Book. Query letters. Blog posts. Social media campaigns. Serious, technical print pieces. Software manuals. Website copy. And, of course, reading a few Very Lovely books (Graceling, Celtic Myth and Legend).
It’s not surprising that I have writing on the brain.
And, so, with said writing on the brain, I’ve been thinking about the tenants, truths about writing that have brought me to this place (as a copywriter and hard-working aspiring book author) and the ones I think will carry me through. As much as a reminder to myself as something for you to ponder, I plan to list what I believe to be the core truths about good writing. Some learned, some borrowed from those much wiser and more published than myself.
1. Write every day. One of my favorite professors (and one of the reasons that I will defend community colleges with all my heart, though I’ve done both the community and the University thing), who also happened to be one of my earliest professors, made this statement. Now, I’d already been doing this–for the most part–for years. It was one of the perks of being homeschooled: all that extra time, spent filling notebook after notebook and then cyberspace page after cyberspace page (I miss that time, that freedom, now). Now, with less time for myself, I am very purposeful about writing every day (though the need for being purposeful does lessen as my copywriting responsibilities grow at work and my other (strategy, website maintenance, technical manuals/training/assistance) wane a bit.
2. Write what you know. Another of my exceedingly bright community college professors spent a good deal of his time lecturing us on this truth. There’s no reason to be a jack of all books, unless, of course, you know everything, in which case I defer to your judgment. So, he said, write what you know. If what you know is family, write family. If what you know is heartbreak, write heartbreak. If what you know is daydreams, write daydreams. Even fantasy writers–the good ones–write something they know.
3. Experience life. You could be the best and most brilliant and most gramatically correct writer in the world, but if you have nothing to say, your way with words is lost. Personally, I think the best way to experience life–and to surface with a story or two– is to travel, to put yourself out there, to read and to take chances.
4. Don’t take yourself (or anybody else, for that matter) too seriously. I don’t mean that all of us should have a propensity for humor (though we all know that I’m terribly funny all the time). What I do mean is that writing is equal to rejection. It’s rejection letters. It’s hard work. It’s unpaid practicing. It’s hate mail (I know it’s hard to believe, since my blog is so darling, but I do get hate mail). It’s stalkers. So you have to be able to take yourself, your work and other people’s opinions with a grain or two or ten of salt.
Hate mail? Really? What is there to hate…your precious furry piece of puppy awesomeness or your links to hilarious Dilbert comic strips? People need to get a life.
Numbers 1 and 2 make me think we had the same college writing instructor…I think this entry is almost verbatim part of one of his earlier lectures, during which he asserted that the only surefire way to get better as a writer was to write a lot and to read a lot (I think you are going strong on this one;-). I really miss being in classes where it was homework to write poetry and non-fiction ruminations on interesting places and post-modern short stories. Like…really, I get to sit in Starbucks people watching and then write about their oddities and outfits and choices of beverage and ponder the cultural impact of commercialized coffee? And you will give me a grade on this? Is this some magical joyful land of academic happiness?
Add A Comment