Getting Zen About Writing
As a freelance writer, you get to learn about many interesting things in the course of your work. Sometimes you learn about boring things, like why this widget is the coolest widget in the history of widgets. Sometimes you learn totally random things, like the fact that the Northwest Territories evidently almost named themselves ‘Bob’ (I would not make that up). And sometimes you learn very useful things, stuff you really needed to know, like how long you can microwave an egg before it explodes
More and more often, I am learning things in the course of my writing work that directly answer questions I was having about life. This is extremely serendipitous, but I think it’s not just because some little god up there has my back and is sending me all the information I need just when I ask for it (although if such a god exists, he is saving me a fortune in consulting fees. Maybe he is the God of Consulting. I suspect consultants do not pray to him, because he is clearly stealing their potential customers. Which must be why he has time to hang with me.)
Delightful as this God of Consulting theory is, I suspect the actual reason I’m learning things lately is because, as we say in our hippie circles, I was open to receiving that information.
We shall now pause while James has an apoplexy about how extraordinarily New-Agey that statement is.
Finding Gold
If you had made me write about car insurance a year ago, I would have been bored, even though I HAD car insurance. I didn’t see that information as valuable to me. I thought, yeah, yeah, whatever. It would be as though someone came up to me and told me they wanted to sell me this crazy yellow powder called dodominium. I would tell that guy to get away from me with his crazy yellow powder.
Until I discovered that dodominium was actually worth about twelve times what he’s selling it for because scientists need it to make the cure for cancer. Suddenly I’m all ears to the dodominium guy.
Similarly, I just discovered that most people (and we’re talking around 98% of people) have no freakin’ idea what their health or car insurance covers. Including me. If I get into a car accident tomorrow, I have no clue what to do. I really don’t. That scares me. It didn’t used to scare me. Car insurance was one of those things you just had to have because it was the law. Suddenly I am realizing that it actually has practical applications, and I do not know what those practical applications are.
Then this article landed in my lap. I had to go learn about insurance for the article. And now I know a lot of stuff I didn’t know. Because when the information came by, I thought, “Ooh. Dodominium. That stuff is GOLD.”
Getting Zen About It
James dislikes the zen. Or at least, he mistrusts the zen. Which is why he’s not writing this post. But getting a little zen about what you’re writing can do wonders for your general life.
Write a list of things that you want to know more about. Anything at all. This should include things that are useful to your general life, like taxes, insurance, housing ownership, family interaction, buying a car, whatever. Things that you probably don’t know enough about right now. It can also include things you’re just sort of interested in. Butterflies. Damascus steel. Corset boning. Whatever.
In the course of your work – and this doesn’t just apply to writing – keep your eyes and ears perked up for opportunities to learn about this stuff. If you’re a writer, you may choose to take on a project that’s below your normal rate simply because you’ll get to learn about something in the process. That’s added value, which makes the lower rate worthwhile.
If you’re not a writer, you can still find these opportunities all the time. If you work a nine-to-five and want to know more about how your taxes function, go chat up the office accountant. See if they’ll trade you a free lunch now and then for half an hour of tax time. If you hear about a seminar for upper management that’s on a topic you’d like to know about, ask if you can sit in.
Be aware of the information floating around you, and don’t let it pass by without grabbing hold of it. It’s easy to let it go by, very easy, but it’s way more fun to snatch hold of it and eat its little information-laden soul.
Man, I’m hungry.
25 Responses to “Getting Zen About Writing”
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There’s nothing wrong with zen
I think good writers naturally have a curiosity and interest in the world around them – and do look beyond the four walls of their office for information and inspiration.
The tough thing I find is making sure the information isn’t just coming from the web and mass media. Nothing beats hands on experience.
Sally, Snappy Sentences´s last blog post…Sentence case v title case
When writing my novel, I had to do an enormous amount of research on stroke and caring for people who have had strokes. I hadn’t intended to write about this subject when I started, but after looking into it, I became really, really interested. And that helped me push on and finish the project.
I’m currently writing copy for a, well, I can’t really gop into detail but it’s about the state of the nation (UK) and our outlook over the next few years. It’s interesting. Informative. Bleak.
But I’m glad I know about it through my work as a writer.
Iain Broome´s last blog post…Recommended reading for writers – March 2009
One of my favorite things about ghostwriting so far has been the exposure to new topics. Sure, there are plenty of boring things to write about, but there’s also a steady stream of topics that force me to learn something new. My end game isn’t freelancing, it’s writing fiction. I feel as though every little tidbit I tuck away is something that will one day emerge in a line of dialogue or description. Of course by now I could write an entire epic with characters talking about short sales and weight loss.
Writer Dad´s last blog post…I’m a Writer
Tei, I LOL’ed through this whole post. You simultaneously crack me up and make me go hmmmmmmm.
