What Would Papa Say?

One of the lasting benefits of attending an Ann Wylie class is receiving her newsletter. It's full of helpful tips and practical advice, whether you’re writing for a start-up or you're immersed in corporate communications. Ann also lets her readers know about online writing tools she deems worthy, so we don't have to fall down the rabbit hole.

Thanks to Ms. Wylie, I've been playing around with the Hemingway app. This simple tool helps make your writing bold and clear by pointing out overly-complex sentences, passive voice, and adverb use. It also shows a readability score. Since discovering the Flesch-Kincaid grade level element in the readability stats in Word, I've always aimed for 10 or higher. I won't deny a smug satisfaction when a first draft comes in around 12.4. As it turns out, that's not a good thing if you want your readers to understand your piece.

I could rant about the decline of our collective IQ, and how the reading level of the average daily newspaper has dropped over the past several years. But the point of writing is clear, effective communication. The reader shouldn't have to work to understand the piece. If that means writing at a sixth grade reading level, so be it. Duh. But that's one of those things it's taken me a while to figure out. And yes, I did run this piece through the app. No adverbs, passive voice, or complex words. I got dinged for a few sentences that are "hard to read," no doubt due to the length. Hemingway and I will have to agree to disagree on that one. Short, punchy sentences do grab a reader's attention, but I'm a fan of an occasional longer sentence in the mix.

So as my writing worlds converge—day gig, freelance, and my own work—it's nice to have a few beacons to guide me no matter what I'm writing. And the point, of course, it to keep writing. Without delusions of "making it." Hemingway said it best. "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."

And Now…What?

This has been a banner year for the freelance career I began with my first magazine piece in 2012. I've had more gigs and made more money than ever before. I've written articles, blog posts, video scripts, and website copy. With some downtime right now, I find myself wondering what I want to write about. I've been writing for other people for months...now what do I have to say?

I could—and should—get back to the first draft of the novel I wrote last fall during NaNoWriMo. The sub plot wasn't working then, and it hasn't magically fixed itself while I've ignored it these past several months. I also need to make more of an effort to post regularly on this blog, for the practice, as well as to have a place to point potential clients. Then there's the writers group that offers a platform to write about anything and everything and receive insightful feedback.

My day gig calls for a fair amount of writing, although in any given week I do more editing than writing, and more project managing than anything. So with all of these outlets and opportunities to hone my craft, how do I find my voice when it's time to work on my own projects?

Twain said, "Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words." Hemingway said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." What would I say about writing if asked? Keep at it and you'll figure out what you're trying to say... 

Omit Needless Words

I'm a little over two months into my new job and still can't believe my good fortune in landing there. When I was searching and interviewing, a friend told me I'd know when the right job appeared. She was right. I knew during the first interview that it would be a good fit, and I'm thrilled to say as time goes on, I'm even more convinced. I'm surrounded by fellow word nerds, people who have passionate opinions about the Oxford comma (we're for it), which is something it definitely takes a word geek to appreciate.

It's been a while since I've felt this challenged at work. I'm immersed in learning about the functions of the various departments and how they work together, dealing with the non-stop acronym parade of course—CSC, CPC, SIU, PCC, UR, and WCIRB* just to name a few—and getting my arms around my first two large projects. I wouldn't call it a learning curve exactly, some days it feels more like an M.C. Escher-inspired staircase, but it's still satisfying.

So with everything that goes along with getting used to a new job, including the intense amount of incoming information about the organization, I am to create clear, concise communications for my clients and show them the art of saying more with less. Challenge accepted. The wonderful truth is that I'm once again being paid to write, and every day brings new opportunities to further my craft. My boss has a sign with a fabulous Mark Twain quote on her office wall that reads, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." Strunk & White would be pleased. And I just may have found a new tribe.

*Customer Service Center, Claims Processing Center, Special Investigations Unit, Pre-Coverage Check, Utilization Review, Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau

In My Own Write

The new gig is going well, really well. Sure, my brain is FULL, and I sometimes have trouble shutting it off so I can sleep, but I really didn't dare hope it could be this good. Who knew insurance could be so interesting? I certainly didn't. My teammates are fabulous—it struck me the other day that I'm surrounded by writers for the first time—and I've hit the boss lottery big time. My new supervisor, the Director of the Communications Center, is sharp as hell, incredibly emotionally intelligent and has a fabulous sense of humor. She also believes in investing in employees. Exhibit A: she sent me to an Ann Wylie workshop in L.A. on Thursday and Friday. After a little more than a month on the job, she wanted me to go to a writing workshop on the company's dime.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Wylie, I encourage you to check out her site. She's made quite a name for herself teaching classes and as a freelancer. Over the course of two days, I re-wrote, polished and perfected an article for State Fund's internal website that I'd written, and watched it transform with input from Ann and the class. It didn't take long for me to see why my boss holds Ms. Wylie in such high esteem, and why her techniques have shaped such a large part of our department style guide.

