a load of laundry between paragraphs, and answering “urgent” emails.

schedule your life

iosphere for free digital photos.net

Now to be fair to myself, I do get a lot accomplished in 24 hours, and have had a lot of successes in my life. I’m also very fast, and capable of multitasking even though it’s inefficient and bad for you.

 

What changed

With two weeks to go until the beginning of June, I stumbled across this video on one of the best business and finance blogs I know. Ramit Sethi, the man behind the blog (and the man behind the course I took to start my business), basically says that a lack of focus is really an inability to set boundaries.

Read that again. It changed my life, and it might change yours.

 

Lack of focus is really an inability to set boundaries.

 

My husband, who is super-focused and -disciplined, has been offering to help me create a weekly schedule for the past…how long have we been married?

Joke. But the truth is that I have been resisting his organizational advances for months.

create a scheduleBy the last week in May I was in full panic mode, and I knew something had to change. I finally agreed to have my husband help me. One evening, I stuffed pen and paper into my purse, dragged him to a bar (I had mint tea and vegetables; I am not making this up), and make a schedulewatched him sip his beer and work his magic.

 

90-second (I promise) goal-setting

The first thing I realized was that my lack of boundaries was preventing me from getting closer to my work goals, which are…

Huh?

I had no idea what my work goals were.

Here’s what I came up with:

  • to work a certain, set number of hours per week on each project.
  • to have very little or no work time in the evening.
  • to have leisure time for reading trashy novels well-written fiction and nonfiction.
  • not to work on Fridays (my husband’s suggestion)

Lesson learned: You need to have at least a loose goal before creating a schedule. And it takes about a minute and a half.

Once I articulated (and actually wrote down) my goals, I asked myself some questions:

  • Should I get out of bed later and start later – or get up earlier and start earlier? Or continue getting up at 6:00 am?finding time to write
  • Should I have a “daily theme,” or divide my day into several 2-hour task windows?
  • How much time should I give to my blog? My in-house projects? The editing job that requires me to go to an office?

I discovered that I had been way too rigid about how many hours I had to devote to certain tasks. My husband assessed my goals and my clients’ needs/demands, and suggested I try some new ideas and adjust as necessary. He was able to think outside my self-created box and visualize something different.

Lesson learned: Be flexible, and believe that there’s always more than one way to look at a problem.

 

My new weekly schedule

Here’s what we came up with (Sunday is a regular day where I live):

Basically, my husband cleaned out my work time to be work time only,  carved out four long but doable chunks of work, and gave me several shorter chunks for lesser tasks and longer-term projects.

Two years ago, I wasn’t ready to buy in to the idea of working longer chunks at a time and actually counting the hours I work on each project, but by the time I entered that bar and sat down with my husband, I was prepared to trying something new.

Lesson learned: It’s okay to ask for help. Someone who isn’t you is more objective; you’re too emotional about it and can’t see the big picture.

 

The tension between boundaries and flexibility

Above I wrote to be flexible, and know there’s always more than one way to look at (or solve) a problem.

However, what if you are too flexible?

That’s my issue; I haven’t been strict enough.

Having boundaries is not only about getting up in the morning and starting to work, I would argue that it’s more about knowing when to finish each task.

It’s easier for me to start a task than to stop working on it for the day. If I have a lot of loose ends to tie up, it makes me crazy to just leave them for the next time I work on that project.

My husband – let’s call him Francis – made it clear that if I wanted to meet my goals I had to be more strict about starting on time and ending on time.

As I’m still working on this, Francis has given me a large lunch break twice a week (and a lunch break at my out-of-house job), which I can shorten if I go a bit too long on the morning’s task or simply had to take that phone call from my daughter. schedule your lifeThis has helped me to keep my afternoon schedule more or less intact.

Right now I’m working on sticking to my project boundaries in order to use some of this lunch time for between-project exercise and mini-breaks.

Lesson learned: You must start on time and end on time, but be sure to pad your schedule with transition time.

 

It’s not just about keeping to the schedule

Speaking to my kids in the middle of the workday notwithstanding, I’ve had to make stricter boundaries with myself and others. Therefore, during work hours:create a schedule

  • No social phone calls
  • No social media
  • No email
  • No answering phones unless it’s a family member
  • No doing laundry
  • No kitchen work

Lesson learned: It’s not as hard as you think.

