February 2011 Learn a New Trick Writing Challenge

[Celeste Stewart]

Okay, back by popular demand - montlhy writing challenges!

Let's start this year off by learning a new writing trick or technique and implementing it in at least one article this month. The trick can be anything related to writing.

For example, you've likely heard of Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) but don't really understand it. Maybe you're concerned because you don't know much about SEO. Maybe you've been wanting to try a new keyword research tool but haven't had an article requiring keyword research yet. Maybe you need a simple formula for writing an effective persuasive article. It doesn't matter what trick you want to learn this month. What matters is that you go out and learn it and then put it to good use.

Share what you plan on learning now and what you've learned at the end of the challenge.

Here's the new trick I want to learn:
Defining a voice.

This comes straight from chapter 3 of the Yahoo! Style Guide. The chapter discusses different voice characteristics and developing a unique voice for a website. It includes what it calls "voice charts" that you develop to ensure that everyone who writes for the site understands the tone and voice to use. I always meant to do this exercise and stretch myself by using an entirely different voice than I'm used to using. So, here's my plan. I want to write an article using a completely different voice than I usually do.

What's your trick?

[VersantScribe]

I like this!! I'm going to have to do some thinking and come up with something good. I've been contemplating a way to work HARO into something I want to write. I'll have to look into my ideas list and see where it's useful.

[Celeste Stewart]

HARO's awesome! It's amazing who will contact you! I interviewed a Ford executive and a Food Network chef by posting queries on HARO. Go for it!

[happywriter]

Thanks, Celeste, great idea.

[BarryDavidson]

I just did learn something new by reading this thread. I'd never heard of HARO before, and I'm constantly needing sources for some of my articles. This is cool.

[Celeste Stewart]

For those unfamiliar with HARO, here's the link: http://www.helpareporter.com/

As a "reporter," you can post requests for "sources" who want to be interviewed in exchange for free publicity. Some may want links (which is a CC no-no) while others are happy to have their name or company mentioned. If you need to mention the source's URL, remember CC's guidelines and refer to the site as "Example.com" rather than the hyperlinked URL.

[Judith]

The area I want to develop in my writing is book reviews. I hated book reports in high school and avoided every review type of writing assignment I could in college. Now at a ripe old age of xxx, I believe it is time I faced the enemy and conquered it. I have ordered three books and when they arrive they shall eventually become book reviews. While I won't receive them in time to read one and review it this month, I shall do it next month.

I applaud Celeste for challenging us to leave our comfort zones. I do believe this challenge should be ongoing. It is too easy to slip back into old habits. Just as soon as those Dick and Jane books arrive I'll be attacking my new challenge! (Actually, I did order grown up books)

[Celeste Stewart]

Just think, your book reviews could pay for your books -- or a new Kindle so you can get your books ASAP.

[DennyK]

Judith,
Just a quick note on reviews. There is a site that will send free books to you if you agree to post a review on a commercial site and in your own blog. It is called booksneeze.com They have a pretty good list to read on occasion.
I hope this isn't an affront to CC.

[Judith]

@DennyK

Thanks! That's a site I didn't know about but will be checking it out in a few minutes. It's an area of writing I have avoided for over forty years lol, but now that my writing is more relaxed with no deadlines other than the ones I set... it's time to try new things Thanks again!

[ThisOldMan]

I am already trying my very hardest to learn a new trick: how to write to CC's requirements.

I already can write in two voices: my usual, tongue-in-cheek and pseudo-legalese. Actually I have done some research on LSI. Maybe I will write an article on how to use LSI to do SEO. Google uses a LSI formula which is a closely-guarded secret. There's another voice I am thinking of using: an indignant, partisan view of a controversial topic. However I am putting that on hold until I have thoroughly explored the legal implications of using such a voice. I have read a number of published writers who use this voice but they are established writers, so maybe that's how they managed to get away with murder in broad daylight.

Maybe I will try to do some game reviews with a kiddie voice. Not too sure if ThisOldMan can fool anyone into thinking he is actually only a 13 years old WoW addict.

Just curious. How does this writing challenge work? Is it a contest?

[Celeste Stewart]

How does it work? Simply declare yourself in and choose to learn something new this month. Read up on whatever it is and then put what you've learned into practice by submitting one article using that technique to CC. If you choose to focus on something that doesn't relate to CC such as poetry or fiction, that's fine too, but ideally we'll all focus on something applicable to this site. After all, we're all here to trying to sell our Constant-Content articles.

Is it a contest? It's a contest against ourselves - and everyone who challenges themselves is a winner

[chrissponias]

Hi Celeste!

I’m writing short and very substantial articles now. This is not something different this month but something that finally is working automatically this month, after training. This is a great style I finally discovered, after having great difficulty on shortening my articles. (My readers prefer short 500 words articles). It was quite hard to find the best way to give a lot of information to my readers without using too many words.

In the beginning I spent time shortening a long article after writing it… Now I directly write short and very substantial articles. I learned how to shorten my articles, by cutting many necessary and unnecessary explanations.

We tend to believe that we must give many explanations that in fact are not necessary as we may believe, especially when we finish writing an article. Our next sentences many times explain our first sentences. We don’t need to give explanations in the beginning.


The trick is based on writing each sentence as if you were writing an ad. You have to explain the basics in only a few words. Your intention is to show the most important aspects of a certain solution. Write only what is important.

Your articles become very objective this way, without any fluff. Your readers like this style because when they read your articles they learn a lot, without reading for hours. This is what most internet users desire. They don’t want to waste their time reading.

This is what happens in my field at CC (internet marketing) and in my online business (mental health). I don’t know if other fields have better readers.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

I'm in!!!!

I'm doing 2 tricks. I've always wanted to use HARO, and I think I finally have the article series to do it with.... My husband is doing a job search leaving the military. I have an entire article series in the works on the 21st Century Job Search. I have statistics from .gov sites, but if I could get a few quotes from hiring managers etc. that would be fantastic!!!

I took a peek at one of your articles Celeste to see how you incorporated HARO stuff. It was very enlightening....

The other trick I'm doing is not so much a trick as a writing strategy? I am writing a novel, most diligently I might add. My main character is going to own a boutique robotics R&D engineering firm, an LLC. I have done a TON of research about automation, robotics, product development, research, etc. Now, I'm turning some of those into articles about the subject matter. Robots are always cool. I never thought to subsidize my fiction writing with non-fiction. Plus, it will be good for me to be a subject matter expert when I'm writing.

[Celeste Stewart]

That sounds like a good way to use HARO, Elizabeth.

I had the opportunity today to put my voice trick into play. A client contacted me a few days ago and wants me to write an About Us page for a European clothing company - target audience: hip young adults who like to "chill." Perfect! So, I read up on how to make a voice characteristics chart, identified the audience and brand attributes, charted the voice characteristics (laidback, cool, slightly humorous, and positive) and wrote the page keeping those characteristics in mind. Normally, I'd just write without plotting all that out. It was a good exercise because it made me really think about the audience and the brand.