The Writing Life
“The grass is always greener where you water it.”
I don’t know the source for the above quote; I only know my accounting software sometimes shows the phrase while loading data. “The grass is always greener where you water it.” The phrase holds a two-fold application. First, it concerns the writing life. Second, it relates to the writer and his or her community. [Read more…] about How to Be a Better Writer: Water the Grass
If you want to be a better writer, exercise the writing muscles. Give yourself ten minutes in which to write. You could write anything but apply constraints. They force the muscles to stretch and grow. (They might hurt the next day, too, but pain before gain.)
[Read more…] about How to Be a Better Writer: Write for Ten Minutes
Every writer and artist claims some books as favorites. Oh, the list of books expands and contracts, but some books remain forever. They either leave a permanent impression or speak to a particular moment in time. The eighteen quotes that follow come from the former rather than the latter.
Some days, the writing life requires you to sit in the chair. Other days, the writing life ejects you from it. The words won’t come, no matter how long you stare at the screen or flip through ideas written on a Post-It or stored in Evernote.
[Read more…] about How to Be a Better Writer: Clean the House
Someone once said the pen is mightier than the sword. He might be correct, but the pen and the sword both require practice and mastery. Without those elements, you’re liable to nick an artery, club your head, lop off someone else’s head by accident, or falter beneath a flurry of sword strikes. [Read more…] about How to Be a Better Writer: Wield Your Words
If you want to be a better writer, learn to use a scalpel. See your words with the distance, the objectiveness, of the surgeon’s eye. Examine the work for nicked arteries. They reveal themselves quickly—the words spurt blood and reek of melodrama and overwrought characters.