Find Your Own Writing Routine

Create your own writer routine

I once had a writer friend whose entire writing routine was comprised of “rules” he’d learned from successful authors. He got up early to write because that’s what the successful authors did. He outlined on index cards because he’d read somewhere that certain successful authors did it that way. He used a certain kind of pen because some author declared it to be lucky. The list went on and on.

The thing was, very few of these routines worked for my friend. He was not an early riser by nature and hated getting up so early. He didn’t like to outline, felt it was stifling, but did it anyway. These things weren’t fun or useful for him, but he kept doing them because he believed that the only way to attain success was to follow what others had already done. He was trying to imitate the success of others rather than finding his own path.

If you look through history, though, (and not just that of writers and writing) you’ll find that the most successful people are usually the ones who did things their own way. Walt Disney, George Lucas, J.K. Rowling, and Steve Jobs are just a few examples of people who said, “Screw it,” to the conventional wisdom and went out and did things their own way. They didn’t follow the rules and rituals of others before them. They did what worked for them.

Doing what works for you is the only way to succeed. You have to work with your strengths, talents, and motivations. Someone else’s motivations and rituals are not yours. Sure, you may be able to derive some value from studying the “greats,” but ultimately you have to find your own path. Anything else just smacks of desperation and a lack of creativity on your part. Worse, readers, agents, and publishers will smell the desperation all over your work because it won’t be unique.

This applies not only to your writing life but also to what you choose to write. Don’t spend time chasing the hottest trends in plots and writing styles. By the time your work is ready for submission, that fad will have rolled on. Write the story you have to tell, even if it’s not hot. Who knows? You might start the next big trend. Don’t be derivative, be yourself.

Sure, there are some rules you have to follow. You have to stick with basic grammar and structure (there are exceptions, but you have to be really exceptional to pull it off). You have to follow basic submission guidelines and rules if you want to be taken seriously. You have to act professional and meet your deadlines. But anything else is up to you to decide.

If you try to do what others have done, you just end up hemming yourself in with a set of rules and regulations that you don’t even need. When your schedule reads, “Get up early, outline on index cards, use a certain pen, and write exactly 1,000 words per day,” there’s no room for “you” to shine through. What happens if the work is going great and you want to write 2,000 words? What happens if you skip the outline? What if you never discover that you’re better off writing between 9 p.m. and midnight? There are enough rules in writing that you must follow. You don’t need to create an even smaller cage by following the rituals of others.

Find your own rituals. Embrace your personal quirks. Learn to love your best rhythm, even if it means writing all day long without a break. (Not advisable, but if it works…) Don’t believe people who tell you something can’t be done just because it’s never been done before. (Someone always has to be first.) Do what makes you the most comfortable. When you are comfortable, you’ll do your best work and it will be uniquely yours. When you’re imitating someone else, you’re doing just that: imitating. And that’s not the way to be successful.

(Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks)

Don’t Lie About Your Writing

Don't lie about your writing

It’s funny that a profession that often prides itself on telling the truth offers so many opportunities to lie. Journalists often claim to pursue the truth at all costs. Fiction writers spout off about finding “the truth” in their stories. Almost every kind of writer espouses some sort of devotion to the truth. Yet every year, more and more writers are caught lying. Whether it’s passing off someone else’s work as your own (plagiarism) or faking reviews on Amazon, there’s a lot of lying going on.

It would seem like common sense that you shouldn’t lie. Yet in the crowded, competitive, demanding world of writing, too many people take shortcuts in their efforts to get ahead of the pack. But lying in your writing can destroy a career, even if you don’t rely on writing to make a living. When I was in graduate school, I knew someone who faked his entire dissertation. All of the interviews, transcripts, and statistics were fake. He couldn’t find the data and people to support the “ground breaking” conclusion he was trying to draw so he made it all up. He got caught and tossed out of school. His future career in that field and all of the teaching and researching he hoped to do were gone because he lied.

Granted, that’s a pretty spectacular case of career suicide, but there are many others. Remember James Frey who made up a memoir and got taken down by Oprah? Or Jonah Leher who faked quotes attributed to Bob Dylan (among quite a few other infractions). Or Jayson Blair who fabricated almost every aspect of his stories for The New York Times? While some of these notorious liars have gone on to resurrect their careers, don’t think for one minute that it would be as easy for the average Joe to return to successful work after such a debacle.

