I am sometimes asked how I got into writing. It's been twenty-five years since I started, and now I am writing about writing, or telling my account of how I got into it.
In college I began noticing that I liked to write when I actually preferred essay questions. I faithfully wrote a letter to my parents almost every week. This was way before email and cellphones, and dailing long distance was cost-prohibited. Noting this tendency, I took a journalism class as an elective.
The journalism class dealt more with newspapers than perfecting a writing style, but I learned the most about writing in good 'ole English 101. In that well-known class that all college freshmen take, topics covered included vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling, and writing assignments. The writing instruction dealt with the basic pyramid of introduction, points, and conclusion. This outline is still very applicable and is heavily used today. If a person did well in English 101, they should be able to put together a decent narrative.
I have always been a reader of newspapers and magazines, particularly hunting magazines. I eagerly read every Georgia Sportsman magazine that I got back in the 1970's and 1980's. At hunting camp in 1984, my hunting buddy and I discussed a particular aspect of hunting strategy. He felt that visibility from a stand was most important while I believed that adequate concealment was crucial to success. While we argued, I mean discussed these viewpoints, he declared that he was going to write an article about it. “So am I”, was my emphatic reply.
The season ended and the idea faded. It faded for him, I got out my typewriter and wrote the article. Not knowing what to do, I just mailed the transcript to the editor with a brief cover letter. I was shocked a few months later when I received a check in the mail for $25. I still recall my wife and I jumping up and down in excitement. I later learned that the $25 was for the photo and I later received another $150 for the article. I went out and bought a new Leupold riflescope that I still have on one of my rifles.
It was so satisfying and thrilling to get that Georgia Sportsman magazine copy that had my article with my byline in it. I was now a published paid writer and the feeling was grand. In the next few years, I wrote a few more articles and mailed them to editors in the same manner, and all were rejected. My budding writing career was sputtering and I was getting discouraged.
In 1991 I discovered a writers group called the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association (GOWA) and knew that this was where I needed to be. Not only were they writers, but they all loved to hunt and fish! I joined and attended the conference, met other writers and editors, and learned about how the writing industry worked.
The standard method was to write a query letter to the editor and tell him about the idea for an article. That would save you the time and effort of writing something that they didn't want or need, or may want it in a different way. Thereafter, I began writing query letters to editors and started getting assignments and things started taking off.
What was equally beneficial was meeting editors and establishing a relationship with them. Once you got to know each other and you knew what they wanted and they knew you could write, the assignments began flowing more freely.
It can be tough to get that first assignment from any editor if they don't know you. You have to somehow convince them that not only do you have a good idea, but that you know how to write about it effectively. A resume, website, or past writing assignments can all be evidence of your worthiness. How the query is written will also reveal your writing style. Of course, these are done by email these days, no more writing letters and mailing them. Before contacting an editor, look over copies of the magazine and read the 'writers guidelines' available on most magazines' websites.
Most editors will agree that it's more important that a person know how to write than they know a lot about the topic. The topic can be researched, but if the editor has to re-write the piece because of numerous misspellings, poor grammar, and awkward sentence structure, he'll soon decide to use someone else. That said, or written, its better to write about things that you are interested in and have some knowledge about.
A writer's style has to be interesting and easy to read. Spellcheck can be a writer's best friend but you still have to know sentence structure and grammar. The writing has to flow and make sense. You need to keep the reader in mind and he has to be able to not only follow your thought process, but enjoy how you're saying it.
Speaking of spelling, the words that are most frequently misused are two-too-to and there-their-they're. Take note: two is a number, too means also, and to is a conjunction. There is a location, their shows possession, and they're is a contraction for they are. Get these wrong and the editor will think you're ignorant.
I often write about deer for example, but its boring to keep using the word 'deer'. So I vary it by using buck, animal, quarry or other words. If I write a first person narrative, I avoid the repetitive use of starting each sentence with “I did this...” and so on. The opening paragraph is usually the most important because it needs to grab the reader's attention and draw them into the story, so write it carefully. Avoid cliches, and come up with different ways of writing things. Having a wide and varied vocabulary is vital, the more words you know, the more interesting your writing.
While a person's writing style can be improved, its evident that some people just have a knack for it and others do not. The more one works at it, studies the craft, the better one can get. Like any discipline, the more one puts into it, the more rewards you'll receive.
I started writing for the Gwinnett Citizen in 1994 and they're still publishing my stuff for some reason. I have since branched out and have had my byline in quite a few publications. I'm considered a freelancer, not an employee, and writing is still only a side job. I don't think I could support myself doing it, maybe after I retire, but it does add a nice extra income at times.
Now when I go hunting or fishing, I'm doing 'research' and my expenses are tax-deductible. I use most of my writing income to finance more trips or gear and I consider that justifiable. After all, I am able to write about these topics because I'm always doing them. Kind of like a vicious cycle or return on investment. I wouldn't have this knowledge and experience to write about were it not for my numerous trips and outings.
So my advice to aspiring writers is to first learn how to write, increase your vocabulary, and master grammar and sentence structure. Join a writers association, take some classes, get to know the editors, and work hard at it. Being published and getting paid for writing is satisfying and rewarding. So if you too have the inkling to write, go for it. Be persistent and your rewards await.