If you’re worried you’ll never be able to stay off social media during your work time, try Freedom, a free app that blocks Internet for however long you decide. I like it, and have discovered that after a while I don’t need it anymore, as I have developed a rhythm to my work.

 

Time to get serious about your writing

If you’re a writer – professional, avocational, hobbyist, whatever – you must find time to write.

Sit down with someone this week and set your writing and/or work goals. How many hours/words are you going to write each and every day? What other projects are on your plate? What are your priorities?make a schedule

Let your partner then help you carve out a schedule that works for you.

Experiment with “daily themes,” in which you work half a day on one project, or try to create smaller work periods for each of two or three different tasks. Or mix and match, like I did, with a daily major project and one or two minor tasks after lunch.

If you’re a night owl, you might want to adjust your schedule to reflect this. I’m super-focused and alert in the morning, which is why I do my hardest and most important tasks then.

If you’re still not convinced of the importance of a daily routine, read this.

 

A couple of offbeat ideas

I find that eating more protein helps me avoid the ten o’clock and two o’clock slumps (am I the only one who gets two a day?). Since I started a new diet, both slumps have disappeared – instantly, I might add.

Deadlines are great, but what if you don’t have any? Perhaps you journal, or you’re putting together a memoir for yourself, or maybe you’re writing a novel but don’t yet have an agent to breathe down your neck.

Try making your own deadline, or find an accountability partner. Give someone a signed check to send to your least favorite charity if you don’t fulfill your writing quota or finish that book by X date.

Although this never worked for me, perhaps bribing yourself with ways to bribe yourselfsomething will work for you. (I used to bribe myself with chocolate, but always found some excuse to eat it anyway.)

Buy yourself a nice diary such as a Moleskine, or just print something out from the Internet! You can even use Google Calendar – whatever. A diary works for me as an auxiliary schedule because I like writing down everything I need to do tomorrow, the night before.

***

Life is dynamic, and priorities change. Right now I’m happy to use my new schedule, but perhaps in a few months I’ll take on fewer freelance jobs and devote even more time to this blog. As important as it is to stick to a schedule, nothing is ever written in stone. Try to find the balance that works for you.

I can’t wait to hear from you! Tell me about your new writing/work schedule in the Comments, or shoot me an email; you can even show me a copy of your new weekly regimen.

And let me know: Do you find it harder to start or to stop?

 

Happy writing,

Deena Nataf

 

 

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

What I Learned from Reading Moby-Dick

June 6, 2017 by Deena Nataf 9 Comments

A few weeks back I wrote a post on why you should read books you hate. At the end, I challenged you to read a book you really don’t want to read, and to let me know how the experience was and your impressions of the book.

whale photo

Photo by kohane

I chose to read Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick because 1) it looked like the most boring book in the world, 2) I dislike animal books, 3) as a rule I can’t stand nineteenth-century American writers, and 4) I know nothing about the sea, boats, and whaling, so I was sure I wouldn’t understand a thing.

Here’s my report on reading the book and why I think we should all get out of our reading comfort zones more often, forcing ourselves to read books we swore we’d never touch.

 

Moby-Dick is a classic example of nineteenth-century fiction

Wow, Melville can pack a lot into his sentences.

Mostly because they’re really long.

But seriously, if you take a deep breath and just read, you will fall into the rhythm of the prose and understand everything.

Most classic nineteenth-century writers knew their punctuation cold, so it’s pretty easy to follow even the longest sentences. Granted, punctuation has changed, and so have some of the rules of writing. However, if done right, it doesn’t matter which century you’re in; you’ll understand an excellent writer no matter what.

Moby-DickWhen you open up Moby-Dick, you’ll find paragraphs that span several pages. In fact, most writers up to the nineteenth century wrote lengthy novels with what my husband and I refer to as “Teutonic sentence structure.” It takes a bit longer to recognize the greatness of these books – especially for those of us in the twenty-first century – but the effort is well worth it. Melville’s prose is splendid, and his descriptions are as clear as a photograph.

 

It wins first prize for most description per square inch

Speaking of which, I’ve noticed that most of the classics are filled with pages and pages of description. Moby-Dick, for one, has chapters of nothing but description and explanation of terms. In fact, we are almost halfway through Moby-Dick before the least bit of real action happens. Sometimes I felt like saying, “For crying out loud, Herman, just get on with it!”

