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Posts from the ‘Craft’ Category

Feb 3

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Avoid common writing problems by following Kurt Vonnegut’s advice

Besides writing literary classics Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut was a professor. He taught at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Harvard University, and City College of New York. His tips for writing a good short story have become classics in their own right.

I’ve pasted his tips in a notebook as part of my writing and revision checklist. The list gives me structure for analyzing my work and asking if I’ve done everything I can to add depth and meaning to my stories. Whether you’re writing a short story, memoir, or a novel, the tips I’ve listed below apply.

Maybe you’ll want to add them to your own writing and revision list:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one or two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading character, make awful things happen to them-in order that the reader may see what they’re made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

The video below shows some great photos of Vonnegut throughout his life. If you’d like more ideas for what to add to your revision list, read Carol’s post, Make your writing stronger by removing filter words.

Jan 30

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Make your writing stronger by removing filter words

When editing my work, I inevitably discover more of my bad habits.  When I do, I add them to my editing list so I can be sure to catch them later. Some of these bad habits are listed in my post, “Edit out literary throat clearing to make your work stronger.”

My current work-in-progress is told from the first person point of view. In reviewing recent chapters, I discovered  I was using too many “filter” words: I saw, felt, heard, thought, noticed, and especially, I “glanced.” Cheez Whiz. I must have had this last verb six times in one chapter!

But it’s not just first person narrative where this is a writing sin. How many times have you read, “She touched, he heard, she saw, he felt…?” Read more

Jan 15

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Four tips to defeat your writing funk

Sometimes my brain circuitry feels like it’s got a short in it. It went on vacation and left me home. Or it’s buzzing and I just can’t settle down. Or, I’m just stumped about what direction I should go with a story or poem.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, consider trying a few of these strategies.

1. Change tools. If you’re tapping out your sentences on your computer, pick up a pen or pencil and write by hand in a notebook. For that matter, some people enjoy typing on an actual typewriter. Read more

Jan 14

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To develop a daily writing practice think “slow”

After a year of focusing on my business and taking care of various family members, I’m working on re-developing a daily writing habit. It feels a bit like learning a new job. I notice resistance to the actual act of sitting my bum in my chair and writing. I also notice I’ve developed the attention span of a gnat.

In my life and business, I’m an incredible multitasker. I won’t go into the details in case you’ve read them before (see my post “How to reclaim your life and energy for your art”). But I’ve been finding that multitasking can actually make you less productive—especially if you’re an artist or a writer.

As Heather Sellers states in her book, Chapter after Chapter, writing is slow work. She relates it to the Slow Food Movement that was born to counter fast food chains taking over the world. Slow food is about being conscious of what you put in your mouth, of where your food is coming from, and whose pocket you are lining when you buy your food.

Writing is a conscious art form. Sure, we can whip off an e-mail or a blog post, but poetry, screen plays, and novels take time to develop. Art takes time. During your actual writing time, you can’t multitask, you have to slow down. Sellers says she can type 137 words-per-minute but it doesn’t mean they’ll be good words. It doesn’t mean they’ll be juicy words. She says writing isn’t typing. Read more

Jan 9

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How blogging has taken my writing to another level

In her last post, Carly wrote about how blogging about writing has helped her become a better writer. When we first started discussing ideas for a blog, we kept coming back to the idea of blogging about writing because we both love writing so much. It was and still is our main passion in life.

If you’re like us, you write because you love to. You write because you want to. You write because without writing you wouldn’t be you. Writing is oxygen. Writing is life. And without writing, we may as well be one of the walking dead.

So how has writing a blog about writing made me a better writer?

  • That old saying that “to teach is to learn twice” is true. It’s one thing to learn something new about writing craft, but when I share that information by putting into words what I’ve learned, I learn it on a whole new level. Read more

Jan 8

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How blogging about writing craft helps my writing (and makes me happy)

Some writers say that blogging is a waste of time. They think it’s better to spend writing time on their current work, whether it’s a novel, poem, short story, or essay.

Blogging about writing may not be for everyone, but I’ve found that blogging can be like an injection for my writing. If I’m stuck with some aspect of my writing, I often dig out of my blocked place by recalling some bit of advice or craft tip that I’ve written about here on One Wild Word.

Here are several other ways writing about writing helps me in my craft: Read more

Jan 7

Go beyond craft to find the heart…and art of your story

When I first decided to venture from writing poetry to prose, I read a lot of how-to craft books and took a few writing courses. Eventually, I decided I wanted a more focused approach so I enrolled in a low-residency MFA program through Goddard College.

You don’t need an MFA or any kind of degree, of course, to be a writer, but it was perfect for me. It allowed me the time I needed to focus on craft, and it forced me to read widely. This is what I’m thankful for most, I think, is the opportunity to read and learn how to analyze other writers’ work. I read works from authors whom I never would have otherwise read. Read more

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