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