How To Write Anything: The Format Of What You Write May Change But The Process Of Writing Anything Remains The Same

By Paul Lima

When it comes to How To Write Anything, the thinking, exercises, and techniques presented in this book are for people who want to write, no matter what they want to write.

"Are you sure about fiction?" I hear you ask.

While the focus of this book is on writing non-fiction, the process spelled out here is applicable for writing fiction. In fact, there are sections in the book explicitly for fiction writers.

"Any non-fiction?" you may ask.

Absolutely. It does not matter the style you use or the type of document that you need to produce. For instance, you might write in an expository style, a style in which your purpose is used to inform or explain. You might write in a persuasive manner, state your opinion, and attempt to influence the reader. You might write in narrative style or write creative non-fiction. Or your writing may be descriptive, writing that uses the five senses to paint a picture for the reader. No matter the style, this book will work for you.

No matter the type of document, How to Write Anything outlines the process you follow to eliminate the blank page and outline your document before you write. You will know what it is you want to write before you start the formal process of writing. In other words, this book will get you to the point where it is all over but the writing by showing you how to create a detailed and logical outline of any document that you want to write.

Following the process spelled out here will make you a more effective and efficient writer. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Lima
• Release date: Jul 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781927710449

Book preview

How To Write Anything

The Format Of What

You Write May Change

But The Process Of Writing

Anything Remains The Same

Paul Lima

Dedicated to those who write and to those who read. Without readers, writers would be nothing more than the sound of one hand clapping.

Contents

Introduction

1 / Writer’s Greatest Fear?

2 / Eliminate Blank Page Before You Write

3/ Follow The Writing Process

4 / Before You Begin

5 / Pre-Writing Exercise: Freefall

6 / Brainstorming And Clustering

7 / Creating Outlines

8 / Writing Email And Social Media

9 / Start With Purpose

10 / Proposals And Reports

11 / For Fiction Writers

12 / Active/Passive Sentences

13 / Paragraphs And Transitions

14 / Editing And Revision

About The Author

How To Write Anything: The Format Of What You Write May Change But The Process Of Writing Anything Remains The Same

First Edition 2020

Cover and interior design: Paul Lima. Copyright 2020

Published by Paul Lima Presents

www.paullima.com/books

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Published in Canada

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of the book.

ISBN: 978-1-927710-44-9

Introduction

This book is called How To Write Anything, and I confess there is some ego involved in the title. But then I've been a professional writer for over 40 years. As one of Canada's most successful writers and authors, I have written hard news articles, soft news and feature articles, advertising and promotional copy, media releases, reports and proposals, case studies, research papers, email messages, website content, tweets, blog posts, and other online content. I have also written over 20 books on business, promotional and online writing and other topics, such as writing articles, memoir writing and living with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that I have, but one that has not prevented me from writing or training. I've also written a collection of short stories, poetry, and a couple of plays.

So while I haven't written everything, I've written many things.

The fact is that you can't read this book and go forth and write anything if you are not familiar with the format or structure of the document that you want to write—be it non-fiction or fiction. For instance, if you want to write a report, you do so using the methods in this book. However, you have to know how to structure reports. The same is applicable to email, social media content, articles, promotional content, case studies, reports, white papers, PowerPoint presentations, speeches, website content, short stories or novels.

So some of you reading this book might still have some learning to do. However, I suspect most of you know the structure of the documents you want to produce and you will be able to immediately apply the methods outlined in the book to writing any document that you need to write.

Okay, you might not apply the details of this book to writing poetry or plays. However, there is much in this book on an exercise called clustering and clustering will help you write any document, including poetry. In addition, the process outlined here will work for writing plays, but I don't address dialogue. With that in mind, read on and learn how to write most things. Or what I am calling anything. In short, when it comes to How To Write Anything, the thinking, exercises, and techniques presented in this book are for people who want to write, no matter what they want to write.

Are you sure about fiction? I hear you ask.

While the focus of this book is on writing non-fiction, the process spelled out here is applicable for writing fiction. In fact, there are sections in the book explicitly for fiction writers.

Any non-fiction? you may ask.

Absolutely. It does not matter the style you use or the type of document that you need to produce. For instance, you might write in an expository style, a style in which your purpose is used to inform or explain. You might write in a persuasive manner, state your opinion, and attempt to influence the reader. You might write in narrative style or write creative non-fiction. Or your writing may be descriptive, writing that uses the five senses to paint a picture for the reader. No matter the style, this book will work for you.

No matter the type of document, How to Write Anything outlines the process you follow to eliminate the blank page and outline your document before you write. You will know what it is you want to write before you start the formal process of writing. In other words, this book will get you to the point where it is all over but the writing by showing you how to create a detailed and logical outline of any document that you want to write.

Following the process spelled out here will make you a more effective and efficient writer.

Determining how to write just about anything you want to write is what this book is all about. So let's get on with figuring out how to do it.

Paul Lima

www.paullima.com

1 / Writer’s Greatest Fear?

What do professional writers fear most, or like least, about writing?

The answer is quite simple for most writers. What we fear most, or like least, is... drum roll please... the blank page.

We find the blank page a challenge—space waiting to be filled with words, sentences, paragraphs, and squiggles known as punctuation marks. We prefer our pages, websites, social media feeds, or stories filled rather than blank.

What is it about the blank page?

Blank pages are sitting there waiting to be filled, and it is the writer's job to fill them. And to do so in a manner that makes sense to the reader. And that can be intimidating, whether you are pitching an editor (selling an article idea), pitching a publisher (selling a book idea), writing an article, book or any other document that will be sold or distributed to peers, superiors, clients, suppliers or other readers.

Your words are important. And the page is blank. That is intimidating. And if that was not bad enough, often there is a deadline looming—either one dictated by an editor, publisher or boss, or worse, one that you, the writer, have imposed upon yourself.

Is it any wonder that procrastination, or the avoidance of writing, often feels like a blessing? However, it is not a blessing. Procrastination is a curse. If you procrastinate the time you have to write, and edit (let's not forget about editing our writing), diminishes. Either you will produce a rushed job, or you won't complete you writing on time.

If you are a freelancer, as I have been for over 30 years, you know that a missed deadline, or a poorly written document, can mean a missed cheque (payment) or the lack of repeat business. I mean why would a client rehire a writer who screws up a job?

In short, the blank page is a challenge looking you in the eye, daring you to fill it. With that in mind, this book will demonstrate pre-writing exercises that eliminate the blank page before you start to write. It will get you to the point where it is all over but the writing. And if that seems like a contradiction in terms, trust me, professional writers will tell you that all over but the writing is where they want to be to before they begin to write.

Not only do they make the blank page disappear, but they also replace it with a detailed, logical outline. The outline includes all the major points and secondary and tertiary points the writer need to make, in the order they need to make them. All over but the writing.

That is where this book will take you, to the place where any professional writer goes, no matter what they need to write.

So let's figure out how to get there so we can become more efficient and effective writers.

By way of an aside, some of the exercises that we do in this book will involve pen and paper, so now might be a good time to make sure you have several working pens and a pad of paper on hand. Oh and a couple of highlighters too. They will come in handy.

And now on with the book!

2 / Eliminate Blank Page Before You Write

As stated, almost any professional writer eliminates the blank page before they write. Some have become so proficient that they