Spreader of ink-couragement
Love it or hate it, editing is an important part of every writer’s role. If you’re like me, 75% of time spent on a manuscript will be refining, be it through rewrites, edits, proofreading, or tweaking after feedback.
Today at When Readers Write, I’m blogging about The Writer as an Editor. In my post, I share seven helpful editing tips I’ve learned in my experience as a writer and freelance editor. Hope you stop by and let me know what your editing process looks like!
Today, I declined an offer I’ve always dreamed of accepting.
Two months ago, when I received the email with the writing-related offer, I was flattered and excited, but for various reasons, it was not possible for me to immediately accept. There was a difficult decision before me. It was as if I’d been walking along the writer’s path, my head down in determination, when I was suddenly startled to find an intersection leading in two very opposite directions. From where I stood with obstructed visibility, either choice wasContinue reading “Hard Decisions”
One of my favorite quotes from Einstein was the speech he gave at a college banquet: “I have nothing to say.”
All too often, writers are expected to have much to communicate. To be able to churn out something epic on demand. But all too often, the words aren’t there, often when we need them the most.
Creativity is a natural resource, but it is not inexhaustible. Like a flame, it needs fuel or else it will burn out.
When writers are turning out more than they are putting in, burnout is inevitable. And yet, paradoxically, we can keepContinue reading “When the Words Won’t Come”
My post “The Melody Between Words” is featuring on When Readers Write today. Hope you can stop by!
While you’re there, take a look at some of the other posts by WRW’s authors. The group blog has been up and running since the beginning of April, and there’s a great variety of topics for readers and writers alike.
If you stop by, feel free to leave a comment–those of us at When Readers Write would be glad to hear from you.
See you there!
Not long ago, someone asked why I chose to pursue writing. Responses for how, when, and where came to mind, but why was more elusive. After a moment’s consideration, the only way I could describe it was: “It was one part calling, another part compulsion.”
Eric Liddell, portrayed in the film Chariots of Fire, said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Now, I’m no runner, but fortunately, this principle applies to everyone. I know that when I write, I feel His pleasure. Some days behind the desk can be brutal but never worse than the days spent away, fighting this compulsion-calling.Continue reading “One Part Calling, Another Part Compulsion”
It’s said there are two types of writers: those who work methodically off an outline and those who write by the seat of their pants, guiding their characters into the unknown with pen, paper, and intuition their only provisions. Another type that is commonly overlooked is the hybrid. In a world of logical classification, they are the platypuses. They clutch notes about their story arc and confess in whispers how they don’t know what the next scene will be.
All three methods have merit. And difficulties. Let’s take a look at some of them.
“What made you choose that?”
The question made me smile. The gentleman next to me didn’t ask it in a rude way. Maybe because I don’t seem like someone who’d be interested in the textile mill industry in late-1800s Philadelphia, he genuinely wanted to know why I’d chosen it for the background of my story.
Little did the gentleman guess that I’m not known for being decisive. My indecisiveness is actually legendary in my family. Even the old “Eeny, meeny, miney, moe” technique didn’t work for me as a kid.Continue reading “No Choice in the Matter”
I like to say that the best books are the ones that make you dissatisfied with your own mediocre existence.
I have had the privilege of reading some very good books over the past year. It was not a year in which I could boast a long list of books read, but the small stack I did read nourished my mind and soul.
There are some books you seize from the shelf for the sake of entertainment or escape, and they in turn seize you. When you part the covers, you unveil a mirror. Not a reflection of things seen, but of things unseen. The words between the lines whisper to your soul, and Continue reading “Why Some Books Make Me Wonderfully Dissatisfied”
Happy New Year! The beginning of a fresh year reminds me of a blank notebook. Empty pages have always filled me with inspiration, and in regards to the new year, I’m looking forward to seeing how each new page of 2014 will be filled.
Of course, this is the time of year for resolutions. Love ’em or hate ’em it is admittedly the perfect time to make long-term plans. But after years of resolving, my solitary resolution this year is not to make any more.
Instead, I’ve set goals. And in doing so, I learned a very important lesson about gameContinue reading “Giving Goals a Fighting Chance”
When I counted every person who had critiqued the chapter I blogged about last week, I calculated twenty. Never before have I had that large of a critique group, and never before has my writing changed so drastically from start to finish.
Over two months ago, before another pair of eyes had seen that chapter, I’d rewritten it a dozen times. I was not satisfied with the result, but I didn’t know what else to do with it. Then came the residency program (the class I also mentioned last week) and I came home with a stack of critiques. One month later, with a little encouragement, I began working toward a contest for first chapters, and I found myself asking for even moreContinue reading “The Color Red: the Brighter Side”
Meagan Briggs