Get Writing – It’s Everyone Writes Day!
The 21st October is Everyone Writes Day in the UK. But this day can be celebrated anywhere and anytime. Writing is a useful hobby and a great career choice for anyone who is a wordsmith, or would like to be.
From children to adults, writing is fun, enjoyable and interesting.
In this blog, let’s consider –
- Why is writing important
- How to encourage yourself and others to write
- Writing for personal reasons
- Writing careers
Why is writing important?
Essential Skill
Writing is an essential skill throughout our lives. We have to write at school, at work, at home. Being able to write is important. Writing is not just writing on a piece of paper, it also includes writing texts, on computers, smart phones and so on.
Self Esteem
People who have poor writing skills can feel at a disadvantage at work, at home and in education. Being able to write is an important part of communication. Research by the University of Sheffield found that writing can actually increase people’s confidence.
Skilled
Writing encourages us to use more than one skill at a time. We need to know grammar, spelling and so on to write, but we also need other skills to write. For example –
- technical skills when using a computer or smart phone
- technical writing skills if writing instructions or information
- innovation to decide what to write and how
- creativity – using our imaginations and skills to create something
- concentration and focus – paying attention to what we are writing
- discipline – to sit and write
Above all though, writing should be interesting and if possible, fun.
Encouraging Yourself and Others To Write
For some people, you mention writing and it sounds like going back to school. Writing does not appeal to everyone, but it is definitely worth giving it a try.
If you are new to writing, or an existing writer, why not try –
Writing prompts
A writing prompt can be an idea, word or sentence that give you a starting point to write from. For example,
- There is an alien in the garden
- Alien invasion
But they can be simple words, such as –
- Stars
- Moon
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Tired
- Late night
- Sleepless
- Rubbish
- Rats
We can also use other prompts for writing, such as –
- People watching
- Listening to the conversations of others (subtly of course)
- Art
- Music
- TV programmes and films
- Other books
This is not to say use the ideas of others, but if we see an interesting sentence or idea in a book or film or music, this might inspire us to write our own story.
Rewriting
Try rewriting other stories. A prime example of this is fairy stories, myths and legends. These stories have been rewritten over and over again. Think of the Grimm fairy tales and how often they appear in films and other stories. Shakespeare used Greek legends and myths in many of his plays and rewriting of existing stories have continued ever since. This is not about copying the story, but actually putting your own spin on it.
What about writing Princess and the Pea from the perspective of the pea?
Or Snow White from Grumpy’s perspective?
Free Writing
A story may not come to you as soon as you see the prompt. So free writing is a good technique to use.
Basically, you write anything you can think of about your topic for five minutes.
Don’t edit yourself, don’t try to make it perfect, just write anything that comes into your head.
This can be a good way to get the ideas firing.
Habit
The writing muscle is like any other muscle, the more we use it, the better it gets, so make writing a habit.
Try freewriting daily.
Decide on a time of day when you would like to write and stick to it. Many famous authors will get up early to write every day. Others may work at night. Find out what works for you and stick to it.
Writing For Yourself
Fun
You may choose to write for fun or because you want to be a writer. There are many ways in which you can write –
- Flash fiction (stories up to 500 words in length usually)
- Very short stories, such as six words or up to 100 words.
- Twitterature – very short stories that fit into the 280 characters on twitter posts
- Other social media posts – there are many different social media sites that are specifically set up for people to share their writing. Or you can post on general websites. This can be a great way to share your writing with others and get their opinions, as well as reading their writing.
- Blogs
- Articles
- diaries
- Your own online magazine or newspaper
- Short stories
- Novels
- Non-fiction writing
You can also choose different genre, for example –
- Science fiction
- Romance
- Horror
- Travel
- News
- Personal opinions
- Information
- Food
- Cookery
- Drinks
- Education
- Psychology
- Bird watching
- Music
The list is potentially endless.
There are many options available. Don’t tie yourself down though to one area of writing right from the start though.
- Try different types of writing eg. blog writing and short stories
- Try different genre
An Example From One of Our Tutors
One of our tutors always wanted to write novels. She has tried on and off for years. About 20 years ago, she started working in education and became involved in course writing and development, writing blogs and articles, which she enjoyed. She still enjoyed creative writing though, wanting to write novels. She has tried many different options, such as blogs, poetry, horror, romance and travel. She has enjoyed all of it, but finally realised that the thing she enjoyed most was writing short stories about local history, with the occasional hint of horror and supernatural. It is about finding the area(s) of writing that most appeals to you.
Therapy
Writing can also be very therapeutic.
- Sometimes we have things that are bothering us that we simply can’t say to someone else. Try writing a letter to them. You don’t necessarily have to give it to them, but it can be useful to express your feelings in this way.
- Keep a diary or journal writing how you feel.
- Share your experiences to help others.
- Share your experiences in a fictional way.
