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Writing Words - writing it is the only way of getting it written

"Impossible" Writing Projects

July 22nd 2010 20:56
"It always seems impossible until it is done."
Nelson Mandela

Do you have a writing project you think of as impossible? Why do you consider it impossible?

In most "impossible" cases, the solution is simple: You find a way to tackle the project and just get on with it. When it comes to writing projects, almost anything is possible. You just have to sit down and write.
Stories are patient, they don't insist on being finished in record time. Is it going to take you five years to write your first draft? Then that's how long it takes. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll get to the end of the five years.
Are your characters flat and not coming to life? Then spend more time fleshing them out.

Whatever your writing problem is, it's not going to be impossible to solve. If you want to write the story, you will find a way.
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"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist."
Isaac Asimov

Wise words. I'm not sure Asimov was talking about short story competitions there, but his quote is true for all aspects of writing that involve sending your work out. You have to be persistent. Keep sending your stories out and take on all the criticism you receive in the process. Might not be fun to be told where you went wrong, but take criticism as helpful advice and implement it. See if it makes a difference. Above all, be patient and persist.
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Quote on Editing (4)

March 24th 2010 18:20
Reporting back from holiday with one of my favourite quotes about editing fiction:

There is a difference between a book of two hundred pages from the very beginning, and a book of two hundred pages which is the result of an original eight hundred pages. The six hundred are there. Only you don't see them. - Elie Wiesel

Hope all you brave NaNoEdMo participants are on track for clocking 50 hrs.
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Quote on Editing (3)

March 5th 2010 22:31
I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil. - Truman Capote

One thing to bear in mind for NaNoEdMo: If in doubt, cutting it is better than leaving it in.
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Quote on Editing (1)

February 17th 2010 22:08
Mark Twain said: "I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice."

A bit of handy advice for NaNoEdMo and editing in general, I reckon.
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Let Conan O'Brien Inspire You

January 23rd 2010 12:35
I just watched Conan O'Brien last show online. He said about his seven-month stint and the early end of hosting 'The Tonight Show": "[...] I did it my way with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we've done here."

So, back to the writing life. Imagine it's August 23rd - seven months from today. What have you achieved as a writer by that date? How did you achieve it? Are you on track for achieving your 2010 writing goals? Can you look back and say, "I do not regret one second of anything I've done", even if things didn't turn out as planned


[ Click here to read more ]
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Best Writers' Quotes

January 10th 2010 21:18
Most writers have a collection of quotes by other writers about writing. Reading what the great and successful have said about the writing process can be a comfort and provide inspiration when you are stuck or despair of your own writing. Here are some of my favourite writers' quotes:

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. - Terry Pratchett


[ Click here to read more ]
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Editing dialogue

November 23rd 2009 22:54
Fictional dialogue in first drafts are usually boring. Most of the time. At least in my first drafts. That's why I take Elisabeth Bowen's Seven Rules for Dialogue to heart when I edit.
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AF wordcount: 10940

April 22nd 2008 21:52
I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit

Ernest Hemingway
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