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Writing for Veterans

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Can you write 2000 words in 2 days?

As I finished my previous post it dawned on me that I had just written a little over 2,000 words in two days, and this was after finishing two 8-hour workdays.

Why was I able to do that? Can you do that?

In the military it is not uncommon to have to write SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and TTPs (Tactics Techniques & Procedures) so that anyone following in your footsteps can do the same job without missing any important requirements. We gain experience from writing while in the military.

During my 20 years in the Marines I also took evening classes to get my Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. Well, part of getting that degree requires the students to write and do homework, more practice that we get as we are trying to better ourselves while in the military.

In my last three years I worked on getting a Masters in International Relations. I took and completed all 10x courses, which also required a lot of writing; however, I was scared of taking the comprehensive exam and never took it. The money was lost but the experience writing remains.

Finally, from 2003 to about 2008 I get involved in a Masters in Business Administration degree and this time worked all the way through from start to end. Again, a lot of writing was required and this was done after hours because I had to maintain my full time job, as well.

Does this mean that you have to have had my experience to be able to write 2,000 words in 2 days? No!!!

Right now as I’m typing this I’m just thinking in my head and typing what I’m thinking, how hard is that???

That means that you, too, can do what I did in my previous article.

Yes, you can!

If you think you cannot then I am going to devote the rest of this article to showing you the resources you can use to either become a better writer or that will allow you to earn money from your writing. Let’s look at the resources that are available to you to become a better writer.

If you have combat experience and would like to write about it but don’t know where to begin then this website by Travis L Martin, a former soldier could be helpful to you. The course on his page is short and easy to follow and it costs absolutely nothing.

A good way to start writing is by keeping your own journal. At the end of each day you sit down and write about what happened during that day. You aren’t limited to writing once a day or at any specific time of day, any time you feel like writing or expressing yourself pull the journal out and write.

Here is great FREE resource on how to write a journal entry that does a much better job than I can of explaining it.

If you are already writing in a journal do you know how to use it for self-improvement and personal development? Here is a website that focuses on just that and they have a Freebie Library that contains templates and other tools to help with your writing. I have to warn you, though, that they are going to ask for a name and email address to gain access. This will allow them to add you to their email list for their newsletter.

So far we have looked at the average person who through their experiences can help us to write a journal. But, what about well-known authors? What do they have to say on the subject of writing?

Let’s take a look at what Edgar Allen Poe has to say in the article:

Perhaps you have some writing under your belt like I did, so writing isn’t such a mystery. That being said, though, you would like to improve upon it or take it to the next level. Let’s look at some FREE resources that will help you do that, shall we?

Here is a blog that covers several key topics on writing: Improve Your Writing, Writing Inspiration, Get Published, Resources, and Contests. I think that this blog definitely deserves a look.

I love writing these types of articles to help others because I also learn so much from doing the research in finding the best resources for you to use. Here is a huge resource; Writer’s Digest. Their blog has 7 main categories and I started listing the subcategories but you’ll have to check them out for yourself. Just a wealth of knowledge to be found there under each category.

  • Write Better Fiction
    • Plot
    • Character
    • Settings
    • Dialogue
    • Short Story
    • Writing Techniques
    • Genre
    • Grammar
    • Revising & Editing
  • Write Better Nonfiction
    • Personal Writing
    • Historical Books
    • Travel Books
    • Business Books
    • etc., etc.
  • Write Better Poetry
  • Get Published
  • Be Inspired
  • WD Competitions
  • Resources

Next up is a paid resource. It is The Writer’s Center, a nonprofit organization that wants to help writers through workshops, events and creative collaboration. With Covid-19 all the workshops are now done online and they have a calendar of events to make it easier to see what is available and when.

Another huge resource for writers is Poets & Writers, also a nonprofit organization. I see they have a huge resource all in one place that includes listings of over 1000 literary magazines, over 500 small presses, over 400 literary places, over 150 literary agents, over 400 grants & awards, over 250 MFA programs, over 150 writers retreats and over 50 review outlets. I could spend days looking at all the information they have available.

If you would prefer authors as sources of direction or guidance then may I suggest these Amazon links:

just to name a few books that are also good resources that can be found on Amazon.

How Does Writing Benefit You?

Well, you could go to some businesses that hire writers part-time and pay you minimum wages for your work.

Let me give you some examples of where you could go to offer your services:

  • Blog Writing Jobs
  • Ghostwriting Jobs
  • Article Writing Jobs
  • Technical Writing Jobs
  • Course Writing Jobs
  • Editing Jobs
  • Grant Writing Jobs
  • Business Plan Writing Jobs

You get the picture, there are all sorts of writing jobs out there for your to write for someone else.

But, wait a minute!!!

Why write for someone else when you can write for YOU???

Just by writing 500 words a day (at this point this article is 1000 words) you could easily build a website with a ton of quality content that would enable you to do that full time and have the freedom of setting your own hours and your own work conditions. No more dealing with traffic to get to and from work! No more, “Hey boss can I take 2 weeks off in December?”

You get to be your own boss and the best thing is that once you have the business built it will work for you as you sleep. Your website is working for your 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year.

If you want to earn more than write more! If you are happy where you are then go ahead and take a break!

All of those jobs above could become a job that you do for yourself.

The best part is that I can show you how to do that so you can be dependent on yourself for getting the job done and reaping the rewards of your work today and in the future. If you write for someone else you’ll get paid for that writing job and that is it. If you write for yourself, you will continue to earn from what you wrote well into the future.

If you want to see how you can build your business now from the ground up and be responsible for your own success, go to Wealthy Afffiliate Review 2021 – Affiliate Marketing for Beginners and I will show you everything that is available there to help you get on the way to being your own boss.

If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know in the comments below!

Cheers!

Les

About the author

4 responses to “Writing for Veterans”

  1. Beesean Avatar
    Beesean

    Hello there, I really enjoyed reading and learning a lot from your article ‘Writing For Veterans’. It’s truly impressive all the writing skills you’ve managed to pick up over the course of years and I think it definitely shows in how perfectly your article was written. I think with practice and learning just like you’ve had anybody can write 2000 words in 2 days

    1. Les Waller Avatar
      Les Waller

      Absolutely, as a matter of fact after I wrote this article I spent an afternoon and wrote a 1,700 word article in one sit down session! I was really surprised at how much I could write if I just sat down and got to it.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Hi Les,

    I enjoyed reading your inspiring article. It made me think back to all the times over the years that I took positive action to work on and improve my writing. At high school, I was actually very poor at all the subjects that required writing, I think there was some form of mild undiagnosed dyslexia at the root of that. Anyway, I excelled at maths and sciences. That took me through engineering at university and into a good graduate entry-level job. But there was something missing in the purely technical aspects of my work and I quickly discovered that writing and speaking well in a business setting are essential skills to cultivate if you want to move on. Some years and some job-hopping later I took a course in freelance journalism. Later I trained and disciplined myself to write news pieces from newswires against the clock. I am still working in a corporate environment and writing is hugely important though at work I am mostly reviewing, editing, and approving reports others have written. Where I get to write and really enjoy what I write is for my own website. You have listed some excellent resources and made some very useful suggestions here. I am wondering whether as an ex-military man yourself, you would agree with that age-old assertion – that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

    Best regards, Andy

    1. Les Waller Avatar
      Les Waller

      Thanks for sharing your story with us! It is interesting to see how things kind of flow throughout our lives. And, oh yes, the pen is mightier than the sword. That was proven to me many times throughout my career as one oh poop moment followed me for 16 years because it was put down in black and white.

      Cheers!

      Les

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