Inspiration from Margaret Laurence

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Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers.

Hope to see you there, fellow scribes…

Freelance Writer

Thanks for stopping! To read this post, please visit me at my new and improved site:

Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers.

Hope to see you there, fellow scribes…

3 rules for writing

Thanks for coming over! To read this post, please visit me at my new and improved site:

Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers.

Hope to see you there, fellow scribes….

No 10 Easy Steps to Writing

I read a lot about writing, and sometimes I wonder how much I’m actually learning. Since I don’t take notes, highlight, or even buy the books so I can reference them later – is reading a waste of my time?

A professional, published, seasoned writer says, “No!” (but not in so many words)

Writing quotation: “In the end, writing skills are mostly absorbed, not learned. Like learning to speak as a native speaker, learning to write well is not just learning a set of rules or techniques,” writes Philip Martin in The New Writer’s Handbook 2007 (Scarletta Press). “It’s a huge, messy body of deep language, inspired by bits of readings, conversations, incidents; it’s affected by how you were taught and where you live and who you want to become.”

That’s good – and there’s more:

“For every convention, there is another way that may work better. For every rule, there are mavericks who succeed by flaunting it. There is no right or wrong way to write, no ten easy steps.”

Writing tip: I think the most successful writing mavericks or renegade writers (Linda Formichelli!) are those who don’t try to be different. They just are. They trust their gut, they take those little glimmers of inspiration and nurture them into blossoms of orange and yellow and red. Writing mavericks tap into their personalities and souls, and let themselves be vulnerable.

It may sound easy, but it takes a lot of courage not only to be who you are, but share it with your readers.

PS – I’ve now been on the radio twice, talking about my articles! I really should blog about it……

Stephen King likes to resonate with readers

If this doesn’t work for freelance magazine writers, novelists, poets, and journalists, I don’t know what does.

Writing quotation: In On Writing Stephen King says, “What I want most is resonance, something that will linger for a little while in Constant Reader’s mind (and heart) after he or she has closed the book and put it up on the shelf.”

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Later in the same paragraph, King says, “I’ll also want to delete stuff that goes in other directions.” (this actually goes in a different direction, and I shouldn't have included it here).

Writing tip: Resonance in my magazine articles means finding something that readers can talk about later, at cocktail parties or on first dates or in the lobby after church. That's one reason I love writing about scientific research – such as the discovery that yawning cools the brain. I want my readers to remember the information I gave them, and talk about it later.

Resonance for you as a writer could be emotional, spiritual, or intellectual. Resonance is the “take-away.” What image, thought, or opinion does the reader hold after reading your stuff?

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And then (and this is the stuff that goes in another direction that I shouldn't have included here -- but it's a "teachable moment") get rid of all the fluff. The more focused you are, the more captivated readers will be. If you're juggling different ideas and scenarios, readers may get confused and distracted. Weed out the extra words.

writing quotations about waiting

Here's a writing tip from Mark Twain and E.B. White. Their two great writing quotations seem contradictory, but could actually be complementary. What do you think?

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.” said Mark Twain.

Compare that with E.B. White’s writing quotation:

“Delay is natural to a writer. He is like a surfer – he bides his time, waits for the perfect wave and which to ride in. Delay is instinctive with him. He waits for the surge (of emotion? of strength? of courage?) that will carry him along,” White said.

Writing tip: The writing secret is to balance risk-taking (and possible regret) with waiting for the perfect wave. But don’t wait too long, writers. You may regret it.

E.B. White's writing quotation came from Shoptalk: Learning to Write With Writers by Donald Murray. Mark Twain's quote isn't a writing quotation at all! But I apply it to my writing habits almost every day.