This is how I do it...

I have been thinking for some time to write about the process of writing. Every writer has his/her own method of writing and not one is better than the other. Whatever works for you is the best. For me the process depends on what I am writing. For instance, if I am working on a journalistic feature it is pretty straightforward. I do the basic research, get the inputs from experts in that particular field and then collate the information so it is interesting to read.

Since I have been doing it for so long, I usually don't face any major challenge in this...usually the challenge is in getting inputs from well-established experts. They have their own quirks (a case in point was a person based in Chennai who agreed to talk to me only at 5AM...I couldn't believe it but had to agree eventually) and one just has to adapt oneself to talk to different people.

When I started taking up content marketing projects, the challenge was in getting the tone write. It involved a totally different way of thinking and initially I had to work hard to get the tone and particular style of the company right. It was frustrating but really, there are no shortcuts. One just has to read a lot to get it right. Generally you get about three-to-four days to deliver the assignment. I just read as much as I can on the subject. I would also go to competitors website to see their approach. Here it is important to mention the importance of brief. The write-up usually is as good or bad as the brief provided to the writer. Some marketing professionals would just provide the topic and let you decide the angle, approach etc. Duh!! because this means that usually they have totally different end product in mind from what you would have produced. This increases your work and adds to the frustration. Now I insist on a written brief and I would keep on asking questions till they revert with proper responses. But then there are clients who would provide a perfect brief, which usual results in a piece which is cleared without much changes.

Generally, I would write the first draft of the assignment one day before the deadline. Next day morning the first thing I would do is polish it and send it. This one night gap between writing and sending is very important. The time in between somehow ensures that I am able to find more mistakes before finally sending it. (PS: I don't do any of this before I click on `Publish' for this blog. It is a very informal and personal blog and hardly any effort goes in writing this...)

Sometimes I get stuck. A recent example was when I was stuck on particularly difficult and very technical assignment. It just too one whole week to deliver this one. The problem was I would earnestly start doing it every morning and by mid-day I would have just done about 100-150 words. The frustration would ensure that I start working on something else and then by the end of the day I would be back to square one for that particular assignment. It was just super irritating. Then one evening I just decided that I will not sleep till I complete this most painful assignment of my life. And voila! I did deliver by next day morning. Sometimes you just have to hold the bull by the horns.

I like to work at night if it is a particularly challenging assignment that I am working on. During the daytime I generally complete the regular work.