Tip #3: Read Fiction Like an Author

This is one of the best pieces of advice I heard from a writing professor, and it has stuck with me over time. We can learn how to write well by analyzing works we've read.

This tip assumes that you're reading within your genre, and that you're either reading good material or you know the difference between good and bad writing. As writers, we need to see past the content, the plot, the lovely descriptions. We improve our own writing by identifying why that brilliant character leaps into life, and how we can write characters like that.

When I'm reading fiction, I read once for pleasure. Then, especially with books I love, I'll read them a second time, and search for answers to these questions:

• How does the writer introduce me to the characters? How do the characters remain distinct throughout the story?
• What is the conflict? How is it developed?
• How does the author introduce back story? Is it intrusive or skillfully applied?
• How are the chapters, endings, and transitions handled? If they are not effective, what would I do to fix them?
• Has the writer created a realistic world? If not, what is missing?
• Does the dialog sound true to life and distinct for each character?

I like to mark up my favorite books with several highlighter colors. Great descriptive passages I mark it pink; words I need to look up are circled or marked in blue. I underline the "breadcrumbs" the author drops through the story - those key passages that mark plot development or an intensity in the conflict.

This mark-up process helps me in two ways. While I'm noting the excellent writing, I'm analyzing why it works so well. When I need an idea for ways to improve my own writing, I remember the passages I've marked and look them over for inspiration.

There's a lot of great writing in the world, and we as authors can sharpen our skills by analyzing these works.

Tip #2: I'm a writer, what do you want me to write?

This month, I'm focusing on wisdom I've learned from various writing professionals. Today's tip is from a writer at the Wheaton College Christian Writers' Conference.

Many people limit themselves by believing that they can only write one thing - religious devotionals, poems, press releases. I once took a seminar from the fantastic writer and editor Dr. Dennis E. Hensley of Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He reminded us that a talented writer has an ability that can't be learned, but that can be developed further. A skilled poet can learn how to write magazine articles, and a journalist can learn to write e-books. Talented writers can research previously-unknown topics and communicate new ideas with flair. As Dr. Hensley said, "I'm a writer, what kind of writing do you need done?"

I found this to be true when I began freelancing. Before starting Pearl Writing, I knew nothing about Gaelic football, jewelry-making and beading, or physician recruiting. But my years of experience in writing and researching led to lucrative jobs in which I also expanded my horizons and learned about many new fields. Each time I was asked about a job, I didn't stop the process by telling the client, "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about writing promotional flyers for theraputic movement." I relied on my talent and learned the rest.

Other people limit themselves by believing they "sell out" if they write for pay anything less than what they are most passionate about. It is not my intention to add further heat to this argument. I can only offer my perspective on writing, which is this: I have been given a talent from God to write, and I love writing. To be able to make a living doing something that is so easy and enjoyable is, to me, bliss.

Furthermore, I work as a freelance writer, not a corporate writer, which means that I decide what jobs I accept and who I work for. If I absolutely hate a particular topic or feel that to write about that topic would cause me to fall asleep in the middle of a line, slumping over the keyboard with my forehead pressing the letter "Y" several thousand times, I can decline that job. If I work for a client that proves to be difficult, I can choose to never work with that client again. I never had that freedom working in Corporate jobs - nor did I usually have the opportunity to meet people from the various walks of life that I have encountered since freelancing.

When my children were little, we used to play a game in which we identified some of the worst jobs in the world. We decided that being a Port-A-Potty cleaner or working on a road-tarring crew in the middle of a 100-degree heat wave were some of the most miserable jobs we could think of. By that perspective, what I do as a freelancer is unbelievable fun, and most of the time it pays the bills very nicely, too. However, most of the time I find myself lost in my work and forgetting to eat lunch or running late for something else because I enjoy what I do. When I am not on a tight deadline, I also have the time to write other things that I am most passionate about. I am a writer, and I love to write.

Tip #1: Make sure your audience 'gets' it.

This month marks a special anniversary for us - five year since the inception of Pearl Writing Services, after leaving corporate life and founding my own business. I have learned an incredible amount about freelance writing in the last year. In thinking over the past years, I want to share tips that can help other new freelance writers start their own businesses. My first tip is from my very first writing teacher.

Early in my writing career, I was fortunate to study under many exceptional teachers and artists. My first college writing professor was the talented Paulette Roeske, a poet and former editor of the Willow Review. At the time, my contributions to the literary world were an 18-year-old's musings on alienation and middle-class values. In a poetry workshop where my most beloved poem (and still one of my favorites) was torn apart and badly misunderstood by the class, I could be silent no longer.

"I'm trying to describe a person's disassociation with modern life," I protested.
"That's a worthy goal," Ms. Roeske laughed. "But as you can see, your audience isn't getting that out of your poem."
The goal of writing, simplistic as it sounds, it to communicate. We can write the most personal, lyrical, clever piece ever penned, but if our audience doesn't extract the meaning, we have failed. More importantly, it's unlikely that an editor will ever publish writing that is understandable and relatable only to the author. If your goal is to pour out your feelings and personal viewpoints for your own enjoyment or release, that's a fine goal. But if you are writing for others, be sure that your thoughts and imagery are accessible to the reader.

And don't take the attitude that your readers are uneducated boors whose imaginations were surgically removed at birth. They don't have the luxury of crawling inside your head and tapping into your personal imagery and ways of describing the world. All they have is the words you've put down on a page, and they have to extract meaning from only what you have written, not what you intended to write.

Granted, you may lose a reader here or there, but if you receive regular feedback from readers that indicate they have missed your ideas, it's time to go back and edit your work.