The Highly Effective Writer

1. Introduction: Hello, and welcome to the highly effective writer. My name is Nia Hogan, and I'm a multi published author, educator, and a highly effective writer. I spent the last 15 years of my life unknowingly learning how to be more effective in the craft and business of writing. It wasn't until I began writing the script for this course that I realized how effective I am. Expanding my business, building healthy relationships with clients, and completing difficult assignments was only possible through developing healthy habits, reducing my stress levels, and finding strategies to help me be more efficient. Even if you're not writing for clients or as a career, publishing your work yourself or writing a dissertation for the next degree requires discipline. Becoming a highly effective writer takes time and a little guidance, which is where I come in, and hopefully why you're here. This course was designed with you in mind, the writer who wants to take their skills to the next level. I look forward to teaching you all that I know about becoming a highly effective writer. In this course, you'll find the highly effective writer habit tracker. This PDF can be printed or stored digitally and aligns directly with this course. It can be downloaded from the project section. This works as a reflection journal to assess where you are and help you track the improvements you're making as a writer. The content of this course is broken up into four lectures, key qualities, healthy habits, productivity, and stress management. By the end of this course, you will know what being an effective writer is all about. 2. Key Qualities: But that being said, we'll begin with the first lecture, key qualities of effective writers. What sets the highly effective writer apart from others? There are several key attributes. They're dedicated, mindful, persistent, strong communicators, creative, relatable, and observant. The highly effective writer dedicates time to their craft and puts forth effort, especially when writing with and for others. They are mindful of their audience, the content they put out into the world, as well as meeting their own needs as writers. They are persistent about meeting deadlines, goals, and overcoming challenges. They're strong oral and written communicators. They express their ideas clearly and engagingly. They are creative thinkers who bring new ideas to the table. Their writing touches audiences and gives them a relatable experience worth investing in. Highly effective writers are also observant, which allows them to write more descriptively and pay attention to details. Dedication looks different from writer to writer. Dedication, for the sake of this lecture, includes time and effort. How committed are you to the craft of writing and sharing meaningful content? How dedicated are you to your clients and developing yourself as a writer? Here are some reflection questions. One, what will happen if you were to develop a more consistent and intentional writing habit? Two, what barriers are keeping you from dedicating time to writing, and three. What are possible solutions to overcome those barriers? Effective writers are mindful of the thoughts and commentary they put into the world. Our words have the power to transform ways of thinking, teach lessons, motivate people to act, inform the masses, more simply entertain. Our readers may be impressionable and we must be responsible for the information we spread, even through fiction. Our writing reflects how we see the world, how we see others, and our experiences and perspectives are woven into our characters and plots. Writing stereotypical characters can be harmful to real life groups. Spreading false information packaged as truth can have consequences. Inaccurately framing historical context, unjustified and excessive violence. These examples are things we cross across literature and in non fiction that mindful writers are careful about. Creating a snapshot of the world during the time you were writing in or telling real stories may not always be pretty, but we must do so responsibly. This level of mindfulness separates writers from highly effective writers. The ability to quality control your content for your readers takes effort, but it shows you care. Writing isn't only about our audience. As the vessel of this content, we have to take care of our minds and spirits on this journey and avoid burnout by developing healthy habits. Here are a few reflection questions. Do you think your content aligns with the audience you wish to attract? What do you want your readers to take away about you as a writer? Why do you write? What's your purpose? What needs would you like to meet for readers? How can you create more meaningful content? What are sensitive topics you'd like to discuss? Do you feel you've been mindful of how others receive that information in the past? What things can you be more mindful of? And how can you better reach your audience? Being a writer, especially one who is publishing their work, is a vulnerable passion to share. It's impossible to please every reader, but it feels good when glowing reviews and positive feedback is given. Bad reviews and harsh commentary has driven many writers to abandon their storytelling altogether. But highly effective writers don't give up on themselves. They persist, even in the face of rejection and disappointment. I love hearing the stories of successful authors who sent out their fair share of queries only to have their work rejected time after time. Years of fighting for their work eventually resulted in their book being published and loved by a multigeneration of audiences. Think about if your favorite author had given up. What wonderful stories would you have missed out on? If they inspired you to become a writer yourself, would you still have picked up a pen? Committing to your craft is a bold and conscious decision. Reflection questions to consider. What would you lose if you gave up today? What would you like to improve on? What advice would you give to someone who wants to stop writing? What strategies do you have to deal with rejection? What motivates you? Something you could try is creating a writer's affirmation. Effective writing clearly communicates ideas. Writing in a way that is easy to understand is a skill that many of us learn growing up in school. Some people have a strong