Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Writing Tips - Writing On the Go

There are times when you do not have the benefit of a comfortable desk and chair where you can sit down and write. Say you have an urgent deadline approaching with little time left to complete an article or story. If you have to run an important errand that cannot wait, you need to find a way to at least get a head start. Getting a few words down on paper while waiting could mean the difference between missing an important deadline and completing an article on time.

1. Writing in Public Transport

Say you're on a train and you have to finish a short article to be delivered when you reach your destination. All you need to do is to whip out your writing stuff, whether laptop or pen and paper, and start writing. People near you will probably be doing the same, so you will feel at home. This is where a good, long-life battery could be useful because, instead of surfing the net, you could get some work done. In you're in a taxi or on a bus, you will need to rely only on pen and paper because of the erratic movements of the vehicle.

2. Writing in Public Spaces

If you are at a bank, waiting in line or sitting down, you could also get some work done. Once again, you will need to use pen and paper, because the bank will probably frown on your using a laptop. A good technique to use when waiting in line is to write only the headlines of your article. A few cryptic words under a headline is all you need. Later, you can use these notes to write the full article. A knowledge of shorthand could be of great use whenever you need to write in public spaces.

3. Writing Without Writing

What if you are at a place where you cannot write? If you are at a church, for example, or in court doing jury duty and cannot do anything else but listen, you could put any spare minutes to good use. If you do not need to listen too closely to what is being said, you could do a bit of writing even on such occasions. A simple technique you can use is to think of the subtitles of your article and think of what you can say in the paragraph. You can also use topology, where you use the parts of a building you are familiar with as markers for important points or paragraphs. The door of the building could mark the introduction to your article. The chair inside your hallway could hold your second paragraph. When you have chosen a suitable marker for each paragraph, you then proceed to think of the content, mentally filling in the words.

Being away from your writing desk does not have to mean being unable to write. You can continue to be productive even when away from your desk by using these simple techniques. An additional benefit of writing in public is that you can obtain valuable input that could trigger a good description or make you remember a fact to enliven your story.

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