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1. Your idea sucks write it down anyway
2. Quit wishing, start writing
3. The only short cuts a writer can take is on their keyboard.
I’m going to Thrive. Let me know if I can help you and Leif in anyway and with anything.
1. Don’t sit around waiting for inspiration. It’s off having an affair with your muse. Write anyway.
2. Get some crummy words down. Then you have something to improve.
3. Don’t “write for publication.” Write your heart. Then revise until it makes sense to a stranger.
Being a poet first and devotional writer second I would say:
1. Poetry must be edited. It cannot stand alone on its first writing.
2. There are many types of poetry. Stretch yourself and try something new with your words.
3. Read your work out loud. If it skips a beat, rework it till it flows smoothly.
Just sayin’
1. Write, write and write some more
2. Write for an audience of One
3. Take time with God before you write.
Very good thoughts, Janis!
1. Those closest to you are often least likely to become engaged with your writing. They figure you are just like them and cannot fathom you have anything important, interesting or inspiring to say.
2. Not every criticism is valid. Neither is every praise.
3. Writing something worth reading is harder than you think, even when you know it’s what you were born to do.
Thanks for challenging us!
Well said, Sandi. I agree with all of these!
“2. Not every criticism is valid. Neither is every praise.”
Well said :]
1. Write for all ages
2. Do not stop writing becase of past failures in gramar and spelling.
3. Listen to God, he has something to say in the gift he has given you.
1) Embrace your failures, learn from them, one day they will BE your story…
2) Keep a notebook with you at all times… inspiration strikes at the most awkward times (and flees just as quickly).
3) Write it down even if it doesn’t seem to fit… it might be your ‘next’ book!
THANK YOU!
1. The hardest part is always getting started.
2. Be real, tell your stories and tell them from the heart.
3. Be disciplined in your writing, do it weather you feel like it or not.
1. Vomit write – get it all out and sort through it later (I know, it’s kind of gross but it is an effective analogy)
2. Remember that you’re not submitting yourself for editing – you’re submitting what you wrote – you’ve got to learn to separate the two – a good editor (friend) will tell you where your writing stinks and where it shines… let them – they’re probably right!
3. Repeat after me… You are not the sum of the comments on your blog or the book reviews on Amazon…
1. Have your own personal butt kicker – someone who agrees to push you in your writing when
you don’t want to be pushed! (not an editor, but friend/mentor/accountability partner)
2. Get the words out first – don’t be so worried about getting it out perfectly that you can’t get it out
at all!
3. Don’t be so in love with what you write that you’re offended by criticism.
1. Joining a critique group is a great way to grow as a writer.
2. If you’ve been wanting to grow your patience, writing and trying to get published is a great way to do it.
3. Pursuing the writing life is more likely to develop your trust in God than grow your bank account.
1.) Write with a passion.
2.) Most of all write with your heart, for there is where a story is itching to be told.
3.) Above all, write for the Glory of God!
Write with a passion, and most of all write with your heart, for there is where a story is itching to be told, and above all write for the Glory of God!
1. Don’t let facebook or twitter steal your time away from writing.
2. Be like Nike and “Just do it”. Stop putting off writing.
3. Ask for God’s inspiration and write what He leads you to write.
Love these. I especially need to hear the first one!
1. Write from your heart.
2. Know your subject (especially if it’s you)
3. Research. Research. Research. Don’t write about running water in homes in 1950 when they didn’t have it in that area till 1960.
Oh my goodness! I love this post and want to tweet every point…but i’ll spare my followers and just tweet a link to the whole post and make them read it!
1. No one else can tell your story. So start writing it.
2. There will always be haters. They don’t matter.
3. I’m taking a page out of Finding Nemo, but “just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing…”
Now I’m off to tweet. And write.
Only have one: Be glad you don’t feel the need to write about your own life, it means you are probably living WONDERSTRUCK!
1. Writing is a discipline that must be cultivated.
2. If you are writing for fame or fortune you are writing for the wrong reasons.
3.Writing can be your hobby or your career – it is totally up to you.
1. Write because you must, not because someone said you should.
2. There is a fine line between being real and too much information. Find that line immediately.
3. Learn and be shaped from your favorite authors but don’t try to mirror them in your writing. God made you unique for a reason.
1) Make sure you have at least one friend who will cheer you on and even tell you to go home and write instead of going to coffee with you when you have been away from your project for too long.
2) I’ve always loved the advice write what you want to read.
3) Write in your own voice.
1.) Don’t worry about how terrible the words you put down on a page sound, you’ll be editing the crap out of your work anyways.
2.) Write SOMETHING everyday, no matter what it is and whether or not it is a part of completing your major goal.
3.) If you have a hard time controlling yourself and can’t seem to stay off the internet when you should be writing, download Firefox’s app “Leech Block” for free. Or completely power down your computer, put it in a dark, hard-to reach location, and leave the room until you are finished with your daily writing goal.
