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Posts tagged ‘writing tips’

Sep 23

Doodle to tap creativity and focus

As mentioned in my post “Happiness Projects for Your Writing Life,” I was introduced to doodling by my massage therapist who decided to doodle every day for a month as part of his Happiness Project.

More recently, I learned that practicing doodling while learning new information can increase our retention and understanding of that information by up to 40%. I’ve never really been a doodler, but I wanted to test this idea at a recent two-day seminar to see if it really worked.

It took me awhile to get the hang of doodling while taking lecture notes. I’m not a “natural” drawer so I had to consciously thing of things to doodle at first (I started with a lot of hearts). It felt good and I was having fun. I also did seem to be more aware of what the speakers were saying. Read more

Sep 9

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Editing techniques to make your prose sing

Having been a poet for 30+ years, I know the importance of each word. Every single word needs to be polished and perfect—perfect for our intended meaning, the emotions we want to evoke and the music it brings to our ears.

A great way to learn how to improve your prose is to read poetry. For help developing a daily poetry habit read Carly’s post “Write lyrically by reading poetry.”

The great news is we can apply the lessons we learn from poetry to our prose. It seems like a daunting task, doesn’t it? Every word in your 90,000-word manuscript polished and perfect? Read more

Sep 4

Elmore Leonard answers 10 questions about writing

In this interview with Time magazine, the late author Elmore Leonard answers 10 questions about writing and his career.

I was intrigued to learn he wrote all his novels by hand–with pen and paper. He then typed his scenes on a typewriter. I usually write my scenes on the computer but go back to pen and paper when I’m stuck or when the words aren’t flowing. There’s just something about the physical act of writing that gets me going again. Do you write by hand? Typewriter? Computer? Why do you write the way you do?

Listen to the short interview below to hear what else Leonard has to say and what his “perfect crime” would be.

To find out what other famous author used a typewriter, read this earlier post by Carly.

Aug 26

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Dialogue tips I learned from reading Elmore Leonard

My favorite books are fantasy, paranormal, some horror, and stories about anything strange or extraordinary. But I’ve also read many classics, crime stories, and mysteries. When another writer told me a few years ago that I should study Elmore Leonard’s novels to see how he writes dialogue, it took me awhile to pick up one of his books, but when I finally did, I was blown away.

My first foray into Leonard territory was the novel Road Dogs about bank robber Jack Foley and street-wise Cundo Rey who meet in prison and quickly become friends, referring to themselves as Road Dogs. Foley is released two weeks before Rey who insists that Foley stay at his home—but warning him not to mess with his girlfriend Dawn (who really just wants to milk Rey out of his money). Below is an excerpt early on in the book, before either man is released from prison. Read more

Aug 22

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Writing tips from the late author Elmore Leonard

Author Elmore Leonard, who died this week at the age of 87, is well known for turning out gritty crime novels—many of which were made into popular movies including Get Shorty.

Leonard frequently shared writing tips and granted interviews, including the one below about his story-writing process, that usually begins with a character-related idea.

In this next short clip, Leonard talks about his writing schedule:

In my next post, I’ll discuss what I learned about writing dialogue by reading Elmore Leonard. What are some of your favorite Leonard books?

Aug 20

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Walter Mosley’s tips for how to write a novel in a year or less

Author Walter Mosley’s book “This Year You Write Your Novel” is chock full of great tips for doing just that.

Some writers create rituals for their writing: lighting a candle, working in a certain place, listening to a favorite playlist, writing with a special pen. Mosley says his only ritual is that he writes every morning.

“The only thing that matters is that you write, write, write. It doesn’t have to be good writing. As a matter of fact, almost all first drafts are pretty bad. What matters is that you get down the words on the page or the screen—or into the tape recorder, if you work like that.”

The next morning, he reads over what he wrote the day before—making minor edits but mostly to get back in the flow of his story. Some days will be rough and unbearable and others will feel sublime as if the words are flowing from a spring of inspiration. Mosley says to ignore these feelings, either way. Happy or sad, the story has to come out.

“Stick to your schedule. Try to write a certain amount every day—let’s say somewhere between 600 and 1,200 words. Do not labor over what’s been written. Go over yesterday’s work cursorily to reorient yourself, then move on.”

In this manner, he says, a first draft can be done in three months and what you will have in front of you is the “heart of the book.” From this heart, you will rewrite and polish and edit until you have your finished story.

But the most important part is getting that first draft down. To see what else Mosley has to say about writing your novel in a year, check out his book. He packs more tips and wisdom into one hundred pages, than some tomes I’ve read.

Aug 14

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Do you need to be a great grammarian to be a great writer?

I have to admit I am not the perfect grammarian. When I write, I often “wing” such things as commas and semi-colons. Later, when I go back over my work, I often chuckle at the silly and unlikely places I’ve stashed a comma.

Granted, as writers, we need to have a good understanding of our language but I don’t think we need to obsess over it. That’s what editors are for, right?

I love what author Joan Didion has to say about grammar: Read more

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