How to Write About the Subjects You Love

Many people believe that only a select group of people have the ability to be writers. After all, looking at the submission guidelines for many magazines, journals, and publishers can be intimidating. It can honestly seem as though you have to have a special talent for writing, and if you don't, you're out of luck. Fortunately, that's not true. Anyone can learn to write about the subjects they care about.

Everyone has opinions and ideas. Most of us will express these ideas verbally, especially to people who know who respect and admire our opinions. Writing sometimes seems a little more daunting because your audience is largely made up of people you don't know. You may be wondering if people will like what you have to say and "accept" you. You might even be concerned about the reactions of people who don't like what you have to say. Rejection scares most of us at some point, even if the rejection is only imagined.

I remember writing and illustrating my own "books" as a small child right after I learned to read and write. If only all preschool and kindergarten kids were that enthusiastic about books! In fifth grade, I had a teacher that taught my class about creative writing and encouraged us to put what we'd learned to use. We kept journals, did more creative book reports, and wrote short stories. A few years down the road, I started reading up on current issues and sending opinion pieces in to the local papers. Several of my parents' friends thought it was wonderful to see a teenager so interested in current events. In the last fifteen years, I've authored several articles that appeared on my website, started to write for other websites, learned about the interesting world of blogging, and published a short theological book.

You don't necessarily have to take expensive courses in order to develop writing skills. There are two main types of writing that most people have done at some point in their life: non-fiction writing and creative writing. If you've done a report, written a letter to the editor, or kept a journal of your experiences during a certain time, you've written non-fiction. Have you ever written a story, written poetry, or possibly started the beginnings of a novel? You've done creative writing.

If you've decided you'd like to start writing for fun and/or profit, there are a few exercises to start with that I've found helpful. Every writer will go through "writer's block" at some point. I'm sure that some of the most famous authors out there have to contend with this particular beast.

One, keeping a journal of the day's events is helpful. nobody has to see your journal if you don't want them to, and this helps you organize your thoughts into writing. Journaling is a good way to keep your skills as a writer fresh. A journal is also a handy way to capture thoughts & ideas you have about future writing projects before they slip your mind.

A fun exercise that I learned all the way back in fifth grade was to take a picture, usually cut from a magazine, and write up the story behind the picture. For instance, a photo of a Midwestern farmer hurrying a cow into a barn could easily translate into a story about a tornado and how the animals were saved just in the nick of time. Writing a short story based on a picture can bring up all kinds of interesting thoughts.

Another exercise I use is to think of a controversial issue that's drawing attention. I research both sides, as wisdom on the subject seldom comes solely from one side. Then, I try to draw up a summary of the beliefs of both sides and offer my opinion. If you really want to boost your research skills, try to present the opinion of the "other side" instead of your own.

When doing creative writing, I use a method that's enabled me to write more productively. First, I summarize the basic story and who it's about. As the details of the characters and their names come to mind, I write them down. Next, I try to summarize what direction I'd like the story line to go in. Everything isn't totally clear at this point, but the basic framework gives me something to go by. As I begin writing, I keep a notebook where I jot down any thoughts that come to me about the story. Sometimes this results in me writing about an event that takes place later in the story before earlier parts are finished. However, I can always go back and correct any inconsistencies.

Writing non-fiction can also be fairly easy, as you can start with an outline and expand upon it from there. When writing a non-fiction piece, think of what you need to say and the supporting ideas associated with your statement. Write down three or four of the main ideas you want to get across to your reader, and add your supporting ideas or facts under the most appropriate idea. If you do your research after preparing an outline, you'll find it's much easier to locate the necessary information. Make sure you cite your sources properly. A good guide can be found here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

After reading this, I hope you'll be encouraged to start writing if you haven't done so already.