Addicted to Writing

Manage Your Freelance Writing Career While Writing What You Love

5 Reasons Why I Love Writing for the Web

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writingfortheweb
Image via internetmarketinghighway.com


Research is easier and cheaper. If you are writing for a publication that is only internet based, all you have to do for research is to go to their website and read their previous posts. This helps when you are pitching, and this helps when you are writing. You need to get an idea of the target audience, the tone of the writing, word count, titles, format, the style, the vocabulary, amount of jargon…etc. You also so what’s been written and what’s not.

It is free, and it is all there. Sure, it is still hard work, but with a little organization, it is managable.

Even if the magazine is both print and online, the online stuff is already on the web.

*If you are looking to write for the print version, you’ll need to see if previous issues are available online. You might need to pay a little fee, but if this is a magazine you truly want to write for, it is worth it.  Sometimes you can subscribe to the digital versions of the print issues, and this saves a lot of time waiting for the issues coming through regular mail (this is is of course true for the publications that are not readily available at the local library and/or at nearby bookstores).

The article/post you write doesn’t have to look like a short story.  Let’s face it, magazine articles, especially features, are long. You need to be compelling and fun and/or professional for over 2.000 words. It takes a lot of time and effor to write it. I am not saying I am not pitching to magazines. Or I can’t write an article that long. But there’s something really fun about pouring your heart, knowledge (and depending on the publication, your sense of humor) in mostly 500-1500 words.

The publication is likely to pay via PayPal. Which is my favorite method of being paid.

You have lots of options. All you have to do is dig into the search engines with the right keywords, and subscribe to the current list of online markets.

It is relatively easier to get into. My first job was writing for a travel blog in 2009 (which got published later). You just have to keep looking at the right places.

 

Do you like writing for the web? Do you prefer the print? Or are you a freelancer who combines both media?

Balancing Showing and Telling in Writing & Why “Show, Don’t Tell” Can Be Easier in Screenplays than in Novels

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Writing a novel is like a novel
Novel writing is indeed tricky. Image via 1.bp.blogspot.com

 

“Show, don’t tell” is a great advice. You-as the writer-need to make the readers see, feel, smell, touch…You want them to understand the characters and be immersed in the story without spelling everything out them. You want to them to see that your character is smart by the things he does or says. You don’t just tell them he is so smart. Or you might, but you also prove your point by showing that he is smart.

“But Show, Don’t Tell” is easier said than done, especially when it comes to writing novels. I can’t tell you how many novels I put down because they tried to tell me a million things, while also showing them to me. And ideally, no matter what kind of writing that you do, you have to balance the two.

There are many screenplays that just tell. Remember the movies where characters talk all the time, and never actually move their butts to take action about anything? The movies that bore you to death? Yeah- the screenwriters just told things, and the director went with it.

But with fun screenplays, the writers do a good job of balancing what to tell and show. But of course the screenplays are written for the screen, and everything will be shown by the actors. If they want to show the progress of a romance, they put on a good song and show us what the actors do together instead of giving us dialogue.

And this is exactly what I do when I write a screenplay. Sure, I sweat over lines and details, but sometimes it is more effective to choose the song with the right lyrics and let the reader/viewer get the message. But I can’t take advantage of music when I’m writing the novel. Well, I can- to motivate myself. But I can’t give my audience a soundtrack to go with it (although that would be pretty neat). I need to sweat over the thoughts, setting, and scenes- all the time. There’s no shortcut.  This is a pretty hard thing to do.

Yes, I watch a lot of movies and pay attention to a lot of scenes. I also analyze novels on how much and how they showed and told.  I keep my fingers crossed, and keep working on my first draft where I try to entertain, engage and make readers feel.  But it is a tough road. Wish me luck.

How about you? Do you write fiction? Do you have problems balancing showing and telling? Please let me know in the comments.

 

 

Writing a Romantic Drama (Novel) That Will Appeal to Both Sexes

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Sophie_Kinsella_Undomestic_Goddess
This is one of my favorite books, by one of my fav authors. But I doubt guys would read it. Image via media34.onsugar.com

Can it be done? I have nothing against chicklit. In fact, if it is written well, I am a huge fan. Hell, I am a romantic, and I am a chick- and a fun chicklit provides great escapism and some good laughs. But I highly doubt guys actually read any. Maybe some are dragged into the movie theaters if the book was adapted, but then the overwhelming pop soundtrack probably annoys the hell out of them, and minus the hilarity of the author, the comedy is  easily lost on them. Well, I know that pop soundtrack definitely destroys the romance for me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to be read by women. They will be the majority of my readers, and I am happy about this. I just don’t want the book totally ignored by guys just because the cover and tagline screams for women only.