What’s super awesome about my line of work (writing personal ads) is that I get to learn cool things about people who do all sorts of stuff. Since I market mostly to geeks, I have learned all sorts of neat things about computers. But I’ve also gotten to learn about medicine, law, helicopter repair, and professional kayaking (seriously – there are people who get paid to kayak).
It reminds me of my days of being a temporary employee, except the pay is way better and I can institute a pants-optional dress code.
Geek’s Dream Girl´s last blog post…Easy Win Contest: How Would Your Geek Icon Cook Steak? Win $25 to Outback Steakhouse!
It’s funny; just yesterday (I think), I re-read that great T.E. White quote about how learning is the cure for all sadness. This post takes that idea even further, into the concept that learning is the key to growth, art and success. Which it is!
Nice post.
Catherine Cantieri, Sorted´s last blog post…What a puppy can teach you about time management
James, listen to Tei and Sally. There’s nothing wrong with zen.
Having said that is this really zen or is it human psychology at work?
I remember when I was 10 years old and had to go into hospital for an operation. I was told not to eat or drink anything on the day but as I was scheduled to be in that operating theatre at 10am it wasn’t so bad.
But there were delays and I didn’t get in until late afternoon.
You won’t believe the amount of sights, smells and sounds that exist on a hospital ward that are related to food.
Similarly just after getting my new car, I noticed a hell of a lot more people driving around in the same make and model as mine.
I don’t think there’s a divine being blessing you with knowledge just as you need it. Our brains are bombarded with so much information it just filters it out being that most of it is irrelevant at that time.
Sorry for being the boring, technical geek :/
Marc – WelshScribe´s last blog post…A Spiritual Revolution
@ Marc – Trigger events usually set off a huge round of awareness. It’s part of what’s called selective perception: http://www.copyblogger.com/selective-perception
As for zen… There are two types of zen in the world. One I mistrust damned highly, and it usually goes something like, “I’m above all that, I let the world float me around where it will.” and the other goes something like, “I’ve looked at my inner demons and come to terms with them. I am at peace.”
I’m all about the last.
Oh sorry, there’s the technical geek
I knew I’d read it somewhere, thanks for the link.
So Tei, am I wrong? Is this really writing Zen or is it selective perception?
Although I think the Zen term (thanks Leo) is getting heavily overused these days…(just add “Zen” to make it cool), I think this is a good article. I’m not sure if Zen applies in this case, but I see where you are going with it.
As a writer, I’ve had a chance to write about topics I’d never have learned about had it not been for the fact that I was doing freelance. The problem with learning more is that I hardly have time to learn about my own business, let alone other topics. When will God add more time to our days? I need a Matrix style freeze frame talent that helps me get more out of my days.
Nathan Hangen´s last blog post…Cows and Mastodons
@Nathan Nah. A Matrix style plug to the back of the head where you can instantly download information direct to your brain would be much better
Great post Taylor, I can completely agree with you! A lot of things we do might not be valueable at first but the experiences and information we get out of them WILL help us at least SOMEWHERE along our path.
Now, Taylor, please go one step further: Have you ever thought about consciously putting yourself into problematic situations?
This is of course the extreme version of what I really mean. What I really wanted to point out is the following:
>> Stop seeing your problems as problems and start seeing them as OPPORTUNITIES!!! <> VERY << hard time to ever becoming happy again. I see it as a BIG opportunity. This gives me a whole lot of power and confidence since I know deep inside that I can handle ANY situation life throws at me. (using a passive sentence is not really the right way of saying it, I assume 100% responsibility for my life – it just sounded nicer that way)
Oh, great choice of picture for this entry by the way, got my attention instantly!
Sven Schöne
Sorry, my post above has been butchered horribly. Seems like the parser doesn’t like my way of highlighting areas of my post. Feel free to delete it, here is the fixed version. (sorry for the inconvenience – my first comment and it is already messed up
)
Great post Taylor, I can completely agree with you! A lot of things we do might not be valueable at first but the experiences and information we get out of them WILL help us at least SOMEWHERE along our path.
Now, Taylor, please go one step further: Have you ever thought about consciously putting yourself into problematic situations?
This is of course the extreme version of what I really mean. What I really wanted to point out is the following:
!!! Stop seeing your problems as problems and start seeing them as OPPORTUNITIES !!!
Honestly, this is a very powerful, energizing, refreshing and fulfulling approach to life. Whatever situation you are confronted with it does not really matter since it will only help you grow. Think of it like building muscles: The more often you are working out the more muscles you are going to have. It’s as simple as that.
Imagine losing an arm or a leg or, even worse, being completely paralysed. Most people would say that they would have a !!! VERY !!! hard time to ever becoming happy again. I see it as a BIG opportunity. This gives me a whole lot of power and confidence since I know deep inside that I can handle ANY situation life throws at me. (using a passive sentence is not really the right way of saying it, I assume 100% responsibility for my life – it just sounded nicer that way)
Oh, great choice of picture for this entry by the way, got my attention instantly!
