Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Writing Wisdom Plucked

I came across a plaque on the net, which I am going to paste under this entry. At least some of its rules, we all use already, but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce the positives that we do.

Its link is:

http://twitpic.com/1vo6tc

In case the plaque is too difficult to read, I’m writing what it says.

The Only 12 1/2 Writing Rules you'll ever need

1.If you write every day, you get better at writing every day.
2. If it's boring to you, it's boring to the reader.
3. Get a writing routine, and stick with it.
4. Poetry does NOT have to rhyme. Poetry does NOT have to rhyme.
5. Resist stereotypes, in real life and in your writing.
6. Writers read. Writers read a lot.
7. Make lists of your favorite words and books and places and things.
8. Tlhere doesn't always have to be a moral to the story.
9. Always bring your notebook. Always bring a spare pen.
10. Go for walks. Dance. Pull weeds. Do the dishes. Write about it.
11. Don't settle on just one style. Try something new!
12. Learn to tell both sides of the story.
12 1/2. Stop looking at this poster. Write something!

It does have a sense of humor, doesn’t it?

While we’re at it, let me share something of a list that I started doing a while ago.

I have notebook, in which I describe the gestures and sometimes the actions of people I see. I leave a line between entries.

A couple of examples to this is:

She took a long noisy sip of her iced tea, then tossed back her head, laughing at the noise she just made.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

You get the idea. These help when added to the dialogue tags. But, if you decide to do your own list, I suggest you use these sparingly. I recently read an Indie E-book where the writer had a gesture attached to every single dialogue tag. No kidding!

It is a good idea to be gentle when we’re using our lists.