Explore Worlds of Writing
February 13, 2009 by B J Keltz
The writing world is full of possibilities. You can free-lance, write articles, fiction, non-fiction, web copy, sales copy, ghost write, edit, journal, write for your scrapbook pages, publish a newsletter or bulletin, write bumper stickers, greeting cards, motivational aids, curriculum, user manuals, and the list goes on.
So if you love writing, how do you know what you do best or what you might like the most? Quick Answer: Try them all!
Below is just a short list of some writing areas we don’t often think about:
- Professional and Academic Abstracts
- Advertising copy for direct mail or email
- Billboards
- Greeting cards
- Book reviews
- Brochures
- Company and community histories
- Catalog copywriting
- Employee manuals and corporate communications
- Fund raising letters
- Help screens
- Menus
- Radio commercials
- Telemarketing scripts
- Training & Development
These areas don’t generally come to mind when we think about writing the way novelists, non-fiction writing, and free-lancers do, but they are something to keep in mind or perhaps research. I’ve written plenty of corporate, non-profit and training materials over the years and enjoyed it. I can’t say I’d be thrilled to write telemarketing scripts since I hate to be called in the middle of dinner, but someone has to write them. It would be a challenge to write one that worked well, wouldn’t it?
When I was a child, I was convinced that only fiction writers were Writers. There were special people like poets and playwrights, but my young mind equated writing with novels. I’m glad I grew out of it, and surprised how many people still think that’s all writing is or should be. I have several friends who write for the web and still get asked when they are really going to write (or get a real job).
Think about what you like to write and what you like to read. Explore different styles and areas as long as or in as much depth as you like. Seriously, if you come out of the closet as a telemarketing script writer, we might have to talk. I can give you some tips on what doesn’t work!
Words belong to a whole bunch of worlds. Build yours around what you love.