So, since it doesn’t seem to be obvious to some, what constitutes lying? Take a look. (And don’t say that these are genius marketing techniques, or ways to set yourself apart from the crowd. They’re lies, pure and simple.)

Faking statistics and data

It’s not okay to say that 30% of people agree with your position if there is no hard data to support that conclusion. You don’t get to make things up based on “gut feelings” or because you really want to write a spectacular article. Neither do you get to interview four of your friends and when three of them agree with your premise, report that as a 75% majority.

Faking quotes

If someone didn’t say it, you don’t get to put it in their mouth anyway. You also can’t take quotes out of context. Just because your point is better made if you leave out the last half of the quote doesn’t mean you get to use it that way. You have to report quotes accurately and keep them within the context in which they were uttered.

Calling fiction non-fiction

If you made it up, it’s fiction. If it’s “based on” your life but not a factual recounting of your life, it’s fiction and not a memoir. If you write about an event that never happened or things that were never said, it’s fiction. Never pass something you made up as something that really happened.

Passing off old work as new

Yes, reporters and magazine writers repurpose old work all the time. They take that parenting article about camping with the kids and re-slant it so that it works for an outdoors magazine. It means that you can reuse research and save some time when writing the article. As long the work and wording is new, this is okay. What isn’t okay is repeating the earlier work word for word. Editors pay for new content. Finding out that the piece they just published has already appeared in another publication, verbatim, isn’t going to make them happy. Especially if you sold it as original work.

Plagiarism

This is stealing other people’s work and passing it off as your own. This is never okay and it’s a lesson that should have been learned in elementary school. If you use someone else’s work, you have to give proper credit to the original author.

Writing fake reviews of your work

This has become a rampant problem on sites like Amazon. Authors create fake accounts to give glowing accounts of their own work. It’s an effort to push their book to the top, to make it stand out amidst all the other books. It’s harder than you think, though, to craft believable “voices” for your reviews. They will all end up sounding the same. Worse, if your book is receiving scads of terrible reviews and then you’ve got these fifty five star reviews, someone’s going to figure out that you’re shilling your own work. Also, don’t pay for positive reviews. It’s fine to request reviews, but no ethical reviewer will take money in exchange for their opinion.

Altering reality

We often wish that things had happened more dramatically than they did. Sometimes writers “embellish” a story to make it seem more dramatic or world-altering than it was. Really they’re just stretching the facts and that’s not okay. If it was boring when it happened, then you either need to report it that way or find something more exciting to cover. You’re writing a non-fiction piece, not a screenplay. Adding in explosions, deaths and drama is lying.

Pretending to be somewhere you aren’t

You cannot pretend to be filing stories from Iraq if you’re in Cleveland. If you want to report “from” a region, you’d better be there.

Doctoring photographs

Okay, a little Photoshopping isn’t a bad thing. Touching up colors, etc. is acceptable. What’s not acceptable is putting people into photos who weren’t there, or capturing “action” that never happened so you can report on some unbelievable event.

It’s not worth the risk to lie. In this day and age it’s incredibly easy to get caught. Everything can be cross-checked on the Internet or with a quick phone call or Twitter post. No matter what you think you’re accomplishing by lying, or how good you feel that you’re pulling one over on people, sooner or later it will come to an end and you will end up with no credibility and no career. So just don’t do it.

(Photo coourtesy of einalem)

How Many Pages Is 2000 Words?

How many pages is 2000 words?
This is a question we get from time to time. There are instances when you’re given an assignment, not by word count, but assigned by the number of pages. For example, “Write a paper four pages long.” If you get an assignment to write four pages, one of the first questions that will likely come to mind is, “How many words are in four pages?” If you need to figure out words per page, you can use a words per page calculator.

The truth is there is no definitive answer to this question. The number of words it will take to fill a page will depend on a number of factors including the type of font used, the font size, spacing elements, the margins used on the paper, the paragraph length, etc. For example, if the assignment says the writing should be in 10-point font, it’s going to take a greater number of words to fill a page than if the assignment requires a 12-point font.

For those who need a general rule of thumb, a typical page which has 1-inch margins and is typed in 12 point font with standard spacing elements will be approximately 500 words when typed single spaced. For assignments that require double spacing, it would take approximately 250 words to fill the page. For an assignment that requires you to write four pages, you can make the estimation that you’ll need to write approximately 2000 words for a single spaced paper, or 1000 words if the assignment is double spaced. Again, the type of font used can make the word count higher or lower, but it’s a good rule of thumb for those who are simply looking for a general estimation.

