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Step By Step: Learning How To Write

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By Reija Roberts

Writing is often considered a creative ability that some possess and others do not. But what if you can improve your writing by learning to write? I’m not talking about spelling and grammar. As professional copywriters, it is our job to sell a product or idea with clear and concise copy. This is not an easy feat, even for creative writers. The best way to write copy that sells is to learn the writing process.

Writing and editing at the same time is a natural tendency for any writer. This means that every line is scrutinized as if it is the last time it will be looked at. This “line-by-line” process can be downright painful for the writer, and can contribute to procrastination and writer’s block.

Writing is a process like most other things. Just like assembling your new computer desk, there is a series of steps to writing that, if practiced, will be less frustrating and more rewarding in the end.

Step 1: Banish Writer’s Block With Freewriting

Do you suffer from writer’s block? Now is the time to convince yourself that writer’s block doesn’t exist. One writing myth is that you have to have an idea before you start writing. But let’s be honest: we don’t always have brilliant ideas. Freewriting is a way to generate ideas.

Composition theorist Peter Elbow is an advocate for freewriting. In Writing Without Teachers, he argues that freewriting is the first step to improving your writing. Freewriting is writing without stopping for at least 10 minutes. If you have a topic in mind, focus your writing on that topic. But if other thoughts and ideas creep in, allow them. Don’t worry if your writing is “good,” and don’t worry about grammar. This is the only rule to freewriting: Don’t stop!

Not only does freewriting help generate ideas, but it also helps break the habit of writing and editing at the same time. By “not stopping,” you don’t allow yourself to pause at each line, considering how to make it “better.”

Although it might seem awkward at first, writing in this way will become easier the more you do it. Once you accept the freewriting technique, you will find that it is the easiest part of the writing process.

Step 2: Allow Your Draft To Be Rough

Once you have generated or refocused your idea, you are ready to write your first draft. As with freewriting, you have to resist the urge to turn your first draft into your last draft. This means that you have to quiet your inner critic and give yourself permission to be rough.

Author, journalist, filmmaker and teacher Julia Cameron reveals her writing process in The Right to Write. In it, she debunks the belief that you have to be in the mood to write–another writing myth. If you allow yourself to be rough, you can write anywhere and at any time. Getting thoughts down on paper gives you something to refine later, and knowing that revision comes second to last in the writing process is freeing. As professional copywriters, we can’t afford to wait for the mood to strike; it isn’t practical or productive. By separating our emotions from our writing, we eliminate the urge to write and rewrite at the same time.

When you are finished your draft, walk away from it. In Killing the Filler, we learned what Stephen King can teach us about copywriting. He emphasizes “letting your first draft rest.” If you leave it alone, even for only a few hours, you can give it fresh eyes and a clear mind.

A draft is a draft. It isn’t the finished product. Once you accept this, you are free to get your thoughts down on paper and rework it later. By adopting this practice, Cameron argues that your writing will improve. When you are free from the demand to be perfect, writing comes easier. You may even find that, over time, you have less to revise.

Step 3: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Revision

Revision is a crucial step in the writing process. In Writing With Power, Elbow recommends that at least half of your writing process be spent on revision. This is where you revisit your draft with audience and purpose clearly in mind. It means reorganizing, tightening and clarifying. Above all, you should emphasize cutting.

Cutting is critical to copywriting. It is even more crucial for web copywriting. The goal is to keep only your best writing while preserving your message. This will keep your copy concise and web-ready. If you can relay your message in fewer words, you save your reader time and effort.

For an example of cutting, see our bridal site example.

Step 4: Save Editing for the End

Editing is the last step in the writing process. It is the polish that will perfect your writing. Elbow urges the writer not to consider grammar and usage until all other steps in the writing process are complete.

Anyone can learn the writing process. By ignoring the steps, you cause yourself undue stress. You also deny yourself the ability to write.

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