Focus Intentional Writing

It happens every day. Writers dream of having their work published in a magazine or a book. They commit time to write during the early morning. Or maybe they write in a journal each day or a blog. Possibly you are one of those writers who love words and crank out something every day.

From my experience, this type of random writing is unfocused and not pointing toward a specific goal. What is the goal of your writing? Are you doing it to help people? Are you doing it to tell a good story? Are you writing to capture your memories of the moment?

If you are blogging for a book deal, then read what Jane Friedman recently wrote in Please Don't Blog Your Book: 4 Reasons Why.

I've met novelists who love to write stories. Years ago I was in a critique group with a novelist who had written seven or eight novels. Each one was substantial storytelling and involved hours of work. I asked him if he had ever submitted the work to an editor or agent. “No,” he said. “I just love to write.”

I admired his discipline and love of storytelling as well as his commitment to write. Yet at that time, he had no plan or endgame for his writing. In the years since, we encouraged this writer to submit his material and the bulk of that writing has appeared in print.

There are millions of blogs. This week I received an email from a writer who had been blogging and wanted me to read some of his writing. I saw that he could tell a good story (and told him so). Yet the writing was scattered with no obvious target audience or purpose. Again it was unfocused.

For example, my blog on The Writing Life has over 1,000 entries. Each article is focused on the writing and publishing world. It is planned and intentional in what goes on these pages. Also to help you, I have a search tool in the right-hand column. Scroll down and you will find it and can search for any term to see articles that I wrote years ago on a particular topic. It is a rich resource.

If you are going to blog then I encourage you to focus your writing on capturing your passion. Make sure your target audience is clearly in focus with each entry. Also look for ways to monetize your blog and turn it into a revenue stream. If you have 31 days, I encourage you to get a copy of my 31 Day Guide to Blogging for Bucks. You can read it risk-free for 60 days. I'm confident the content can change your writing life from unfocused to laser focused.

With a plan for your writing, the days ahead can be full of promise and publication. I encourage you to action today to move forward.