Day #26 Quotes for Writers

“An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.” Francois-Rene, Vicomte de Chateaubriand

The best way to be a writer no one can imitate is to simply be yourself. You are the only you.
It’s true that some writers have a unique style all their own that clearly sets them apart in a way that other writers can’t imitate. But you don’t have to have an off-the-wall style to be different.
Nobody says things the same way you do. Nobody has the same body of knowledge or the same life experiences. No one else sees life through your pair of eyes.
Learn from the greats, but in your writing be yourself.
To read more in the series 31 Days of Writing Quotes, click the button.

Typewriter image by mariancall on flickr

Day #22 Quotes for Writers

“You can never correct your work well until you have forgotten it.” Voltaire

This is so true!
One of the best things you can do for your writing is to write it and then put aside for a while- days, weeks, months even.
This will break all of the emotional ties you have to your work.
When you read it again, you will be able to do so with a critical eye so you can slash and dice and delete until you have something worth publishing.
Do yourself a favor. Once you write something, break up with it for a while. When you return to it the relationship will be different and you will be the critic of your words, not their intimate lover.
To read more in the series 31 Days of Quotes for Writers, click the button.

String on finger by Flооd on flickr

Day #21 Quotes for Writers

“A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which , at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others.” William Faulkner

A writer needs experience, to live a little, experience new things, interact with life. This keeps writing from being flat and dull. Live a little and let your writing do the same.
A writer needs observation- the ability to see what others don’t. A writer will notice subtle nuances, body language, tone and expression, human quirks, the sound of a raindrop hitting a puddle, the roughness of the paper beneath the hand, the faint scent of garlic on the fingers, the glint of flirtation in the eye.
A writer needs imagination- the ability to conjure what is lacking. In a way a writer is an exaggerator, taking the common and making it uncommon, unique, like it’s never been before.
These are the tools in a writer’s toolbox.
To read more in the series, 31 Days of Quotes for Writers, click the button.

Fountain pen image courtesy of gregwake on flickr

Day #20 Quotes for Writers

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekov

See, hear, taste, touch, feel.
Let your reader experience it with you.
One of the most common mistakes I find with rookie writers is telling instead of showing.
Telling is boring.
“She got excited!”
Showing brings everything to life.
“She jumped up and down squealing with delight!”
Telling is walking through life without interacting.
Showing is skipping through life inhaling the pleasing fragrance of gardenia with sunshine warming your face.
Bring the senses into play.
Let your characters interact with their world using their senses.
To read more in the series, 31 Days of Quotes for Writers, click on the button.

Moonlight image courtesy of Glen Bowman on flickr

Day #19 Quotes for Writers

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Robert Frost

If you, the writer, don’t feel the emotions in your work, no one else will either.
Write what moves you.
If you can’t move yourself, you can’t move your reader.
Write from that place deep within, where all the feelings reside.
Go to that secret place that you don’t let anyone in and see what you find there.
Then take the reader there with you.


Image of girl crying by Send me adrift. on flickr

Day #13 Quotes for Writers

“However great a man’s talent my be, the act of writing cannot be learned all at once.” Jean Jacques Rousseau

Talented or not, you must practice writing in order to write well.
It’s a learning process.
It takes time.
Even if you become a bestselling writer with years of publishing experience under your belt, you should be ever learning.
And none of us will ever learn it all.
To read more in the 31 Days of Quotes for Writers series, click the button.


Typewriter image courtesy of jcbonbon on flickr

Day #12 Quotes for Writers

“Write as often as possible, not with the idea at once of getting into print, but as if you were learning an instrument.” J.B. Priestley

It always amazes me how many people suddenly get a thought to write a book and assume it will be easy to get it published.
While everyone understands that it takes years to learn a trade, a craft, or a skill, a disconnect occurs when it comes to writing. Why would anyone on the planet assume that writing comes easily or without practice?
Writing is a fine art.
Let me repeat that. Writing is an art form, one that must be learned and mastered.
It takes practices. Again and again and again and again.
But those who will faithfully practice will one day be rewarded by the sound of their own written words strung together in harmony.
Writing improves with practice.
To read more in the series, 31 Days of Quotes for Writers, click on the button.


Violin image courtesy of JeremyOK on flickr

A Tip for Writing Tight

I read this quote today, “Pretend you are being charged money for each word you write.”

Excellent advice!

Usually it’s the other way around, we are being paid for each word we write. But if we had to pay money for every word we write all of us would become better writers who convey much meaning in few words.

I once saw a writing curriculum that used a quote from Benjamin Franklin as an example of excellent writing. I appreciate Mr. Franklin as much as anybody, but that was the most ridiculous example of “great” writing I’ve ever read. The paragraph was nothing but a giant run-on sentence and by the time I got to the end of it I couldn’t remember the beginning or the point.

That doesn’t fly these days. I’m not sure it would fly in his day.

The whole point of writing is communication and if the writing is too frilly or fluffy or long, communication doesn’t happen. The point is missed.

The best writers write tight.

For more tips on writing tight, read the source article for my opening quote, 15 Ways to Write Tight. Read the comments for even more writing tips.  

