DAMN GOOD WRITING TIPS

One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about writing was this: lower your standards. These words were spoken by Kim Stafford, son of writer and poet William Stafford. Kim said “lower your standards” were the words his father uttered when asked by people how they could write as prolifically as he did [...]

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Revision means being willing to “see again,” to “start over” if necessary. If you’re committed to making a piece work, nothing can be sacred. You must be willing to let go of all of it. When you achieve this mindset, question the largest issues such as the structure of the piece, its voice and protagonist. [...]

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Bent over the bone white pages (or the melancholy light from her computer screen) the writer scribes long into the loveless night. To many of us, writers conjure up visions of solitary figures. But is that really so? After all, isn’t writing at its best a conversation between the writer and the reader? Writing for [...]

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If you find yourself stalled in your writing, you might be caught in the endless, unproductive loop of editing-as-you-go. Stop! Listen to the wisdom of one very smart bear. “You can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday [...]

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Only by writing extensively, including keeping a journal, are you likely to find your voice. Editors and writing teachers can help with grammar, structure, and sense– but they shouldn’t fundamentally mess with your style. Your voice––comprised of cadence, rhythm, word choice, tempo, and syntax––is your fingerprint as an author. It’s what makes you, you. Could [...]

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Within any system of nature, there exists something called, “the strange attractor effect.” It’s akin to that moment in the creative process when we sense something trying to form out of the chaos. Chaos is the feeding ground for the emergence of regular, self-forming, coherent patterning. In other words, form and structure arise naturally from [...]

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The word “character” stems from the Greek word for a chiseled cut, an etching, or a groove. Oftentimes the essence of a human being is etched into their face. We recognize someone from the way they smile, squint in bright sunlight, or the slight bump in their nose that speaks to past fights. A few [...]

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If our writing is to have  impact, we must write about what matters most to us. Our writing must come from a place of care and commitment. This doesn’t mean we have to be experts. Rather, we need to be sufficiently passionate about our subject matter that we are willing to become knowledgeable. When we [...]

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