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01 Sep 10 How to Take Frequent Breaks Without Losing on Article Quality

In the last article, we talked why it is important for a write to finish one article in one sitting. I supplied quite a handful of reasons to support my claim. While writing that piece, at the back of my mind I had this feeling that there are times when a writer cannot just sit and write. He is bound to get distracted. What to do in such situations? And then I came with something that will help all of us leave our half-finished articles to attend other matters at hand. Let’s see how we can do that.

Prepare a structure for the article

Before you begin writing, you should create a structure of the article. When you undertake this exercise what you are basically doing is creating a skeleton which you will later fill with flesh, blood, and muscles. The structure of an article provides it a basic framework that will later be developed in a full grown article.

Divided the contents in subheadings

Once you know how your final article will look like, you need to divide your articles into sections and sub-sections using headings and subheadings for better readability. To break an article into sections and subsections apply the rule of thumb given below. The rule of thumb is: always put the important ideas into headings of an article, so that people know what individual paragraphs will talk about, and what the article, as a whole, is about.

Write down main points

Now it is time to add some flesh to the structure you have created so far. Under each headings and subheadings, write 2 or 3 bullet points that summarize the central idea of each paragraph, and which add up to make the complete paragraph.

That is it. You are done. Now only the filling up step is left, which could be done anytime, even after one or more breaks.

As said, the final step in the process is to write content beneath headings and subheadings using the main points (bullet points) that you have listed. By following this guide, you will be able to write good quality articles even when you take frequent breaks.

Tags: , , , , , , Flesh Blood, Frequent Breaks, , , , , , , Readability, Rule Of Thumb, Skeleton

18 Apr 10 How to Handle Your Angry Client

Freelance writing is a challenging work, and if you are in the field for long then you are bound to come across one or two angry client. Therefore, you need to know to handle the situation should your client gets angry on something — you are lucky if you have not get one, still you need to know the tricks to handle rough weather in freelance writing.

See his point of view

If your client is angry of you then try to find out the reason for his anger. Do not just judge the situation from your point of view only. You may be right, but it is the client who has to decide if he liked your work or not. After all, he is in better position to say whether your article or content will meet is his goal or not.

Do not argue, let him do the talking

No one wins the argument, so do not invest time in that. Let your client do the talking. This will help you understand his point of view, and will also vent his anger out. Do not interrupt, and speak only when he is done. Afterward, patiently explain everything, and logically build you case and tell him why you think the content in question will work.

Offer rewrite

Do not fight over the content, if you do not wish to lose that client. If your client is not satisfied by the output, offer a rewrite. Tell him you will rewrite everything to meet his expectation, and before you do that ask him about his particular requirement, in terms of style, presentation, and structure of the content that you are supposed to rewrite. Take every step necessary to remove the ambiguity from the project. This will help you rewrite it.

If your client’s anger is just then this will pacify him, and if it isn’t then you cannot do anything about it. But still, you should try to understand his point of view and solve the issues he has.

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19 Jan 10 Developing Ideas To Write About

A large part of being a better writer involves how you manage your ideas.  There will be times where you feel you just can’t think of anything to write about, and how you work through them is extremely important.  For any freelance writer, or blogger, and even website owner, keeping the new ideas flowing is where your money comes from.  So how do you keep the well from going dry?

Well for starters, carry a notebook with you wherever you go.  Of course in the modern age of technology, a smart phone or a PDA can serve the same purpose.  Anything that enables you to quickly jot down an idea while you’re on the run.  Frequently ideas hit us whey you’d least expect, and you have to be ready to write down that idea so that you can save it for use when you have the time.  That’s one of the best ways to stay fresh and full of new concepts.

Make sure that you read as often as possible.  For a writer, reading is a great weapon because gaining knowledge influences you to think.  With that thinking about a certain piece you’ve read, comes new ideas or concepts you’ll be motivated to write about.

Try having a running dialogue with someone else in the industry, or even the audience of where you write.  See what their feelings are on your writing, or what’s going on in the common culture that relates to what you write.  That can give you plenty of ideas because you’ll see how someone else thinks.  That may influence you to write a new topic, or an old topic rewritten from a different point of view.

Always keep up on the news as much as possible.  Current events are what get the most reads, because the majority of internet searchers are looking for information regarding news.  Keeping current, and relevant to where the world is in this instant is key.  Plus all the different news stories are bound to influence something that you’ll want to write about.

Tags: , , , , , , Feelings, , , , , , News Stories, Notebook, Pda, , Running Dialogue, , Starters