Curation Corner: Good writing advice…in a single photo
Category: Writing
Curation Corner: One writer's mindshift
Curation Corner: Writing With Continual Direction
This quote from William Zinsser [On Writing Well is his best-known work.] takes an opposite tack to yesterday’s Writing With No Direction post.
Writing is linear and sequential; Sentence B must follow Sentence A, and Sentence C must follow Sentence B, and eventually you get to Sentence Z. The hard part of writing isn’t the writing; it’s the thinking. You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next?
WILLIAM ZINSSER
Curated from my daily email from Jon Winokur’s https://advicetowriters.com/
Curation Corner: Writing With No Direction
This snappy piece by David Ben-Ami really speaks to the value of Julia Cameron’s ‘morning pages’. (Dropping two names in one sentence. Have I no shame?)
Curation Corner: And then there’s this on revising…
The ordinary writer is bound to be assailed by insecurities as he writes. Is the sentence he has just created a sensible one? Is it expressed as well as it might be? Would it sound better if it were written differently? The ordinary writer is therefore always revising, always chopping and changing, always trying on different ways of expressing himself, and, for all I know, never being entirely satisfied.
–ISAAC ASIMOV
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Curation Corner: The Traffic Light Revision Technique
It’s easy to urge each other to crank out ideas and imagery.Let’s boil it down:
- Read over your material in a word processing document. [‘Document 1’] Color-code your sentences–green for ‘okay with me’, yellow for ‘needs some work’, red for ‘needs complete overhaul’. [Note: Use your own file-naming strategies.]
- Save ‘Document 1’, without any further tinkering.
- Create a copy of ‘Document 1’ [‘File’, ‘Save as…’], complete with the colored highlights. Name it ‘Document 2’.
- Edit Document 2, recoloring your sentences green when satisfied with the work they’re doing.
- Proofread your work [aloud is always a good idea] with the following question as your beacon:
“Do these words clearly communicate my true intent
and give my audience a cohesive presentation?”
There you go! You can now send your work on to the Pulitzer Prize committee.
Suggestion: Schedule a 15-minute visit to Copyblogger.You’re sure to leave with useful, shareable content.
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I should be writing. Instead…a culinary escape
Better yet, just pour yourself some coffee/tea, snag a treat, and follow the links below…
I have watched these shows multiple times and inevitably dream of a pastry/bread-driven road trip. Note: The people are just as appealing as the treats.
No interest or time? At least fast forward to 15:17 of A Few Great Bakeries to meet my culinary ‘hero’. This guy is classic.
And for those writers who choose to just sit back and enjoy, how about a couple of rationalizations for your productivity hiatus?
The Holstee Manifesto My favorite nugget: “When you eat, appreciate every last bite.” Glad I found this.
Curation Corner: Writers, don’t panic!
I recently signed up for daily delivery of Jon Winokur’s Advice to Writers, so I’m essentially curating his own curation. Today’s advice comes from Australian writer [and then some] Clive James.
“The only thing I’ve got better at as the years have gone by is I’ve grown more resigned to the fact that it comes hard. You realize that hesitation and frustration and waiting are part of the process, and you don’t panic. I get a lot better at not panicking. I get up every morning early if it’s a writing day and I will do nothing else but write that day. But the secret is not to panic if it doesn’t come.”
And whoa, what a wealth of resources you will find at advicetowriters.com.
and much more under the ‘Resources’ tab.
Enjoy.
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I should be writing. Instead…expanding my vocabulary.
Mentalfloss.com comes through again.
38 Wonderful Words with No English Equivalent
Such as, from the nation of Georgia, shemomedjamo–the inability to stop eating a food item or meal. Usage: He reached for the unopened bag of kettle corn, knowing full well that shemomedjamo was inevitable.
Or, from Ghana, pelinti–to move hot food around in your mouth. Usage: Viewers were subjected to a full minute of pelinti when Guy Fieri chose to dive right into the queso that came straight from the oven.
I dare you…weave a few of these gems into a conversation this week.
An Austin Kleon writing strategy: Keep dumb thoughts.
Austin Kleon encourages us to be attentive and diligent in writing down all our thoughts and sift through them for later exploration.
How about ratcheting up your powers of attentiveness?
Here are a few ideas from Cris Freese in this Writer’s Digest article.
Reminder: Simply restricting one or more of the five senses will heighten the others. [Try closing your eyes while eating. You will most likely hear your chewing more distinctly and I’ve found more flavors are pronounced. But hey, maybe that’s just me. But really, try it.]