Tips to Enjoy your writing

 

Many writers like me will always claim we enjoy writing. I tell friends writing is my life and that I don’t think I can do any other thing except write. One might be forced to think I even write in my sleep. But is that really true? Sometimes, we get tired and wary of what we love, no matter how much we love it. Sometimes, I don’t even want to stare into another computer screen and I wish I don’t ever have to write again. So how do I beat this feeling?

Here are some tips that have worked:

1. Clear your head: Sometimes, external pressures are the reason we do not enjoy our writing. There is absolutely no way a person who does not know where his next meal will come from will enjoy writing or doing anything he loves doing. This is something many upcoming writers face. So, what is the solution? There is no cut out way to keep your problems out of your head, but at least you can try. Create your island out of your limited resources by clearing your head because your writing is an extension of your mental state.
2. Stick with what you love: Yes, sometimes we are forced to write on things that are outside our comfort zone. For instance, if I had my way, I will never write another article like this in my life, but I have to get paid. So, what can we do in this situation? Start by writing what you love most to get your creative juices flowing. Whenever I don’t feel like writing, I open a blank word sheet and start writing a short story. It works like a dead car battery that needs a little push to pick up again. Once the juices start flowing, I switch to what I have to write.
3. Reward yourself: For someone like me, I get paid to write. That might be a reward, but that’s not enough reward for me (I know, I can be greedy.) So, what do I do? I set a reward for myself if I can deliver something superb. For instance, it is my lunchtime but I have told myself I would not have lunch till I am done with this article. Note that this is what works for me. For some people in order to get to the lunch quickly, they might just write something below par. By the way, don’t do this when you are writing something long like a novel, or you might just die before you finish. The point is, look for a just reward for yourself, something you are looking forward to when you are done. It can serve as motivation.
4. Try Music: A friend of mine recently discovered Classical music puts her in the mood to punch vigorously on her keypads. I tried it and I felt like jumping off the bridge. So, you have to be careful with the genre of music as not everything works for anyone. But music improves cognition and enhances your memory. It digs deep into things stuck in your head and brings them out for you. So, know the genre that works for you and listen to a lot of it before you start any writing task.
5. Take Time off: Not too much time, but sometimes no matter how much you apply the above points, it probably will not still work out for you. So, take time off to either try to solve your problems or get into a reflective mindset.

Finally, we must recognize that we do better whenever we enjoy what we do. So, make it a point of duty to have some fun writing.

Samuel Ejedegba.

Why Writing Skills Are Crucial For All Entrepreneurs

 

I’ve been a writer my entire career. I love it. I also enjoy writing about what makes for good writing as well as coaching and editing others.

What’s cool about being a writer is that you can always improve, and you should want to, too. You can always find a better, more succinct way to make your point, be persuasive — and in the case of us entrepreneurs use writing to win more business. You might not be a writer, but you still have to write business proposals and emails or come up with a tagline, a mission statement or copy for your website. You still have to be able to communicate what you do and what sets you apart.

 

Recently I enjoyed catching up with fellow word and grammar nerd (a term of admiration, I assure you) Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, who produces the podcast “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.” By the way, if you doubt people’s hunger to understand writing and grammar, consider the Grammar Girl podcast is surpassing 300 million downloads this month. Here’s some of what Fogarty and I talked about.

Good Writing Is Simple.

Think subject, verb, object, period and in that order too. No need to bog down your writing — and the reader — with fancy clauses, adverbs or adjectives.

“Attention spans are so short, you have to use as few words as possible,” Forgarty said.

A few words on subjects and verbs. To connect with the reader or create urgency, use second person, or “you.” First person and second person are the most engaging.

As for verbs, think active over passive. You’ll paint a clearer picture and won’t have to rely on adverbs. Also, think of the simplest, most common verbs. For example, we talk more than we converse. And utilize is an overused corporate word for use.

“A lot of times when people use those big words they sound like they might be insecure,” Fogarty said.

Note that not everything you write is urgent, exciting or otherwise screaming for an exclamation point. Don’t succumb to the peer pressure. The period works great 99.9 percent of the time. 

Good Writing Isn’t Formal Or Jargon Heavy.  

“So many people feel they have to be overly formal in business writing to be taken seriously,” Fogarty said. “They have to use all the jargon and buzz words.” Yes, oh my goodness yes. Every day of my life in corporate communications. 

 

I have one corporate business partner who defies the mold. She lets me delete most of her adverbs and simplify her sentences. She once asked me why my writing sounded different than what she sees elsewhere in the company. What high praise. I wanted to reach through the phone and hug her. Simple sentences. Active verbs. First and second person. Limited adjectives and adverbs. No jargon. I don’t have any other tricks.

Writers Are On Their Own A Lot More.

From newspapers to corporations, the ranks of copy editors have thinned. That means writers are on their own and have to be their own editors, too. What’s a writer to do? To check for grammar, syntax and typos, Fogarty’s number one recommendation is to read your writing aloud. I agree. It works.

I also have my go-to resources that I consult: Merriam-Webster online and The Associated Press Stylebook online. And thank goodness for Google, because I always need to look up “affect versus effect.” 

Let’s All Calm Down About Texting And Social Media.

I asked Fogarty a question on writing and social media that I’m sure she gets a lot. Are texting and social media making us worse writers? Fogarty has an optimistic view. Social media can make us better writers, because it forces brevity, she said. I agree. It’s like headline writers. Those people are poets. This is why I miss the good old days of Twitter when tweets couldn’t be longer than 140 characters. I enjoyed the challenge of being ultra brief. By comparison, 280 characters feels like a book.  

As for texting, Fogarty likened it to private notes that people have passed through the ages. Always hastily written, because that’s what the audience has always expected. Our parents wrote IOUs. Kids still sign yearbooks with BFF and HAGS (look it up). Heck, OK is an abbreviation for a misspelling from the mid 19th century, Forgarty noted.