Writing Resources

There are few jobs these days that do not require some level of writing. Quite often the difference between getting and NOT getting the job, raise, promotion, or grant can be found in the persuasiveness of the writing. My opinion, therefore, is that writing is just about the most important skill anybody can develop.

Public speaking is often named as the #1 fear of most adults. I would hazard a guess that the second most popular fear is fear of writing, or perhaps I should say "fear of sounding stupid when I write". Sometimes called Writer's Block, it's a place in your head where you get "stuck" and just can't get started.

If you find yourself there, it may help to realize that while the end result IS important, it's NOT the whole enchilada. Writing is a process that helps you organize your thoughts, think logically, develop your ideas, and practice your writing skills. No writing is ever wasted - every bad sentence you write and recognize as being a bad sentence is one more lesson under your belt and one step closer to being a writer of good sentences. Like anything else, we get better with practice, so write, write, and write some more to improve!

Let's pretend for a moment that you have a specific goal in mind for your writing - it could be a blog, an article, a school paper, or the text for a web page.

Begin by doing a little brainstorming of topics, then you can collect information, make some notes, ask questions - just be sure to keep your notes and information in some sort of orderly manner.

As you begin to develop your topic, you can look for patterns and relationships, as well as what conclusions might be drawn from the information. Article writers know that with a few word changes, the same article can be redeveloped for an entirely new audience, and sometimes opposite conclusions can be drawn from the exact information depending on how it is presented. A good exercise for a budding writer is to read magazine and newspaper articles and consciously look for the slant, then try to rewrite the same information in a different way to bring the reader to a different conclusion. (Get really good at that, and you might have a huge career in political writing.)

It's generally helpful to use an outline to keep yourself on track while you write - use it to identify your main points and conclusions.

You might even want to revisit the old 5 paragraph essay format you probably learned in school:

Paragraph 1) introduction - give a brief overview of the intent of the writing including the basic statement to be discussed.

Paragraphs 2,3,and 4) Body - Present the evidence that supports your idea. Avoid generalities as much as possible, and use concrete examples.

Paragraph 5) Conclusion - briefly summarize the evidence and state the overall conclusion or answer to the basic statement.

As you write, envision one person for whom you are writing, so that you maintain a conversational tone and avoid using jargon your reader might not understand.

When you have finished your rough draft, take a break - letting some time go by allows you to see your work with new eyes, making rewriting much easier.

Some questions to ask yourself:

* Is what I have written clear and easy to understand?
* Have I presented evidence to support the ideas presented?
* Did I use the same words over and over?
* Is the grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct?
* Do the words flow as I read them aloud?

Something else to consider is this: What you read influences how you write and can become your teacher without your being aware of it. So read a lot of what you want to be able to write - that's the fastest and easiest way to improve your skills.

Don't get hung up on this point - while having a good grasp of the basics is an important part of your writing success, having something to say is more important. You can hire a proof reader or an editor, but nobody else has your unique perspective or point of view.

That said, bear in mind that to become successful at anything requires some dedication to self-education, and writing is no exception. Just as a body-builder spends time each week working on his or her physique, a good writer will "sharpen the saw" by adding to his or her knowledge of the craft.

Here's one that you might find useful:


Click on the book to learn how YOU can own this valuable resource.

The thing that stops more writers in their tracks than any other obstacle is the lack of ability to effectively market their skills. This is surprising to some, given that finding a good writer is a herculean undertaking for many companies.

I met Nelson Duffle at Pat O'Bryan's Unseminar4 in November of 2007. Nelson had worked for Fortune 500 companies and related to us how difficult it was to find qualifed writers for the many projects they had. He said that millions of dollars in writing fees go unsolicited each year because writers just don't realize the projects are there, and don't tap into this huge market.

What started as a set of guidelines to help himself find writers turned into a book to help writers find the jobs he knows are out there. If you are a writer looking for a largely untapped market, you owe it to yourself to read Nelson's Book. Click the book to learn more: