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Posts from the ‘Craft’ Category

Jun 18

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Work like a visual artist to develop new writing muscles

On a recent trip to Canada, I noticed a woman painting along the shore of the lake. She had her easel set up and was capturing the snow-capped mountains rising up out of the water. I noticed how she would look at the scene in front of her as if memorizing a detail, then bow her head to canvas and work on a section for several minutes before raising her head to memorize another detail of the setting.

This reminded me of advice I once read from author and poet Priscilla Long in The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life. To learn how to write body language in your scenes, she suggests the following exercise: Go to a public place like a coffee shop and observe two people as they talk to each other. Notice their body language. Write in your notebook all the body language you see. Read more

Jun 15

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Three commandments of writing from Henry Miller

One of the the things we like to do here at One Wild Word is pass on tips and interesting ideas about writing. We also like to feature other writers who contribute their expertise and love of writing. Because there’s nothing like having a community of like-minded people to encourage and energize you in your writing life.

So when I saw the post Maria Popova published at Brain Pickings about Henry Miller’s writing and daily creative routine, I knew I had to pass it on. Miller was known for his book Tropic of Cancer, but one of my favorites by Miller is The Colossus of Maroussi about his travels in Greece.

Here are three of Miller’s “commandments of writing and daily creative routine” from the post.

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished. Read more

Jun 13

Learn about your characters by writing their obituaries

I don’t mean to sound morbid, but if you’re building characters for a short story or novel, I suggest you write their obituaries.

I’ve written a fair number of them over the years as a newspaper reporter, for members of my family, and to help friends who struggled with the words to honor a loved one who had passed away.

A good obituary is a tribute and a glimpse of a person’s life. As a journalist, I felt it was an honor to write obituaries even if I didn’t personally know the people I wrote about. Read more

Jun 11

Tap into the power of small wins to write your manuscript

You’ve probably heard how important it is to break down a humongous task into parts to get the job done. You may have heard the question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.

Turns out that this can be an effective way to write a book.

The thought of all the time and pieces and parts and elements of writing craft that go into writing a book can be overwhelming. In fact, writing a book can seem so unattainable that some people give up before they even start. To combat these feelings, consider how you can break down your book project into small tasks to gain valuable momentum to write a complete manuscript. Read more

Jun 7

In memory: Tips for writers from Ray Bradbury

Today, we honor the memory of Ray Bradbury, famed writer of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery stories and novels, who made such a difference as a writer and a person. He died June 5 at age 91.

While Bradbury was generally labeled a science fiction writer, he resisted it saying:

“First of all, I don’t write science fiction. I’ve only done one science fiction book and that’s Fahrenheit 451: A Novel, based on reality. It was named so to represent the temperature at which paper ignites. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So The Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it’s fantasy. It couldn’t happen, you see? That’s the reason it’s going to be around a long time — because it’s a Greek myth, and myths have staying power.” Read more

Jun 6

The Editing Games, part 2

In my previous post introducing The Editing Games, I blogged about how I turned my most recent editing experience into a series of games to keep myself motivated.

Below are two more games I play to keep myself amused and on track. I hope you find them useful:

Game # 3: The Verb Game

After I’m done editing for story and characterization–when I think I’ve got the words in the right order on the page–I play the verb game. I take a chapter at a time (doing this while on the treadmill or elliptical machine is a great way to multi-task) and highlight each and every verb. Then I look at each highlighted word to see if there’s a better, stronger or more precise verb that I could use.

This game will do two things: 1) help make your story stronger and 2) train your brain for the future. If you really do this, you’ll be surprised at how your brain will begin to come up with stronger verbs the first time around.

Game # 4: The Repetition Game

I have a running outline of my chapters to keep track of certain things like plot, themes, character traits, and symbols or objects. If I’m repeating something for a reason–say a character trait like one character’s nervous goat laugh or an object like another character’s jet black toupee–I list this in my outline and make sure that I repeat this trait or object several times during the course of the story. I may even change the trait or object slightly to show growth of the character or a change of mood.

These repetitions can become threads to keep your story cohesive or lend resonance to your manuscript. Just remember: too many repetitions make the reader feel like they’re being harangued and too few repetitions will leave the reader in the dark. In my 300-page manuscript I typically repeat my threads a minimum of three times and usually more like five to six times as long as it doesn’t feel overdone.

What editing techniques or tricks do you use to keep yourself on target?

Jun 5

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Talent vs hard work: 5 tips for a deliberate writing practice

Do you ever question if you have the innate talent to write a publishable manuscript? Many people believe that successful writers, painters, or athletes are born with the talent that led to their achievements.

It’s easy to believe that people who are super successful must have an extra measure of innate talent. But people aren’t born with specific natural gifts, according to British researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda.

Success happens by putting in hard work over time. But not just any hard work. It requires putting in time in a particular way. Read more

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