Since there can be a large variation on the number of words needed to fill a page, most papers are no longer assigned by page count. They are instead assigned by word count. That is, an assignment, essay or paper will likely be assigned as 1500 – 2000 words rather than 3 – 4 pages. This way it is much more difficult for the writer to “game the system” by using large fonts and excessive spacing to meet the writing criteria.

If you are given a writing assignment with a page number, the best thing to do is go directly to the person who made the assignment and ask for a word count. This will take away all the variations and help ensure your writing assignment meets expectations. If it’s for something informal and you simply need a general guideline, you can find it below.

How many pages is…

The below list is an approximation, and actual pages will differ depending on a number of factors mentioned earlier in this article. Use the below information for a general reference, but don’t assume it will be the case at all times. Here are basic word to pages conversions:

  • 500 words is 1 page single spaced, 2 pages double spaced.
  • 1,000 words is 2 pages single spaced 4 pages double spaced.
  • 1,500 words is 3 pages single spaced, 6 pages double spaced.
  • 2,000 words is 4 pages single spaced, 8 pages double spaced.
  • 2,500 words is 5 pages single spaced, 10 pages double spaced.
  • 3,000 words is 6 pages single spaced, 12 pages double spaced.
  • 4,000 words is 8 pages single spaced, 16 pages double spaced.
  • 5,000 words is 10 pages single spaced, 20 pages double spaced.
  • 7,500 words is 15 pages single spaced, 30 pages double spaced.
  • 10,000 words is 20 pages single spaced, 40 pages double spaced.
  • 20,000 words is 40 pages single spaced, 80 pages double spaced.
  • 25,000 words is 50 pages single spaced, 100 pages double spaced.
  • 30,000 words is 60 pages single spaced, 120 pages double spaced.
  • 40,000 words is 80 pages single spaced, 160 pages double spaced.
  • 50,000 words is 100 pages single spaced, 200 pages double spaced.
  • 60,000 words is 120 pages single spaced, 240 pages double spaced.
  • 70,000 words is 140 pages single spaced, 280 pages double spaced.
  • 75,000 words is 150 pages single spaced, 300 pages double spaced.
  • 80,000 words is 160 pages single spaced, 320 pages double spaced.
  • 90,000 words is 180 pages single spaced, 360 pages double spaced.
  • 100,000 words is 200 pages single spaced, 400 pages double spaced.

Below are basic pages to words conversions:

  • 1 page is 500 words single spaced, 250 words double spaced.
  • 2 pages is 1,000 words single spaced, 500 words double spaced.
  • 3 pages is 1,500 words single spaced, 750 words double spaced.
  • 4 pages is 2,000 words single spaced, 1,000 words double spaced.
  • 5 pages is 2,500 words single spaced, 1,250 words double spaced.
  • 6 pages is 3,000 words single spaced, 1,500 words double spaced.
  • 7 pages is 3,500 words single spaced, 1,750 words double spaced.
  • 8 pages is 4,000 words single spaced, 2,000 words double spaced.
  • 9 pages is 4,500 words single spaced, 2,250 words double spaced.
  • 10 pages is 5,000 words single spaced, 2,500 words double spaced.
  • 15 pages is 7,500 words single spaced, 3,750 words double spaced.
  • 20 pages is 10,000 words single spaced, 5,000 words double spaced.
  • 25 pages is 12,500 words single spaced, 6,250 words double spaced.
  • 30 pages is 15,000 words single spaced, 7,500 words double spaced.
  • 40 pages is 20,000 words single spaced, 10,000 words double spaced.
  • 50 pages is 25,000 words single spaced, 12,500 words double spaced.
  • 60 pages is 30,000 words single spaced, 15,000 words double spaced.
  • 70 pages is 35,000 words single spaced, 17,500 words double spaced.
  • 75 pages is 37,500 words single spaced, 18,750 words double spaced.
  • 80 pages is 40,000 words single spaced, 20,000 words double spaced.
  • 90 pages is 45,000 words single spaced, 22,500 words double spaced.
  • 100 pages is 50,000 words single spaced, 25,000 words double spaced.

