Top 10 Reasons Why Your Writing is Suffering

Why aren’t I getting gigs? Why am I caught in this niche I have grown to hate? Where’s my career going? There are a lot of reasons why a writer’s work suffers and some are so common most writers have or will experience them at some point. Do any of them ring a bell?

1. You’re bored. There are times a writer needs to switch course or look for new ways to stay passionate about an familiar topic.
2. You’ve gotten lazy. Let’s be honest, sometimes freelancers slack off and don’t feel like doing what they are supposed to do. I’ve been there and it’s tough to get back on task, but take a look at that electric bill – feel like writing now?
3. You’re not reading enough. The more you write, the more money you make right? The more work you have can take away from the other things that make a writer great, like reading other great writers. It’s amazing the amount of inspiration one well written piece can provide another writer.
4. You’ve got too much work. It sounds like a good problem to have, but in reality too many projects can take away from the time you have to devote to the perfection each project. The result? Sloppy or rushed work and not too much to show for it.
5. You’re burned out. When’s the last time you took a break? Switched up the routine a bit? If you’re still thinking, you may need a breather, a chance to go off the grid for a day or so and recharge. Time to refresh is not a privilege it’s a necessity.
6. You’re lonely. Online social networking is great and you can make some wonderful friends, but you also need to get out there and make friends in and out the writing field. You need your writing friends to commiserate and appreciate the life you lead and you need non-writing friends to give a different perspective. A writer’s life can be a lonely one and it can drive you bonkers, don’t let it happen to you.
7. You don’t have any support. Are you battling deadlines, kids, bills and the feeling no one really understands what you do? You are in need of support – it makes all the difference in the world. When someone’s in your corner it can help you get over those hump days and it’s important to have someone to share the good times. Nothing like calling up a friend to relay the news of a hot new gig knowing they are just as excited as you are about it.
8. You’re not enjoying yourself anymore. An important indicator of having a great job is when you love what you do.  You don’t have to love it all the time, there are days I’d like to throw my laptop and favorite pen out the window, but generally I get a whiz bang out of writing. Recapture that magic and it’ll show up in your work.
9. You’re not charging enough. Raise your hand if you ever worked your butt off for a piece only to get the check and decide it’s just not worth it? Ok, hands down. What’s going on with your fee schedule? Should you really charge more and does your work justify it? This great article from James will help you make what you’re worth.
10. You’re not doing what you really want to do. You became a freelancer so you could travel the globe, or your local playground, finding tips and trends in a fascinating field. Six months later you’ve got SEO and tech work coming out of your ears. You keep telling yourself it pays the bills, but really a corporate job would do just as well if that’s all you wanted. Time to check your goals and develop a plan to get back to your dreams.

Getting to the bottom of what ails your pen is not only great for your career, it’s great for your health. People who are passionate about what they do live fuller and longer lives. Let’s get you back to living yours.

Thursday’s post: “Inspirational Writers for Inspired Writing”

Got any great tips on a common writing threat/malady? Have you dealt with one of these and overcome? Share below!

Writing Through Distractions

Busy kids, demanding dogs, grocery runs, alluring refrigerators, visitors, Twitter,  the call of the sun through your window – all worthy adversaries in the battle for your concentration and productivity. As writers, we must guard against the constant intrusions that threaten to turn an hour-long project into a 3 hour-long project.

There are some distractions you can work through if you just can zero in on your focus. Parents become Jedi’s at ignoring the door-knocking, whining or ordinary play noises of kids and it is that selective hearing that will help you get through other distractions. Even if you’re not a parent, you’ve used your selective hearing skills to block out spouses, roommates or your boss’s yammering – all it takes is channeling that focus to blocking out the beeping of Twitter and the phone ringing.

Another way to block out and manage distractions – give yourself a time and a time-limit. If you’re an obsessive email checker like myself, you can easily spend hours checking and rechecking your email. The same holds true for Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social networking sites. Set a time, once every two hours, etc. to check your email, updates, etc., and then only allow yourself 15 mins to respond or surf. This also works for returning phone messages. Knowing when you’ll be able to satisfy your addiction will help you make it through getting actual work done.

Refocusing after an encounter with distractions can take almost as much time as the distraction itself. Often it’s not possible to shift gears and jump right back into the work, so find some focusing or breathing exercises that will work to zone you back in. I tend to use two that work pretty well for me:

I close my eyes and count slowly backwards from 20 to 0. This helps calms my brain and gets me ready to “go back in.” Or I use one of my work songs. Right now I have three on rotation and they aren’t the most politically correct or wholesome songs but they get me motivated. If you like hip hop email me and I’ll let you know what works for me. If not, find a song that motivates you. Two to three minutes of your favorite jam can be enough to not only get you inspired to keep working, but remind you why you’re working.

