In Naked, Drunk, and Writing, Adair Lara writes “I grew up in the San Geronimo Valley . . . a bookstruck little kid sitting on a stump writing stories.” She continues with “Writing was easy then. I used my dad’s square carpenter pencil to cover sheet after sheet with stories of dogs that rescued families from a flood or a fire.” Note the details: Can you see the carpenter pencil? I see a yellow pencil and I can see that little girl hunched over, earnestly scribbling. Adair began her writing career as copyeditor at San Francisco Focus magazine. Her friend Cynthia, the production editor, also wanted to be a writer. They started partner writing, swapping freewrites and returning them with the good stuff highlighted in yellow. “That first writing club, as we called it, changed my life. It made me a writer by giving me the confidence to be one.”…
Category: Just Write
Use sensory detail and be specific.
I love gorgeous writing and wonder how authors produce writing so vivid you feel as if you are in their world. One idea is to watch what people really do when talking, use sensory detail and be specific. For example, author Rachael Herron creates believable fictional characters. There is so much to like about her writing. One tool she employs well is the actions her characters engage in while talking. The dialogue develops character and moves the story along. The action makes the characters believable. Here are some examples from “How to Knit a Heart Back Home.” Owen twisted the [plastic] spoon in his fingers. He would not rub the scar on his hip, which suddenly burned. Lucy took the now mangled plastic spoon out of his hand and then threaded her fingers through his. Dropping his eyes from hers, Owen watched Lucy’s pulse flicker rapidly in the hollow of…
How do you handle rejection?
First, don’t take rejection personally. When you submit your writing for inclusion in an anthology, magazine. . . to an editor, publisher, agent. . . and you receive a “no, thanks” letter, or worse, you never hear back . . . don’t take it personally. It may or may not be the quality of writing, but it’s definitely not a rejection of you personally. My Submission Philosophy You won’t receive rejection notices unless you submit your writing. And if you submit your writing . . . you will probably receive a rejection note, or two, or more. Welcome to The Club I wrote a story about pesky gophers around 2007. Shopped it around. Submitted to a little contest. Won second place. I was thrilled. But really, this was a miniscule contest. Probably two entries. So I shopped it some more. Got accepted. But the editor said since it was seasonal,…
Live in the world of your imagination and take young readers with you.
Want to write books for children or young adults? Here are some ideas for you. Excerpted from “Child’s Play,” Yvonne Coppard and Linda Newberry, March 2014 issue of The Writer Magazine. An author must find his or her own voice and style and use them to express concerns that are passionately felt and imagined. Good writing for children has the same qualities as good writing for any age group: What stands out is authority, the confidence to be what it is. It tells the reader that the journey will be worthwhile. To write well, an author must have an ear for rhythm, control of pace and awareness of what drives a story and engages a reader. The author needs the knack of evoking universal experiences from the particular, inviting the reader to share the trials and triumphs of the viewpoint character. There are no right ways to do this, and…
Write short? Write long? Write strong!
The following is an excerpt from “When every letter counts,” by Kevin Cullen (no relation to me that I know of). — March 2014 issue of The Writer Magazine. Kevin writes: I have been in the newspaper game for more than 30 years, which qualifies me as a card-carrying old fart. I have tried to embrace new technologies and platforms pushed upon us by enthusiastic, young tech geeks who talk about Facebook and Twitter with the zeal of evangelicals. Online is where it’s at, even though we still make most of our money from the dead tree version. But what has all this meant for writing? Because, let’s face it, the biggest advantage all forms of written journalism have over the immediacy of TV and radio is the ability to deliver depth and strong, evocative writing. Writing short and writing long require different disciplines. It’s the differences between writing a…
Short may be the new long game.
Jessica Strawser, editor of The Writer’s Digest magazine, writes about the benefits of writing short pieces in the March/April 2014 issue of the Writer’s Digest magazine. “Writing short is a too-often overlooked way to break out in any field of writing. Even if —perhaps especially if —your ultimate goal is to publish a book one day.” She continues, “. . . a diverse approach to getting your name ‘out there’ —whether through personal essays on popular websites, feature articles in leading glossies, or short stories in respected literary journals—is far smarter than focusing your efforts in one place.” So, if you want to write short pieces . . . go ahead! Follow the prompts in this blog and post your writing here!
You may have the da Vinci Disease . . .
Have you heard of the da Vinci Disease? Here it is: You have ideas of what to write about. But you never finish because you never start. Or you start and can’t find a way to finish to your satisfaction. You may have a burning desire to write, but there’s never time or maybe you suffer from the da Vinci Disease. The following is excerpted from “The da Vinci Disease,” by Don Fry, March 2014 issue of the Writer Magazine. “Leonardo da Vinci never finished anything because he thought he couldn’t achieve perfection. We all know writers, including ourselves, who can’t (or don’t) finish their work. The root cause is usually a da Vincian rage for perfection, which takes many forms.” Don Fry’s list of why we don’t finish our writing. Italics are Marlene’s comments. We don’t start. ‘Nuff said. Too much gathering. Some writers keep gathering information but never…
See your story and tell it.
Tips to writing deeply and comfortably. Stretch – either standing or sitting in a chair. Do whatever whatever stretching feels good to you. Sit easily in a comfortable chair. Take a deep breath in through your nose, exhale out through your mouth, like you are blowing out a candle. Take several deep breaths and whoosh out on the exhalations. Relax into your chair. Smile. Escort your inner critic out the door. Shed your ideas about what perfect writing means. Give yourself permission to write the worst stuff possible. Writing isn’t about talent, it’s about practice and going into another dimension. Creative writing is an act of discovery. Take another deep breath. Relax into your breathing. Exhale with a satisfying sigh. Rather than write for an audience, write from an instinctual level. Immerse yourself in writing. Let go of your worries and write. Just write to a satisfying inner desire to…
One pearl is better than a whole necklace of potatoes.
Constance Hale launches Sin and Syntax, How To Write Wicked Good Prose with: “The French mime Étienne Decroux used to remind his students, ‘One pearl is better than a whole necklace of potatoes.’ What is true for that wordless art form applies equally to writing: well-crafted prose depends on the writer’s ability to distinguish between pearls and potatoes. Only some words are fit to be strung into a given sentence. Great writers are meticulous with their pearls, sifting through piles of them and stringing only perfect specimens upon the thread of syntax. The careful execution of beautiful, powerful prose through beautifully, powerful words is guided by my five principles.” Hale’s five principles: Relish Every Word Aim Deep, But Be Simple Take Risks Seek Beauty Find The Right Pitch Peruse Sin and Syntax to discover the pearls of wisdom of these principles and how to distinguish between words that are pearls…
The nervousness of writing — Francisco Goldman
“When you’re beginning a book, or getting back into a book, as I am now, you have to learn to deal with the nervousness and stress of it. The blank page or the stalled page is incredibly intimidating. And you have to turn that nervousness – rather than into something that blocks you, rather than into something that makes you try to over-think, that makes you feel that you can’t proceed unless you have a clear idea of where you’re going – you have to harness that nervousness, almost like a natural force, and make it work for you. You have to trust that you’re just going to get inside the page and get inside the sentences, and you have to release the desire to feel in control and just follow the writing where it takes you and have faith that you’re eventually going to find the way. — Francisco…