What is leech block, please
1. Never be afraid to fail.
2. Write from where you are before you write about where you’ve been.
3. Everyone’s writing path is different. Beware the spirit of comparison and embrace that of compassion.
1. Even bad writing is good because you are writing.
2. Write for yourself, edit for others.
3. Write from your heart, not your head.
1. Be brave. Write what God asks you to write even if it scares the dickens out of you. Whatever dickens are.
2. Stay open to the mysterious. Not understanding everything keeps you full of awe, which will come out in your writing.
3. Always keep a notebook close at hand to jot down ideas as they come to you.
for me personally
1. be painfully authentic..
2. write it even if you think it’s weird and let someone else determine if it makes sense
3. give people permission to BE HONEST…
1. Write what God asks you to write, no matter how hard it is to do it.
2. Write passionately from your heart.
3. Never give up!!
1. Most writers never make a living as a writer.
2. In order to make any money as a writer, you must also write a blog, speak to groups, and “sell” your book every chance you get.
3. Writing is not about money.
1. Your manuscript is not the most unique idea to hit an agent’s desk.
2. Never send your manuscript out until it has been revised, critiqued, revised, critiqued, revised again and polished. And then you may be ready for some real feedback.
3. Once you have sent your query out to agents… move on to your next project. Don’t fret about the one you have already sent out into the big wide world.
1) Your words can make an impact, use them wisely.
2) Don’t take yourself too seriously, personal development & writing development requires a sense of humor. Don’t be afraid to laugh and try again, and again.
3) Pray & listen to the Lord before you pick up pen or touch a key, it will improve your writing by quite a bit, if you listen and not just pray…
1. Write, write, write. Then rewrite. Then rewrite the rewrite.
2. Write from the depths of your belly.
3. If you write fiction…become every character. If you write self help…become the person you want to help. If you write poetry…become the seasons. Become your target.
this was so incredibly helpful for me. thank you!
#1 Write. Then rewrite. Then rewrite the rewrite. The rewrite the rewrite of the rewrite.
#2 Your first idea was probably inspired. Don’t rewrite… you’ll lose it.
#3 When you’ve twigged that #1 and #’2 are mutually contradictory and cannot both apply, then apply them.
1. Be contrarian just to get some ideas.
2. Remember that your audience doesn’t know what you know.
3. Say it in half as many words as you just used.
1. If you feel horrible about writing every time you sit down to write, it doesn’t mean you’re a lousy writeer. Rather, 99% of writers–even very good ones–feel the same way.
2. If you write six days a week and you have one day that you felt good about your writing, then you’ve probably had an extraordinary week.
3. Sixty percent of what you write may be unusable. And that’s okay!!!
“Write the ending first.”
1. What you write in your head helps what you write on the page…but only if you put it on the freaking page.
2. Write three things: what you know, what you’d want to read, and what someone else needs.
3. Progress is when you’ve written sixty pages and find three you like.
Never say you’re writing a “trilogy.” You don’t know for sure that it’s a “one-ogy.”
Would you build a cathedral by just putting down any old kind of foundation and then coming back later to fix it? That’s what I think about the very, very valid and popular concept of “shi–y” first drafts. Try to do your best the first time.
Write about what you know but also what you NEED to know.
1: Never Write to cause harm to others
2: People aren’t perfect. Neither should characters be.
3: Listen to ALL criticism.
And a fourth cause I’m an over achiever.
4: Know about what you are writing. Sometimes research is not optional.
PS: I loved this article.
These are great editions! Thanks for sharing!
Just found your website, and am so excited to read all the posts in your writers’ bootcamp series!
1. Most of what I ponder is just for me, some of it will be written for others.
2. Keep asking questions, and remember that my knowledge is limited.
3. Fan to flame the gift of God within you–knowing it is a spiritual privilege and duty to keep learning, pondering, journaling, researching, studying…and also writing.
1) Feel free to stink. Revision is washing the stink off the manuscript.
2) Have nothing to lose. When Dan Curtis was told his series DARK SHADOWS was going to get axed, he wrote in the character of vampire Barnabas Collins for his own enjoyment. The character was a hit with audiences, ratings improved, and the show ran another 4 years.
3) Please yourself. If you don’t enjoy the story, who the hell else will?
Margaret, I treasure your writing advice, but the “Tweet This” links after every tip were so distracting I couldn’t concentrate on any of them! Please consider removing these from your site. Your readers love your quotes and will tweet them… if they are presented without something so distracting as TWEET THIS after every one! It’s a bit like having INSTAGRAM THIS written in bold across every sunset or beautiful flower. Your social media buttons on the side are easy and fun to use. That’s enough! Really! 🙂
1. When you feel frustrated or stalled out, step away from the story.
2. Pour your favorite beverage, pull your favorite writing-advice book off the shelf, and leaf through it.
3. Whatever advice sticks out most while reading will likely get you un-stalled on your own.