Got tips for dealing with distractions? Share ‘em!

Thank a Writer Today

By Terreece M. Clarke

Is there a writer whose blog you follow religiously? Did you read an article recently that you enjoyed and thought was well-written? What about one of your Tweeps (Twitter friends) that consistently keeps you informed or in good spirits? Take the time to send them a thank you.

We’ve talked about keeping in touch with editors and clients to maintain a good relationship and visibility, but it isn’t too often that writers are told to thank their fellow champions in type. The benefits are two-fold.

While incredibly competitive, writers are a group people, we tend to fall in with other writers and make friends usually through sharing our struggles with the published word. It’s always important to make a writing connection, not only for the camaraderie, but for the professional perks. It works almost the same way it does with editors and clients, you stay visible and when something comes up or an editor is looking for someone like you, your writing buddy will remember they know a guy who knits and writes about it.

Professional connections are important, but more importantly, thanking a writer is good for the soul. The biggest perks from my writing gigs is not the paycheck (though without them I’d be much more grumpy), the “get-in-free” press passes to events and information, or even the “work in my Halloween costume” privileges. It is receiving recognition of a job well done.

When a reader or fellow writer takes the time to email or comment online to say they enjoyed an article/blog it is as good as gold to me. Everyone wants to feel like they are making a difference with their work – maybe writers more than others because we deal with rejection and less than gung-ho reactions so often.

I suspect even Harlan Ellison would rank a kudos from a fellow profession pretty high on his list. You’d still have to pay him, don’t get me wrong, but I think he’d like it anyway. So today, take a moment and thank a writer.

Want to thank a writer for all the web to read? Thank your favorite writers below! Don’t forget to send them a link so they can see your kudos themselves.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas Freelance Writing Jobs Community!

Take this opportunity friends, to enjoy this moment to relax and reflect on all that you’ve accomplished this year, but not in the freelance writing arena. Today is a day to be with the people that have supported you on your freelance writing journey. The friends, family and religious mentors, if you have them, that have listened to your triumphs, frustrations and aspirations.

Most of us get into freelancing so we can make our own hours, rearranging them to spend more time with our family. Have you accomplished your goal? What fun times did you have with those most important to you this year that you would have missed if you had been shackled to a cubicle?

For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, happy Thursday! You’ve got a choice today. You can either spend your time enjoying a relaxed, bonus day off or you can take this opportunity to get ahead on work, or take the “Query Challenge.” Either way, all writers should take this end of the year time to look back in order to prepare for the future.

DOES it feel as good as your first time?

By Terreece M. Clarke

Do you remember what your first time felt like? The nervous, but excited fumbling to open it up (the web site or paper publication), the feverish scanning to take it all in (checking to see what the editor changed, making sure your name was spelled right) and the last cry of ecstasy (your paycheck!).

Dianne Burrell over at The Renegade Writer Blog is asking writers about their first time – literary experience you dirty minded thing. I want to know something different from the FWJ community – does it still feel as good as the first time, writing that is?

One of the keys to a successful writing career is you HAVE to love what you do. Not just like it or tolerate it. Writing is like another um, act – your passion and level of enthusiasm has a direct effect on the outcome. In other words, blah writers produce blah work.

We talk a lot here about the business of writing, the technical aspects of writing and the goals of writing, but I like writers to remember why they got into this business in the first place. The past is prologue – if you became a freelance writer to take on tough political issues, but you find yourself languishing in SEO article writing because it pays the bills you need to shake things up. If you aren’t reaching the same or surpassing the high you received from your first printed piece, you need to do a little therapy to get the passion back in your pen.

Love it, but it’s lost some umph

It’s a tried and true relationship. The bond you have with your niche or style of writing is steady, comfortable, but you miss some of the excitement. It’s time to try some new positions. Keep doing what works, but add some creativity. Try a new blog or a different type of publication. Shake up the way you format your articles: anecdote, statistic, quote, background info, bullet points, end quote, turn in article and repeat; that can get old after a while – stretch your legs and imagination.

Bring in another

Maybe your blog or column just doesn’t have the zing. Bring in a guest writer or blogger to breathe a little fresh air into your work. Use a guest writer and watch someone else have fun with and find the beauty in something you see everyday. Be careful not to get too attached or dependent, a guest could take over and before long you’ve lost the loyalty of your readers.

Practice makes perfect

Maybe you don’t write enough and when you do it just feels awkward. Keep practicing at every opportunity. Conduct additional research and work with in an expert or mentor if necessary.

While it will never be as special as your first time, your published pieces should continually feel just as good if not better as your first published piece. If it doesn’t make some changes!