(More) tips for writing well (from Austin Govella at Thinking and Making)
February 16, 2012 § 1 Comment
“As an editor, I’ve noticed several recurring bad habits you heathens would do well to disabuse yourselves of immediately.
Almost without exception, these bad habits instantiate themselves as a series of stock phrases and constructions that reflect a lack of focus, a lack of fully developed argument, or the kind of intellectual laziness that sets in as you slog through your first draft.
These things happen, That’s ok. Editing helps you save yourselves from these offenses before your thoughts hit the world and everyone knows your dirty secrets. but you can edit yourself, and you should. Use the followingchecklist as a guide to tightening up both your words as well as and what you mean…” read more
6 Simple Steps to Becoming a Copywriting Badass
February 6, 2012 § Leave a comment
Cheesy? Yes. But some of these tips are actually pretty good. I definitely use #6. read more
What do you write when you don’t have to?
January 16, 2012 § Leave a comment
What do I write when I don’t have to? Well, I was once a serial journal deserter—every year, it seems, I would begin a fresh new journal, its crisp white pages ready to record my daily musings. I’d usually abandon the effort a week or so later, relegating it to the back of a drawer somewhere to join previous years’ attempts. My one successful journaling venture, however, was the record I kept during my semester in Madrid last year. During those months, recording my experiences was hardly a chore. On the contrary, I had so many impressions and experiences to remind my future self of that the words seemed to spill from my pen on their own. For me, there was something so unique, effortless and intrinsically pleasurable about recording my travels, something I hadn’t experienced with day-to-day journaling. Each entry was part descriptive snapshot-part laundry list of places, people, street names and corner cafés to preserve in my memory. About halfway through the semester, I bought a second journal, not because I had given up on the first but because, bit by bit, I had filled its pages. It may not seem like much, but for me it was a satisfying first.
mary
“What you read when you don’t have to determined what you will be when you can’t help it.” – Oscar Wilde
I came across this quote via my new guilty pleasure: Pinterest. As an avid reader and prolific writer, it struck me with a one-two punch. Think about it. If what you read for pleasure says something deep and true about who you are when you are being your most honest and authentic self, what can we learn by looking at the things we write when we don’t have to – the things we write just for the pleasure of the practice and the craft?
I mentioned that I’m a prolific writer. I don’t say this to boast. I write to earn my living. Since I am not yet an internationally successful novelist commanding huge advances and earning film right residuals, I write a lot. I also write a…
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MARY GABLE 