ability to tell stories, sequence and retail events, and organize information. But at the end of the day, this is a skill we are taught and we develop over time through practice. Highly effective writers have strong written communication skills. Your writing will elevate when you are comfortable and confident with how you express ideas and reveal information. Don't be discouraged if you feel like you are constantly editing drafts and never publishing. This is an indication that you are dedicated, mindful, and persistent. A good way to judge your ability to communicate ideas is to seek critiques and feedback on your writing. What are specific areas of communication you'd like to improve on? For example, vocabulary, clarity and dialogue, utilizing humor to break up serious scenes. Are there any classes, programs or activities that you'd like to incorporate into your routine to help you develop those skills? What tools or strategies can you incorporate to improve how you communicate ideas? Who do you trust with your honest and valuable feedback on your writing? I suggest you seek feedback from five people you trust on your favorite writing sample. Examine those consistencies and make a list of things worth exploring. All writers are creative, even if they aren't creative writers. Writing nonfiction requires a level of creativity to make recycled information, feel like a fresh perspective. Your delivery and style is unique. Highly effective writers think outside the box, no matter the genre or topic they're delivering because they want their writing to stand out. There's a saying that there's no original ideas. If that's true, that doesn't mean that there are no new quality pieces of writing. New books come out every year and attract the attention and hearts of readers globally. These retellings and repeated themes and re image concepts are just creative takes on classic ideas. You can always find a new angle on an old story. Take a moment to reflect. What creative concepts are you most excited to write about? What classic stories would you love to retell? What written works have inspired you the most? What themes do you enjoy reading and writing about? What author styles do you admire? As a writing exercise, choose a story from your answer to number two and do a short story retelling. Research your author from number four and write a blog post about their journey. The people in our lives we have the strongest relationships with are usually people we have things in common with, see ourselves in and can relate to on a personal level. The films we love the most are the ones with characters, scenarios or themes we can relate to, see ourselves represented in, or that evoke emotion. The memories we think back on the most bring up a certain feeling and were impactful whether the event was big or small. We make connections to written work through our personal experiences, background knowledge, and other texts we've read. Part of being mindful of our audience is understanding what is relatable to them. For example, if I'm writing a high school teen drama set in the mid 90s, even though the characters are teenagers, my target audience might be people who were adolescents in the 90s. That doesn't mean today's teens won't appreciate the themes, the content, or the story line. Both audiences understand the challenges and realities of being a teenager in school. Even if you're writing non fiction, how can you impact your audience? Highly effective writers are impactful and are remembered for their words. Three things I want you to reflect on. One, what experiences have shaped your life that could be topics for your next writing piece? Two, what are topics or themes that are near and dear to your heart? And three, which books or authors do you feel most connected to? For writing activity, a journal about an experience from your answer to number one. And finally, highly effective writers are observant. We pay attention to the world around us and the details in our writing. Inspiration is all around. One of my favorite things to do when I lived in the city was to people watch. As I sat in front of my computer, I would imagine the lives of strangers as they walk past the coffee shop I'd sit in. I would practice writing descriptions of my view from the window. I engaged my five senses and took in the world around me. This helped me to create new descriptions for future stories set in similar places. There was a time I ghost wrote a breakup scene for a client. I was going through a similar situation, which became the muse for that scene. I was brought to tears just writing it. I was in tune with my emotions. I was able to write a realistic and memorable scene for what would become a successful series for that author. If you're like me, many of the people in our lives inspire the characters in our stories. These experiences inspire events in your story. Highly effective writers are paying attention to the details in their writing from an editing and developmental standpoint. We aren't publishing our first drafts, ignoring plot holes, or failing to fact check information. What details do you show the most attention to in your writing, and what areas can you improve? What do you notice the most about other people's writings? How do you seek inspiration? As a writing activity, list ways you can improve your attention to detail that you can incorporate into your daily writing habits. 3. Healthy Habits: In this last lecture, we covered seven key qualities of highly effective writers. Next up is healthy habits. Enhancing your writing process and increasing productivity starts with good habits. Whether you're developing new or forming them, this lecture covers habits that highly effective writers have. Number one, we set clear boundaries and stick to them. A boundary I uphold is ending relationships with clients whose energy drains me once I finish my contract. When writing for myself, there are certain business related tasks that I always outsource to honor my own time and energy. By setting boundaries, you are gifting yourself the time and energy to write your best. Number two, establishing a writing routine can help you to reach your goals and streamline your process. Routines in our personal life help us remember to do important things. It gives us a sense of control and normalcy, allows us to prioritize tasks and ensures that our day runs smoothly. Giving