A good friend of mine recently quit writing. She was a member of my critique group and I learned so much from her about the rules and techniques of the craft. I always looked forward to our meetings every week and enjoyed talking books with her.

What’s so tragic is that she’s incredibly talented. She’s written a thriller that, I thought, rivaled and even exceeded some of the brand-name authors you can pick up at your local bookstore. So what happened? There were several reasons why she came to her decision, but the last time she came to our group, she boiled it down to, “I haven’t written anything in weeks and I don’t really feel guilty about it.”

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Popularity: 10% [?]

Do you hear that sound of smacking lips? That’s me trying to get the bad taste of Austin out of my mouth.

That sounds really negative, doesn’t it? It wasn’t all bad. I’m just let down. In my previous post, I wrote with excitement about going to Austin to the Agents and Editors Conference. The trip really was worthwhile. I met some interesting (in a good way) writers and even made a couple of friends.
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As I type this, I have several things going through my mind. It’s hard to concentrate or come up with a good topic for this week’s entry. My distraction stems from two sources. First, I’m getting ready to go to the Writer’s League of Texas’s Agents and Editors conference in Austin and right after I get back from that, I’m going on vacation.

I’m excited about the conference. It’s always a great opportunity to meet and talk to other writers. I’m also a little nervous about it, too. I’ve worked on my pitch and have it memorized. The meeting with my first-pick agent is set. Now I just have to show boundless enthusiasm and sell it.
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Popularity: 28% [?]

There are two parts of my life. As writer, I spend most of my time in front of my computer writing, wearing grubby clothes and no makeup. Many days don’t see, or visit with, anyone outside of my family. Instead of bemoaning those days, I consider it to be a good thing because it means I’m productive. I also read a lot of news and try to keep up on what’s going on in the world so I don’t write in a vacuum.

I also try to be an involved parent and as a freelancer, I’m blessed with having a flexible schedule which makes me available for school festivities. When I do venture out of my office and go to these activities, it sometimes puts me in contact with other moms and that’s when I get an education and realize just how isolated and out of step I am with normal moms. Continue Reading

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(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

Don't write what is obvious.

Eliminate all redundant words and phrases.

Your readers will still get your drift without any over-explanations.

EXAMPLE: The judge sentenced the thief to six years in jail.

BETTER: The judge sentenced the thief to six years.

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(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

You've heard it a thousand times that "passive voice" is bad and "active voice" is good.

In general, I also agree with that advice.

For example, "I wrote this e-mail" (active voice) is a much better way of stating the fact than "this e-mail was written by me".

However, as with everything else under the sun, there are exceptions to this rule as well.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

So as of late, I’ve been finding a lot of little tricks for WordPress. The latest trick really impressed me and will be very handy when I’m away from the computer, say, disc golfing or something.

Here’s the concept, call a 1 866 number, tell the automated voice system you want to post to WordPress, and then start talking, clearly. In about two minutes it’ll show up as a post under your author name on your blog with a link for users to listen to your post. It’s that slick. Total setup time is about 15 minutes and there are some things you can do to set it up further. Don’t like texting into twitter all the time? It can update your twitter account too as well as a host of other online utilities.

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Rules 7 - 10

7) Repeat after Kenny Rogers: “You got to know when to hold’em; know when to fold’em…”

Sometimes we all get stuck on a track that leads to nowhere but for some reason we keep banging our heads on the same wall.

There ARE alternatives in life, especially for writers. Remember that.

I was a newspaper reporter for four years in Washington DC. The first couple of years I thought my career was going somewhere.

During the last two years I realized, nope, it wasn’t really going to add up to anything. I was on a treadmill repeating the same old things for the same old results. No progress.

After looking around for six months, someone suggested “technical writing” – something I didn't even think before. I wasn’t even sure what tech writers exactly did. But I decided to take a calculated gamble anyways.

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Rules 3 - 6

3) Know your heart and your inner voice.

WHY are you writing? Money is fine, but what else? What are your beliefs and core values? What is your Truth?

The answers to these questions do not come easy and they change over time too.

I’m for example still formulating my answers and refining them, re-configuring some of them. But the questions are smoking alive, burning while illuminating my way.

Without that inner sense of who you are, you’ll never have the courage to make the necessary investment and sacrifice. You need that to create the kind of writing that will benefit you and the world. We can talk more about this important point later if you’d like.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Okay, so you finished your literary project—your book is now complete and you find yourself fidgeting, pacing and (maybe like me) spending more time hovered over a blank page biting your nails than you do writing new material. I know, I know, as if completing the book wasn’t hard enough—you still need to write to stay sharp, avoid laziness and keep the creative juices flowing. The only problem is—you don’t know where to begin. Try using writing “prompts” to get the creative juices flowing again!

You know you’re not ready to tackle the literary giant right now because you are too busy gloating in your well deserved accomplishments; but you also know as a professional it is imperative to “stay sharp” and find a means to write on a daily basis. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone down to my local drug store, purchased (my favorite) $2 dollar composition books just to spend minute upon minute staring at a blank page.

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Rules 1 and 2

I've been working as a professional writer for almost 20 years now.

It’s been a long haul, and fun too. I always enjoyed sitting at my keyboard and click-clicking the keys. Remember that B.B. King classic, “The Thrill Is Gone”? I never had to sing that one, knock on wood.

God knows I tried many genres and styles in the past, including academic papers, journalism, desk top publishing, screen writing, short stories, blogging, copy writing, and technical writing.

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Popularity: 7% [?]