Tag: Writing advice

Posted in Craft of writing, journal writing, Travel Writing, Writing, Writing Myths

Myth Buster: If I write, I’m a writer!

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Myth Bluster: If I write, I’m a writer.!

We often tell ourselves, “I can’t write worth a hoot!” And sometimes others imply it by their lack of interest in our work or comments that sound and feel negative. We must believe in ourselves and our ability to improve over time. Here is what we need to be thinking instead to bust previous belief.

Myth Busters: If I write, I am a writer. If I don’t write well, I can learn to write better. Work makes wishes come true.  

It’s all a matter of perspective. We can tell ourselves a different story about our ability to write, and then start to make progress by practicing. So put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Start writing what is on your mind and in your heart.

I’ll be offering some writing prompts in the near future. I hope they will be useful to you.

Here is another myth buster to previous thinking:

Practice does not make perfect; practice makes possible. 

Comments from anyone?

 

Posted in Travel Writing, Writing

Writers on Writing

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Fellow writers are friends. They are generous with writing advice and tips for improving our work. See the Southwest Writers blog post by Bentley Clark. Thanks to her for the “10 Rules for Imitating Author Ken Bruen” blog post, derived from her favorite author.

I model my writing from time to time on a passage from another author that I feel expresses what I’m attempting to accomplish in my writing. “Imitating another author” has worked remarkably well for me.

In a novel that I’m writing, I try to “use little to no dialogue attributions.” This makes for cleaner writing and easier reading.

“Keep your descriptions to a minimum” provides a challenge, not a cop-out. It demands that we provide sufficient description to keep the reader interested, which is enough to visualize the setting or action, but without slowing down the reader.

Take a look at http://www.southwestwriters.com/10-rules-for-imitating-author-ken-bruen/ and let me know which of these ten you use in your writing. Why? How does it work for you?