Ann told us that she's not a naturally gifted writer, but over the years she's developed effective techniques that serve her well. Her view is that writing is heavy lifting and if you're struggling, you're doing it right. She is of the opinion that hard work and technique trump natural talent every time. That comment raised my metaphorical hackles and I later realized it was because I didn't want to (and maybe still don't) believe that. I've long understood that writing equals butt in chair, but the idea that it's all technique and hard work crowds out the romantic notion of my muse floating out there, descending at will to bring me gifts of perfectly-polished prose.

As I continue to settle into my job and hone my craft, I have a hunch that I'll figure out a way to focus on technique and dedication but not disavow my muse. After all, each writer charts her own course.

With a Little Help from My Friends

Well, after seven long months, countless résumé tweaks, 48 applications, and some much-needed, greatly-appreciated insider knowledge from friends, I did it—I landed a state job. On Monday, I'll start my new gig as a Communications Consultant at State Compensation Insurance Fund. (Cue fanfare). To say I'm relieved is an understatement of ridiculous proportions. I don't do unemployment well, and am a terrible job hunter, but I will say I've handled things far better this time around than after Tower ended. I really have no idea what to expect, but as someone who rarely changes jobs (I don't leave jobs, they leave me), I'm trying to keep it together and not completely freak out about being the FNG after nearly nine years at my last job.

I do know that I'll have an entire week of training, or onboarding (and the state-speak begins) before I even sit down at my desk for the first time. What a concept. Comprehensive training. About the organization, my benefits package, what workers' comp is and how it functions, and presumably, the culture of the agency. I must admit that it's the latter I'm most concerned about. I know I can learn the language of a new industry, even the endless acronyms, and figure out the day-to-day functions of the job. But what's it going to be like working for the state of California? How corporate is it going to be? As in, how serious is the environment, and am I going to have to conduct myself like an actual grown-up 100% of the time and leave my sarcasm and fabulously witty personality at the door? While that probably sounds like a given to most people, consider my history. You can take the girl out of Tower...

However it will unfold, I'm ready for this new chapter to begin, and I won't forget the help of the friends who go me this far. And now, it's on me. Here we go...

And Then...

...there was that time I wrote a novel in 30 days. No, really. I did. I've been aware of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it's better known, for years. I've never participated because I've always had an excuse about being too busy, or already in the middle of a project, or some other lame rationalization. So I decided this year was different; it was time to jump in and see what would happen.

For those unfamiliar with the project that became an international event, NaNoWriMo challenges writers of every skill level to write a 50,000 word first draft in 30 days. That's an average of 1667 words per day. And the less prepared you are, the better. The idea is to experience seat-of-your-pants-style creative writing. The very idea of which can make a perfectionist break out in hives, but I jumped in anyway, with an idea that didn't begin to take shape until about the middle of October. So I actually sat down to write a novel, without an outline and with a very vague idea of who the main characters were, in a month. And an amazing thing happened: the less I worried about sentence structure, finding the exact right word, knowing what would happen next, and how I'd get out of the corner I'd just written myself into, the story started flowing, the characters revealed who they were and the plot unfolded.

Freelance writer Chris Baty started NaNoWriMo in the Bay Area in July of 1999 with 21 participants. In 2000, it was moved to November, "to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather." Last year, over 400,000 participants labored over their keyboards and made something out of nothing. They conjured words out of thin air, coaxed characters out of their imaginations, created worlds and wrote novels. The Young Writer's Program, which started in 2004, is a writing workshop for K-12 students. Each year, more than 100,000 students and educators in over 2,000 classrooms around the world have participated. How cool is that? For those who've asked me what's next, the only thing I'm sure of is more writing.

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Ten Years

 

Ten years ago
Was the end of

An era

A legend

A way of life

Ten years ago

Was the beginning of

A new chapter

A new identity

A new way of life

Ten years taught me about

Accepting change and loss

Finding strength

Making peace with the past

Ten years ago today

I walked into an uncertain future

Today I look back

With fondness

With pride

With love for my tribe

Today I look back and

See how far I've come

Know I can find my way

Believe how far I can go