Writing Process Blog Hop

Thanks to Suzanne Boles for inviting me to participate in my first Writing Process Blog Hop! Reading from post to post, you’ll learn how different writers do their thing.

First things first: let me introduce Suzanne.

Suzanne Boles is a London, Ontario-based freelance writer whose latest adventure (that I know of) involved traveling to Hawaii for chocolate. She clearly has her priorities straight. No wonder she’s smiling here.

Suzanne has always loved to write. She won an award in high school for her poetry, received her honours English degree, then worked at many jobs with writing components as a small part of her work responsibilities.

She moved closer to full-time after completing a contract job as assistant editor for a lifestyle magazine. Prior to that, she was editor of a weekly newspaper.

She took a leap of faith in 1996 and launched her freelance writing business: Suzanne Boles, Write Connection. Suzanne’s articles have appeared in Reader’s Digest, Maclean’s, Profit Magazine, Today’s Parent, Western Alumni Magazine and numerous trade magazines. Her client roster includes Western University, The City of London (Ontario Canada), Pillar Non-Profit Network, The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and other clients as well as small business owners.

Suzanne specializes in writing profiles and case studies. She is currently writing about her personal journey through grief on her blog.

Again, Suzanne, thanks for inviting me.

Now it’s my turn:

1) What am I working on?

In general, I’d say I work at my “portfolio career” – here’s why:

Technology copywriting

Most days, I write copy for technology firms that sell their wares to other businesses. That’s the core of my business

Technology journalism

I write a technology column for Lawyers Weekly Magazine. I sometimes write for other publications as well, though copywriting has largely taken over my work schedule.

Technology blogging

I publish a weekly post on my blog, TechnoZen. It started as a simple tips blog. It has since ranged to talking about neat technologies that may change how we all do things. I’m also indulging my interest in cars by borrowing from the media fleets of various manufacturers and posting review of the cars, both of their technology and the driving experience in general.

Book writing

I have two books written, and I’ll self-publish them once the work schedule lets up a little.

Using LinkedIn Successfully: A Road Map

This book explains the core, foundational things LinkedIn account owners need to do to make LinkedIn work for them

It’s a guide that starts at square one and leads readers to being competent LinkedIn users, a place where they can easily benefit from the world’s leading business social network.

Professional Document Design for Amateurs: A Road Map

When you write a long business document, like a project proposal or business report, involves at least two separate skills:

• professional writing
• professional formatting

The writing takes however long it takes – there aren’t any real shortcuts to good writing.

Formatting, on the other hand, doesn’t have to take long.

In my book, I explain habits that you can build so that you drastically reduce the time it takes to format a professional document, to make it look as impressive as it reads

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’m a huge proponent of Stephen King’s “rule” which states: second draft = first draft minus 10 per cent. In other words, if the first draft is 1,000 words long, make the second 900 words long.

In reducing longer pieces to meet an editor’s word count, I tend to rethink and clarify what I want to write. While it isn’t always the case, I believe brevity is generally better than going on needlessly and letting tangents take over my writing.

3) Why do I write what I do?

Saying my work differs from that of other professional writers may or may not be true. What does differ is the background I bring to the work. I have coded (lightly) and have always been interested in technology. I continue to indulge that interest in my reading as well as my writing.

As a result, clients don’t need to teach me Technology 101. They spend less time explaining their work to me than they would to writers who don’t have a technology bent, and I’ll likely come up with better questions (and lots of them) as well as analogies and new ways of explaining things.

4) How does your writing process work?

1. I generally interview people to find out about the stuff I write. Speaking with experts tends to be the quickest way to learn about a topic in some depth.
2. From there, I “mind map” all the information I have, looking for relationships and different ways of organizing thoughts.
3. Once I’m done with (or tired of) mapping, I copy the map and paste it into Microsoft Word.
4. The text that results leads me to write from point to point, creating segues, eliminating stuff I don’t need, continuing to reorder and tinker
5. I go through multiple revisions.
6. At some point, I come up with a draft I can send to a client for review.

Now, I’d like to introduce two other “blog hoppers.” Please visit their websites on April 7 for their Blog Hop posts.

Darrell Noakes is a writer and photographer based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His experience includes radio, television and print, as well as public relations and corporate communications. His main focus is editorial, event, conference, commercial, corporate and travel photography. As a writer, he is mostly called on for corporate, public relations, business, travel and human interest subjects. Darrell also owns and operates an outdoor adventure business that specializes in cycling education, transportation and touring. Check out Darrell’s photography and samples of work at darrellnoakes.com and his profile on writers.ca.

Nate Hendley is a Toronto-based freelance journalist and author who has written a series of books, primarily in the true crime genre. Steven Truscott: Decades of Injustice is his most recent book. Nate’s website (www.natehendley.com) offers more details about his background.