By Tyler Cathey

Writing for money can be as easy as telling a good story, and professional writer and speaker Ralph Hood has plenty of those. Hood says that professional writers are not always famous, but they are still getting paid to write.

“I’m neither rich nor famous, but I am a professional writer,” said Hood.

Many successful, paid writers are not famous, Hood told ETSU students on Nov. 4. He visited a journalism class to give tips on writing professionally.

Hood grew up amongst the marshes and beaches of coastal Georgia before he became a commercial pilot and sales manager of aircraft in Alabama. He graduated from Clemson University, and wrote for The Clemson Tiger newspaper.

“Through grit, determination and superior intelligence, I was able to cram four years of college into only five years,” said Hood.

Hood is a professional speaker and award-winning writer. He writes columns regularly for several national trade magazines.

Hood got his start when he wrote a skit for his company newsletter, and they liked it. Hood attributed success to his uncle who worked at General Electric. He said his uncle climbed the corporate ladder at GE because he wrote English in a way people could understand it.

Hood said sometimes ain’t is a good word and sometimes it isn’t.

“It depends on who you’re writing for,” said Hood.

It all started in the sky for Hood. When he was young the first thing he witnessed in aviation was the Blue Angels. He was mesmerized.

After the show the Blue Angel operators went from the sky to the ground for the fans. Hood crawled under the rope unseen. He climbed up the steps to the aircraft and looked into the cockpit. He saw many knobs and controls. Hood said the inside of the aircraft was amazing.

The captain walked towards him. Hood was frightened. The captain said, "Kid, get your tail off that damn airplane."

Hood later worked for United Publishing and sold airplanes as a sales manager. He said he took advantage of what he was doing to reach the next step, but the airplane business was slow. Instead of selling airplanes he tried a new approach, and started speaking for hire.

In 1985 he quit selling airplanes because he did better as a professional speaker. At an aviation convention he was asked if he would be interested in writing for an aviation magazine.

“I said ‘Does it pay? Yeah? Then I’d be interested,’” said Hood.

Hood used writing to further his profession in every opportunity possible. Hood told a story about two friends who drove spikes for a railroad company. One friend became the company president while the other was still driving spikes.

The reason? The spike driver said he went to work for $50 a day, but the president went to work for the company.

Hood tells the same story about Zalin Grant. He wrote with Grant for the Clemson newspaper, but Grant wrote for money while Hood wrote for The Tiger.

“Grant was learning how to get paid for writing,” said Hood.

Hood eventually learned how to write for money. He writes regularly for many magazines and wrote several profitable books including “Southern Raised in the Fifties,” “The Truth and Other Lies,” and “Ground Clutter, the Book.”

When writing for a story, the writer has to look at the five Ws, Hood said: who, what, when, where and why. He told students to look for stories. Look for them everywhere. When they get on an airplane and the service is bad, that’s a story. Think of how you will start it, tell it and end it.

Shorten every story in every sentence that you can, said Hood. Take out every word that doesn’t sell something until you can’t take out anything else and still tell the full story.

Hood offered a last bit of advice.

“If you want to write then do write, and write a lot,” Hood said.