(Photo courtesy of Horia Varlan)

Getting the Most from a Writers’ Retreat

get the most out of a writing retreat

A writer’s retreat can be a rewarding experience. It gives you a chance to get away from your everyday distractions and really get some work done. It can also give you a chance to experience a new location and meet new people. (Note the difference between a retreat and a conference: A conference will have lots of seminars, breakout sessions, critique groups, and meet and greets with publishing professionals. A retreat is pretty much you and your work, alone, for a period of time. There may be some scheduled activities, but far fewer than at a conference.) There are plenty of commercially organized retreats, or you can create your own by picking a secluded location and heading off for a few days.

A retreat can be a great way to immerse yourself in your craft and it can even be a way to learn if writing is for you. (I know one person who went on a retreat and decided that he really didn’t like to write, after all. It was worth it, I guess. At least he now knows what he doesn’t want to do with his life.) The chance to spend a week or weekend just writing is very appealing, but it can be pricey. You want to get the most bang for your buck. You don’t want to waste your time or fail to gain any benefit from your retreat. Before you book your reservations, here are some things you can do to prepare so you get the most out of the retreat.

Be (somewhat) social

If there are publishing or writing professionals present at the retreat, take some time to meet with them. They can provide you insight into the positives of your work, or become helpful contacts when you’re ready to publish. Writing is the primary reason you’re here, but don’t forget to take advantage of networking and feedback opportunities, if offered.

Bring what you need

You don’t want to waste precious retreat time with trips to Office Max, looking for your notes, or trying to track down that article that you really need. Double check your packing and make sure you have everything you need to begin writing as soon as you’re settled in. Also make sure your laptop is in working order and that you have all accessories like chargers, portable printers, flash drives, etc. Bring plenty of notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, page flags, index cards, or any other supplies that you use in your writing.

Be open to the experience

Having uninterrupted time to write can be startling and even upsetting. Some people just don’t know what to do with that kind of quiet time and they try to fill it with everything except writing. Resist the urge to check your Facebook page, answer email, or call your family to fill the void. Open your mind and embrace the experience. Get used to the solitude and make the most of it.

Respect the experience of others

Everyone is at the retreat to work. While it’s fine to socialize at mealtimes or during other group activities, don’t be the chatterbox who’s knocking on doors late at night looking for company or who’s coaxing your new friends out to visit the city when they’re trying to work.

Demand that others respect your experience

Be very clear in saying, “No,” if you’d rather work than go out to dinner with others. Get good at telling people (politely, if possible) to buzz off while you’re working. Some people will try to bug you to death, but you’re at the retreat to work. Most will get the hint quickly, but there may be a few that won’t get it until you’re downright rude.

Go alone

Many people are most productive when they go to a retreat alone, without anyone they know. They might make a couple of new friends while there, but they aren’t tempted by the easy distractions that an established friendship offers.

Or take a friend

On the other hand, some people are more comfortable having someone they know along on the retreat. If you do take a friend, make sure it’s a writer friend (non-writers will be bored and may unintentionally cause problems for others) and make sure it’s someone you feel comfortable saying, “Get lost,” to when you need to work.

Make a plan and a schedule

While there may be some scheduled activities, much of your time will be your own. It can help to have goals and schedules to give your days some form. Promise you’ll write 1,000 words before going to lunch, or divide your days into blocks of time for writing, eating, exercise, meditation, etc. Having some structure can help you overcome the problems that come with having too much freedom. You’ll also want to plan what you’re going to work on ahead of time. Don’t waste time deciding whether to work on your novel or your non-fiction book.

Plan for food

Some retreats offer prepared meals while others give you accommodations with a small kitchen. If you’ll have to do your own cooking, go ahead and plan your shopping so that you can get what you need and not keep making trips to the market. Think of easy meals you can prepare quickly.

Take breaks

While you’re at the retreat to work, you don’t want to fry your brain. You’re useless if you get too tired. Rest, recharge, and then go back to work. Use some free time to sleep, explore your destination, meditate, or exercise.

Choose the right retreat for you

Retreats vary in length and offerings. Some are in big cities and offer lots of things to do when you’re not working. Others are in almost monastic conditions and writing is the only thing to do. Some offer activities and feedback opportunities, others offer nothing. Try to gauge what sort of retreat will make you happy and productive and find one that matches your ideal. If it’s your first retreat, you might want a weekend retreat so you can try it out without committing to a week. If you can’t find your ideal retreat, create your own.

A retreat can be pricey and probably isn’t something you can do often, so you don’t want to waste your money or time. You want to choose a retreat that will enable you to get work done but not make you uncomfortable. Whatever you choose, follow the tips above to make the most of the experience.

