Writing to spec for too long can be as bad as writing for your own purposes. You develop bad habits. You develop fat in your writing cells. Exercise is needed to reduce the fat gain from sitting writing. And writing exercise is needed to reduce the fat gain from writing articles and other fixed length opinion pieces.
So here are 2 exercises to help you reduce your writing fat.
Like any other exercise program care should be taken when first starting out. And unless the exercises are repeated regularly, no change can be guaranteed. Results are reasonably certain but your mileage may vary.
1. Write a series of sentences saying the same thing.
This is kind of a fun exercise. Start out with a sentence of 25 words. That’s slightly longer than a typewritten line. Try not to be overly heavy handed with the words. You want to exercise your abilities not play with words. Make sure that the sentence evokes a particular feeling in the reader. Now rewrite it. The revised sentence should be about 20 words. It should still convey the same thought and meanings. And it should still evoke the same emotions in your reader. Now rewrite it again. This time to about 15 words. Same rules as before. The sentence should still have the same meaning and thoughts. It should also convey roughly the same emotion. Now it gets even harder. The target this time is 10 words. Same rules. When you are starting out try to be close but don’t get upset if the sentences are slightly longer or shorter. As you grow comfortable with the exercise you should make the lengths exact.
2. Write a series of paragraphs conveying the same thoughts.
This one takes a bit of thought. Start with a theme and an emotion. Now write a paragraph to convey the theme and leave the reader with that emotion. Easy huh? Now rewrite the paragraph in passive voice only. Same theme and leaving the reader with the same emotion. In fact the paragraph should be the same other than the voice. Now do it a third time. This time rewrite the paragraph using only active voice. After trying this a few times you can start making the process a little harder. Make all three paragraphs the same length. Write the first paragraph using both active and passive structures. When you’re ready to progress again stop writing the first paragraph at all. Just write the passive and active versions. Don’t forget that they both need to contain the same number of words.
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Glen Ford is an accomplished consultant, trainer and writer. He has far too many years experience as a trainer and facilitator to willingly admit.
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