book

Writer’s Wisdom 58

/ inkspeare

Love Thy Critics

Accepting criticism about your work is a hard thing to do.  After putting your sweat and ink into a labor of passion – a written piece from the heart, no one likes for it to be pull apart and criticized.  A writer is as proud of his/her piece as a first time mom (assuming here that the mom wants her baby, of course).  Hearing comments that your pride and joy is less than perfect will annoy or upset many writers, if not all.

Learn to look at constructive criticism in a positive light; as a tool to make you grow and get better at your craft.  Once you learn to do that, it will be easier to accept and your feelings won’t be hurt as much.  You will learn to perfect your work, resulting in satisfaction and a sense of achieving a well written piece.  Criticism comes from the human reason, and everyone has different points of view.  Learn to take it from where it comes, and analyze it as objectively as you can.  If you see truth in it, listen to the advice; it will only benefit you.  You should strive to become the best writer you can be.

Writer’s Wisdom 57

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

Taking your writing to the OR

Snip, snip – the painful process.  Editing and cutting out after many words  is a task that many writers dislike, but a necessary one.  Whether you are writing a novel, or a smaller piece,  there will always be words to rearrange, eliminate or change.  It will only improve what you have written down.  See?  written down, there is no need for the down in the previous sentence, that must be eliminated.

Some writers prefer to edit as they write, or as they finish a chapter; others just write and edit later.  Whatever works for you, as long as you improve your piece by taking off what doesn’t belong.  Readers prefer material that moves at a fast (but not too fast) and consistent pace – writing that flows.

I tend to use too many words and have to be aware of not tiring the readers, or boring them.  I have been guilty of reading a book and skipping paragraphs and pages that contain “a lot of the same.”  I am sure we all have been there and that is a good example to make the point.

So snip snip and don’t be afraid; you may be proud of that sentence, but maybe you can use it on another piece or further along.  Don’t be afraid to take your writing to the operating room.

Writer’s Wisdom 56

/ inkspeare

Writing for profit

We can all agree that freelance writing is not glamorous and you will not become a millionaire .  Unless you are a published author, or best-selling author and novelist, your chances of making a lot of money writing are slim.  You can make a decent income, but forget the millions, at least at the beginning.  Despite this crude reality, you can learn to prioritize your projects to make the most of your money.  Learn to pick the assignments that give you the most income while enjoying the craft.  Spending more time on these projects, and less on the ones that take more time and pay less is a way to help your pocket.  However, that does not mean that you can’t write for the pure love of it.  Leave some time available for those writing projects that you love to do but that do not generate much income.  Balance is key.

Writer’s Wisdom 55

/ inkspeare

When deadlines kill inspiration

Some people work better under pressure, others don’t.  A freelance writer has to learn to juggle many projects at once, many deadlines, and the unexpected.  It is part of the bread and butter.  All this pressure may hinder your muse, especially when you are writing a novel.   If this is the case, sometimes a little schedule shuffling helps.

If you wake up refreshed and ready to work, why not write your novel in the early hours of the morning, and take care of the rest later?  Think of it as warm up for deadline projects.

After working all day in all kinds of requests, you may feel tired, needing a break, and certainly not in the mood to get inspired.  Soon, you find yourself thinking – “I will work on it tomorrow.”  But tomorrow comes, and the next day, and the next …  A week goes by and you have not written a chapter.  Then, you end up feeling guilty and stressed out.  Sounds familiar?  We all have been there, but time can be our best or worst enemy.  Just switching things around a bit to take advantage on your state of mind for inspiration can help.

Writer’s Wisdom 52

/ inkspeare

Research

Even if you hate doing research, at one point or another (if you are serious about writing) you will have to get your hands dirty.  When we think of research we welcome images of books, online files, and hours of study.  That is a part of research, but there is more to it.

It all depends on the piece that you are writing.  Is it a SEO article, a poem about life in a distant land, a report, or a novel?  The depth of your research will be tailored to the piece you are writing.  Thanks to the internet and the technology available today, we don’t have to travel to that distant land if we are writing a poem about it.  But if you are writing a novel that requires a deep understanding of the place, the culture, the landscapes, and the people, you might have to take a trip.  It all depends on what you want to accomplish with your project.  Not everybody can take a plane and just go to do research, of course, but the type of project and to a degree, the status of the writer, influence the type of research.

