Keeping The Wow In Your Writing

Writing skills have a fairly predictable path. In the beginning we’re really not good at it. Oh we can get words on paper and our sentences are usually complete, but we tend to be awkward and far less than smooth. With practice and maybe the luck of finding a few good editors, our confidence increases, we find our voice and our writing begins to work well, maybe even sing. By this time we know what we like to write, are willing to explore new areas, and generally are a true professional in our chosen work.

It’s at this point, just when we think we’ve got it all together, that we’ve got to be careful not to loose the wow factor in our writing. I think the secret is to continue to pay close attention. When I look back, I remember the care I took in the beginning. I’d write and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. I’d read everything I wrote out loud at least once.

Some of that, of course, was fear, but a lot of it was learning my craft. A succession of good editors, and one or two bad ones, helped immensely… I love good editing, and I learned from even the poor ones. Today I’m able to write much more quickly than I was way back when. I trust myself more, but I have to be careful I don’t get bored; when I do, it shows, if not to me, to my readers.

Of course, some writing is fast. I don’t pay as close attention to my often thrice daily blog as I do for the chapters I’m writing for a client… I simply don’t have the time. Which isn’t to say I don’t feel a responsibility to my blog readers – I do. After all, most of you come here to learn something about freelance writing, even if it’s just watching me write about anything and everything.

How do you keep the wow in your writing?

Write well and often,