May 1
I love commas. I really do.
Commas are one of my favorite punctuation marks. Commas allow you to breathe. They help you establish a certain cadence and rhythm as a writer. Unless you are William Faulkner, you’ve probably used a comma or two in your writing.
But can you have too much of a good thing? Can your writing have too many commas?
Oh yes. Yes it can.
If you don’t like C.S. Lewis, what’s wrong with you? From what far away land of haters did you come?
But that’s neither here nor there. Even if you weren’t into the Narnia books and don’t care to read Lewis’s Christian nonfiction, you’ve got to admit the guy was an impressive writer, right? His creativity and imagination alone in writing the Narnia series is astounding.
I’m a big Lewis fan, so when I saw this letter he wrote in response to a young girl’s fan mail, my heart was warmed (Please excuse the awful passive voice in that sentence. My editor is underpaid.)
It’s such a friendly, warm letter which made me like Lewis even more as a person. The best part of the letter is the 5 writing tips he gives to the young girl in closing. These are outstanding, insightful tips.
Writers Digest recently dug into their archives and found an article from January 1962, written by Jack Kerouac, about whether or not writers are born or made.
Though I haven’t read On The Road in 12 years, I still consider it one of my favorite books. And, since I’m at a totally different place in life from when I first read it, I’m curious as to what I will think about the Kerouac classic when I re-read it for the Time list. Probably soon.
Anyway, Kerouac certainly had his own style, one that you probably either love or hate. So it’s no surprise that he had a strong opinion on writing. He was obviously a fan of Joyce:
Later this year, I’ll cross the halfway point of this somewhat epic journey. So far, I’ve loved the experience. More than just the reading and the writing, getting to discuss great books with you guys has been awesome.
Along the way, I’ve discovered some reoccurring themes in these novels. This isn’t groundbreaking stuff, you might have heard it before, but I thought I’d try and put my spin on what you need to include in the great novel you want to write some day.
So all you budding novelists out there, take heed. Make sure you include the following in your manuscript. Almost all the classics have at least a few of these:
We’ve talked about the writing rules of famous authors on this blog before. Most of you know about Jonathan Franzen’s 10 rules, but we’ve also looked at the writing guidelines of George Orwell and Margaret Atwood.
Today, let’s take a look at John Steinbeck’s 6 writing rules, published recently by The Paris Review:
I’m going to be honest with you: Until recently, I thought self-publishing was a last resort for authors who wouldn’t get published otherwise.
I was wrong. In the last year or so, I’ve noticed an increase in self-publishing. And I’ve learned that some authors aren’t self publishing because a big publishing house shot them down—though that might still happen anyway because big houses like to publish crap—but because, with a self-published book, the author retains a lot of control and a lot of the possible revenue, among other valid reasons.
Yet, there are still a lot of self-publishing duds out there. These aren’t just books that didn’t sell well. These are books that are awfully written, unedited, and full of more plot holes than a Dukes of Hazzard episode.
For example, take The Moon People by Dale Courtney, a novel that led Huffington Post to ask the question: Is this the worst novel of all time?
How about some light-hearted content today?
Sadly, the greatest curmudgeon of our time, Andy Rooney, passed away recently. But that’s obviously not the light-hearted part of today’s post.
Rooney was definitely a grumpy old guy, almost like an old grandfather that rambles nonsensically about politics, religion, athletics, and you simply nod your head and think, “That’s just grandpa.”
Clichés are a writer’s sworn enemy.
They take up unneeded space, offer no originality and very little insight. But they’ve become clichés because everyone uses them, which makes it difficult for a writer to get out of that habit.
When it comes to clichés, I’m guilty as sin (Did you see what just happened there? The irony!) But I would expect more experienced, award-winning novelists to avoid clichés like the plague (Oh no. It happened again.)
I’m a sucker for visual writing. When an author helps me really see a scene in my head, it’s easy for me to stay with the plot and care about the characters.
With Beloved, Toni Morrison creates absolutely beautiful visuals. If Morrison was a photographer, she’d be Ansel Adams. She’s good.
Take a look at this passage from Beloved. Sethe, the female protagonist, has just given birth to a child.
I’m quite certain this is a hoax, but it’s funny anyway.
The Dragons Den is a Canadian reality show in which people go in front of a panel of judges, show their business idea/invention, and then ask for financial support.
What happens when a self-described “unknown, mid-list,” crazy, instable author, with a weird, creepy assistant, comes on and ask for $250,000 to write her third book? A lot of awkwardness, that’s what.
And you’ve got to love her answer to the question, “What are your margins?”
We writers tend to overvalue our work sometimes (here’s another example), and this is a hilarious illustration, even if it is a joke.
Note: Because of some language, you might not want to watch this with kids–but why are you reading my blog with kids anyway?
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