As readers, we tend to demand more of best-selling authors than non-published writers.  Not because the work of one will be better than the other, but more because of expectation and anticipation – they thrilled us with the latest best-seller, and now, we crave more.  At one point, best-selling authors were non-published writers, so it is not fair to say that the works of the later, lack quality.

Some well-known authors travel for their research, others hire research assistants, and others love to do their research.  So, research as best as you are able to do so, according to your means, and you will have a well written piece. 

Writer’s Wisdom 51

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

Respecting your character’s background

Your characters will evolve throughout the story or a series.  They will naturally evolve and will become deep and complicated; their personalities will start showing more strength and charisma.  If you are attuned to your characters you will respect their evolution in your writing.  A character that was bubbly in the beginning of the story, but has gone through a lot of heartache and difficult situations as the story progresses should not be presented in the same way – the situations that you create for your characters will permeate their personalities and modus operandi.  Ignoring that important part, will result in a lack of credibility and will make your writing appear fake.  Readers interact and identify with your characters, they feel what the characters feel.  If a reader does not “feel” a character, he/she may get discourage and stop reading or lose interest in the story.

By being true to your characters, you are engaging the readers and respecting them.

Writer’s Wisdom 50

/ inkspeare

 Tracing your path to success

What is a successful writer?  How do your define your own success as a writer?  Do you have to compare yourself to other writers?  Do you measure your success against Best-selling authors?  These questions will make you ponder about what you truly think of yourself as a writer.  Sometimes, it is a subject that we avoid, and a mirror that we cover because we don’t want to see our own reflection.

The measure of success is different for everyone.  It could be as simple as going throughout the day and being able to write a chapter or a few pages of that novel that you have inside – you did it!  Or it could be the first contract that you land as a freelance writer – your first paid project.  Or maybe, your book is getting published!

Whatever it is for you, success doesn’t happen without effort.  Best selling author Dan Brown sits to write in his office at 4:00 am.  In an interview with Borders, he said that he sits down to write “the best book he can possibly write, whether it is for one reader or millions.”  That is the attitude with which we should approach our writing. 

Mapping our success as writers, should include more than projects, and future goals, it should include the now, the approach and effort that we put every day.  Is the material that we put out there in writing sites for everyone to see, free of errors (to the best of our ability)?  Have I revealed too much from my private life and affairs?  Will it hurt me in the future or will it help my writing?  Every step that you take as a writer, will either help or hinder your future development. 

So, let’s approach our craft with a similar attitude to how Dan Brown approaches his writing – repeat with me:  “whether it is for one reader or millions, I will produce the best work I am capable of at this moment.”

Happy Writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 48

/ inkspeare

The Role of Music in Writing

Music can inspire you, influence you, and help your mood while writing a piece.  Despite your taste in music or writing style, you can use music to create a mood in a scene or a chapter of a novel.  Are you writing poetry or a Love affair?  Try some romantic music.  How about a dangerous scene?  Try some fast hard rock.  Keep your pen and your feet dancing – and your muse shaking.

My review of Grit for the Oyster

/ inkspeare

Grit for the Oyster by Suzanne Woods Fisher, Debora M. Coty, Faith Tibbetts McDonald, and Joanna Bloss.

This is a must read for any aspiring author/writer.  The book is a perfect blend of inspiration, advice, pick me up, and knowledge.   Loved it.  Also a fast read.  The way it was written – in four sections divided in small themes -is perfect for picking it up at any time, to continue reading it, or for inspiration.  

Although it has a christian base, the lessons here apply to any writer pursuing the craft.  If you happen to be christian, it is a double blessing because you get a second knowledge from it.  I recommend this book to every aspiring writer.  Leave it at your work desk (for reference) after you read it one time.  Keep it next to you, I assure you that you will go back for more.

Writer’s Wisdom 44

/ inkspeare

Save your Rubbish

How many times have you crumbled that piece of paper and aimed it to the waste basket?  How about deleting that file?  Hopefully, not that many times.  Think twice before deleting or throwing away content that is not passing your approval at a particular moment.  Save it.  Yes, save that Rubbish!  It may not be useful now, but it may become inspirational material for future writings.

We are not in the same emotional wave all the time.  Our emotions shift from day-to-day, or moment to moment.  What may not appeal to you today, may become useful material later – inspiration for an idea for a story, for a character, an article, or even a poem.  Right now, it may seem horrible to you, but it may contain the roots for a good piece.

So before you throw away your rubbish, give it a second chance – in the future.