The Test of Great Writing

A couple of weeks ago we had a major southern storm that left us powerless for four days. During daylight hours we spent a lot of time at the library, but at night we passed the time reading aloud by candlelight from the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This little exercise made me realize several things. First, I was amazed that the author’s writing could so easily draw us in and make us want more. His was a skill that had been honed and practiced and mastered.

I was also keenly aware that in earlier pre-electricity and pre-technology days writing had to be crafted with tremendous skill because readers were so much more intent on the writing. Every word was read and analyzed and the rhythms and cadences were easily detected by the ear when read aloud. Even a minor infarction was glaring.

My, how things have changed! Today the writing is often secondary to the message or the personality writing it. We are a rushed people. We want it short and to the point. Rarely do we take time to linger over words, letting them sink in gradually and fully. We equate writing to fast food rather than a meal to be savored.

And we are saturated with words. They bombard us from every direction. It’s like a kid who eats non-nutritious snacks all day and then snubs a gourmet meal when it’s set before him. We read so much that often the last thing we want to do is think too hard or digest writing that isn’t simple and easy.

That doesn’t make us bad or wrong. It’s simply the way life is now. The pace is faster, the savoring less.

But I wonder how we might feel about some of the writing that’s available today if we had to read it by candlelight night after night. If we took the time to focus, to really hear the way the author has streamed the words together, to shut out all other input and let the words speak to us. Would it be music to our ears or clanging cymbals?

After our experience in the dark, I’ve decided that it would be a great test of our own writing to have someone read it aloud to us by quiet candlelight. I venture to guess that our mistakes would slap us in the face and interruptions to the flow of words would be painfully obvious. But when all was said and done, a lot of editors might be job hunting.

Light a candle today. I dare you!

Taming the Preacher Within

A fairly common issue I face in working with writers is a preachy tone. It seems to creep into writing, especially writing that is near and dear to the writer’s heart, or a topic the writer knows a lot about, or anything that is emotionally-charged. Unfortunately, it spells death to gaining readership.

Let’s talk about how to do away with this vice and make writing more palatable to the reader.

Be humble. Let’s face it, a preachy tone often stems from a prideful spirit. Take the pride test: If your predominant thought as you write is, “I’m right, you’re wrong,” you’re operating in pride. It’s wise to take a moment before writing anything and pray, asking God to remove all pride so you can humbly present your case.

Teach, don’t preach. A preacher is commandment-oriented. “This is the command. Do it!” A teacher is people-oriented. A preacher spews out information and let’s the cards fall where they may. A teacher seeks to present the information in a way the student can understand.

Focus on your audience. This goes along with being a teacher. Instead of focusing on yourself, shine the spotlight on your reader. Who is your reader? What does that person need or desire? How can you present the information in a way that is palatable to your reader?

Take “I” out of it. Make sure your work isn’t riddled with statements like:
”In my opinion…”
”I think that…”
”It’s my belief that…”
Too many of these and you’ll come across as self-absorbed.

Take “you” out of it. Have you ever been in a church where the preacher constantly talked about all the things “you” ought to do? How did it make you feel? Did you feel condemned as if somehow the preacher was on a superior level to “you"?” That’s how your reader feels when you constantly point the finger at “you.”

Be respectful of others. Don’t use other people for all of your bad examples. If at all possible, find something from your own life to use as the example of someone doing something the wrong way. This makes you human to the reader and saves the reputation of others. If you must use another as your example, do so discreetly and with anonymity.

Don’t write when you’re emotional. Hurt, offense, anger, pain, embarrassment, discouragement, and PMS lend themselves to preachy writing. When you’re emotional, write in your journal, not for the public.

Write unto others as you would have them write unto you. Do you like to read preachy, dogmatic writing? Neither does your reader. Write in the style that you would most like to read.

Your reader may not always agree with you. In fact, if you write about controversial matters, you are sure to ruffle some feathers. But even in those instances, you can write in a tone that is humble, not preachy. And even your enemies will respect you for that.

Break Up With Your Words

A word of advice: Don’t fall in love with your words.

This is the problem: You write something good, really good, penetrating-the-heart good. The perfect word, the ideal phrase, a sentence that could be a quote on a calendar somewhere. You’re dazzled by the flow, the uniqueness, the harmony of words you’ve created. In short, you’ve fallen head over heels in love with this particular part of what you’ve written.

Then the realization hits: Those words that have captured and bedazzled your heart don’t fit the piece you’re writing. It would be better served without them. They clutter it, bind it up, make it something it ought not to be. They need to go…but you’re in love.

In your heart of hearts you know it’s time to break up with those words, but you love them so. You wonder, “Will I ever write such captivating words again?” Your heart is torn. To keep or not to keep? It’s a heart- wrenching decision.

Break up with those words. Delete them. Omit them. Send them packing. If they don’t fit, then they don’t fit and no amount of desire is going to make them fit. It’s time for them to hit the dusty trail so you can focus on the words that you need, not the ones you love.

If it makes you feel better, write them down for possible use in a later project, but don’t let them stifle the current one. Break up. Now.