In the last 8 days, I’ve given two separate private WordPress lessons to people I know. It got me thinking: As online writers, not only do we know the basics of stringing words together, we also know a thing or two about the technologies of our trade. In the old days, I suppose writers gave typing lessons to their friends. Today, we’re teaching our friends about WordPress, Microsoft Office, article marketing, article directories, keywords, social media, and more. . .

What have you taught one of your friends lately? Share your experiences here.

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© Martin Green - Fotolia.com

The freelance writing process – it’s different for all of us I bet. Shoot, my own freelance writing process varies from one day to the next and from one project to the next. For example, sometimes I’ll have an article completely written in my head long before I power on the computer. Other times, I have no clue what I’m going to write until I start typing. Sometimes keyword research is involved; other times, academic research. Sometimes I outline; other times I follow a basic formula. Other times (like right now), I wing it and then go back and reorganize after the fact.

In general, my writing process involves:

• Brainstorming – What do I want to write about? What angle should I take? Is the topic assigned or can I come up with my own ideas?
• Percolating – Once I have some ideas, I let them percolate. I love that the subconscious mind works while I do other things.
• Outlining – My outlines are extremely loose: intro, key point 1, key point 2, key point 3, conclusion. But, at least I know what my main points are and in what order I’ll discuss them. My outlines may or may not be written down.
• Research – Depending on the topic, research may take place before or during the writing process.
• Writing – My favorite part of the writing process is actually stringing the words together.
• Proofreading and revising - My least favorite part of the writing process. I really need to pay more attention to this part, but once I’m done with my favorite part, writing, I’m anxious to move on to the next project.

What about you? What’s your writing process like? Share your thoughts below.

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Annoyed by something? Have a pet peeve? Why not write an article about it? I don’t mean a rant; I mean a useful article.

For example, what if you’re still using Word 2003 and your colleagues and clients keep sending you .docx files made in Word 2007 or 2010? Instead of being annoyed that you can’t open these documents, a little research will reveal how you can update Word 2003 to be compatible with the newer .docx format. Use this information to solve your annoying problem as well as help other users in similar situation solve theirs.

Post your finished article on Constant-Content.com or one of the revenue-sharing sites and profit from your pet peeve.

Related Posts:

• The Freelance Writing Process
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• Keyword Tools: Soovle