Finding Inspiration for Writing

Writing wonderful articles for me is not something that can be easily pushed or pulled. It takes a lot inspiration and motivation to come up with articles that I can proudly claim to be my own - even if it's only a ghostwriting task that I can't even claim. 

Some writers find great art inspiring so they take a look at pictures - nature photos, landscapes and seascapes. Others find inspiration from soulful music or instrumentals from their music player. Bloggers and online web managers constantly create content for their readers. I often wonder where they find inspiration and how they motivate themselves to write great posts every now and then. 

After several months of keeping house, being a hands-on mom to my son, an office girl, I continuously search for what will make me move and inspire me every time I feel like my creative juices has run dry. Here are some tips that have helped me get through this quell. 

Visualizing

Picture what you have to do or write about - find a photo or a journal in an outline form and start describing what you want to say or do. 

Find Some Quiet Time

Sometimes, disconnecting yourself from all the social media and gadgets helps in refreshing your mind. Enjoy the silence and simply breathe. Pray or meditate, relax and calm you senses. Listen to that inner voice then start writing.

Read

Most writers are also readers but because they become very busy with all their assignments, they forgot all the other things that they are passionate about. Have a break and read books about people who are movers and shakers. If you want, you can also watch movies. Many people also are encouraged by victorious and happy endings. 

Go Out and Explore

I'd like to consider myself as a travel writer so of course, nothing would inspire me more than going to a new place or destination. I'd suggest taking long walks along nature trails can stimulate the mind and see things in a new perspective. Exercise also rewards the body, produces endorphin to make you feel happy and clears your senses so that you can write more.

Talk to Friends

Remember that no one is perfect and every one is entitled to some down "moments" in their life. Listen to others. Ask for help and other's opinion then move on with your writing.  

Wherever you are, you can find inspiration and motivation for you to start writing again. You can also be one of the reasons for others to be motivated and inspired - open up and share what's in your heart and see the positive impact you have for others. 

Cost-Effective Tools Newbie Freelance Writers can Use

There is an overwhelming number of freelance writers today. You can't ignore the fact the many will even under price themselves to get a project. How much harder it is for these newbies to purchase freelancing tools then?

As newbies to the world of freelance writing, there are still tools that you can use to upgrade your services for free or inexpensively. These are my top tools for working more productively and write more effectively:

1. Netbook and wifi connection. These of course, are important tools for wandering freelance writers. Those who have a home office already set up, you may still want to consider getting a netbook for those times when you need some change of scene to boost you creativity and writing power.

2. Online Thesaurus. Aside from the synonyms and antonyms that you can use via MS word, there are other online thesaurus and dictionaries that you can use to help you as you struggle to find the right words. There are free sites but there are also those that require a subscription. The Visual Thesaurus for instance gives a free trial so you can decide if you want to push through with their monthly subscription.

3. Skype (YM, Gmailchat, etc). Skype has been one important communication tools that's cost-effective. When an Aussie asked me to become her VA for a short time, we used skype all the time. It allowed us to make calls for easier guidance and better work relations through effective communications.

4. Copyscape. This paid tool is actually my favorite. It helps ensure that my work is plagiarism or duplicate free. You can also subscribe to help protect your writing or type in a URL to check a specific document.

5. MS Excel, Google Spreadsheet. I don't have any invoicing device so I just use a spreadsheet to create my own invoice. Sometimes google spreadsheet is also an excellent invoicing tool where I update it and share it with my client so he/she can also check it and make necessary changes.

There are so many tools that you can explore to help you work more productively as freelance writers. With these simple tools you can upgrade the quality of your output and gain more satisfied clients. As you move along, you may also start more effective and extensive tools which require subscriptions and fees.

Researchers and Writers Don't Catch the Punchline Right

I work as a full time researcher and this puts my online writing on the side lines. I didn't realize recently how serious the role of researchers are in our field of work. Being one of the newest in the department and having no experience in research analysis at all, I find myself always at lost when the "older" ones discuss work matters. I think, if it wasn't for my writing abilities (which is actually more on creative and free-form) I wouldn't be placed were I am right now.

Just a few days ago, I was sent to start schooling for researcher analysts. The course will be an in-depth study of our systems and aims to create effective and efficient personalities from us. Their basic requirement of course is that the student must be a writer (yey! I think I'm qualified for this --- WRONG!)

Okay, a few days after we convened, my nose is all but bleeding. I have migraines every now and then and I dread the upcoming weeks where we'll most probably have our brains squeezed out! (lol) Well during one lecture on the basics of research analysis, our lecturer kept on hitting on jokes, and almost all of us stayed serious, no reactions - nada. And not until he explains himself do we all snicker and laugh - and yeah our lecturer kept on laughing at us and keeps on mentioning that researchers and writers don't catch the punchlines right every time. I know he's speaking from experience and I'm starting to believe that it might actually be true to most if not all researchers and writers.