- Write as a way to take your mind off things.
- Express your feelings through our writing.
Can Writing be a Career?
If we look at statistics about writing careers, it can feel a bit daunting, or not a good career choice.
For example, in Australia, only 5000 people are listed as full time writers. In a 2020 survey, nearly 54% of Australian writers earned less than £15,000 a year from their writer.
But this is a misleading figure.
It is true that there are not many bestselling authors out there making millions of dollars, but there are a lot of people who may a comfortable or good living from writing.
Some people may write “on the side.” They may have a full time job and write as a hobby or as an additional job.
Whilst others may have writing as a full time job. Saying you are a writer sounds like you are writing novels, but this is not the only option.
There are lots of different careers using writing skills. Writers are like anything else, they will be better at some things than others. Some writers are great at writing novels, others at short stories, others at technical writing, others at copywriting. It is about developing your writing skills and finding out what area(s) of writing interest you.
Let’s look at some careers in writing –
Writer
If you are interested in being “a writer.” Consider what you mean by this. For example –
- Novel writing
- Writing short stories
- Writing poetry
- Journalism
- Blogger
- Copywriters
- Marketing expert
- Technical writer
- Educational writer
And other careers.
There are so many ways to be a writer, both full time and part time.
Some examples -
Psychotherapeutic Writing
We just talked about writing as a form of therapy and psychotherapeutic writers can educate and help others to express themselves through their writing. They may
teach psychotherapeutic writing
be therapists using writing as a form of therapy.
This can be as their job, or as part of their work.
For example –
- A writing teacher may also teach psychotherapeutic writing too.
- A therapist may use psychotherapeutic writing as part of their therapy techniques
Writing Teacher
Experienced writers may teach writing. This can be –
- At schools, colleges, universities
- Private teaching
- Online tutoring
- Online writing courses
- As part of their existing job role. For example, a teacher may also teach writing skills alongside another topic.
Editor
Editors oversee a piece of writing from start to publication. They may work in a variety of areas, such as –
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Book publishers
- Websites
- As freelancers
- Proof readers
- Proof readers check documents for errors, such as grammar, spelling, consistency and content. Most proof readers are good writers themselves. They need good analytical and technical skills as well as being very good at spotting errors.
Content Marketing Managers
With the growth of the internet, the marketing industry has diversified as well. There are many more options for marketing products and services, such as –
- Blogs
- Social media
- Ebooks
- White papers
- Website content
- Ebooks
- Books
- TV and film advertising
The content marketing manage will spend time writing the content, as well as developing the strategy on what should be marketed and where.
Communications Manager
A communications manager is in charge of an organisation’s communications. This can involve –
- Overseeing the communication strategy of an organisation
- Writing guidelines and resources for the organisation
- Managing communication between the company and their clients/customers
- Writing business communications for internal and external use
And more.
Technical Writers
Technical writers write technical information, so that their audience can read and understand it. For example –
Instruction manuals
Tutorials
Articles
Technical courses
Technical writers need to be able to write clearly and precisely in a way that is suitable for the reader.
Journalist
In the past, journalists tended to write for newspapers and magazines. Journalism is far more broad today.
We still have journalists writing for print newspapers and magazines, but also for online news and magazines, websites and online journals.
They may also write for TV and online news.
Journalists can specialise, for example –
- general news reporting
- sporting reporting
- politics
- health
- fashion
- celebrities
- music
- film and TV
Etc
Journalists can be employed by an organisation or be freelancers.
Copywriters
Copywriters write material that encourages a reader to take an action. For example –
- visit a garden centre
- buy a book
- watch a film
They may write –
- Adverts
- Websites
- Blogs
- Sales letters
They write the “copy” that encourages a customer to do something.
There are many, many other jobs in writing, these are just some examples.
Read more about copywriting careers here.
Flexible Career
Writing can also be a very flexible career.
You might work –
- Full time
- Part time
- Employed
- Freelancer
- Your own business
You can work –
- In an office
- “on the road” following the news
- Abroad or in different locations
- As a “digital nomad,” going where the mood takes you.
- At home
- In a coffee shop
Really, anywhere that you want to write.
A Popular Career
Writing careers can be demanding. Depending on the type of writing you do, you may need to be able to –
- Come up with ideas quickly and regularly
- Write to deadlines
- Write quickly and efficiently
But writing careers are also fascinating.
- They are diverse.
- You can use your imagination and creativity.
- In some jobs/areas of writing, you can write where suits you.
- You can write in fiction and non-fiction.
Really, there are so many opportunities for writing.
Whether you are interested in writing as a hobby or as a career, it can be a rewarding and fulfilling thing to do.
Want to improve your writing skills or train for a job in writing, why not consider our courses?
And much more. If you are not sure which course suits your needs , just click below and contact us and one of our friendly team members will be in touch to assist you.