OK, let’s get back to the novel. I’ve had this great idea for a romantic drama/comedy. Earlier, I had written about my indecision about the medium and why I’d decided to try writing it as a novel instead of a screenplay.

So, I collected some decent resources about how to write an engaging novel (and how to go about selling it.) And of course being the fan of romantic escapism, I dove into the novels of similar genres and started studying them.

Unfortunately, almost all of them had either been written in first person and in present tense or in third person limited from the girl’s point of view. And therein was my problem: I don’t have one protagonist. I have two. I don’t just want to get into the girl’s head- I also want to get into the guy’s.

And I have some pretty decent subplots which are also highly related to the main plot so I want to get into several heads. Don’t I have lots of books that were told in third person, unlimited? Sure, I do. Unfortunately they are all thrillers!

So what does a girl have to do to write a romantic novel that is not sappy? That isn’t all about the girl?

Yes, I want to be able to flesh out all my characters, and convey what they all actually think-as opposed to just the girl’s interpretation of what they think…I don’t want a pink cover. I love the color pink, it just doesn’t reflect the core.

So guess what I want? I want a novel that is as unisex as the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. I loved everything about that story, and as much as it had a bromance of a sort, it was just a sweet, hilarious and universal story. And I know how to write one into a screenplay. I don’t have point of view problems there.

The question is, how to write its novel? Well, I’m writing and rewriting scenes from my first draft, and eventually it will all look right. Of course then the actual nightmare of looking for a publisher will start. But hey, let’s worry about one thing at a time, shall we?

What gets in the way of your storytelling?

Why Finding the Perfect Freelance Writing Gig is like Finding The One

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Image via hamiltonwriting.com

I’m not the first writer to compare freelance writing to dating, and I probably won’t be the last. Because when we dream, we don’t like limiting ourselves and it is OK.

In an ideal world, there is this one perfect person for everybody, a soul mate. In my case, it is this perfect guy who will make me happy.

And in an ideal world, there is a perfect writing gig – a writing gig that satisfies you both emotionally and financially. Let’s see why the search for something perfect and search for someone perfect are alike, and the possibilities don’t seem very encouraging.

Here’s what my perfect guy would be like (not in the order of importance)
– Fun-loving, easy-going, exciting AND reliable.
– Able to get along with my friends, and his friends like me too
– Loyal
– Able to communicate easily
– Not possessive at all (non-intrusive, not someone who calls 10 times a day)
– Believes in me.
– Is infatuated with me no matter how long we have been together
– And doesn’t go through a major personality change as years go by.
– Able to support himself financially
– We have things in common
– There is space, and mutual trust.
– We have mutual friends, and we have separate friends groups. (I have a life outside of him)

Am I asking for too much? Am I asking for the impossible? Maybe. But hey, we are talking about ideal and perfect, so this is not the blog post to compromise, or settle.

As for the perfect writing gig: (not in the order of importance)
– Pays well, pay on time and pays via Paypal (reliable)
– It is on a topic that I genuinely love (exciting)
– It is ongoing. (Loyalty)
– The editor is fine with my style, work and personality. (easy- going)
– I feel the same way about the editor ((mutual feelings)
– I am not required to dedicate my life to this job alone. Hey, there is more than one topic I love writing about! I also don’t want to write about the same thing every day. And I definitely don’t want to be required to write about the same subject several times a day. I want a job outside work. (space)
– It doesn’t require me to research for hours all the time. As much as I love learning about stuff that intrigue me, I have my limits. (space, fun)
– The job isn’t dependent on my location or religion. I am very serious about the “free” in freelance. (I have a life outside this gig)
– It can be done from anywhere, and I am not required to go to an office. Skype conference calls are OK. Being dependent on a physical location…not so much. (non-intrusive)
– Refers me to other editors and publications as well. (believes in me)
– Lets me know in advance if things are about to go wrong, expectations or conditions change. (trust, communication).
*
Did I leave anything out? Oh well, from what I can see, both challenges seem equally daunting and difficult. And hilariously similar…

 

And I haven’t found either. But it doesn’t mean I will stop looking, even if we don’t live in an ideal world. Because I don’t like to settle.
I know that we all occasionally take jobs we are not 100% happy with, or date people we don’t see a future with. And it is OK. We need the fun, experience and the mistakes. But we can’t dedicate our lives to jobs or people that are not right for us, that take more than they give.
Where are you on finding the perfect gig? Or the perfect partner?
And which do you think is a more difficult process?

 

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