your writing the same special attention will ensure that you maximize your writing time and reminds you that writing is an important part of your life and worth giving your attention to. Writing routines can be simple and should be something that you can stick to. Remember that a routine can be flexible, but it should be intentional and something that you feel good about doing. Prioritizing tasks is important in all lines of work. Writers by profession likely have a strong system for goal setting and task completion. If you need a more rigid method of habit tracking and prioritizing the things you need to do, there are journals and planners created specifically for writers that can help you. My Skillshare course with its accompanying journal called Cultivate and publish is a perfect example. When we figure out what's most important, it makes it easier to complete tasks to avoid writer's block and burnout. Highly effective writers avoid that as best they can. Number four, prioritizing your health is something you might not automatically associate with writing, but it's important to effective writing. If your head feels foggy, you're irritable, or you have a lot of work on your plate, you likely won't be able to do your job to the best of your ability. Taking care of your mental and physical can allow you to show up at the writer's table as your best self. It will allow you to maximize your creativity and focus your energy in producing content worthy of reading. Burnout can affect your physical health, making you lose precious minutes or days that could be poured into writing a piece that could be appreciated by your audience. Number five, using processing guides or outlines help with organizing and structuring your thoughts. It's not only a time saver, but can reveal weaknesses in your writing. I begin all my course scripts with an outline. This helps me see what I need to research and how I can reorder lectures to make more sense for learners. There are plenty of templates you can use across all genres that can help you take the guesswork out of planning. Highly effective writers use guides to fulfill their purpose for writing. Building the habit of planning your writing is a great way to increase productivity. Number six, take breaks to recharge. Sometimes your brain just knows when it's time. What does that look like for you? Short breaks may be a stretch, a snack, or a walk. Sometimes breaks are much longer. I have many projects I've abandoned for months at a time as I do research or think about ways to better communicate my ideas. A break offers a chance to return with a fresh perspective. Readers can sense a rush job, and I believe they can also sense sections that a writer was not completely committed to. Highly effective writers know their limits and understand the importance of letting go. Number seven. Embracing imperfections may be difficult, but there will always be something you'd wish you'd change in a writing piece down the road. Trust me, I feel the way this way about all of my publications. These changes may not even be big or important. Maybe it's a word or something you wish you'd add. If we live in the mindset that everything must be perfect, we'd never write a thing. In the words of Margaret Atwood, if I waited for perfection, I would never write a word. Highly effective writers give themselves grace when they make mistakes and bet on themselves. Number eight, asking for help is something you may struggle with, but it can save you time, money, and energy. No matter how sizable the help, it's important to know that there is a village of people who are experienced and willing to help. Build your village, outsource as needed, ask for tips and strategies, enroll in those classes, purchase tools and resources, and don't struggle in silence. Developing healthy habits will help you to maintain productivity and overall, take care of yourself so you can produce the best quality of writing possible. 4. Productivity: Highly effective writers can produce quality written content in a timely manner. If you struggle with time management, organization, or staying focused, you likely aren't producing as much quality content as you could be. Creating a system that works for you is something I wish I'd established sooner as a writer. It took me a few years to figure out how I write best. Here are 12 tips to increasing your level of productivity when it comes to your writing. Use organizational tools. Figure out what tools work best for you and use them with fidelity to help you save time and energy. Recharge your creative energy. What inspires you to write? Your energy levels may fluctuate, so consider ways to keep your battery charged. Write first, edit later. If you ever found yourself working on a draft and continuing to edit the same parts instead of finishing the entire first draft, you will always be able to find areas to improve on. You will have much more success with the publishing stage if you stop yourself from editing as you write. Outsource when needed. Think about the writing related tasks that take the most time out of your day or cause you the most stress. It's easy to condition yourself to believe that you can or must do everything yourself. Help doesn't always have to come from strangers or at a cost. Create a writing ritual, something you do that's special to your writing process, such as lighting relaxation candles, going for a walk or playing a curated playlist. This might be helpful to your process and gives you something to look forward to. Set writing goals. Backward designing your plan will help you stay focused on the big picture. Consider how you want to track those goals and celebrate them, as well. Schedule your writing. Having a busy schedule may require you to create a schedule exclusively for writing. Use a timer. Try using a timer to chunk your writing into manageable sessions. Start with shorter sessions to help you build stamina. Timers can also be used to remind yourself to take a break and recharge. Remove distractions from your workplace like silencing notifications or using noise canceling headphones. It's easy to get distracted by technology, people, or other tasks on your to do list. Fuel your brain by nourishing your body. It's hard to write when you're hungry or fatigued. Eat healthy whole foods and hydrate to fuel your brain. Track your progress by using habit or goal trackers. It can increase your productivity by holding you accountable and giving you something to look forward to finishing. Create a writer's workspace. A designated workspace will allow you to control your environment and create a space where you are most productive. Remember, you are in control of your writing and your productivity is a reflection of the habits and processes you have in place. 