But by then our pump has been primed, and we’re both ready and armed with enough knowledge to “get” the action and understand why it makes sense. Melville’s lengthy descriptions have set us up for understanding the psychology behind Captain Ahab and the rest of the crew of the Pequod, and their relationship to the white sperm whale (i.e., Moby-Dick) and to each other. He describes each main character in excruciating detail, but when he writes about their innermost thoughts later in the book, it is much easier to understand their thought processes. All the more so when push comes to shove and they’re fighting the whale; it feels realistic.

Furthermore, it would have been difficult to believe Captain Ahab’s obsession with killing the white whale, and his crew’s acquiescence to putting their lives in danger to achieve this goal, if we hadn’t had these full descriptions of the book’s major players as well as some treatment of the minor characters.

 

It puts our short attention spans and need for instant gratification to shame

It’s a pity we live in a world where instant gratification is king – and our attention spans reflect this. finding time to writeFor example, all (and I mean all) the advice I’ve read about blogging and content marketing says to make both your sentences and your paragraphs short nowadays, with lots of white space and graphics or photographs. My own blog is a good example of this.

As another example, although I loved both Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Book Thief, most of their chapters are short and sharp. No extra fluff there.

Another failing of contemporary literature is that more things are assumed. In general, characters aren’t drawn as sharply as earlier writers drew them. I often find myself wondering why a certain character would act in a particular way; according to his or her initial, short description, it makes no sense.

 

It encourages quality writing

Today’s readers won’t wait for many and lengthy chapters until the “action” happens. It must begin already on the first page. Isn’t that what all writing teachers say? Heck, even I’ve said it.

There is value in getting into the heart of a book right away, but we have to compensate for streamlined description and immediate action with more powerful, impactful writing. For instance, dialogue is a great way to impart character traits. So too, describing a character’s dress and appearance while simultaneously reporting action. Analogy, metaphor, and simile can help as well. For instance:Mt. Vesuvius

  • They call my father Mount Vesuvius because of his terrible temper.
  • ›The hostility [was] burning off her like heat off a sun-baked tarmac road. (Sophie Kinsella)
  • The smell in the kitchen was reminiscent of the fallout after a nuclear attack.
  • She’s as kind as Mother Theresa.

All of these are description shorthand for the modern reader and writer.

 

It is filled with symbolism and subtlety

There isn’t a lot of symbolism in modern literature. One of the few contemporary authors who imbues his books with symbolism is John Irving. (Let me know in the Comments if you can name anyone else.) Sometimes when symbolism appears in modern novels it’s forced, way too dramatic, or shoved down readers’ throats.

In Moby-Dick, however, symbolism is alive and well, but thankfully not in your face. Here are a few examples:

  • Captain Ahab’s fake leg – made to replace the one cut off by Moby-Dick – is made from the jaw of a sperm whale. Moby-Dick is part of him, he has thereby become part animal.Moby Dick
  • Holes are cut into the ship’s deck so Captain Ahab can insert his fake leg into them and remain standing. Not only is he part animal, he’s part of the ship. (He’s also compared to the mast of a ship.)
  • There is Christian symbolism with regard to Captain Ahab: “Moody, stricken Ahab stood before them with a crucifixion in his face; in all the nameless regal overbearing dignity of some mighty woe.” Later, he is compared to a king.

The whale itself, of course, is symbolic of evil and ridding oneself of it, of conquering one’s fears, of man’s conquering nature. Yet Moby-Dick is white, which Melville himself associates with majesty:

Most famous in our Western annals and Indian traditions is that of the White Steed of the Prairies; a magnificent mild-white charger…. he was the object of trembling reverence and awe…. it was his spiritual whiteness chiefly, which so clothed him with divineness…which…at the same time enforced a certain nameless terror.

If you notice, all of the symbolism I’ve cited is subtle – another quality of nineteenth century and earlier literature. So is the humor. With few exceptions, humor in the classics is neither raw, slapstick, nor spelled out. I found myself thinking, “Wow, even in those days they knew how to make jokes.”

 

Melville has an amazing command of English

Although there are some grammar mistakes in Moby-Dick – some of which are not really mistakes but merely the way they wrote in those days – Melville’s prose is a delight. Here are a few gems:

  • “Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some subtler form.”
  • “You cannot hide the soul.”
  • “Queequeg was George Washington cannibalistically developed.”
  • “Heaven have mercy on us all — Presbyterians and Pagans alike — for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.”
  • “When a man suspects any wrong, it sometimes happens that if he be already involved in the matter, he insensibly strives to cover up his suspicions even from himself.”

