Wednesday 7 November 2012

Classic Advice For Every Writer At Any Stage

The other day I came across one of my binders from high school—well, more like my mom brought it to my house. She's the one that found my creative writing folder, and thought I'd get a kick out of it since I've begun this 'let's see if I can get published' game.


Check out my super cool Trapper Keeper!

The rainbow was soon covered with this awesome shot of Duran Duran. Yes, it was the 80's.
Besides having way nicer penmanship back then, I also discovered a few gems written in the margins. And I couldn't help but appreciate how timely it was to have this particular piece of advice on self editing while I'm knee deep in NaNoWriMo.

Thanks to my English teacher from Chester Municipal High School, Mr. Doug Ross. *waves*

Here are my favorite bits of "writerly" advice from high school...

#1. Let your characters experience the story rather than tell it.

#2. A good narrative voice should use honest, understandable language, relay information, and express a clear point of view. 

#3. Who is your target audience? Imagine you're reading your story to them, what would you emphasize?

#4. Take out the word 'very'.

#5. Write ten titles. Write ten lead sentences. Write ten concluding sentences. Now take a concluding sentence and try it as a lead sentence.


What's your best advice for writers?


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duran Duran!!!! I LOVED them - still do.

Best advice? Write what you love. Because when it gets hard, you won't give up easily.

Laila N Mysis said...

J'adore number four! I don't know if I'm allowed to give advice that's legit, 'cause I'm not that great.... hm.... and the stuff I have in mind is pretty obvious. Oh, but the best way to end a story with a shebang is to use this line:

And everything burst into flames.

(Someone wise once said that, or something to that effect, and I agree ^^ )

Suzi said...

Oh, I am so jealous. My trapper keeper is just plain green. No fancy rainbows.

(Notice I say 'is' and not 'was'. That's cause I still have it. No, I don't use it, but it stores my old writing stuff from grade school. Which means I must be a wee bit older than you.)

Mere Joyce said...

Lol, love this. It's amazing what our younger selves can be attuned to, eh? Not to mention the time stamp of the musician...you can track the progress of time by a girl's choice of decorative band!

My favourite piece of advice is always what Donna has said. Write what you love. Although, everything burst into flames is pretty good, too, =P

BR Myers said...

Thanks, gals. Now go download some Duran Duran!

Amanda Fanger said...

You know, this has me thinking that maybe I should dig through my own old writing files from when I was a kid and see what treasures I can find. Great tips! Thanks :)

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