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samples would not be complete without words
from the wise.
Learned from My English Teacher by: Glenn Beach
By now you probably understand how important writing
for trade publications is to establishing credibility in the
home business world.
On to the first hurdle: how do you get past that HUGE
writers' block? How do you know what to write about,
and how do you make it unique, informative and
interesting?
Remember how you resisted writing those reports in
school, insisting that you would never need to know how
to do that in "real life"? Welcome to the real world of
business writing.
Your English teacher gave you the bare bones: pick a
topic, research, take notes, make lists and an outline,
write a rough draft in your own words, rewrite, rewrite,
rewrite. Don't forget introductory paragraphs,
summaries, footnotes and bibliographies.
Thanks to the internet, you can use a search engine,
copy and paste, cut and paste, type, cut and paste edit
into infinity, include hyperlinks and add your resource box
at the end.
But...you're still stuck on picking a topic. You feel as
imaginative as a two by four. Start with your own home
business, internet marketing, or entrepreneurial
problems. Better yet, start with your journal. You don't
keep one? Here, you can borrow some of my own
entries: (better yet, each of these items is looking for a
foster home)
Didn't want to get out of bed this morning.
Turned on the computer and would rather play a
computer game than work.
The quiet is driving me crazy...music would help...now I
want to dance...now that I'm up, I could
vacuum....wonder what's on tv...
The noise is driving me crazy, I can't concentrate.
Ok, I finally got started. Ten hours later, I just can't stop.
I wonder why my wife is glaring at me.
I can't finish anything--the next new project always looks
more interesting.
Friends call and want to chat, the cats want fed, that
window needs fixing.
How do I know when to be persistent and when to try
something else?
My website has lots of visitors, many don't stay for more
than 30 seconds, few sign up.
I'd rather be __________ (fill in the blank): sleeping,
golfing, fishing, watching tv, eating, reading, swimming.
Now let's turn that list into a list of how-to's. I need to
learn how to: get enough sleep; stay focused; identify
goals, strategies and action plans; develop credibility
among friends and family; identify success (measurable
results?); make my website more sticky; encourage
prospects to become active affiliates; balance work and
pleasure; plan my day; stay motivated... and so on.
First I brainstorm: when have I been able to accomplish
any of these things? (take notes) Then it's off to the
search engines. (take notes; bookmarking and copy and
paste makes this easy) Now organize your notes:
whatever floats your boat, whether it be lists, outlines,
mind mapping or freeform writing.
Just keep searching, taking notes and bookmarking until
something hits you over the head. "This really might
work, especially if you did this first and then tried this..."
Be patient, it may take a little time.
Don't copy word for word what another writer has
already written; but on the other hand, don't worry
about inventing the lightbulb either. If you've done much
surfing at all, you realize that the internet is HUGE, a
veritable wasteland.
The chances of two people reading exactly the same
articles or websites and coming to exactly the same
conclusions are slim. Any bleary-eyed surfer will THANK
you for your arduous research.
And don't rule out your own experiences and thoughts. I
once was dealing with a problem and was becoming
more frustrated and angry by the minute. I finally just
dropped it and went for a walk. (You can substitute any
of those things, such as fishing, that you used to fill in
the blank above).
While walking I was thinking about another situation in
my life, was looking at the part of the natural world I was
walking through, and came to a brilliant conclusion. As
soon as it occurred to me, I saw that the solution also
applied to the problem I was trying to solve earlier. So
you see, sometimes it's good to just follow your instinct
and GO FISHING.
I'll write that all up into an article some day soon. It's on
my list. Meanwhile, I've got a few more ideas I'm writing
up first. Now I can't wait to get them all written into
articles. So...there's my topics, my motivation, and my
action plan.
If you've followed these steps, thanks to your English
teacher, the internet, your own experiences, and your
stumbling attempts at writing, you're now an author. But
more than that, you've learned:
how to set yourself a goal: new affiliate signups;
a strategy: making your name familiar or establishing
yourself as an expert;
and an action plan: write an article, submit it to dozens
of websites, post it on your own website, maybe even
add a few guest articles and start up a newsletter.
Then start over at the beginning...and don't forget how
important it is to take time out for fishing.
About The Author
Glenn Beach is a poet, writer and home business entrepreneur in
Nova Scotia, Canada. Free newsletter, more articles, and
business start-up info at:
http://www.work-at-home-business-opportunity-canada.com
art in the RoxanneWrites HOME page for art credits section.
