My latest post, "Ready to Be Surprised" on Chicago Moms Blog likens the last weeks of winter to those of a pregnancy when the thrill has gone temporarily AWOL.
Some recent writing advice:
From my friend Susan and a recent Off Campus Writers' Workshop workshop:
If a segment can stand on its own, it probably should be cut.
Sue explains, "Beautifully written passages that stand on their own without reallymoving the story forward often need to be axed from the manuscript. These are the hardest cuts to make because they seem to flow organically and we tend to fall in love with them. Playwright Robert Koon's suggestion was that if a passage can stand completely on its own, it is probably not integral enough to the forward motion of the story to stay."
From Poynter Online, via my friend Michelle:
Start your story as near to the end as possible. This little tidbit is pretty powerful when you think about it.
From Michael Wiegers, the hot silver-haired executive editor of Copper Canyon Press who presented at AWP:
Sit down and write three descriptions of your book, one in 15 words, one in 100 and one in 500 words. Wiegers said his writers hate to do this, but it's a necessary and useful marketing tool.
1 comment:
That's all great writing advice, although you are giving me credit for info I absorbed from Rob Koon's good stuff on dialogue from his sessions at OCWW. Thanks Rob, I'll take credit for your stuff anytime.
Cindy, shame on you for making me look up the picture of the hot guy.
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