(Photo courtesy of Andres Rodriguez)

Stumbling into a Freelance Writing Career

How to become a freelance writer

When people find out that I’m a freelance writer, one of the first things they want to know is, “How did you get into that?” Sometimes it’s just passing curiosity. Other times they want to know because they aspire to quit working for “the man” and go out on their own and writing seems like an easy way to do that. (Before I continue this story, let me tell you that it isn’t an easy way to make a living. Sure, I work from home, but I have deadlines and responsibilities just like any other profession. I also get the joy of handling all of my own marketing, accounting, taxes, and office expenses, whereas someone else handled all of that when I was working for “the man.” So if you think being a freelance writer is all easy and fun, think again. It’s a job just like any other job.)

Anyway, people always seem to assume that I had some definite plan that I was following when I decided to become a freelance writer. They want my roadmap so that they can follow it, too. The thing is, I never had a definite roadmap and I haven’t met very many freelance writers who did. It’s rare to find someone who came out of college saying, “Yeah, I’m going to be a freelance writer!” At best you might find a freelance writer who came out of college saying, “Yeah, I’m going to be a journalist or PR person,” who then stumbled into freelancing after putting in a few years in the corporate world. Those of us who had road maps are rare. Most of us just sort of fell into the occupation, but that’s not a bad thing.

If you want to know how it happened to me, here’s the story: I came out of college with a degree in “Communication.” Not quite as useless as a degree in Philosophy, but close. I’m still not even sure how I picked that major. My first job was as an administrative assistant at a small software company. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the company discovered that I had some ability with words, layout, and design and put me to work writing and designing some brochures. Next thing I knew, I was writing marketing materials, too. I got really lucky when one of the writers in the software department quit and I got tasked with writing online help files. I also got to write grant proposals and, once the infant Internet came to town, I got to write the website copy. If it needed words, it seemed to find its way to my desk. That’s the benefit of a small company. You can be asked to do anything and everything, building skills as you go along.

Unfortunately, the company was a horror show. I eventually found another job. I was actually hired as a “Technical Writer” at that company where I stayed for another couple of years gaining experience and practicing my skills. (Not that I really considered myself a writer at that point, despite my job title. I just knew that somehow all these projects involved writing. I still wasn’t thinking in terms of making writing a career. It was just a job.)

When I was laid off (thank you, dot-com bust), I had a little time to think about what to do next. I could go and look for another technical writing job or I could do something else. Coincidentally, one of the people from my old job also had his own consulting business on the side. He called and asked if I’d help him with some promotional materials. I did. Then he asked if I’d help him with a consulting job that he had. He had the software end under control but needed someone to write the online help files. I did. When a friend of his asked for help with his website, he referred him to me. I helped him, too. All the while I was getting paid for all this “helping,” and I was getting way more than I ever had at a “real job,” even after I accounted for taxes.

It was about six months later that the light bulb went on. Dang, I was a freelance writer. People were constantly referring me to other people. I had plenty of projects to work on. I was paying self-employment taxes and buying my own supplies. I was in business! A career was born and the rest is history. I’ve been flying solo now for about fourteen years and it’s been great. It’s still a little weird to think of myself as a freelance writer, but there aren’t any other words for what I do.

So what’s the moral of my little story? If you want to be a freelance writer it might be easier than you think. Of course, you have to have an ability with words. And you have to be disciplined and organized enough that you impress your first clients (referrals are really helpful). But you don’t really have to set out with a defined road map from the time you enter college. It’s not a career that’s closed to you if you didn’t get the right degree or the right first job. It can happen to the scientist who starts helping other scientists write up reports for journals, or it can happen to the teacher who gets asked to write curriculum guidelines for the school administration. It might happen when you’re young or when you’re retired and looking for something to do. Being a freelance writer isn’t restricted to those “in the know” or who got an MFA. Articles, manuals, reports, guidelines, brochures, etc. are needed in every field. If you can write, you can carve out a niche for yourself.

Most writers tell stories similar to mine. They were simply asked to write something in their regular job, and then something else and something else until suddenly other people were asking them to write stuff, too. And then one day they realized that they were making a living at this thing called writing. Of course, if you have a plan you might get there faster and certainly your light bulb moment will happen long before mine did. If, though, you prefer to fall into the career, just say, “Yes,” whenever someone asks you to write something and then watch what happens.

(Photo courtesy of Shawn Rossi)

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