Revising and Editing, The Business of Writing, The Craft of Writing
Even after our previous post here about beta readers and the fabulous discussion on CONVERSATIONS Around the Writer’s Table with Mark Wayne Adams, some questions still linger about this topic. I also want to elaborate further on a few points. One reader/listener asked...
The Craft of Writing, The Writer's Life
“Read” seems like obvious advice to give writers, but I am surprised (is appalled too strong a word?) at how many individuals who claim they want to write say they do not read. Reading is muscle-building. We don’t expect a bodybuilder to win, or even to enter, a...
The Craft of Writing, The Writer's Life
Who knows how many writers fail because the light that shines through them is refracted in a thousand directions and not concentrated in a single beam? Pick projects and complete them! It is not really possible to work on a thousand things at once. This is one of my...
The Craft of Writing, The Writer's Life
If you continually stop and start writing projects without finishing them, what do you think are the sources of your inclination to stop? Become your own expert on stoppage, so you can be your greatest cheerleader for starting again. Most of us, at some point, have...
Revising and Editing, The Craft of Writing, The Writer's Life
You must appraise your work. Appraising isn’t cold-hearted criticism. It is the effort you make to turn your raw ideas into elaborated beauty. Appraising is your duty. Appraising our work is an uncomfortable phase of the creation cycle, but it is a vital one in order...
Revising and Editing, The Craft of Writing, The Writer's Life
When a thing is not done, continuing to work on it is the strength. When it is done, the strength lies in stopping. Work, appraise, complete; work, appraise, complete: this is the creative life. The creative life and the writing process are cycles. We have ideas, we...
