Seven Tips for Using Your Writing to Help Others

Lisa Rivero reports:

"Regardless of how often or even whether we are published or how much (if any) money we make from our writing, all of us have a love for written communication and at least some skill with words, and we can use that love and skill in valuable ways, big and small. Here are just seven ways to think about the writing you already do in a new way...Help a non-profit organization to write brochures or grant proposals, or offer to proofread...Write articles, edit, or design a newsletter for your favorite school or community organization. If your group doesn’t have a newsletter, start one, whether online or in print (or both)...Write short book reviews or reading lists (with or without a byline), and ask if you can make copies for distribution at your local library...For birthday or holiday gifts, write a story or poem or essay. Consider recording an audio version or formatting it in a special way...Spend some time writing a thoughtful thank-you comment to a blog post or article that has touched you, and publish it anonymously...Teach a teenager how to write effective and professional emails, complete with capital letters and salutations other than 'Hey!'...Write or re-write instructions to make them clearer and more effective for an elderly computer or technology user...Is it possible that, in the end, we will benefit financially from giving it away? Perhaps, and that’s great. Perhaps not, and that’s great, too, because we’ve already benefited in other ways. Of course, if we want to meet our professional writing goals, we can’t give away all of our writing. Knowing that our writing has value is important, and only when we realize that value can we use some of it in altruistic ways...A sure cure for the ego-driven blues is to write for (as a way to benefit) someone else. Not only do I get the satisfaction of helping someone, but I [also] often experience the creative flow state that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes about, when we become so involved in an activity that we lose track of time and, more importantly, forget ourselves...Creativity often thrives when we stop worrying about our own success. If that makes me a blockhead, then I’m happy to be one."