In two previous articles, I’ve played a one-man Olympic judge and awarded gold and silver medals to competing writing formats.

The gold–or number 1 spot–went to the “how-to” story format. The silver–or second-place–winner was the Q&A. My choice for the bronze medal is (drum roll, please):

The inquiring photographer.

It’s kind of a Q&A and it therefore shares many of its benefits. The difference is there’s only one question asked, followed by the answers of several individuals along with their photos.

Why I like it: In addition to its simplicity, you can select your responders to demonstrate your organization’s diversity (gender, ethnicity, organization level, type of job and geographic location).

Questions can range from broad to narrow business subjects to non-business humorous. Some top-of-the-head examples:

o What new thing did you learn at (a recent) training program?

o Why did you sign up for first aid training?

o Where do you volunteer your time (to charity) and why?

o What was the funniest April Fool’s scam pulled on you?

o What New Year’s resolution are you determined to keep this year?

o How do you personally exceed our customers’ delight-related expectations? (I’m kidding!)

As you can see, several of these can be timed to specific times of the year. Others can run at any time.

Depending on how narrow or broad your question is, your answers can run from a couple of sentences to several paragraphs. Just be sure the writing is conversational. People don’t talk in the language of inter-office memos. That means no jargon, management-speak or any other kind of blather.

One more, very important, thing: Make sure the photos show happy people.

Copyright (c) 2007 by Bob Lory

Although there are many important aspects of being a freelance writer, one of the most important is the ability to meet deadlines. It does not matter how brilliant you writing may be if you are always missing your deadlines. Grant it, there are moments in life that occur that may occasionally stand in the way of a deadline or two, but part of the way to build credibility as a freelance writer is by making those deadlines every time! If you have several deadlines hanging over your head it can get a bit hectic, but there are things you can do to help those deadlines work for you, instead of you being owned by them.

Tip #1 – Organization Organization is one of the key things you can do to keep yourself on track to making those deadlines. Taking a few minutes to organize your paperwork into separate files can be a great help. Have a folder designated for pending jobs and have a folder specifically for completed jobs. This allows you to easily see what jobs you have left for completion. Keeping an online calendar or even a desk calendar can help you as well. When you have all your deadlines organized on a calendar it is easy to get the big picture of what you need to work on to get your work sent in on time.

Tip #2 – Make Your Own Deadlines If you find yourself constantly working right up to the last minute to make deadlines, you may want to start making your own deadlines to avoid some of the last minute stress. If you start making yourself complete projects 24 hours before they are due, this will give you time to critically look them over to avoid errors and will make your life less stressful as well. Making a weekly schedule can help you organize your projects and your self-imposed deadlines so you get them done on time.

Tip #3 Avoid Burnout At times, having multiple deadlines can leave you cramming to complete a project right before it is due. Many freelance writers make the mistake on working on only one project at a time, which can lead to burnout on a specific topic or style. You can avoid burnout by working on different projects in spurts. Devoting just 20-30 minutes to one project and then working on something else can help keep that feeling of burnout away. Dividing your time between different projects helps you keep the creative edge that you need to create an exceptional completed project. Writing on one topic too long can cause your brain and creativity to burn out, so work in spurts to be the most effective.

Deadlines can be frustrating and at times stressful for a freelance writer, but when you learn to use them to your benefit and work with them, they can help you become a more effective writer. Deadlines can help keep you on track if you know how to manage them and becoming efficient at meeting deadlines will make you a quality and impressive freelance writer that other will want to work with.