Writing Question of the Week
Happy Wednesday!
As writers, sometimes we might have to write about topics we are less than enthusiastic about. Hopefully, this doesn't happen on a regular basis - but it can and DOES happen.
With that being said: What are your
favorite topics to write about? Do you specialize in any specific field/niche? Finally, do you have any topics you absolutely refuse to write about (either for moral/ethical reasons or just because you plain hate the topic?!)
Thank you for your feedback!
Best,
Denise
Labels: Question of the Week
Writing Question of The Week
Happy Wednesday, fellow freelancers.
This week's question (albeit a bit late - sorry, folks) deals with beginning a career as a freelance writer.
While I've learned quite a bit since I jumped into freelance writing, there are always new things I find out on a daily basis. Today's question: How did you get started writing? Were there any especially useful tidbits you discovered that could be beneficial to new writers? If you could give a beginning writer one piece of advice, what would it be?
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Thank you, and Warm Wishes
Denise
Labels: Question of the Week
Finding Your Voice
While established freelance writers have probably already understood the importance of finding their own voice in their writing, beginners may not realize how important that actually is.
Regardless of what you're writing, it's important that you remain true to your own voice, rather than trying to imitate someone else. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when you're writing, that can't be further from the truth.
Whether you're working on your own personal projects or writing for a client, you need to keep a few things in mind. First of all, do you want your readers to actually
enjoy what they're reading.? If you do, you need to find that words - your voice - that will keep readers entertained.
A dry, monotone article or blog post isn't going to captivate your audience.
The thing about a writing voice is that it will probably change depending on who you are writing to. For example, the tone you take in your writing (whether it be formal, chatty, conversational, etc.) will have a major impact on the way your writing voice comes across to other people.
For instance, let's say you're writing a blog post on your personal blog. Your writing will likely be informal, perhaps a bit conversational. If on the other hand you are writing a blog post for your professional blog, your writing voice will likely change drastically from informal to professional, direct, and friendly.
Or at least, it should.
Obviously, a romance writer will have a different voice than someone who writes horror. Similarly, if you're writing technical manuals one day and work as a gossip columnist the next, your writing voice will change to match the audience you're speaking to.
The concept of a writing voice may be hard to grasp at first, but the more you recognize the importance of directing your voice to fit with the audience you're writing for, it will be easier to notice your different voices in your writing.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments. I'm open to any and all feedback!
Best,
Denise
Labels: freelance writing tips, writing voice
Writing Question of the Week
Hello, fellow freelancers!
Today's question: How do you manage your time? Do you have a specific writing schedule you tend to stick to? How do you plan your schedule - per week, per day, or as you go along? When you don't feel like writing, how do you convince yourself to stick to your schedule - or do you?
I'm very interested to hear how other writers manage their time during the work week. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Best,
Denise
Labels: Question of the Week
Writing Question of the Week
Hello, fellow freelancers - my apologies for the lack of updating lately.
This week's question: Where do you find writers markets online? Do you frequent a particular website for job leads? Which websites do you find you have the most luck discovering gigs that are actually worth your time?
The list can be as brief or as long as you want. Please feel free to leave your answers in the comments.
Best Wishes,
Denise
Labels: Question of the Week
Guest Submission: Publishing Fiction/Poetry in Ezines
Hope Hammond from
Freelancing Online has kindly written a piece for my blog informing interested writers about the benefits of publishing your fiction or poetry in Ezines. I hope you enjoy this informative blog post, and take a moment to stop by her website and check out what she's been up to!
Publishing fiction/poetry in Ezines?A greeting, dear reader’s of Denise’s Blog. I’m the guest blogger from Freelancing Online at
http://www.writeontheinternet.blogspot.com/ and I’m hoping you’ll find my short post on publishing fiction and poetry in ezines interesting at best and palatable at the very least.
I’ve found it’s hard to handle the cost of postage needed to keep a constant set of stories and poems floating around to various magazines and literary journals, especially as a new writer. This is why I’ve started making submissions to ezines.
It’s quick and best of all free, because I’m sending my work as an attachment to an email, so no postage, no paper, no ink and no money. If I really wanted to be cheap I could even use the local library’s computers to send work and save myself the cost of electricity and equipment.
I know some readers have all ready gaped in horror at the idea of sending those preciously worked and reworked pieces of poetry and fiction to an online magazine. Why? Well, here are a few of the reasons that I have heard bandied about,
It’s not as reputable.
You can’t honestly list it as a publishing credit (other more writerly writers will laugh at you).
Your work could be plagiarized.
Doesn’t pay anything!
These are all valid concerns, but I can easily create counter-arguments.
1.) There may be a lot of start up ezines created by a guy living in his mom’s basement, but there are just as many ezines and online versions of print magazines that have been around for quite a while. For example: The Del Sol Review at
http://webdelsol.com/Del_Sol_Review/ is an excellent literary journal that takes email submissions for their online site and also produces a print journal.
2.) You can honestly list it as a publishing credit. And every writer and their mother has probably posted something on the web at one point or another. At least you were the one to get a piece accepted by a reputable ezine like the Del Sol Review or McSweeney’s Internet Tendency at
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/ (although McSweeney’s probably wouldn’t want to be called reputable J) Plus there are graduate school programs that are starting to accept internet publishing credits as part of a graduate student’s applications.
3.) Well, it can be plagiarized. Though what’s to stop someone from copying your story out of the print journal and posting it on their website anyway?
4.) You can find magazines online that pay pretty well for stories and poems, especially if they are genre stuff like sci-fi and romance. Spicy Green Iguana (
http://www.spicygreeniguana.com/) is an online listing of plenty of paying genre magazines and ezines or webzines as they call them. You are bound to find something that you can submit work to online.
Dear writers, the longer the internet exists the more likely you are to find good, reputable and well-paying ezines on the web. Lots of readers are on the go these days and they want to get their stories on the go too. The internet is a way to reach them.
Interested in writing a guest piece for my blog? Drop me an e-mail. I always enjoy having another writer's perspective on topics that pertain to all freelance writers.
Denise
Labels: guest blogger, Hope Hammond
