The reluctant writer: finding enthusiasm for freelance writing projects. A guest post by Margaret-Anne Fehr

by Doreen Pendgracs ·

Staying with the theme of addressing topics that readers have requested, I’ve asked veteran freelance writer, Margaret Anne Fehr to tackle this topic: How do we find enthusiasm to write for publications on topics that don’t really interest us?  

Here is Margaret’s take on the topic:

The Reluctant Writer

I’ve never been a reluctant reader, quite the opposite in fact, but I do confess that sometimes I am a reluctant writer. And as a freelance writer, that can pose a problem. Certainly, in my start-up years, when I was building my client base, I didn’t turn down too many assignments. In a way, I viewed it as the badge of a professional writer; to take a subject and to write in such a way that it became understandable and hopefully engaging to the target readership.  

But here’s the thing. There’s no bluffing through when you decide to commit to an assignment that’s less than fascinating — even boring. And when I’ve taken them on, usually because my cash flow is pretty much a dried up gulch, I do have to talk myself into giving my best and even treating it as an exercise in character building.

In order to get myself in the proper head space, I call upon the qualities that I believe writers collectively own. Here are a few tips that have helped me:

1. Be curious. Allow that gluttonous appetite for knowledge, an inquiry into human motivation and the mini-worlds that we all inhabit to overtake you.

2. Get into it. When I’m involved in the actual interview, I immerse myself in the foreign country that the story represents. It’s a place that has its own vocabulary, its own objectives and goals, its own culture, systems and procedures and for the moment, I am very much a tourist and even an alien in their territory and I allow myself to be swept up in it.

3. Dig for gold. I’ve found the process to be liberating if I allow it, because at the moment, I am gifted with an “outsider’s eye” that translates into a fresh perspective and that usually uncovers a piece of gold that I hadn’t anticipated. Some of that precious gold has included stories on house insulation made from recycled blue jeans that are totally in step with today’s green building practices, an excavation story that describes a guided ‘dig-down’ by Toronto engineers for members of the media to view the original concrete pillars from 100 years ago that are being refurbished for the Toronto Union Station re-development , and the introduction by a Canadian company of modular plastic housing panels similar to Lego pieces for rebuilding houses that were devastated in the Haiti earthquake.

4. Double check the facts. Once my story is written, I depend on the safety net of experts that I’ve interviewed to make sure that I’ve not strayed from the facts in my efforts to weave an engaging tale. I rely on them and their corporate communications minions to vet the final draft for any factual faux pas that I might have made. I trust them for setting me on the straight and accurate and I make no pretense about it. They are my touchstones to delivering an authentic story.

5. Be dedicated to the profession. The final trait — providing excellent service as a freelance writer — sums up the others when I launch into an assignment that might not be my first choice. As writers, I think we are uniquely positioned to bring some well-deserved attention to the good efforts of unsung heroes who do what they do for the love of it, the service it provides and for the realization of dreams that involve considerable risks in personal resources to fulfill extraordinary ventures. As a writer, it’s both an honour and privilege to be part of shining a light on such under reported victories.

How about you? Have you reluctantly taken on writing assignments that didn’t interest you, but produced some amazing results? Or do you prefer to walk away from such opportunities? Please share your thoughts with us here.

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