A week ago, a magazine editor called out of the blue (I love it when they do that!) and assigned me a docu-drama.

Befuddled, I asked, “Uh…what’s a docu-drama?”

She explained that it is a dramatic, first-person, as-told-to story – similar to those “drama in real life” features in Reader’s Digest. “It’s written like fiction, with scenes and dialogue.”

Uh oh. I’m not a fiction writer—yet—but the assignment sounded fun and challenging, so I agreed to tackle it.

I conducted the interview, wrote out the whole story so I could get the big picture, and then started cutting. And cutting. And cutting. After the fourth draft, the story sounded so disjointed I wasn’t even sure it made sense anymore.

It was time to call in the rescue squad. I dashed off an email to my writer friend, Jenn Doucette, asking her to highlight places in the article I could condense and to suggest a headline (I’m headline-challenged; Jenn cranks out perfect headlines like nobody’s business).

A couple of hours later, I received her reply: “I’m on it, girlie.”

An hour after that, she returned my marked-up draft, accompanied by the terse message, “The story seemed way too choppy and disjointed.”

Whoa…she doesn’t mince words!

But I appreciate Jenn’s blunt honesty, because it’s exactly what I needed to hear. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that the story was… er… choppy and disjointed. I just needed another writer to confirm it.

During the last five years, I’ve been a member of a writers’ critique group, joined my local writers’ association, and had several writer friends (such as Jenn) who I can call on in emergencies.

These sorts of relationships are invaluable for us writers, for several reasons:

• Writers tend to be solitary people, scribbling away in dimly lit rooms for hours on end. We need human contact to stay sane. Even if they are other writers.
• We writers tend to fall in love with our words. We pen (what we assume is) the perfect phrase, and we dread the thought of someone criticizing our words.

But constructive criticism is most often just what we need. I sent my draft to Jenn because we have developed such a deep trust over the years that I knew she’d tell me exactly what I needed to hear, without sugar coating it. And I knew she’d get back to me quickly (after all, I am on deadline).

I wasn’t disappointed. While I disagreed with some of the changes she suggested and won’t incorporate those edits into my next draft, the vast majority of her suggestions were right on target and had me smacking my head, saying, “Duh! Why didn’t I think of that?!”

Jenn (who is a fiction writer) pointed out gaps in the story’s timeline, places where I’d made choppy transitions, and stilted dialogue (among other things).

I have my work cut out for me today, but I feel so much more confident to tackle the next revision. All it took was a second pair of eyes.

Tags: freelance writing, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, writers' critique groups, Writing

When the students at Middletown Area High School in Pennsylvania picked up their yearbooks, they were in for a surprise. On four of the yearbook’s 176 pages, last names of students were changed to creative new monikers:

• Max Zupanovic became “Max Supernova”
• Kathy Carbaugh became “Kathy Airbag”
• William Givler became “William Giver”
• Cameron Bendgen became “Cameron Bandage”
• Kayla Hrobak became “Kayla Throwback”
• Allesandra Ippolito became “Alexandria Impolite”

As a former high school yearbook adviser, my first inclination was to assume that some sneaky yearbook staff members played a practical joke. Not so. Turns out it was Taylor Publishing Company’s fault.

Apparently, an automated spell-checker at the yearbook publishing giant ran amok, randomly changing unfamiliar last names to names its built-in dictionary recognized.

Misspelling names in any document is the kiss of death. If you apply for a job and misspell the hiring manager’s name on your cover letter, you can forget about landing that job. One author I know discovered that his name had been misspelled on the cover of his first book. Ouch!

My co-blogger, Jim Rubart, has been referred to as “Jim Rhubarb” more than once. My maiden name (Hutchison) and my married name (Christianson) are routinely misspelled. When people carelessly turn “Hutchison” into “Hutchinson” or “Christianson” into “Christensen,” “Christian,” “Christenson,” or myriad other permutations, it makes me lose a bit of respect for the speller, whom I suspect didn’t care enough to do a simple double-check.

In the case of the yearbook “spell checker gone wild,” human intervention would have (hopefully) rectified the error before the yearbooks went to press.

The lesson here is: Spell-check your spell checker.

Don’t assume that your computer has all the answers. Double- and triple-check the spelling of all names…after your computer’s had a crack at them.

Readers: In what creative ways does your name get mangled…either by humans or computers?

Tags: HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, spelling, Writing

Whenever people learn that I’ve written a couple of books, they respond, “Oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book about ________.” (fill in the blank with the topic you’ve dreamed of writing a book about)

I’ve heard that:

• 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them.
• 10 percent of that 81 percent actually write the book.
• 1 percent of that 10 percent work up the courage to pitch their book to literary agents and editors.
• 1 percent of the “pitchers” get offered a book contract.

Why do so few people pursue their dream of writing the next great American novel?

Simple. They’re not willing to practice the craft of writing.

They may think they are willing; they may say they are willing. But then they settle down in front of a computer screen and face that irritating, blinking cursor, they stare at it for a few minutes, then sigh and announce, “I have writer’s block.” Or… “I’m waiting for the muse to strike me.”

I believe this reluctance to practice one’s writing stems from our school days, when we slogged through countless English classes and were forced to write all those boring essays (I can claim this with assurance, because I used to be one of those rotten English teachers who assigned the boring essays). Most people with a high school diploma assume they can write as well as the next guy. Who needs to practice?

Imagine asking an athlete, “Why do you need to practice?”

They’d look at you as if you were crazy!

Of course athletes need to practice; many of them practice their sport several hours per day, seven days a week, year round.

Why should writers be any different? Why should roof builders and software developers and chefs be any different?

No matter what your passion, the only way you’re going to become an expert at it is to practice, practice, practice.

Here are five tips for building a habit of practicing:

1. Schedule daily time—whether it be 10 minutes or two hours—for practicing your craft.
2. Find a mentor. This person should be more advanced than you at your craft, and should be willing to encourage you, scold you, and hold you accountable.
3. Brainstorm fun ways to practice: attend a conference where you’ll meet others who share a mutual passion for your craft; enroll in a class where you can brush up on the latest techniques.
4. Set measurable, attainable goals. Instead of saying, “I’m going to write the next great American novel,” say, “I’m going to write 300 words per day for the next five days.” Remember, it takes about six weeks of regular practice to establish a habit.
5. Reward yourself for meeting your practice goals. After X hours of deliberate practice, allow yourself a special treat. Make sure that treat is something that highly motivates you to practice!

What craft are you going to commit to becoming an expert at? Make your public commitment right now, right here, and start practicing!

In this series:

• 10 Marketing Lessons from a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
• What’s Your Passion?

Tags: becoming an expert, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Marketing, practice, Writing