Writing is relaxing, it’s a way to express yourself, it’s
enjoyable… and the first time you are given a deadline to complete a project it
is mind boggling.
The simple truth is that most editors want work done on a
timely basis. Non-fiction writing assignments are normally assigned according
to a preset editorial calendar and/or seasonally. The editor who assigns
Christmas or Chanukah themed articles can’t wait until mid-December when the
piece needs to go to press six weeks earlier. Fiction publishers want new
stories and full books regularly so that your name and the publishing company maintains
a constant presence in front of readers. I’ve heard of friends who are given
actual dates that they MUST turn in the next 30 pages or so.
Despite the pressure of deadlines most writers do enjoy their
work. For some writing is as necessary as breathing. So how do you manage to
meet those deadlines on a regular basis? If you can’t keep up there’s a strong
possibility that writing will only be a hobby and not a career. There are ways
to practice on-demand writing so that when the assign[CC1] ment rolls in the words roll out.
Some writing magazines include sample writing “assignments” just
for exercise, doing those exercises can be fun and definitely they are good
conditioning. (Yes, that was the way I “trained”.) You can schedule a time
every evening to write three paragraphs describing everything you did that day
— no more than three paragraphs and no less; in addition to writing on-demand
you should also train yourself to write a specific amount each time. I write (non-fiction)
for multiple clients; in two cases my assignments average seven to ten days
including research and/or interviews, on client requires 700-word articles, the
other has a range of 600 to 650 words. Too many or too little words just doesn’t
cut it on these assignments.
While you are in training remember to build up your
endurance. Allow yourself a shorter piece to write (like the three paragraphs
suggested earlier) and as your writing muscles build go for longer pieces. The
average novel runs about 65-thousand to 120-thousand words so it takes lots of
muscle building. Every year is an event called NaNoWriMo; National Writing
month is November and writers are challenged to write 50-thousand words in
30-days. Not everyone finishes and some of those that do wind up editing and
sending their work out to publishers and some have been successfully published
by either traditional or self-pubbed venues. Whether you get your work
published or not, everyone who completes the word count in the time allotted is
a winner. To read more about NaNoWriMo go to Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month
Writing Exercise:
Choose up to ten topics (any topic like medical milestones, home décor,
finances, automobiles, education, relationships, etc) and write one 350-word article
every two days.
Writing Prompt: List the main message you think the writer
was trying to get across from the last five fiction short stories or full
length books you read.
Challenge Assignment: November is coming up soon. Sign up
for NaNoWriMo and do your best. Go to http://nanowrimo.org/
and register, there is no cost.
