In the sports world, professional athletes and the owners
that hire them would never think of working without knowledgeable, experienced,
successful coaches. Professional writers, or those aspiring to be such, should
have at least as high of standards as professional sports. Here are a few
suggestions when it comes to writing coaches.
Find a coach that pushes you, not one with whom you feel
comfortable.
A few years ago I asked my father to review an essay I had
written for a college assignment. It was the first time I had ever asked him to
examine something I had written. My dad had taught English and writing for most
of his professional career, but I was an independent son who figured I could
get by without his assistance.
The next time I saw him I asked him if he had a chance to
review my writing assignment. He said that he had looked at it and that it
looked great. “Did you make any revisions?” I asked. “No. Everything looked
great.” There it was, that “great” word that I heard from him so often. I
picked up the assignment and, after a few minutes of personal appraisal, found
a few errors. Had I trusted my dad’s assessment and turned in the paper, I
would not have been happy with the grade or the final result.
I was very comfortable asking my dad for help, but didn’t
receive any useful feedback from him. That’s when I knew I needed a valid
second opinion. In the writing world, as in other areas, getting the blunt
truth and using it to improve the work prior to publicizing is better than
producing an inferior product.
Find a coach that cares as much about your success as you
do.
Sometimes coaches will get out the red pen and serve as an
editor. Often they will find 3-5 people who are unfamiliar with you to edit
your writing. You want someone who will inspire you to reach your goal and that
won’t let you off easy when you miss a deadline.
Coaches can motivate you to be better and to be more
focused. They can organize your writing time as it relates to general idea,
outlines, chapter headings and content.
Writing coaches can take you from your initial thoughts to a
finished product successfully. Even skilled writers need peers they can trust to
review their ideas, review their outlines, and review the finished product. If
Lebron James needs a coach for him to perform his best, so do you.
