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Don’t edit while you’re creating drafts, I tell students. But what if you just can’t stop editing? Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss self-editing and drafting and separating them. Draft in a White-hot Heat Seasoned writers understand that if you keep self-editing while your draft develops, doing so may stall your progress. Many of my […]
Every writer wants to improve, from the bestsellers to those chasing a first byline. How do you take writing instruction and actually use it in your work? Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss some ways to integrate feedback, workshops and other instruction into your writing. Books and Workshops My writer’s library is stuffed, partly because […]
To all my faithful readers–I’m a bit nerve-wracked today, as tomorrow I’ll go under the knife in shoulder surgery. My circumstances are a tad unusual–I don’t have the use of my nonsurgical arm, so typing will be difficult for a few weeks while I recover. Writing Tip for Today: Instead of my usual tips, today […]
A wonderful writing student sent me her latest essay, which she hoped to submit to a publication. I read over the draft, and one thing stood out. While the story chronicled an event, it had no single point. Writing Tip for Today: Personal essays or memoirs must be about one thing. Here are some tips […]
Memoirists and even some fiction writers often wrestle with the thorny question of how to write about our families. I always get a laugh whenever I quote Anne Lamott: “If my family didn’t want me to write about them, they should’ve behaved better.” But what’s the practical way to include people who may recognize themselves […]
One thing I almost always counsel my students to do while they finish their novels is to begin writing short personal essays for publication. Why? It’s all about your author cred. Writing Tip for Today: What are some tips for creating short personal essays for publication? The One-inch Frame Start with your life—but keep the […]
In Bird by Bird, author Anne Lamott writes that story writing is like a joke: first there’s a set-up, then there’s a build-up and last comes the punch line or payoff. I reread her advice again and again as I seek to improve my craft. Writing Tip for Today: The set-up of a story gives […]
To all my readers: I apologize for not posting these last few weeks. Life has thrown some not-so-great health-related surprises at me lately. As I fight to get back to my writing life, I thought of a few ways to keep on keeping on during these life hiccups. Writing Tip for Today: What are some […]
Writing When Holidays Hit In the writing biz, they say editors and agents take a vacation from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day. Even for writers, if a deadline isn’t looming, the holidays can take a bite out of word count. Last post, we talked about writing when crises arise. Now let’s turn to writing when […]
I’m in the middle of helping to judge a writing contest. Of the fifteen or so entries, I’m coming away with one suggestion to almost every writer: Scene it. Writing Tip for Today: On a “Big Picture” level, one sure-fire way to improve fiction, nonfiction or memoir is to learn to write a good scene. […]