Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Write, Don't Think?

How often do we Twitter or post a comment on FaceBook or some other social media site without thinking it through.


Do we take the time to consider;


(1) Is my comment relevant to anyone but me? 


If not, then why am I posting it?


Am I doing it to make my ‘friends’ can scratch their heads and wonder what’s going on… or to make them worry about ‘what’s the matter with her’. Is it a ‘Hey…Look at me’ cry for help or attention? 


Remember the story of the Boy who Cried Wolf?


I guarantee there are far easier ways to get help.


(2) Is the point I’m trying to make obvious or adequately explained?


If not, then do us all a favour and either rewrite it or simply don’t post it.


(3) We are all tempted to post things that are interesting to us, in the hope that others might find it equally interesting or relevant or amusing.


You’re not going to hit the mark every time, but as every writer, teacher and public speaker knows, the first rule is:


Know your audience. 


Till next time;


Be kind, be careful, and have fun.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ali Cross: the dojo ♥

Ali Cross: the dojo ♥: "For me, the best way to write a novel is to just hunker down and get 'er done. I learned this little gem about myself thanks to Nationa..."



I agree with Ali.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

It's too damn quiet in here.

In case you've been wondering, the reason this blog has been so quiet is very simple: I'm up to my armpits in manuscript revisions and editing... and its not going quietly into the night.


It is instead rather like an out-of-tune brass band, with each instrument needing careful tuning. Hundreds of once pristine pages turned to little more than ash and rubble with the simple slashing motion of a red pen. 


Such is the writers folly, to think that a story will stay written as initially conceived.


Chapters that made sense where they were during the initial composition seem destined to be not the great preludes they were wrought to be but instead interludes to acts unfathomed at the time of their creation.


Scenes, so artfully constructed, now little more than hazy backgrounds in the clarity of the new world arising from the ashes.


And characters, once thought destined to be the MC's of the story are instead finding themselves in the supporting cast, supplanted by voices that crept surprisingly out of the chorus to rise above the rest.


And such is the writers joy; 


To find new life beneath the rubble, a phoenix amongst the ashes of despair.