Questions

You’ve probably thought about your general temperament and how it impacts your relationships. For instance, you have some idea about what kind of friend you are, what kind of parent or sibling or spouse or significant other. But have you ever thought about what kind of writer you are? Finding out can tell you a great deal about your relationship with writing and can reveal ways you can be more productive.

Honestly assessing your writing temperament and holding an awareness of it as you work can help you avoid time-wasting tendencies and reaffirm routines that are already working. And since so much of writing is putting yourself on the page (regardless of your genre or subject), if you have a clearer picture of your writing self, your finished product will be richer for it.

Here’s the complete list of the most common writing temperaments:

1) Sir Starts-a-lot

2) The Perfectionist

3) Fool for a Deadline

4) The Island (includes (a) The Over-confident Island and (b) The Fearful Island)

5) The Tofu Artist (a.k.a. The Feedback-Dependent Writer)

I’ll devote a separate article to each temperament.

(Note: to avoid s/he overload, I’ve decided to alternate pronouns from article to article. In no way do I mean to imply that certain genders are more likely to exhibit certain tendencies at the writing desk.)

2) The Perfectionist 

Like Sir Starts-a-lot, the Perfectionist doesn’t get submissions in the mail either, but for very different reasons. The Perfectionist just never believes her manuscript is really, really ready. If her work-in-progress were a preschooler on the verge of Kindergarten, she would hold the little dude back until adolescence passed him by and he was shaving every day, still claiming she could do more to prepare her son for the rigors of school.

Okay, as hard as it is, at the right time we have to let them go: human offspring and creative offspring alike.

If you socialize with other writers, odds are you know someone who has been working (really working, not slacking) on the same piece for years and years.  Your writer’s group encourages her to send it out (through clever e-cards, decorated cupcakes, even the chilled champagne you smuggled into the bookstore where you meet), but she insists it’s not ready and tweaks it yet again.

The right dose of perfectionism (in short, temporary bursts) can actually be a good thing, because it pushes you to insist that your work be the best it can, but too much perfectionism can lead you down the road toward obsession, prevent you from getting published, and ultimately keep you from ever starting anything new. Don’t fool yourself into believing that if you focus all your time and energy on finding the elusive “Perfect” in your work you’ll be rewarded with something flawless. Remember the words of Gustave Flaubert, “Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.”  

If you’re a Perfectionist, odds are your manuscript will never feel 100% ready. But push yourself to take the plunge and submit it when it feels “good enough.” If your critique group is begging you to send it out (if they try to steal your flash drive so that they can do it themselves), you know you have to relax your unrealistically high standards so that you can add your words to the conversation known as the printed word.

Listen to the little voice inside that’s trying to remind you of how much time and effort you’ve spent on the work. Sure, you could always find more to do, but it’s time to wrap this one up and begin something new.

The BENEFIT of this temperament: Your piece is GOOD. Really good. You take pride in your work. You have high standards and insist on meeting them. That in and of itself sets you apart from many people who want to write for publication but think revision is optional.

The COST of this temperament: But if you keep your manuscript chained to a treadmill of never-ending revision, no one but your immediate family will ever get the chance to admire your high standards. Further, you’re not stretching and growing as a writer: unless your revisions include major overhauls, new chapters and a substantive amount of rethinking and rewriting, you’re only using one side of your brain when you edit (the logical, organizing side).

You can afford to hang around Sir Starts-a-lot’s table in order to remember what inventing new ideas feels like. Writers get better with each article, story, poem or book they finish. Don’t limit yourself to perfecting and polishing the same thing and thereby condemn yourself to editorial limbo.

(Rule of thumb: if you’re memorizing your novel – without trying — you’re spending too much time on it.)

And remember: If writing is important to you (second only to a select group of humans), you can succeed with the right attitude, no matter what writing temperament you are.

Check out the first article in the series, “Assess Your Writing Temperament and Be More Productive, Part 1.”

Coming soon: Watch for the next discussion of writing temperaments with number 3, “Fool for a Deadline.”

To discover other ways to make your writing habit more efficient, satisfying and fun, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for “Write Through It,” the FREE monthly newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom. 

 


- Lucia Zimmitti

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of it as running a marathon. Many who set out to run a marathon hope to finish. That’s why they start in the first place they have a goal in mind. What is your goal in writing an article?

You have an idea of what the finished product is going to be but you’re not sure how to go about putting it all together. It seems like such a hard thing to do especially if you don’t feel overly confident about writing. Well, just like the marathon, you have to take it one step at a time.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a marathon runner, is to get organized.

Instead of running gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin writing an article. Once you’ve gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing.

Beginning Steps to Writing an article.

First, figure out your article’s working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles.

Break your articles up into smaller chunks with subtitles. Readers like to scan an article to see if it pertains to what they are interested in. Aim for clarity in your titles and use subtitles that pertain to the specific paragraph.

What is Your Thesis?

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your article will solve that problem. All paragraphs spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. This foundation is what will help keep you on track.

When you’re writing an article you need to use the same process as writing a book, ebook or anything elese. Keeping your thesis in mind will keep you focused while you write. Remember: all paragraphs must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your article.

For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to help you overcome insomnia.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason for writing your artilce. Ask yourself some questions.

Does your article present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

Will your article positively affect the lives of your readers?

Is your article dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?

Does you article answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the effectiveness of your article. Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your article.

Do you want to promote your business?

Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website?

Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing.

Do you want to add it to other articles and put together a short ebook to sell as a product on your website.

Do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product?

Do you want to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world?

The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

If you’re putting together an ebook then you need to decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader’s respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don’t bore your readers to sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to keep your readers more alert.

Good writing takes a lot of practice. Make a schedule to write a little everyday. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font family.

Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they’ve gotten past your introduction. Use text that is large enough to be read easily on the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don’t mess up a great artticle by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas.

These are the basic guidelines to writing an article. You can use these same basic principles to writing a book, newsletter, blog or any other type or writing. Once you get started you will find that writing will become easier as time goes on. Before you know it you will have enough articles on your topic to put a book together.


- J. Ron Beauchamps