Hello,
I read the other day from an on-line newsletter I receive about writing, that to get better at my writing I should read everything I can, fiction, non-fiction, magazines, medical journals, most everything I can get my hands on and I agree with this recommendation, its one of the best ways to learn to write next to writing. The writer went on to advise that I should also imitate the writing style of the writers I love to read so that I can grow my own style; I don't agree with this recommendation. It sounds more like copying to me and it takes up time that I could be using to create my own style. Though I don’t believe in imitating other writers, I do adhere to the advice of writers I love to read and utilize there suggestions in my own work. For instance: Elmore Leonard‘s number 10 rule for writers is “Try to leave out the part readers tend to skip”. This piece of Dutch wisdom I try my best to do even if it means kicking out parts of a story I thought I loved and enjoyed writing , if I get the feeling its just taking up space, its gone.
Stephen King and Elmore Leonard suggest avoiding the use of too many adverds in my stories especially the “ly” ones, they don't move a story and waste space. They also suggest I try my best to use only the verb “said” to carry dialogue and let the character and the story tell you what is going on and how the character is feeling. These two pieces of advice from writers I admire, I incorporate into my own writing and don’t have a problem doing it because it makes my writing better, it gets rid of the junk, smooth’s my stories out and allows them to shine with my style with out unnecessary distractions (useless adverbs, description and details readers most often skip) getting in the way of the story.
So I don’t believe in imitating other writers and I try not to do it in my writing, but I do believe in incorporating their advice on writing well into my own novels because it works for some of our most well-loved writers (John Steinbeck, Larry McMurtry, Annie Proulx, Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Atwood) and it works for me.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Hello,
I will be self-publishing my crime mystery novel: You Don’t Know Me, featuring Detective Owen Story in March. On the one hand I am thrilled by my taking my career in my own hands and publishing the work I love, but on the other hand it’s scary but not so much as I would’ve imagined and you know why? Because I girded myself against the fear; put on my writer’s armor and went for it. What's this writer’s armor? It’s making sure you give your readers the best book you can make it; putting time, energy and attention into its every detail.
When working on my book I not only do the research, try and make sure the details are right but the ascetics of the story, how it flows, how it sounds, has to be spot on as well. After the third re-write, I record the story so that I can play it back and listen to it’s flow, catch awkward words which believe me, stick out like an orange cone in the snow as you're listening. I try to make each word count and get rid of ones, even entire passages, that aren't necessary, that don’t move the story or makes it clunky. I make sure the story is consistent, it makes since, there are no continuity mistakes and the characters are outstanding and believable. I keep working on the book until I believe it’s a page turner the reader can't put down and long after they do, they remember and love the characters and want to visit some of them in again in a next novel. A tall order I know, but its done by writer’s all the time so there’s no reason for my novel to be any different; its just up to me to write it that way and once I feel I have it there—no fear. Voila!
So, I’m publishing my first crime mystery novel and I’m looking forward to it because I believe it has all the elements for a great story readers will enjoy. Of course there’s a chance I could be wrong but I have faith in my novel and all its elements, faith in my writing and in the end that’s all we need.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
I will be self-publishing my crime mystery novel: You Don’t Know Me, featuring Detective Owen Story in March. On the one hand I am thrilled by my taking my career in my own hands and publishing the work I love, but on the other hand it’s scary but not so much as I would’ve imagined and you know why? Because I girded myself against the fear; put on my writer’s armor and went for it. What's this writer’s armor? It’s making sure you give your readers the best book you can make it; putting time, energy and attention into its every detail.
When working on my book I not only do the research, try and make sure the details are right but the ascetics of the story, how it flows, how it sounds, has to be spot on as well. After the third re-write, I record the story so that I can play it back and listen to it’s flow, catch awkward words which believe me, stick out like an orange cone in the snow as you're listening. I try to make each word count and get rid of ones, even entire passages, that aren't necessary, that don’t move the story or makes it clunky. I make sure the story is consistent, it makes since, there are no continuity mistakes and the characters are outstanding and believable. I keep working on the book until I believe it’s a page turner the reader can't put down and long after they do, they remember and love the characters and want to visit some of them in again in a next novel. A tall order I know, but its done by writer’s all the time so there’s no reason for my novel to be any different; its just up to me to write it that way and once I feel I have it there—no fear. Voila!
So, I’m publishing my first crime mystery novel and I’m looking forward to it because I believe it has all the elements for a great story readers will enjoy. Of course there’s a chance I could be wrong but I have faith in my novel and all its elements, faith in my writing and in the end that’s all we need.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
Friday, January 12, 2007
Hello
As you might be able to tell I believe writing, creating pieces of written work, whether its fiction or non-fiction is beyond important, it can be the reason some of us get up in the morning; the reason we keep our sanity knowing that we are creating a different world from our great imaginations, enhance the world we live in or put a damming spotlight on it, but writing can do more than this, much more.
Npr.org did a feature story on a professor of Renaissance Literature from Smith College, his name is Eric Reeves and what makes Mr. Reeves so special is not that he teaches but that he writes to change the world. Mr. Reeves is an authority on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. After learning of the mass killings of Non-Arab civilians in Darfur and realizing the international community not only refused to acknowledge the killings were crimes against humanity but hesitated to do anything to stop the crisis, he became angry and began writing. So far Mr. Reeves has written and published more than one-hundred articles and opinion pieces on the genocide and he also writes a weekly 6,000 word analysis that is read on-line by not only ordinary citizens who care but by activists and policy makers who are working to stop the genocide. He has become an expert and world renowned advocate for stopping the crisis. He isn’t personally compensated for his writing and speaking activities instead any monies received go to a Sudanese charity.
