I read two great posts earlier today.

Five Simple Ways to Increase the Reach of Your Blog

I love the points about social media and commenting, but I disagree with article marketing. I tried it, and it didn’t work for me. That said, I know there are a great many niche bloggers who have built up a great deal of traffic and credibility with article marketing. Perhaps I’m not niche-y enough.

10 Quick Tips for Concise & Compelling Writing

The point about using short sentences is important. I read way more articles than I actually write, and short sentences and bullet points are appreciated. Reading from the web isn’t the same as reading from a book or magazine, and web writers should recognize that large blocks of text or run-on sentences can be discouraging to the reader.

Ok, back to the grindstone. Later!

I faced a rather retro writing challenge today. I needed to write a letter. With like, a pen. And paper. To an 80 year old man.

So I dug out my dusty stationery that really doesn’t get used often enough, grabbed a pen, and then stared blankly at the page. Wow. To think, I used to do this all the time. Seriously, I would write 5-10 letters every week when I was living far from home and before I had a computer and email.

When I think of the volumes of letters I’ve written – both sent and unsent – it shocks me that I’ve practically forgotten how.

Now a quick note to my landlady with the monthly rent check is pretty much all I can muster.

You know what really threw me for a loop though? I very nearly wrote “OMG” at the start of a sentence. Srsly. So accustomed am I to chatting, Twitter and texting that I almost used “OMG” in a letter to an 80-year-old man who has never owned a computer.

How embarrassing. What am I coming to? So I’ve decided I need to stretch some of these little-used writing muscles again. I need to stop being so lazy and computer-driven – it’s time to write a letter once in a while.

Chick lit. I decided I would write nice, pink, fluffy chick lit for this years NaNoWriMo. I like the genre – I always take it on vacation to Hawaii, because the flight is interminable and I like the light fare to help me through.

There is one problem though – I haven’t the slightest clue how to write chick lit. One of the gals on the NaNo forums recommended a book called Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel, which I am absolutely going to pick up this week.

From the Table of Contents:

Part II: Where Do I Sign Up? – How to Write a Chick Lit Novel
Chapter 5: What’s it All About? – Premise
Chapter 6: From Ducklings to Divas – Characters
Chapter 7: There’s a Story in Here Somewhere – Story
Chapter 8: Driving With a Map – Outlining
Chapter 9: Joyriding – Free-form Writing
Chapter 10: Underwire for Your Novel – Story Structure
Chapter 11: Whose Story Is This, Anyway? – Point of View
Chapter 12: Being You and Loving It – Voice
Chapter 13: Warning: Period of Time When Your Life Will Necessarily Suck – Revisions

It even goes into the whole query letter process, which I doubt I will need for a NaNo book, but you never know! And besides, for these shoes I would consider doing all the necessary revisions!

What’s your style? I don’t mean what you wear, I mean how you write. Every writer has their own voice that’s just perfect for what they want to write about.

But what if you’re writing for someone else? As a freelancer, you are representing a client who may have a different voice in mind. You have to adjust your style to meet their needs.

“That’s fascist, man! I’m an artist!”

Ok, but do you want to be an employed artist? Yes? Then shutup and learn to take criticism. Learn to work toward filling your clients’ needs, before they find less of an artist and more of a writer. You’ve heard it before, and it is never so true as during a weak economy: You can’t sell what no one wants to buy.

I will admit, there are some jobs I don’t apply for because I don’t feel there’s any way I could do them justice because of my style, tone or beliefs. I leave those jobs behind for a more qualified person. The idea of my writing about green technologies and veganism is highly unlikely, as I hop in the pickup to go get a steak. Nor could I write coherently about radical left-wing feminism from a positive viewpoint. If I can’t bear to read it, I can’t bear to write it.

That’s not the same thing as tweaking your voice for an existing client. For example, a client today asked if I could write more like the writers of another large publication. I had to clarify that she didn’t mean content-wise; she just meant style. No problem! I can make myself familiar with their way of doing things in order to better emulate their voice.

After all, if I want to write in my own style, that’s what I have my own website for.