Why good writing is like good housework
Freelance writing is an odd trade. It’s not like plumbing. Very few of us could pretend we know how to change a mixer tap, but almost everyone can write something down. Isn’t hiring a specialist writer a bit, you know, much?
I don’t know whether you’ve ever used a professional cleaner. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have one come every week and transform your place into a shining realm of glory. Or maybe you’ve gratefully hired a firm to Sort Things Out at the end of a long rental. Either way, you’ll know that feeling of calm relief when someone else has cleaned up, and done it quickly and efficiently. Well, the reasons you use a professional cleaner are the same reasons you might use a professional writer and editor.
Time
Yes, you’ll get round to it, but when? Unless you’re the kind of person who loves writing, writing tasks tend to sink to the bottom of your action list. Then you end up scrambling to get them done, like a piece of homework. Never good, for you or the thing you’re supposed to be writing.
Experience
Someone who writes all day, every day (or nearly, anyway) is probably quite good at it. It’s as simple as that. Like a good cleaner, a good writer knows how to use her tools and has them all ready in a box. She knows what order things need to be done in, and knows the tricks and shortcuts to get a perfect finish on everything. In the time it’s taken you to find the duster, she could have done your verbal floors, cleaned your paragraphs, plumped up your headings and even put the kettle on. Not to stretch a metaphor, of course…
That indefinable something
You know how you come into a house that’s just been professionally cleaned, and there’s that feeling, that thing you can’t quite put your finger on, that makes it look better than you’ve ever managed to get it? That’s what a good writer will do with your project. At the end, you’ll find yourself thinking ‘Yes. That’s what’s it needed’. So next time you’re staring at a piece of writing that doesn’t quite work or (worse) at a blank screen, maybe make life a little easier, and shinier, and bring in a professional.