 

Melville is unafraid to explore touchy issues

Melville also explores black/white and Christian/heathen relations in Moby-Dick, with more Show than Tell. As an example, the non-whites are the harpooners, i.e., they are the ones who pierce the whales in order for the white men to take their lancers and go in for the kill. The harpooners live and eat separately on the boat, lower in status than the captain and his mates, but higher than the simple sailors.

Ishmael, the protagonist, becomes close friends with Queequeg, a cannibal prince. As the two men walk about the port, “people stared; not at Queequeg so much – for they were used to seeing cannibals like him in their streets – but at seeing him with me and upon such confidential terms. We heeded them not.” (Emphasis mine.)

The two men even share a bed at the beginning of the book, something I’m not sure modern literature could pull off without our thinking all sorts of…things. It is readily apparent that Melville didn’t craft this scene for gratuitous purposes. The relative innocence of the nineteenth century allowed for deep exploration of friendship in a way I’m not sure could happen in our time.

 

Melville experiments with different types of writing

Modern novels do not have the monopoly on “experimental” novels. Melville, too, employs different methods to tell his story. He uses narrative most of the time, but occasionally he’ll switch to what can only be called the script of a play. At other times he tells us what different characters are thinking, in first person. Some of his chapters are extremely long and description-heavy, while others are barely two pages.

I found this fascinating, as I had the mistaken impression that nineteenth-century writers stick to rigid rules of fiction (whatever they are). Instead, Melville was all over the place, but it worked.

***

Now I’d like to hear from you! Which book did you read, and why? What did you learn from reading a book you “hate”? Was the experience worthwhile?

Let me know in the Comments how you did. I look forward to reading your thoughts and insights.

Happy writing!

 

 

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Do the Different and Taste More Writing Success

February 14, 2017 by Deena Nataf 2 Comments

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different outcome each time. (probably not Albert Einstein)

Take the quiz:

  • Do you write for the same publications over and over again, and complain about the low pay and the boredom?
  • Do you feel isolated as a writer, having no one to bounce ideas back and forth with and give you feedback?
  • Do you always write about the same subjects, for the same audience?
  • Do you feel as if there are no well-paying and enjoyable jobs for a freelance writer – or for you specifically?

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, you may be guilty of Writer’s Insanity.

While I was searching for a cure for this unsightly problem, I came across a really nice post from Linda Formichelli’s website which, uncannily, is called Linda Formichelli.com. She’s a freelance writing success coach, and used to run a great blog called The Renegade Writer.

Linda makes some really good points about freelance writing – and writing in general – and I think there is some very valuable information in her post for you. It might just be the perfect medicine for your writing ailments. As the owner of a blog and a business, I got a lot out of it too.

Write what you don’t knowWritng in longhand creates clarity

The idea that a well-off person couldn’t possibly relate to the concerns of “regular folk” is ridiculous. Any reasonably intelligent person can look around, read the news, and talk to people from all walks of life to gain an understanding of their lives. We writers should know that more than anyone!

I’ve written about both writing what you know and using research to write what you don’t know, and I firmly believe authors can do both. I also highly recommend starting the habit of Method Writing, in which you write for 10–20 minutes a day about a small piece of your life’s tapestry: Describe the episode, summoning up all the emotions surrounding it. Soon you will have a whole arsenal of emotions that you can use when drawing your characters, narrating a scene, building tension, and even writing nonfiction.

Niche it down

Don’t let it bother you when a book, article, or blog post doesn’t relate precisely to your life…and at the same time, don’t feel bad if your writing isn’t 100% all-inclusive. It’s okay to write something strictly for a particular audience that you relate to. If someone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to read it.

Don’t write with fear:

fear photo

Photo by dryhead

 

  • Fear that no one will read your work
  • Fear that people will read your work and criticize it
  • Fear that you’ll never get another job/write another word

Concentrate on this piece at this time. Say what you mean. Focus.

Niching down helps you zero in on the subject, the angle, the audience, and the point of view. Your writing will be crisper because you won’t betray ambivalence or juggle too many disparate threads in your piece.

Remember to have an image of Ideal Reader in your mind as you write; in other words, write for one person only. It’s counterintuitive, but this is the way to create a piece that will be well-received by a wider group.

Having focus yields two, somewhat opposing, positive outcomes: First, you will cull an audience that is specifically and deeply interested in your subject and manner of delivery. People in that niche will flock to it.