Sven Schöne
Sally: Well, sometimes the web and mass media is useful, you just have to use common sense to weed out the fluff and get to the good stuff. Hands-on is good – I’m a kinetic learner myownself – but writing it down can be nearly as good.
Iain: I’m looking forward to the day when that is why I do research. Thus far, no dice. Though when I was learning about prostitution for a novella I wrote in college, I found out some very interesting information about call girls.
Writer Dad: Ghostwriting. I’d love to try my hand at that. If for no other reason than I flipping LOVED that PBS show. Writing fiction is my endgame, too.
GDG: People get paid to play video games, too. And have sex. And write. It’s an unfair world. Does no other freelancer besides me wear pants to work?
Catherine: That’s a much better quote. I’ve been thinking “Knowledge is power” and feeling like a COMPLETE pansy.
Marc: Maybe, but I contend that you have to figure out what is relevant to you. As in my example, the insurance thing was most assuredly relevant when I first got it, but I didn’t acknowledge it in my brain as such. You’ve got to know what you’re looking for. Sometimes it’s subconscious, but that’s usually for silly stuff, like jelly beans.
James: You’re just jealous. You wish you were on a big cloud looking down upon all and being totally untouchable to all ills of the world.
Don’t even try to refute it. It’s so true. We hate that which we covet.
Nathan: Zen is the attainment of enlightenment through enhanced awareness. I thought it was fairly relevant. Enhanced awareness to knowledge, which we can certainly argue is enlightenment. I know Buddha was talking about BIG enlightenment, not tiny insurance-related enlightenment, but I think he’d be down.
Sven: Well, cool. Come on over and I’ll cut off your arm. You know, as a favor to help you on your path to bigger and better things.
I do write about Zen. It’s a good thing to write about because everything related to Zen, though I try not to use the word, except when I want a search engine to find me. I have an easy subject but I have to develop a more interesting writing style.
Your article for example really just says: be open to new information. And yet, you’ve made it into an interesting story! So much learn…
Kaushik´s last blog post…The Nature of Attention – Attention is the SpotLight of Awareness
I’m with James, I’ll take his version of zen. Once we become aware of ‘something’ then we start noticing it a lot more around us. It’s not that we had never seen/heard it before, it’s simply that it was filtered out by our subconscious as irrelevant at that time.
We also need to have some level of a foundation of knowledge in order for new knowledge to make sense. You may have heard all kinds of information relating to insurance previously, however until you have a basic understanding of how and why it all works then any advanced knowledge is useless and disregarded because it’s not understood.
Tei, you’re not the only freelancer who wears pants to work. If I can call myself a freelancer that is.
Melinda´s last blog post…Do You Have Permission to Market?
One of the niftiest things about the Internet is you can teach yourself just about anything whatsoever! And it’s not by just using Google – the Deep (or Invisible) Web (ie, leaf-node stuff not indexed by search engines) can be extremely valuable for zen gathering as well.
http://websearch.about.com/od/invisibleweb/a/invisible_web.htm
has a great article about that.
Enjoy, Barbara
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog post…Loving children, hacking vBulletin, Worshiping Coffee and more
Good article. Just admit that the only reason you mentioned corset boning was so you could post a picture of a hot chick in a corset (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Scott´s last blog post…Geeks Are the New Seers…
Kaushik: Zen is very flexible that way, being about the oneness and all. James cannot escape the Zen!
Melinda: Thank the gods. Unite with me. We will wave our pants-banner high.
Barbara: That was extremely interesting. And now I know about the Invisible Web.
Scott: ‘Fraid you’ll have to blame James for that one. I write the post, but he picks the picture. He could have latched on to some monk meditating, but noooo . . . Jamie-boy just can’t let a corset reference pass.
@ Tei – You have to admit, we were due for something a little racy around here.
And Melinda’s talking about taking off her pants to make flags, so she’s no better.
Did someone say take pants off?
Nathan Hangen´s last blog post…Welcome Twitip Readers
James, you are soooo bad!!!!
Melinda´s last blog post…Do You Have Permission to Market?
Again you seem to be claiming that you’re two different people, but I just don’t buy it.
Scott´s last blog post…Geeks Are the New Seers…
@Tei: Alright, but please take my right arm, you know, since I’m right handed. If you intentionally face problems then at least do it right!
Sven Schöne´s last blog post…How to get icy: cydia alternative
Fantastic article!
I love how you provide some useful info combined with some funny wit and style. They almost named it BOB eh? Not to sure how I feel about that being a Canadian, but they are pretty secluded up there.
Cheers
Jonathan
Jonathan EnlightenYourDay.com´s last blog post…Yes, I love all things Social Media.
It does take a bit of courage to admit that you don’t know and to ask someone. There’s a quote somewhere that says: Ask a question and look stupid for a few minutes. Don’t ask the question and be stupid for the rest of your life.
Albert@Next Small Step´s last blog post…Are you successful?