Writing Help For Your Home Business
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If you have a home business — and especially if you’re taking that business online — you will likely discover that you are going to need to do at least some writing. But to many people, writing is not exactly an enjoyable process. In this article I hope to dispel some myths about writing, as well as give you some ideas that might make your writing smoother and less painful.
One of the biggest fallacies that writers ascribe to is that of inspiration, or as hardcore writers like to call it, their muse. It’s easy to decide that you can’t write until you get inspired. So you go for a walk. That fails, so you go to the beach. That also fails, and you start considering a trip to Europe. Things can quickly get out of hand and no actual writing gets done.
In contrast, someone who truly understands writing and has something worth writing about can write anywhere at any time.
The problem with a lot of writing advice is it’s so weak. Look around for writing tips and you’ll probably find things like: “Find a comfortable area to write” or “Have a cool glass of water available at all times” or “Replace your light bulbs with brighter bulbs so you can see your writing.” If you take that advice, you’ll spend all your time meandering from one room to the next, searching for that elusive “comfortable area,” never actually getting any writing done.
The hardest part for any writer is getting the words onto the page. You write those first few words and they just seem silly… trite… pointless. So you start over. And it’s worse the second time. You start over again. Again and again.
Getting words onto paper
How do you get over this problem? By getting something on that page. Anything. Here are some ideas that almost never fail.
1. Empty your brain – This method is probably the best way to deal with writer’s block. Just start writing. Anything. Even if it’s not directly applicable to your subject. (Who knows, you might come up with some new ideas!) This process loosens up your thought process. The longer you stare at a blank page, the harder it is to write something on it. So don’t just sit there staring at the page. Start filling it. Even if your grammar is wrong and your sentences don’t make sense. You can edit later.
2. Make lists – This is a great way to start when you’re not exactly sure what you want to write about your topic. For any given subject there are all kinds of lists that apply to it. Writing a great article can be as simple as making a list and elaborating on each item a little bit.
3. Write a letter – This might sound odd, but the best way to write well is to write as if you were talking to a particular person. So pick a person to write to and just start as if you were telling them about your topic.
4. Start anywhere – The beginning is often the worst place to start a writing project. Unless of course, you know exactly how you want to begin. But if you know how you want to end, start there. Start wherever you have the clearest idea of what you want to say.
5. Create a pile of information – This is the best way to start on a large writing project. As you do your research, just start dumping all the information into a big pile (i.e. a word processor document). Then organize it into categories, chapters, paragraphs, whatever.
So, that’s how to get things on the page. These five ideas are almost always enough to break through the writer’s block and start getting the ideas and the words flowing. That’s the hardest part.
Once you get going, you will want to keep your purpose ever before you, and think about how you can attract others to your business by providing them real value through your writing.
Though writing can be a difficult skill to develop at first, it’s worth working on. It will be an asset to your business, and many find writing to be profitable.
For help with marketing your business, visit Laura Bostrom Marketing.
Laura Bostrom is a business owner and network marketing consultant. She enjoys helping others develop a marketing strategy for their own home business.
