Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Being Asked for Advice…

Each time I start a new writing project, I feel like a first-time writer, no matter how many years I have lived and how many years I have written. So, since you asked for it, take what I am going to say with a grain of salt.

Here's a very rough list:

1. Learn to write clearly. If you think what you have written sounds vague to you, go back and write it in the basic subject+predicate+object formation. Then go on from there.

2. If you are not sure of your English or if it is your second, third, fourth or nth language, make sure you have learned it well. Read grammar books. As a matter of fact, read everything.

3. For prose pieces, essays, articles, etc., write down the list of ideas. Then write the piece using each idea or cluster of ideas as paragraphs. Make sure the passage from one paragraph to another is smooth.

4. Enjoy poetry whether you write it or not. It will add a specific dimension to your writing. I’m not going to tell you how to write poetry since I think it is so personal. For the same reason, formal poetry is out of my league, although I enjoy a well-written piece.

5. If you are a fiction writer, write the original idea in one sentence. This is called the premise, from which you’ll squeeze out the planning of protagonist, antagonist, story action, and setting. A great tip is before you write the first sentence and once you have a rough idea what the story will be, go ahead and write what the final revelation will be which will end the story. Believe me, this will make your story writing much, much easier.

6. Read a lot of the genre or of the style in which you wish to write. Read the contemporary writers as well as the real oldies.

7. Learn to take critiques for what they are worth. That is, who is telling you what. Did they understand the gist of what you wrote? Is their critique fueled by something other than to help you with your work, something like flattery, hate, or jealousy? If you think a certain critique is not going to help you, just disregard it as if it didn’t happen.

8. Don’t be afraid of rewriting, editing, and so to speak, fixing up your piece, something most of us--starting with me--just hate to do.

I think I’ll end this with a quote from a letter written by Ernest Hemingway to F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925.
“I think you should learn about writing from everybody who has ever written that has anything to teach you.”
Hope this helps.