5. Stress Management: Managing stress is easy to do with the right processes in place. Here are ten of my favorite ways to manage stress as a highly effective writer. Creating outlines is how I remove the stress from wondering if my writing is moving in the right direction. Outlining helps me dump all of my ideas and organize them. Turning big tasks into manageable ones, it's very easy to get overwhelmed by a large project or a big story idea. I remove the stress from my plate by working on my writing when I have downtime and making sure I make a little bit of progress each day. Being able to walk away from projects or stories that don't serve you was something I took half of my writing career to feel comfortable doing. When I first started, I was doing any writing job that came my way. I was also trying to write books that fit current trends in the industry. By accepting jobs with little to no boundaries, I ended up frustrated, feeling discouraged, burning out, and just having a hard time finding the motivation to do the jobs I was taking on. This was not good for business and it certainly wasn't good for me. The first time I told a client, no, I felt so empowered explaining why I didn't think I was the best fit for the job. It gave me back the time to find and work on projects that I was passionate. It was the first step to setting boundaries. I also walked away from projects that weren't written from the heart. I'm not saying not to challenge yourself by stepping out of your comfort zone, but I am encouraging you to identify the line between stretching yourself and stretching yourself thin. Highly effective writers know when their plate is too full or when they won't be able to deliver on the promise of that particular writing contract. Let go of the perfectionist mindset and focus on a mindset of writing your best draft. Do your personal best. No one can offer the world a perfect product, but they can offer something great. If you come into every writing session expecting the outcome to be perfect, you'll never be satisfied. Finding good help can reduce your stress level tremendously. I'm a proud Indie author, and when I'm publishing, I take on a team to help me with the things that I know stress me out, such as formatting for print. We hire people to clean our homes or detail our cars, so we can also solicit help from outsiders to do the things related to writing that we can do, but we may not really want to do. Protect your peace. What does that look like for you? There was a period where writing didn't feel good to me. I was selling out, overworked, losing myself, and forgetting my purpose. I never got to the point of giving up, but where writing was losing its beauty and excitement, I had to decide that it was more important to write from a real place than to make a profit. Some people can do both, but for me, this meant ending my freelance writing career, and moving into instructional design of online courses and focusing on self publishing my own work. This allowed me to continue writing content so I can still have an impact in the industry that I love, and it made more time for me to work on stories that I'm truly passionate about. Develop realistic perspectives. An unrealistic mindset can have you lacking confidence. I used to set massive goals for the year, creating plans that were only effective if I was a career writer. I was overloading my plate and leaving a small margin for errors. Having a realistic perspective on things allowed me to enjoy the journey, no matter the outcome, and set goals that were manageable based on my lifestyle. Keep the finish line in sight. Success for me as a writer has evolved over the years. Lately, I'm enjoying the journey of sharing my writing with the world and whoever is open to reading. Being able to visualize your success is a gentle reminder of your purpose. Practice mindfulness, meditation, affirmations, deep breathing or reflecting are ways you can practice that. Refocusing your attention, building your confidence, relaxing, and enjoying the journey, and being present in the moment will help take the stress out of the process. You are talented, knowledgeable, and worthy. Give yourself these reminders when needed so that you can overcome those moments of doubt, unwind and recenter. And finally, find your tribe. When I joined X, Twitter at the time in 2020, I realized there was a huge, strong, active writing community online. I connected with so many authors, was invited as a guest on a few podcasts, was offered freelance job opportunities, and was able to connect people with resources all by establishing an online presence. I was active mostly on Instagram and have made connections with authors there whose books I've read, positively rated, and shared, and they've done the same for me. I learned a lot about writing in the industry through these channels. It kept me motivated when I was going through a slum, and I was able to publish one of my favorite book babies that same year. In this lecture, we discussed ways to manage stress as a writer as a means to increasing productivity. 6. Conclusion: Last lecture of this course are just some final tips that I'd like to share with you to help you on your journey. Here are some final things that highly effective writers do. We read widely, step out of our comfort zone. We're lifelong learners. We're open to feedback, we edit, edit, edit, we experiment, and embrace the uncertainty. In this course, you learned about the key qualities to becoming a highly effective writer. Healthy habits worth developing, how to increase productivity, stress management, and more. I hope you've learned things to help you level up your writing skills and process. If you found this course helpful, please leave a positive review. Again, my name is Nia Hogan, and it's been a pleasure to share with you what makes a highly effective writer. I wish you all the best on your writing journey and hope to see you in the classroom again. Until next time, happy writing.