Second, even those who aren’t necessarily in your demographic will read your stuff if they think that there is something valuable to get out of it – even if it’s not a perfect fit. As Linda says, smart readers will “connect the dots, [concluding:] ‘This tip won’t work for me as is, but how can I apply something like it to my life?’ or ‘This writer is nothing like me, but what can I take away from this book?’”

There will still be people who will not like or want to read your piece, and this can be devastating; I still shake every time I get a comment on this blog (but don’t tell anyone). Reframe the issue: think of it as pruning away the selvage and refining your market.

 

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater

baby in a bathtub photo

Photo by JasonTromm

The next time you find yourself irritated that a book or article isn’t precisely relevant to your situation…consider how an inability to relate to people in different demographics may be affecting your career as a freelance writer. Not only does it limit what audience you’re able to write for and what you’re able to write about, but it also hinders your earning potential.

I remember my first editing mentor telling me that a good editor could edit even a chemistry textbook, as his or her job is to make it readable and understandable. This invaluable piece of advice applies to writers as well.

Writers: there are so many opportunities to write! So what if you’re Mormon and you want to pitch an article on Buddhism? Or how about writing a blog post on planting spring flowers even though you have a black thumb? Are you happily married to a member of the opposite sex but want to cover the Pride Parade in your city?

That’s what research is for – and that is what moxie, a creative mind, and initiative are for.

Don’t sell yourself short

[Having] trouble relating to people more well-off than we are may be a contributing factor to the low pay so many writers complain about….The people with money are the ones who can afford to hire you at a premium rate. They’re…looking to hire the best and pay them what they’re worth….writers who market to big businesses earn more….And writers who target their ghostwriting services to CEOs and wealthy people with stories to tell earn more.

Have you considered writing for trade magazines? Or offered your services to a large corporation or online business? Did you know there are outstanding jobs that pay well on Upwork? (If you want to make a lot of money on Upwork, go to this website.)

Stretch your writing wings and get out of your comfort zone. Do a bit of research on a potential client and pitch them. (Here’s an outstanding article on delivering the perfect proposal.)

Explore a new writing world with Google, and not only for jobs. How about joining a writers’ Facebook group, or one on Google Plus? LinkedIn is full of writers’ groups as well. All of these platforms have groups in every sort of writing niche you can imagine.

 

Pro tip: Make sure you give to these groups by posting valuable information and comments before you think about how they can help you.

***

For the next two weeks I challenge you to do something different with your writing. Pick one of the following:

  • Learn about a subject that’s completely foreign to you – maybe one in which you think you have no interest. Find a creative angle and write up an article about it. Then find a publication or company to pitch it to.
  • Join an online writers’ group and commit to going on it 10 minutes a day.
  • Research a publication or corporation and think of 3 different articles you could write for them – and then go ahead and pitch them!

Please let me know in the Comments what you did, and how it felt to leave your comfort zone.

And remember: The only thing blocking you from success is you.

So get out of your own way and make it happen.

 

Happy writing,

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

Deal with Criticism and Take a Stand in Your Writing

December 20, 2016 by Deena Nataf 8 Comments

There are two reasons we are afraid to write what we really think: fear and fear. Let me explain.

astronaut photoThere is inner fear, in which we are so out of our comfort zone that we feel we’re way out in literary space, cut loose from the familiarity of the Acceptable Writing rocket ship waiting for us back on base. No one can see us; we’re all alone out there. We’re afraid no one will read our stuff.

Looking over one's shoulder

imagerymajestic for freedigitalphotos.net

Then there is outer fear, in which we are constantly nursing an emotional neck ache, looking over our shoulder and waiting for others to comment on our writing: did they like it? Was it “good”?  Are we going to get a bunch of nasty emails excoriating us and our opinions? In other words, we’re afraid people will actually read our stuff, and won’t like it.

Both inner fear and outer fear can prevent us from being authentic in our writing.

 

“But what if no one reads it?”

Inner fear brings up a paradox: On the one hand, we’re supposed to write from the heart, write what feels right to us, be authentic. But on the other hand, don’t we have to put our readers first? And does that include always pleasing them?

It helps to have an picture of your ideal reader in your head as you write. This will help you tailor your prose and subject matter to the right audience. After all, there is no one book or article that will speak to or fulfill the needs of each and every person in the whole world. Everyone has a niche: teens, adults, men, women, religious, spiritual, scientific, left wing, right wing, offbeat – you name it.

