WRITERS WRITE

By notapoet - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in On Writing

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Beginnings

A good beginning is vital to any work submitted for publication. It has to hook the editor (or first reader), who in turn must believe that it will hook the reader. Their future, and yours, depend on a good beginning. Last time out I discussed the concept of “13 lines,” as espoused by Orson Scott... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, April 8, 2004

13 Lines

13 Lines is a recurring concept on Orson Scott Card’s website, Hatrack River - The Official Web Site of Orson Scott Card. In a discussion of his online writing workshop, I found the following: …you can post the first 13 lines of your work and ask for people to volunteer to read all of it--which you... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

Free writing classes to go along with your free books.

Orson Scott Card, along with Stephen King, is one of the writer’s I admire immensely. Both have published books about writing and both have websites. I have to admit that I have yet to check out King’s. But I have spent a few pleasant hours perusing Card’s site, and I invite you to do the same with... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 2, 2004

10,000 Free Books!

The price is right for the writer (and the omnivorous reader) on a tight budget. And, no, I’m not recommending your local public library, though I consider libraries another too often overlooked source for your daily reading fix. I’m talking about Project Gutenberg ( go here ), the oldest and best... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, March 29, 2004

The "little" book.

Stephen King recommends it. So do I. I just figured his recommendation would carry a little more weight than mine. What we both recommend (as do thousands of other writers) is The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. & E. B. White. It is indeed a "little book," though not technically the one... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Ideas are FREE!

Hunh? Read my lips: I-d-e-a-s a-r-e F-R-E-E! Its what is done with them that counts. There are billions of people on this planet. There are far fewer ideas. At any given moment hundreds of people have essentially the same idea. It might be thousands, or millions. It doesn't make any difference. None... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, March 13, 2004

And plagiarists...

well, they sure don't write. They are the worst kind of copyist. They try to pass off what they copy as their own work. Its often been said that imitation is a form of flattery. Most of us learn to write by imitating what we've read. There is nothing wrong with imitation as long as its just the... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

More from Stephen

"You can read anywhere, almost, but when it comes to writing, library carrels, park benches, and rented flats should be courts of last resort...most of us do our best in a place of our own." and "In my view, stories and novels consist of three parts: narration, which moves the story from point A to... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, March 2, 2004

If you want to be a writer,

you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. -- Stephen King in On Writing. Mr. King finished a two-sentence paragraph in his memoir and writing manual by saying: "There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut." Nuff said for now. Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Hats off to editormum...

and my apologies for taking so long to acknowledge that she knows her stuff. She was the only person in two weeks time to catch my misspelling of "odoriferous" twice in the subject line of a "Gettin' Any?" post. She also did it without all of the rather broad hints I gave in this blog. Editormum... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Notapoet can't spell.

Actually, he's an above average speller and believes in using his dictionary to check spelling as well as meaning. Sometimes, when he gets in a hurry, he gets the spelling wrong and doesn't get to correct it until later. Yes, he edits some of his posts when he feels it appropriate, or when he has... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, February 6, 2004

How long should it be?

As long as it takes to get the job done. And I'm not talking about male anatomy or realism in fiction written for mature audiences. I'm talking about the length of the story you've set out to tell. I realize "as long as it takes" is probably not the answer you're looking for. However its the only... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, February 2, 2004

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

They're referred to as the five Ws and an H. They're what young reporters were encouraged to cram into their leads back when I was breaking into the newspaper game. You still see a few newspaper leads that cram four or five of these elements into the very first sentence -- not an easy thing to pull... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

The Indispensable References

For notapoet there are four indispensable references to be used in writing. They are, in no particular order: His imagination. His memories of everything he has seen and experienced. His notebooks. His dictionary. I've touched on the first three several times in this blog and in "Notapoet's... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Let the words flow.

When the muse strikes, don't ignore her. Write your ass off whenever the words come tumbling out! Most experienced writers learn to overcome writer's block. This does not mean that the words always flow easily. That is why they have also learned to be more attuned to the subtle whisperings of the... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, December 29, 2003

Finding a place to write

is almost as important as finding the time to write. Some places, like the hovel I've been living in for nearly three years, are not exactly conducive to the process. I share a small, drafty, very poorly designed house with two other people, both old friends. Living in close quarters with friends is... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, December 25, 2003

Find Your Best Time to Write

A very few people are talented enough and fortunate enough to be able to dash off deathless prose at any hour of the day, at any place, and under any circumstances. Alas, this is not the case for most of us. For me, the best time to write is in the very early hours of the morning. I've been an early... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, December 22, 2003

And notapoet's writing away.

What I post this morning may be disjointed free-associating crap. I don't give a crap! As I've recently said, a writer often has to go with the flow and get words on paper no matter what. The time to determine whether any of it is worthwhile comes later. The important thing is to get the thought of... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Its All Crap!

Or so it seems at times. No matter what you write it seems to come across as pure unadulterated crap. You can't seem to put three decent words down on paper, much less a paragraph, or even a couple of decent sentences that come close to what you want to say. Wait! Before you wad it all up and throw... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

"You have a very personable way of telling a story."

Is that my style? Evidently so. The comment came from a very attractive young lady in my Saturday Writing Workshop class. There was much nodding of heads and there were many murmurs of agreement. I believe it was meant as a compliment and I acknowledged it as such. But it wasn't what I wanted to... Sign in to see full entry.

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Notapoet's thoughts and advice on writing, writer's block, and anything else he happens to think of whenever he's working in this category.

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