Three Roars for Freelance Writing

WordVixen over at Quest to Write has bestowed me with a Roar for Powerful Words Award and tagged me for an "I Am Writer Hear Me Roar" meme.

The rules are to post three writing tips that you've learned along the way, and then nominate 5 more bloggers to take up the meme.

First my writing advice...

1. Keep a notebook handy. Okay, it doesn't have to be a notebook. A voice recorder, idea jar, etc. will do just as nicely. The rationale is that when a brilliant idea strikes, you'll document it for future inspiration. Don't count on the old memory. Even the most illuminating ideas tend to quickly fade from consciousness.

2. Read, read, read. I believe one of the reasons I'm a good writer is that I've exposed myself to good writing my entire life. Eventually the flow of beautiful language imbues you.

3. And the most obvious...write, write, write. Early on in my career, if I didn't have a particular sample/style in my portfolio, I did my research, sought out professional examples and crafted my own similar document to add to my portfolio. (Important note: I'd far rather write for free for myself than someone else, and you should too! Otherwise, Screw You!) As a wonderful example of how effective this advice is, I once believed I couldn't write press releases because I'd never done so. PRs are now my bread and butter. Never say never.

I now hereby nominate:
1. Lisa Vella at Getting It Write for You
2. Kristen King at Inkthinker
3. Susan Johnston at The Urban Muse
4. Katharine Swan at Swan's Blog
5. Writing Frump