But this doesn’t mean that you always have to please your readers. If your niche, say, is stay-at-home mothers, you’re allowed to take a stand and write about why watching daytime soap operas is a poor way to spend one’s time. Your audience will read it; some will agree and others won’t. But you will have touched on something that is germane to your niche, and that is the whole point of keeping your ideal reader in front of you.

If you write something so bland that there’s nothing to agree or disagree with, then what’s the point of writing at all? Why waste calories on a Quarter Pounder when down the street you can get a half-pound, mcdonalds photograss-fed, hormone-free hamburger with all the works?

Write from your heart – even fiction – and they will read your stuff. Your readers don’t have to agree with you; that’s not your job. Your job is to deliver the best prose that you can. And all the better if it causes your audience to sit up, take notice, and think.

 

“But what if everyone reads it?”

We’ve all been there.

Who hasn’t received a scathing reaction to something we’ve said or written? My heart still races when I think of a couple of doozies I got.

For many of us, after being criticized our first thought is to backtrack, apologizing all over the place and going out of our way to honor the opinion of the other person – even sometimes going so far as to agree with them.

However, might I suggest an alternative to the people-pleasing and let’s-get-out-of-this-uncomfortable-situation-as-fast-as-possible approach?

 

Take a deep breath and…

First, remember this:

You don’t have to react immediately to criticism.

Once I got this into my head, my whole life changed.

If someone criticizes, disagrees with, or reacts angrily to something you’ve written, TAKE A DEEP BREATH and just nod or say “Mmm.” (This works equally well if the communication takes place in writing, but of course you wouldn’t write “Mmm.”)

Next, EVALUATE whether there is any merit in what the person is saying.

  • Did you offend him or her maliciously, attacking personally, deliberately, and/or gratuitously? (My guess is no; you were probably merely stating your own opinion, to which you have a right.)

    The Critic

    imagerymajestic for freedigitalphotos.net

  • Does this person have a life? Even if you don’t know them, the tone of their voice or email might give you a clue as to whether they’re really upset or just looking for something to do with their spare time. There are a lot of people in cyberspace (and elsewhere) these days who fit this profile.
  • Is what they’re saying fact or opinion? If you got your facts wrong, or you truly attacked them personally, admit it, make amends by either apologizing or writing a retraction/emendation, AND MOVE ON. Don’t continue beating yourself up, because your critic has already forgotten about it. Remember: people love tripping others up, and it’s usually all about them and not about you.
  • If the criticism is merely the opinion of the critic, then you’re home safe. They have a right to their opinion, AND SO DO YOU. This is so important. So many of us forget that we have just as much of a right to say what we think as others do. Their blood isn’t any redder than ours.

 

5 Ways Taking a Stand Will Benefit Your Writing

Infusing your writing with a personal touch, which sometimes will include taking a controversial stand, is one of the best ways to get people to sit up and take notice. Here are five reasons why:

  1. Your writing will be more convincing, inspiring and entertaining. People will sense the authenticity and sincerity of your words.
  2. People will want to read your stuff, whether or not they agree with it. If both Hillary and The Donald would agree with it, why bother?
  3. You will evoke those all-important emotions so essential to good writing and reader engagement. Whether you evoke laughter, sadness, agreement or anger, your prose will encourage others to continue the conversation. Not to belabor the point, but yes, this is equally true of both fiction and non-fiction.
  4. You will create your own unique voice. Honing your voice is not only about writing style. Write your truth, and you will transform yourself as well as your writing.
  5. It’s good for your personal growth. Being unafraid to state your opinion in writing will enable you to stand up for it in person. Being respectfully disagreed with will weaken your need to please everyone. You will develop the courage to continue in the face of nastiness, and compassion for those with petty complaints.

***

It’s scary to lay ourselves bare for the world to see and read – and maybe even talk about! Starting this blog was terrifying for me, and I’ve never been more out of my comfort zone. But who ever said being authentic was easy?

Has your writing ever been criticized or disagreed with? How did you handle it? What would you say to a new writer who is afraid of what others will think?

Let me know in the comments below.

 

Happy writing!

 

 

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Tips for the Writing Life

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Hi, I’m Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.comI’m a book and journal editor with thirty years of experience in the field. If you write to publish, I want to help you get that first draft written, that manuscript finished, and that book out the door. If you write for yourself, I’ll give you the tools you need to write clearly, write regularly, and write in your own voice. But no matter why you write, I’m passionate about helping you make your mark on the world.

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