Ghostwriter
Here are a few thoughts on the role
and work of the ghostwriter. To learn more about our services,
please see Ghostwriting:
Creative Writing on Your Behalf.
By Michaela Freeman
My Writing History
I wrote creatively since I
first learned to write. I must have been the only child
in our class who looked forward
to
composition
assignments. I wrote extremely long letters, stories and poems.
Nowadays, I write practically anything, but for
a long time I
didn't
realize what I was practicing was ghostwriting.
Writing Text for Websites
When I create a website, preparing text is part of the job
- an easy part, because I like and know how to do it . My approach
is somewhere between journalism and marketing. In order to build
an
effective website, I first find out what the client has
to offer and then find a natural and productive way to present
it. I must also assume that clients may not find certain facts
interesting
enough
to share.
Their
routines (and perhaps even exceptional things) may seem mundane
and ordinary to them. It's my job to dig it out, write
it and pass it on.
I remember a client casually mentioning
that customers can call 24/7. She didn't find it special and we
only came upon the subject when discussing their Contact page.
I asked her if this service is common in her industry. It wasn't.
This
particular and (to her) ordinary fact became prominently displayed
on her site and is a consistent business-getter.
Occasionally clients insist they have nothing to provide for a
"Frequently Asked Questions" section... until
I begin to ask questions as their
customers do. Several clients said they became
far more proud of their business once they saw the final web
presentation ... until then, they didn't realize they actually
had
unique services or products to offer. That made me very happy.
Writing for My Own Projects
Circumstances are different with my non-profit projects,
where I ocassionally sign articles or presentations. In the
field of animal-assisted therapies (where I've been involved
for nearly a decade) I create methodology, text
for
web presentation, brochures and flyers, Powepoint presentations,
legal documents, a chapter for a book, contributions to conference
anthologies
and
a wide array of organizational forms.
Oddly enough, the impulse to take writing seriously evolved from
this field. I once overheard a colleague talking to a volunteer: "It's
amazing, you dump anything on Misha and she deals with it. I
send her a list of talking-points and get
back an entire
article and I have no idea how she does it."
Having Writing in Your Blood
Most people think analytically - exploring
things and dissecting them (sometimes endlessly). Writing requires
analytical
expertise, but it's also a synthetic process where we put
things together and create. At the same time, it requires
strong imagination and association. Talent is not everyting and
just like any other
skill, writing requires training.
When in the company of writers, observe
how they amuse each other. They automatically build
a story around an idea. In the begining there may be something
ordinary, like an apple. They discuss whether
it's been polished or if it shines by its very nature.
Then someone wonders out loud what it's like to be a professional
apple polisher.
Someone else fills in details about the apple-polisher's wife
and children, where he lives and how he became an expert in the
field. Everyone laughs, because the more absurd story, the better.
But unintentionally, they all excercise their imagination
and association.
If the brain is not trained in this type of thinking (and the
current educational system does everything possible to prevent
it), it is no wonder difficulties occur with creative writing.
But good
ideas and unique knowledge are worth sharing with the
world! We can polish that.
If you don't have writing in your
blood or simply don't have time, don't let it clip your wings!
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