Posts Tagged ‘writing tips’

I am FAMOUS

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

So, my friend Carrie is entering the world of freelance writing, and thinks highly enough of me (I know, I know—other than that, she’s really smart, though) that she not only called and picked my brain for advice last week, but posted some of what we talked about on her own blog. Neat, huh?

Carrie is incredibly hardworking (she finished, what, two master’s degrees while working full-time? I think that’s right) and an excellent writer, and I have no doubt that I’ll be picking her brain for advice within fairly short order. She’s also great about posting practical, thoughtful tips on writing and producing content (the kind I wish I were better about posting), on her blog, so get over there and check it out and stick her in your RSS reader.

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Rules for writing fiction

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

These are about a month old—Dr. Bob passed them on a few weeks ago, and I just now got around to reading them—but they’re, you know, timeless. The Guardian asked a whole bevy of fiction writers what their personal rules of the craft were, and the responses, while not always surprising, are worth checking out. Two things are for sure (and not news): The Internet and the constant distractions it offers are no friend of the would-be author; and to write, you have to write.

This tidbit from Will Self, however, I have never seen in any similar list of rules or suggestions, but belongs in all of them:

Regard yourself as a small corporation of one. Take yourself off on team-building exercises (long walks). Hold a Christmas party every year at which you stand in the corner of your writing room, shouting very loudly to yourself while drinking a bottle of white wine. Then masturbate under the desk. The following day you will feel a deep and cohering sense of embarrassment.

“Ten rules for writing fiction”: Part 1 and Part 2

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Helpful writing tip: “In order to”

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Every day, all over the planet, thousands—perhaps millions—of English speakers write the phrase “in order to.”

They don’t need to! Ninety-nine percent of the time, a simple “to” will suffice. Check it out:

You need to go to the store in order to pick up some bread.

You need to go to the store to pick up some bread.

That’s seven fewer letters and two fewer spaces—a total of nine fewer keystrokes—to say exactly the same thing! Think how much time we could save if everyone would get on board.

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