Category Archives for Writing
6 Organizational Habits That Also Benefit Writers
Writing means freedom to many people, especially individuals transitioning from the corporate environment to freelance writing.
It’s freedom from all the corporate policies that come with an organization—don’t forget customer complaints and pressure from top executives.
That is what I thought after I was given the ax by my former employer and jumped into freelance writing full-time. Instead of feeling anger and disillusionment, I felt a sigh of relief.
Finally, I would be away from all the corporate impositions that governed my day-to-day activities, such as hard-to-hit targets, several admin tools to use, and even training days that required me to be away from home.
So the first thing I did when I got laid off was to exit chat rooms and work-related messaging apps and flew into freelance writing.
But as I got deeper into writing and freelancing, I came to realize that the organizational practices that I despised and trampled weren’t all that bad. In fact, they help maintain sanity in the workplace and in an individual.
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How Writing Practice Can Improve Mental Health
There are a lot of benefits associated with writing, such as improving productivity, communication, and so on. However, research carried out by Dr. James W. Pennebaker, an American social psychologist, found that students who wrote about traumatic events in their life used pain relievers less often and visited the health center in the campus less often.
Writing in detail about your emotions has proven to be a great way to relieve stress, manage anxiety, and cope with certain mental health issues. Expressive writing is an excellent channel through which the writer can purge out your thoughts, sort out emotions with some clarity, and bring peace to your mind.
Although the benefits of writing are numerous, it requires practice in order for you to express your emotions in writing clearly. You might be confused about what to write, when you should write, how you should write, and even where you should write.
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Why You Should Keep Writing (Even If No One Is Reading)
Finally, you hit “publish.”
The blog post you’ve spent hours polishing, making sure everything is perfect, is complete.
Now you wait. One day. Then two. A week goes by, but only one or two people have seen your post. You poured your heart and soul into that post, but the result is disappointing.
It can be disheartening when no one pays attention to your work. A few views can make you doubt your ability to write.
But you know what? Every great blogger started out like that.
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Simple Style Tweaks Your Readers Will Love You For
You’ve done it. You’ve written that killer story, or the zingy product copy to send to your client that will skyrocket their brand into the stratosphere. It’s spell-checked, proofread, and edited to perfection, with an eye-catching hero image in place. You’re quite rightly proud of your work.
Just attach and send, right?
Stop!
Pulitzer Prize-winning content it may be, but take a moment to consider the recipient’s reaction. That first impression when they open the document. It’s in your best interest to make it easy for them to read. Your extra attention to detail might help a client turn your work around faster or even be the difference between acceptance and rejection.
Sure, the content will be reformatted for publication by the client later, but your finished copy should shine in its own right. Considerate formatting is also beneficial for readers with additional needs, such as dyslexia.
To improve its impact, don’t look at your work with a writer’s or editor’s eye, but a designer’s. See if it delivers the right message and visually matches the story you’re telling. The design and layout should reinforce the style and tone you’ve used in the piece, as it affects the perception of your work.
If you don’t consider yourself a designer or know much about layout and fonts, don’t worry. These few simple tips will enable you to add visual punch to your copy.
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