writer’s block

Writer’s Wisdom 58

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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

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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

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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 53

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Writing your New Year

The New Year is here, and for some of us, quicker than we thought, or at least that is the way it feels.  Going back and reviewing our goals, and discovering that we did not finish that novel, or edited that manuscript, or sent those queries, tempt us to start 2010, feeling a bit  incomplete or disorganized.

Well, let’s not duel on the past.  Instead, let’s focus on our writing in the present – everyday.  It is great to have big writing goals for this year; but unless we focus on our writing a bit each day, the year will continue to pass by, and our writing time, well, not as productive as we planned.

Forget about all the articles that you did not write, or the chapters …  Start a blank page and make each day a writing day.

Writer’s Wisdom 52

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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

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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

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 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 49

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A place for everything and everything in its place …

Organization – Oh, the dreaded word!  Do you spend unnecessary time looking for writing material, tools, or that article that you know you wrote but can’t seem to find now?  If your answer is YES, then you are wasting valuable writing time. 

For many, writing is their full-time occupation and what brings the bread to the table.  Producing quality material and meeting deadlines, is of the essence.  If you fall into this category, then you need to organize your writing environment – that being a desk, an office or the kitchen table.

When you waste time looking for “stuff” you might end up frustrated and this affects your writing mood and quality, and of course, your productivity.  I am not talking about having a neat and sterilized working place; some people cannot work on such environment.  What I am talking about is a place where you know where everything you need to accomplish your task is located and you can retrieve it with ease.  It should make some sense to you and make your work flow easier. 

Organization can be a writer’s best ally; it certainly will help your productivity and disposition throughout the day.

Writer’s Wisdom 48

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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.

Writer’s Wisdom 47

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Making a writing list

Ever ran out of material to write?  Or experienced writer’s block?  You are not alone, most writers have.  There are many ways to attack writer’s block (see other postings here), but now, I will talk about a simple and easy way to have material at hand – always.  It is called a writing list.

What is it?  It is a list of ideas or themes, as simple as that.

How do I make such a list?  Well, there is a simple and fast way to do it, anytime and anywhere.  Even when you are waiting for a doctor’s appointment.  This is how to do it.

Pen and paper in hand, for a minute or two (look at your watch), start writing every word, theme or idea that crosses your mind.  It has to be fast, do not think about it, just write anything that comes to mind.  When the time is up, look at your list and number it.  Everything in that list can be turn into an article, a poem, a novel, a piece of writing.  When you ran out of ideas, take your list out and look at number one in your list.  Write about it.  And so on.

You can repeat this process any day, at any time, and anywhere.  I assure you that you will always have material for your writings.