There is a reason we all sit down and pick up a pen or tap at the keys. We all have something pushing us to begin. While we may have our various reasons, what it comes down to is a love of words and writing, feeling that imperative to capture the human experience in written form. The problem is that so many people feel the only way to pursue a life as a writer is to pen the great American novel. Now I’m not going to say writing fiction isn’t a noble pursuit, I’m pursuing it myself after years of nonfiction work. The lure is strong. But what drives me isn’t the form my work takes, but the compulsion to wrangle 26 tiny letters into sentences that convey emotion, story and facts.
Writing is more than novel-writing. It’s more than fiction. It’s the craft of caring for those tiny squiggles that can change the world.
I have been fortunate in my professional life (and my personal life, to be honest). People have hired me to write everything from speeches to scripts, articles, web content, marketing campaigns, white papers, press releases, annual reports, skits, blogs and so much more. I’ve published nonfiction books and been published in many national newspapers and magazines. Now I am writing that novel.
The letters have been kind to me. But my point isn’t to brag. It’s to show there is work out there on many levels for writers. In fact, I made a list of them in Freelancing Is More than Magazines: 26 Other Markets to Try.
If you write because you love words, then try seeking broad opportunities to write. Test your skills. Try difference formats. Do those writing exercises in books to stretch your skills. If you can’t find someone to hire you to write for them, volunteer somewhere and build your clips. (Aside: I would not recommend taking unpaid assignments unless you have chosen to volunteer for the organization yourself. Trying to learn and build your clips is different from being taken advantage of in the workplace. Know what you’re worth and don’t settle. This is a topic I will cover in a future blog.)
Working across genres and mediums has helped me be a stronger writer. I learned how to influence people and inspire them. I learned how to write for the ear, the eye, the page and the Internet, which falls somewhere between. Each type of writing I did gave me a new perspective. The strongest lesson I learned was flexibility.
I learned how to shape words to fit the style, format and client. They are not all the same. You can’t write for a bank the way you do for a fashion client. You also can’t write a white paper the way you would a speech. They demand a change in pace, cadence and voice.
There is more to writing than the novel. Find your way of communicating. Maybe being a great writer is penning the next great play or screenplay. Maybe it’s satisfying your clients with stellar copy and a professional approach to writing. It doesn’t matter as long as you put words on the page.
Diversity in your writing will help. Each style and genre feeds the others. I have taken lessons learned from scriptwriting and used them in my fiction. I’ve used speechwriting techniques to write better interactive web content. Each assignment gives me something I can use to strengthen my writing across the various formats available.
Don’t limit yourself. Study other forms. Stretch your skills. Get out and write.