Watch for a personal wrap-up from me in the coming days, but for now my weary limbs and grey matter can only manage to string together some notes from a memorable break-out session I attended during the Digital Parents Conference that was held on 30th March in Melbourne. I hope they are of good use to you, dear reader.
There is much I want to say about DPCon12. Alas, I am on schedule to clean up the house in time for the LGBB’s friend who is coming for a sleep-over soon. I have also been commissioned to make them some kiddy-version fortune tellers like those we discovered inside our Hallmark packs (how cool is that little purple box? Thank you, Hallmark, you hit the mark in our house!).
I had the pleasure and good fortune of sitting in on the writing workshop run by Sydney Writer’s Centre founder, Valerie Khoo. And boy, was it good. Ninety minutes flashed past feeling like we had been there for barely half an hour, such was the engaging content. Thank God for the iPad because the excellent tips and points to note were coming fast.
Here is a little grab-bag of a few writing tips I was particularly taken by:
Know your reader
See them, get a clear picture of who is reading. Then, the way you structure your writing and the topics you choose will more naturally occur.
Create a reader profile.
If your reader ‘picture’ is not clear, then build your ideal person.
Demographics (narrow down to a niche age group, gender, life stage):
Where do they live?
Income level?
Education level?
How extensive is the readers’ understanding of your topic?
Remember to write”to” someone.
This way, your writing will be so much tighter.
Plan sometimes.
Structure your writing before you even begin. Observe the difference it makes to your writing.
- Challenge yourself by doing this occasionally instead of writing and then editing.
Just because it happened doesn’t mean it has to be written.
Particularly pertinent to chronological writing.
Identify your most used word.
Be aware of it, remove it.
- Try writing posts without using “I” at all sometimes.
Read your work out loud.
If it sounds funny or ends flat, rewrite/edit.
Show, don’t tell!
You don’t have to leave your punch line until last.
- A solid ending can circle back to the starting punch.
Can you make it tighter?
What can you cut?
Your blog is like your business card.
If you want to get paid to write, does your blog make it clear that you’re a freelance writer? Identify yourself clearly.
If you want to get paid to write, write in the voice of the publication.
Analyse your target publication:
- How often does it come out? (writing a seasonal story, for eg., may have to be submitted 3-4 months out).
- Look at distribution area.
- Contributors vs staff writers? Are the majority of contributors staff writers? (If they are, there’s less likelihood they use pieces submitted by freelance writers) If the names on the Contents page are different to those on the articles, there is a better chance your work will be considered.
- Target audience (demographics).
- Topics and themes.
- Length (word count), tone and style of articles.
Pitching:
Pitch a clear story idea
- Include name of relevant editor, call yourself a freelance writer, tell them what the story idea is about and what the article will include.
End strong!
Make them read to the end every time.
There was more. So much more! But these were my stand-outs. Did you go to this session? Do you have any more to add?
And on that note, I have some books to read with my Lolly Gobble Bliss Bomb. She’s been waiting for me to come back. Time to go be a Mumma for the rest of the afternoon.
You can connect with Valerie on Twitter – @ValerieKhoo – or visit her website.
Also visit Sydney Writer’s Centre on Facebook, and Twitter: @SydneyWriters.
Thanks, K. This is such a great wrap up. Looking forward to your posts. x
Loved meeting you!
And I too enjoyed the writers tute, even though I had to walk out twice due to personal bits.
Your hair freaking ROCKS. Love it! I wondered if you were ok. xx
It was super, honestly. I just *felt* more like a writer being in the room! Was a great vibe.
Hey, did you notice the Hallmark fortune teller had no number 2, only two number 4's? My 3 year old pointed it out
Just boy stuff. Had phone on vibrate.
I shall be cutting, pasting and saving these tips for future reference…!
LOVE this wrap up! Makes up for not being in on that sesh! xx
She was so incredible wasn't she? Absolute stand out!
Ah, right you are. xx
Hey, that's the ticket! It was really brilliant. I thought perhaps it might be too focused on monetizing writing (and why not, I say) and pitching pieces – or ideas for same – to magazine editors, but this was only part of it. The lead-up to that discussion was rich with these easily digested grabbers that ALL made sense. Brilliant stuff.
She really was, agreed. Even the handling of answering blogger questions – or the way she challenged the question-askers by asking them to think for themselves – was so well done, so subtle but so constructive for everyone. Was well worth joining in.
Happy to help! only wish I'd written down more…. I think the rest just seeps in by proxy simply from being present in the room
I did, actually! Whoops. Wonder if anyone got a rap over the knuckles…..
So wish I could go! Definately going next year! Have to catch up before if possible! I feel like I know u but haven't met you you are a lovely n amazing person!
Love this wrap up. Thank you for sharing – some good tips from you and the SWC
I often write with a reader in mind, even if the reader is just 'you'.
One of the reasons I really wanted to practice my writing on my blog is because i wasn't very good at rounding off a story. I think blogging has helped.
That is a very sweet thing to say. Thank you. I'm sorry your health prevented you. Hopefully there will be an event sometime soon where our paths cross.
I agree, Carly. It gives a good platform for being focused on the wrap-up. Good point.
God help me, I think my most used word is f*ck! *blush* Hahaha x
Thanks for sharing this – so wished I could have been in two places at once!
Oh, I really wanted to get to this one. Thanks so much for sharing your take homes. Some really great points.
And loved meeting you too, Kirrily. It was the end of the night and loud, but still worth hearing your bunny story. xx
I heard so many good things about this session so I was really looking forward to seeing people's notes – thank you for sharing with all of us!
I love the read it out loud tip. I've done it in the past and it really does work.
Now I guess I should knuckle down and summarise my own notes from the Blog Coaching Boost workshop!
Thank you for publishing these notes. I was in the session too – but kept getting interrupted by my baby. I really enjoyed the information that I was able to catch. Valerie was such an excellent and knowledgable speaker. I learned a great deal!