Tag: literature

20 Writing Tips from 12 Fiction Authors

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[found on iuniverse.com]

“Writing success boils down to hard work, imagination and passion—and then some more hard work…. Use these tips as an inspirational guide—or better yet, print a copy to put on your desk, home office, refrigerator door, or somewhere else noticeable so you can be constantly reminded not to let your story ideas wither away by putting off your writing.

  • “My first rule was given to me by TH White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian fantasies and was: Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt.” — Michael Moorcock
  • “Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” — Zadie Smith
  • “Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel. If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction. Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development. Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution.” — Michael Moorcock
  • “In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” — Rose Tremain
  • “Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.” — Will Self
  • “It’s doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction.” — Jonathan Franzen”Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.” — Zadie Smith
  • “Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting.” — Jonathan Franzen
  • “Read it aloud to yourself because that’s the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out—they can be got right only by ear).” — Diana Athill
  • “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov
  • “Listen to the criticisms and preferences of your trusted ‘first readers.'” — Rose Tremain
  • “Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money.” — Jonathan Franzen
  • “Don’t panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends’ embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there’s prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too.” — Sarah Waters
  • “The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement – if you can’t deal with this you needn’t apply.” — Will Self
  • “Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!” — Joyce Carol Oates
  • “The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.” — Jonathan Franzen
  • “Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.” — Elmore Leonard
  • “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.” — Neil Gaiman
  • “You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished.” — Will Self
  • “The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.” — Neil Gaiman
  • “The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’” — Helen Simpson

Even famous authors sometimes have a tough time with writing; they also go through periods of self-doubt. Despite this, they always manage to come up with the goods. So take a lesson from them and stop putting off your writing plans and get started on your publishing journey today.”

[found on http://www.iuniverse.com/ExpertAdvice/20WritingTipsfrom12FictionAuthors.aspx]

River Boat Writer

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“The process of writing a novel is like taking a journey by boat. You have to continually set yourself on course. If you get distracted or allow yourself to drift, you will never make it to the destination. It’s not like highly defined train tracks or a highway; this is a path that you are creating discovering. The journey is your narrative. Keep to it and there will be a tale told.” 

― Walter Mosley, This Year You Write Your Novel

Writing Tips From Max Lucado, Best-Selling Author

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By Audra  Krell

“It was his first time attending a writing conference. He is a best-selling author who has written more than 50 books and has sold 65 million copies of his work. Yet it was also his first time speaking at a conference. Although he was on unfamiliar territory, New York Times best-selling Christian author Max Lucado spoke of the tools writers have, at the Writing for the Soul conference in Denver in February 2010. Below, find his best tips on subject, discipline and clarity for writers.
*   *   *   *   *
MAX SAYS: BE PASSIONATE
• Your subject must be so worthwhile that it keeps you riveted to your chair.
• Because of your passion, you write without ceasing until it’s finished.
• Strong topics and subjects cause writing to happen from the soul.
• Desire to work your writing through, so the reader doesn’t have to.
 
 
MAX SAYS: STEADY IS AS STEADY DOES
• Make a date night with your notebook. If you sit long enough, you’ll find something to write about.
• With disciplined writing time, you’ll grow to appreciate your work.
• Good words are worth the work.
• The only thing better than writing is when your words connect with the reader.
 
 
MAX SAYS: ON A CLEAR DAY
• Get your book down to one sentence. Every paragraph must pay homage to that sentence, or it doesn’t get to play.
• Every word must earn its place on the page.
• Write concise but not shallow.
• Revise for as long as you can.
 
 

Good writing will go where we never can, and reroutes the trajectory of life. It seeps into the farthest corners of the world and the depths of a reader’s soul. Readers let authors into their private moments by inviting the author to speak through their story. Although it’s a challenging invitation, it’s valuable and authors should accept. Clear thinking will deliver your words to their destination. Most places are far away, and require a long, long chair ride. Do not begrudge the hard work of getting it there, this generation needs the best books you can write.

For his final point, Max reminds the writer to let every part of the process work. “Sentences are like just caught fish. Spunky today, stinky tomorrow.” Let editing do its job. That way, you will put forth good, passionate writing, which will reach readers where they live.”

-by Audra Krell

How to Write a Play

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[found on backstage.com]
“1. The play does not always start at the beginning. Sometimes the first scene you write ends up in the middle of the play. This happens because when I write, I’m really channeling the voices of my characters.
2. A play is made up of moments that the character experiences as the story is revealed.
3. Ernest Hemigway said: “Good writing is true writing.” The best writing comes from trusting your gut feeling!
4. Even though every play or story has a beginning, a climactic moment, and a resolution, i stay true to the story by not trying to control it.
5. Teach the audience through laughter. The audience is able then to sympathize with their struggles and acquire a new sense of understanding for the world in which these characters live.”
[found on http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/first-person/5-tips-writing-play]

Tips for Children’s Books

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[found on dummies.com]

“At some point after you have a solid draft of the children’s book you’re writing, you must begin the editing process. Here’s a quick overview of the salient points to keep in mind.

    • If a sentence doesn’t contribute to plot or character development, delete it.
    • Make sure your characters don’t all sound the same when they speak.
    • If you have a page or more of continuous dialogue, chances are it needs tightening.
    • When changing place or time, or starting a new scene or chapter, provide brief transitions to keep your story moving smoothly.
    • Make sure to keep the pace moving from action to action, scene to scene, chapter to chapter.
    • If you find yourself using a lot of punctuation (!!!), CAPITAL LETTERS, italics, or bold, chances are your words aren’t working hard enough for you.
    • When you can find one word to replace two or more words, do it.
    • Be careful with changing tenses midstream. If your story is told in the past tense, stick with it throughout. If present tense, then stick with that. Be consistent.
    • Watch excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and long descriptive passages.
    • After you choose a point of view for a character, stick to it.
    • If your character hasn’t changed at the end of your story, chances are he isn’t yet fully fleshed out.
    • If your character talks to himself or does a lot of wondering aloud, he needs a friend to talk to.
    • If you’re bored with a character, your reader will be, too.
    • If you can’t tell your story in three well-crafted sentences: the first one covering the beginning, the second one alluding to the climax (the middle), and the last one hinting at the ending — you may not have a complete story yet.
    • If you find yourself overwriting because you’re having trouble expressing exactly what you mean, sit back and say it aloud to yourself, and then try again.”
[found on http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-childrens-books-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html]