Recently, the administrative assistant in our department came to me.
“Could you write an article for the ‘Professional Corner’ column of the next newsletter?” After I said I’d be delighted, she added, “And if I could have it by this afternoon, that would be great!”
Yikes. I supervise 20 employees in one unit of a busy (to say the least) customer service department; most certainly I had other priorities competing for my attention that day.
But first and foremost, I’m a writer. The challenge of whipping up an article on short notice, even in a hectic environment fraught with interruptions, appealed to me. Besides, I like seeing my byline, and like it when people I know get a chance to see it, too.
I needed to come up with an idea, pronto. Not a problem–the workplace has always been, for me, a tremendous source of writing inspiration. The idea for the newsletter column surfaced almost instantly. I would write an article on email etiquette.
I sat down at my PC, and pulled up a snow white MS Word screen. Thought about my audience. Again, this would be easy. I knew these people, and they knew me. I would write to them like I talk. I typed a few false starts on the lead, nailed one I liked, and away I went.
Okay, I’ll admit, it helped that I had always wanted to create an employee workshop on this very topic, but just never found the time. And the fact that I’m bombarded daily with excellent examples of bad email communication helped immensely. The article practically wrote itself. When I finished it, I let it simmer for awhile and turned my attention to other matters. A bit later, I proofread it, tweaked it, and turned it in. The fun I had writing it, and the sense of accomplishment I had getting it done same day, was only surpassed by seeing it in print a couple of weeks later.
After that experience, I wondered if there was a way to instill that type of same-day productivity into my freelance writing. I suppose full-time freelancers are motivated by the fact that if they don’t produce, they won’t be able to pay the bills–but what about us part-timers? Can we somehow create a sense of urgency that catapults us past procrastination, through writer’s block, and into the world of the prolific writer?
Let’s look back to that day in the office. What did I do that enabled me to write and submit an article on demand in almost no time at all? What can we take away from that experience that will enable us to be more productive freelancers?
1. I made writing my priority. Despite having dozens of other demands on my day, I seized the opportunity to do the thing I most love to do. Everything else could wait. If we could make writing a priority on a daily basis, imagine how much we can accomplish over time.
2. I focused on what I would get from writing the column. The never-ending pleasure of seeing my byline. The opportunity to inform my co-workers on a topic I felt was important. A chance that perhaps someone in another department–communications or marketing–might see the article and tap me for a future project. And, if nothing else, I’d have an article on email etiquette that I could offer to other online and/or print publications.
3. I already had an article idea just waiting to be developed. Prolific writers keep a treasure chest of writing ideas handy. When we’re not actually writing, we should be constantly collecting ideas for future books, essays and/or articles at all times. The larger the collection, the more we’ll have to draw from when the time comes to sit down at the keyboard–and the less likely we’ll succumb to writer’s block or blank page syndrome.
4. I kept my target audience in mind as I wrote. Besides satisfying ourselves, for whom else are we writing? Are you reaching out to a certain age group, gender, social class or profession? What do they need to know, or what do we want them to think about, or feel? Not only will knowing your target audience enable you to come up with ideas and develop them more easily, it will help you determine potential markets for your work as well.
Try applying these four concepts to your own writing efforts, and watch your output grow. May this be your most prolific year yet.
Here’s to your writing success.
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Mary Anne Hahn has written numerous articles on writing, the writing life,
business and career topics. She is also editor and publisher of
WriteSuccess, the free biweekly ezine of ideas, information and
inspiration for people who want to pursue SUCCESSFUL writing careers.
Ti subscribe, mailto:writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .
