Danjuma Bright

Article 2 PART I Freelance writing for beginners I never used to like writing. In fact, while in school primary and secondary schools, believe it or not, I actually preferred getting scolded, flogged or losing marks to doing any assignments that required writing of any sort. I could never understand why on earth some people claim writing as their hobby? What sort of joy do they derive from it? If you have ever felt the same way I did about writing, then your opinion is about to change. You see, anybody can become a great writer. It is quite true that some people get born with the skill… while others, like me and you have to develop it to any level. Even though we all cannot have writing as our hobby, the fact still remains that in this present day and age, you can hardly avoid writing. Well, my own hobby is drawing. I believe I’m quite good at it. In my opinion, writing and drawing seem to share a lot in common in terms of creativity. As a freelancer, I now derive just about the same amount of pleasure from both hobbies, because I get to bring to life beauty created out of thin air or empty space.. How I write In today’s post, I want to share the steps I use in my writing. I have been writing for over 3 year as a freelancer. It’s quite rewarding. I do not consider myself an expert in the field, but I believe that telling my story could be of a lot of help to beginners to improve on their efficiency. I’ll just provide you with how I do it and then give you some links to more detailed resources. Here below are some the steps I use will writing: STEP 1: Do some research Writing could be a very tasking and time-consuming activity to complete. The matter worsens if you don’t carry out a detailed research before starting out. Carrying out a detailed research is like gathering the materials required for a new building. A detailed research enriches your write-up. To me, this is the most important step. When you combine your ideas with those of others, the work becomes much more complete. I could spend several hours doing research if the work is on a subject I’m not so familiar with. While at it, I jot down all my questions, ideas and concerns. While researching I come across interesting ideas and expressions that I would love to use in my work. I copy the ideas into a WordPad or Microsoft word… that’s what Isaac Newton called “standing on the shoulders of giants.” During my research, I often strive to find information from reputable sources. I search academic journals and skim the work of the field experts. STEP 2: Create an outline With the research done, you now have several ideas and ways you would love to present those ideas to your prospective audience. It’s now time to create an outline. The more detailed it is, the better. You don’t have enough to create a detailed outline? Don’t worry. Just create something rough to guide your writing. But note that after the writing, you may need to do some more research. Besides you can always borrow ideas from others; “standing on the shoulders of giants”, remember? Creating an outline usually takes me just 25mins. My outline is simply a rough list of subheadings containing points that I would love to discuss. Sometimes your outline will indicate areas for further research. The further you break down the subheadings, the better. It ensures that you don’t leave out very important points. Furthermore, while writing your outline more creative ideas keep coming. I jot them all down for use in the immediate future. When I started receiving projects from clients as a newbie, I didn’t take the outline phase seriously. That meant, I had to spend several hours at the editing phase to make up for lack of the outline. The outline will save you a lot of time because it is like the frame work or the skeleton of your work. Writing is made easy with a proper outline. And to me, it doesn’t have to be too elaborate or rigidly adhered. But the more elaborate the better. STEP 3: Just Write Remember the skeleton I told you about when I was talking about the outline? Well, now it’s time to pad it with flesh. To me, writing is the easiest step of all. This is the part where I have all the fun. Sometimes, even when I have a topic to write on, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I just put pen to paper and start writing whatever comes to my bloody mind. Before long the ideas would start flowing again, taking the write up to an entirely new and unexpected direction. I become childish when writing. If it gets too boring, I will start talking to an imaginary listener to whom I assume the post is for. Sometimes, I even allow myself get carried away. I use some expletives, especially the ‘F’ word and then a few words that can never be found in the English dictionary just to have a laugh. I write nonstop, putting on paper whatever comes to mind. Within an hour, I would have written over 1,500 words. When writing an academic article, you could be as professional as is required for your audience. For a non-academic post, I would say that you should just express yourself the way you would do naturally. Also, while writing I leave out parts that will slow me down. Parts that I believe require further research to strengthen. During the editing phase, I tend to all these matters. Remember, ideas will flow throughout the writing once you begin writing. Just write! STEP 4: Editing Phase You will organise the writing during the editing phase. Not doing proper research at the beginning will prolong the editing phase and make it more painful. This is the phase where our vomit draft gets transformed to reflect the power of this majestic animal below… [Image of a lion] When I edit, * I rewrite phrases or sentences. * I include all my jotted ideas and expressions to spice up the work. * I move words, phrases, even paragraphs to areas where they are best suited. * New ideas keep flowing from this same big head that didn't know what to write during the writing phase. * This is the most hectic part of the whole thing. I could spend as must as 2hrs on a 500 word copy... Especially, if it is a client's work. I’m working on cutting that down while maintaining my efficiency. *After the first editing, I allow the draft to lie Fallow for a while, say a day or two. So when next I pick it up for further editing, I’ll have had a fresh unbiased perspective to it. Accomplishment Phase You have created a masterpiece. You never expected it to turn out this good. I so love this phase. I get to pat myself on the back while reading through my creation. I feel the rush of excitement and freedom. And a sense of accomplishment that lasts for a while. The confidence you gain from the phase, further solidified by your happy client or audience reaction will help you be more daring and willing to take on more challenging projects. You with all the above said, I will now talk on how you could market your services as a beginner.