Sorry for the absence from posting. After a trip down to Australia for Christmas, I came back and had to get some magazines out on newsstands. Then, my spouse and I took a special trip to celebrate our anniversary by going to the Australian Open in Melbourne for the Grand Finals. What a tournament!! I was sorry to see Federer out of the match but both Tsonga and Djokovich put up stellar fights to reach the finals and each played to win, evidenced by the tie-breakers. It was absolutely thrilling to watch. The weather cooperated by not blasting us with heat and the Rod Laver Arena is such a friendly place -- it seems so large on television but only holds around 15,000 people making the seating, especially on the lower level where we were, so close to the court. When you shout a cheer or encouragement, everyone definitely hears you! The players also realise this and bond with the audience by communicating audibly, and sometimes humorously.
So, back to making a living from writing... Now that you have found a special nest from which to write, I suggest getting started. Yes, I could (and will) give you writing tips, but it's best not to procrastinate and instead get the fingers flying. We will clean up your mistakes later.
Don't worry about producing the perfect title and clean copy at the beginning. Rather, focus on what you want to communicate. I suggest that if you are a beginner, don't write in the first person (first person narrative tells the story in your voice. For example, this blog is first person. "I did this, I think that, etc.) Instead try using second person (You will benefit from these ideas...), especially if you are writing a 'how to' or encouraging your reader to visit a certain place, act a certain way, believe a certain credo or buy a specific product. Alternatively write in third person (It is good to let a reader discover the facts, the emotion, the rationale.), the style you used in school for your report writing. Most editors, including myself, toss stories in the first person from a beginning writer, as amateurs don't usually have the 'expert voice' to make themselves credible in the first person (Readers Digest is perhaps the exception -- it seeks tales of personal experience). The writing is too self-centred.
You must start writing now, forget the query letters to editors, as no one is going to give a freelance assignment to someone without experience. After you get a few pieces published, building your portfolio, then an editor will ask you for a specific story. You must earn their trust first by showing that you can produce quality work. When you do, and an editor needs a specific person interviewed or event covered, the editor may then turn to you.
The easiest stories to sell as a beginner arise from your own interests. If you are a 'foodie', then pen a review of the three best places to relish ___fill in the blank (oysters, noodles, omelets) __. Choose your favourite and remember to give details. All chefs claim to 'use the freshest ingredients', so PLEASE don't cite that as your recommendation. Tell us what they do with the ingredients. If oysters, tell the reader the varieties on offer such as Belon, Bluepoint, Mad River, the flavours of each, the average size, origins and how often they are stocked. If you choose noodles, discover if they are made on the premises, explain the different types of noodle by both shape and ingredients, how they are cooked including how long and with what sauce. Don't take a level of knowledge for granted. Give a reader the details.
Alternatively, you could write on the best bars for a martini or for networking, the best spas for that perfect manicure, pedicure or detoxing treatment, the most child-friendly resorts, three great sets of wheels that will save the environment and more. Note that I suggest you write about three places. If you are new to an editor, writing about one place could sound like advertising and your motives could be doubted. Top five, 10 or 100 places are just too many for your first piece. Focus.
My above suggestions mostly centre on places, but you could write about people (top three university football coaches, private investigators, image consultants, etc), places or things. Choose your storyline, list your three items and start researching.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Now to Start
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Getting Started 3
Wow! December already...the past week has been consumed with getting my December issue magazines to the printers, my full-time job, so now at last I have a few moments to speak with you. Hopefully you have fitted out a corner of your home for writing. Now to the task.
The first thing you must do is determine your audience. A writer does not use the same language and tone for children as for adults, neither does he write the same for specialist media as for mass market. The more you know about your audience, the better you will be able to connect with them.
Determine, if you can, the following: age, educational level, nationality, sex, cultural orientation and special interests. This will help you to choose vocabulary your readers will understand; select idioms, similes and metaphors they will grasp; present situations and characterisations they will find believable and engaging; establish the credibility of your 'voice' and avoid references that could be offensive.
I recall one time, while I was living in Hong Kong, editing an article in which the writer tried to use idioms with which she herself was unfamiliar. When she tried to convey that a certain woman had someone 'twisted around her little finger' (meaning that the woman had someone under her total influence), she wrote that she had someone "running around her ring finger". It took me awhile to try to figure out what she meant to say (were we talking wedding proposals or what?). The phrase "twisted around her little finger" is an American idiom. If your audience comes from elsewhere, they may not understand such idioms. Some people may call English "the universal language", but this language has many variations and contributions from the areas in which it is spoken. For example, many areas of Asia were taught British English. As a writer and editor, I have had to adapt my spelling and usage from my native American to British formats for my audiences here. When I am in Australia, I have to tweak it again, perhaps inserting "He's as popular as a blowie at a butcher's picnic" to indicate a person who is most unwelcome (a 'blowie' is one of those huge, slow flies that you sometimes see buzzing around people's faces in outdoor summer television coverage Down Under inspiring those wide-brimmed hats with dangling corks so especially enamored by today's tourists!). Important point: when using an expression not in your own common usage, double-check it for accurate application!
If you wish to write for a global audience, then you will have to avoid idiomatic expressions except for use when establishing a character -- and then remember that you will somehow have to weave an explanation of the idiom into your text for your readers.
