Writing Help for Business Owners

• Learn How to Touch Type

The biggest and most important step for anyone who wants to make writing easier is learning to write without looking at the keyboard. It builds confidence, saves time and strain, and makes writing enjoyable. A variety of apps are now available and I would suggest downloading one right away. It only takes about a month or so if you practice an hour a day and it’s guaranteed to be a great investment in your time.

• Buy a Mechanical Keyboard

The trend in tech is working it’s way toward paper thin keyboards, but real writers look to the past for the best ones to write with. A mechanical keyboard offers the most immediate solution to you if your sick of writing and an often overlooked tool. You might remember them; they sport loud clicky switches with big responsive keys, and are angled to offer a comfortable position for your wrists. Stress on the fingers and wrists come quick if you type anything lengthy.The most famous is the IBM model M, easily purchased on eBay for a few dollars. If you want to get fancy there are  plenty of reasons to get excited. Das Keyboard, Ducky, RealForce all offer keyboards with quiet and loud switches for Windows and Mac. Make sure you pick up a good leather palm rest with it and get the real feeling of writing on a computer.

• Use a Minimalistic Word Processor

Writing can be dull and uninspiring with most word processors. If  you’re sick of looking at Microsoft Word then it’s time for an upgrade. With all the menus and rulers littering Word it’s hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Ditch all that and download a word processor with a minimalistic interface that offers full screen support, such as Scrivener or WriteRoom. This essentially turns your screen into a blank page and in effect forces you to concentrate. After that, it’s up to you.

• Write From Start to Finish

This can become a big problem with writing content for the internet. There are all sorts of openings to jump around the text, play with formatting, and even surf the web instead of writing.

When you start don’t stop, and don’t put yourself in a position to be interrupted. Usually business owners update their content in the office while continually being interrupted by phone calls and meetings. The best way to write successfully is from start to finish. It’s easier to spot weak points in the writing when you work this way. You can feel the bad rhythms in the work which makes it easier to re-write. The goal of every writer is to work successfully in one sitting without re-writing. People get frustrated because they think this process happens naturally. It doesn’t; it takes a lot of practice. When you pick up on this good writer’s habit, it makes the work seem more cohesive and enjoyable. Nothing is worse for a piece then writing a little, getting up, then coming back, etc. You will get into the habit of looking for a distraction instead of writing.

• Develop a Style

Find a style you like to write in and stick with it. Over time, you’ll naturally refine your style which will encourage you to write more. Writer’s tend to be too afraid of writing in their own voice because they’re afraid of what people will think. The ironic thing is that reader’s rarely scrutinize writing that has heart. Why? Because even if they don’t like it, they respect it. If you think writing is hard, think about all the people who are so intimidated by writing that they never write one word. A lot of people don’t write but like to read because they admire writing, like information, etc. The fact that you do write, and are searching for ways to become a better writer, is an encouraging thing. If you fake it, all is lost. Be an individual and find a style. Don’t scan the internet looking to riff off someone else’s style either. Instead, be real and develop a style through practice.

• Work at the Same Time Everyday

A lot of owners with small business blogs only write once a week. Unfortunately, it’s hard to become a writer if you work that infrequently. Most writers agree the best time to write is in the morning. This is when the magic happens. Your mind will automatically fill itself with content when you sit down at a particular time to write. The mind most likely generates this content while you sleep in anticipation of the day’s work. Brainstorming can work really well at night for ideas and points of entry, but the mental energy required to write most likely won’t be there after a long day. If you’re a business owner chances are that you write in your office sometime in the afternoon, perhaps before or after lunch. The afternoon is perhaps the worst time to write anything. Routines are somehow easier to keep in the morning when the mind is fresh, so if you’re having a problem writing sit down and get it out of the way or it will haunt you all day.