Mr. Reeves says that his writing will create a historical record people can go back to read that will detail such a horrendous, devastating siege on our fellow human beings, what we did about it and hopefully put at end.
As writers we enjoy what we write, labor over it, laugh and love, simple things but the undeniable fact about writing is that it doesn’t just shape and change the world it can save lives.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:matwrite1@aol.com, I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time God willing,
Lori
As you might be able to tell I believe writing, creating pieces of written work, whether its fiction or non-fiction is beyond important, it can be the reason some of us get up in the morning; the reason we keep our sanity knowing that we are creating a different world from our great imaginations, enhance the world we live in or put a damming spotlight on it, but writing can do more than this, much more.
Npr.org did a feature story on a professor of Renaissance Literature from Smith College, his name is Eric Reeves and what makes Mr. Reeves so special is not that he teaches but that he writes to change the world. Mr. Reeves is an authority on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. After learning of the mass killings of Non-Arab civilians in Darfur and realizing the international community not only refused to acknowledge the killings were crimes against humanity but hesitated to do anything to stop the crisis, he became angry and began writing. So far Mr. Reeves has written and published more than one-hundred articles and opinion pieces on the genocide and he also writes a weekly 6,000 word analysis that is read on-line by not only ordinary citizens who care but by activists and policy makers who are working to stop the genocide. He has become an expert and world renowned advocate for stopping the crisis. He isn’t personally compensated for his writing and speaking activities instead any monies received go to a Sudanese charity.
Mr. Reeves says that his writing will create a historical record people can go back to read that will detail such a horrendous, devastating siege on our fellow human beings, what we did about it and hopefully put at end.
As writers we enjoy what we write, labor over it, laugh and love, simple things but the undeniable fact about writing is that it doesn’t just shape and change the world it can save lives.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:matwrite1@aol.com, I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time God willing,
Lori
Friday, January 05, 2007
Hello
I’ve mentioned that I’m writing a novel titled The Geography of Love. Part of the novel takes place in the Western Sahara which is approximately 4, 200 miles or 6,759 kilometers plus an ocean away; a place I’ve never had the privilege to visit—though I’ll love to get there someday.
Though my imagination has gathered it’s images of the Western Sahara: shifting wailing sand dunes, a fiery ball of a sun, scorpions walking leisurely across the cracked desert floor, rock formations that looked like they were crafted then tossed aside by long ago giants; it’s not enough, I had to do the obvious: research. I read everything I could find on the Western Sahara and spent hours over pictures of the desert and those people who called it home so that the pictures in my head would have more life, yet I knew to make my story breath the desert air, feel the burning sand, admire a glowing sunset and pray for a breeze filled sunrise I would need to communicate with someone who’d actually experienced all these things in the Sahara.
I posted a message on the Fodor travel site and received a reply from Sarah who posts her experience in Western Sahara on her website. She was able to clue me in on an aspect of traveling in this part of the world I hadn’t come across making the information a must part of the story in my effort to root the novel in authentic experiences, give it that life, make it breath. If you can check out Sarah’s site at: www.sarahandflo.com, it’s terrific and you’ll be amazed at her travels, she’s been to twenty-nine countries so far and writes a piece on each one. She has offered to answer any more questions I have on traveling in Western Sahara and that’s invaluable to me and wonderful of her.
If you want to bring more power to your story and need to crank up your imagination, most times you have to go to an expert or those who've experienced what your character is experiencing and these day’s its easier than ever to get to them especially through the Net where experts have their own websites and e-mail addresses. I think most people are glad to hear from writers and enjoy talking about what they do or know best. The most important aspect to all this for us writers is that we want to do whatever’s necessary to make our stories come alive and utilizing real details and knowledge not only breathes life into the work, it makes our stories outstanding and ones that everyone wants to read.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:matwrite1@aol.com, I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time God willing,
Lori
I’ve mentioned that I’m writing a novel titled The Geography of Love. Part of the novel takes place in the Western Sahara which is approximately 4, 200 miles or 6,759 kilometers plus an ocean away; a place I’ve never had the privilege to visit—though I’ll love to get there someday.
Though my imagination has gathered it’s images of the Western Sahara: shifting wailing sand dunes, a fiery ball of a sun, scorpions walking leisurely across the cracked desert floor, rock formations that looked like they were crafted then tossed aside by long ago giants; it’s not enough, I had to do the obvious: research. I read everything I could find on the Western Sahara and spent hours over pictures of the desert and those people who called it home so that the pictures in my head would have more life, yet I knew to make my story breath the desert air, feel the burning sand, admire a glowing sunset and pray for a breeze filled sunrise I would need to communicate with someone who’d actually experienced all these things in the Sahara.
I posted a message on the Fodor travel site and received a reply from Sarah who posts her experience in Western Sahara on her website. She was able to clue me in on an aspect of traveling in this part of the world I hadn’t come across making the information a must part of the story in my effort to root the novel in authentic experiences, give it that life, make it breath. If you can check out Sarah’s site at: www.sarahandflo.com, it’s terrific and you’ll be amazed at her travels, she’s been to twenty-nine countries so far and writes a piece on each one. She has offered to answer any more questions I have on traveling in Western Sahara and that’s invaluable to me and wonderful of her.
If you want to bring more power to your story and need to crank up your imagination, most times you have to go to an expert or those who've experienced what your character is experiencing and these day’s its easier than ever to get to them especially through the Net where experts have their own websites and e-mail addresses. I think most people are glad to hear from writers and enjoy talking about what they do or know best. The most important aspect to all this for us writers is that we want to do whatever’s necessary to make our stories come alive and utilizing real details and knowledge not only breathes life into the work, it makes our stories outstanding and ones that everyone wants to read.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:matwrite1@aol.com, I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time God willing,
Lori
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