An Old Writing Tip!

Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.  While searching for my muse one night I started thinking of things I've learned over the years and remembered something I learned in writing class way back when I was in College.    This tip I am about to share with you is one I have heard countless times since that class and to this day it makes great sense!  It’s also an easy one to live with.  It will only cost you some time and it’s one I’m sure everyone will enjoy.   And that tip is that if you want to be a good writer then you should read a lot of books.

Yes that’s it, READ!  But not just Authors you like or genres that you enjoy, but read everything!  You need to expose yourself to a wide variety of writing styles.  You would be surprised how much you absorb by reading things that may be out of your comfort zone.  It may not be something you use now but a month from now, maybe 6 months down the road you might need some mechanism or plot twist for your story and it may come to you  thanks to something you read.  I’m not speaking of Plagiarism, I’m speaking of ideas and suggestions.

Wait a minute, that’s the secret to learning to write?  No of course not,there is no secret to learning to write.  You need to just do it.  Of course there are some Rules of English that you will need to master.  But writing a good story comes down to imagination and communication.

These are traits and skills that can be nurtured and developed.

So get out there and buy a book.  Try some of the self published books out today.  There are a lot of good authors going this “New “ non traditional route.  Let me know how it goes.

    

Some Updates

I'm going to use this entry in my Blog to give you a some updates.  First off my novel Voodoo Street.  I am in the second rewrite on this.  It's going slow but we are moving forward with it.  Some of you may know that I began writing this book last year.  When I finished it I had a couple of proofs made up and gave it to some friends and family that I trust.  I have since received back their comments and I am now working through them.  More to come on this in the future.

My Google Chromebook has accomplished what I wanted it to.  I was hoping that a small very portable laptop would give me NO excuses not to write.  So far so good, the Chromebook comes with me every where.  When I have some time I have my tools with me.  The Chrome equivalents of Microsoft work just fine for me.  They are fairly compatible with existing Microsoft programs and they allow me to move back and forth between my Chrome Book and my laptop.  This was one of the best investments I have ever made in my writing career.

If you remember back a few weeks ago I had decided that "Writing More" was going to be one of my New Years Resolutions.  I'm proud to say that as we are poised to begin February I have been writing more.  I know, I know it s still early in the year but to paraphrase an old saying that says, "Every long journey begins with a single step."  You have to start small and build it on it.  That's my plan!

One of the projects I'm working on currently is a memoir.  Now a lot of people think a memoir is something only a famous person would write.  And that's probably true if you are looking for book sales.  But that's not why I'm writing this.  This is being written for both my parents and and my wife's parents.  This will only be circulated within the family.  I want to preserve the history of our families. The stories of the successes as well as the failures.  I want my kids and maybe someday my grand kids to know where they came from.  I believe you cannot look to the future without having a solid foundation in the past.

Well that's my updates for early 2014.  How are you doing with your New Year so far?  Let us know.

Keep writing!

Writers Block

I never truly believed in the Writers Block, but these last two weeks I have become all to familiar with the term.  I am not sure what caused it, maybe the holiday season and having to deal with Family and Friends.  Maybe it’s the pressure from my day job.  With year end coming client demands have been off the wall.  Or maybe I just needed to get away from writing for a little bit.  I’m not really sure.  What I do know is that I have gone from being prolific all through the summer and into September to almost a standstill.

 

My book Voodoo Street is screaming for me to finish the 2^nd edit.  Instead I have done everything but work on this.  The result being that now the release will be delayed until the end of January.  Not only that but a couple of other projects I am currently working on have been delayed which has caused a little grief for me with editors I am working with.

 

What is the answer?  Again I’m not sure but let me tell you what I am trying.  Firstly I am getting a new laptop.  My current laptop is over 4 years old.  A little large with a 15.6 inch screen weighing more then a couple of pounds.  On top of that the battery is pretty played out.  What does that all mean?  It means it’s a hassle to take it with me.  That cuts down on the places that I can write.  I needed more portability, so what did I get?  I ordered an Acer Chrome Book.  It’s much smaller with an 11.6 inch screen and thanks to the new Lithium battery it weighs less than 3 pounds.  Now I know what a lot of you are saying “a Chrome Book, that’s no good you can’t run windows”.  That’s right I can’t run windows, so what.  There are programs for Google Chrome that will allow me to open my windows projects and continue them on this new laptop.  I am not married to windows and Microsoft WORD.  I am counting on this new found portability to give me more opportunities to write. 

 

In addition to the new laptop which according to the shipper I should receive on December 16, I have decided to put a few challenges into my writing life.  The first is to write at least 5 hours each week.  I know this doesn’t sound like a lot but I have noticed that many times when I finally sit myself down to write a session can easily last for hours.  On top of that I have committed to writing for a couple of websites (more news on this to come), this commitment should get me going.

 

How do you handle the “BLOCK”?  I am sure there are many ways and everyone needs to know themselves and what will work for them.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

And write I will!

 

Research

 

Today there are no excuses for a novel or short story to have inaccurate information or settings.  At one time research meant hours upon hours in the local library looking through the card catalog for any books or magazines that pertained to the subject matter we were writing about.  Depending on the city you lived in the books and periodicals on hand could be quite sparse.  Trips to neighboring cities’ libraries and University libraries were not uncommon as we searched for additional research material.

Research has certainly become easier in the year 2013!  Now we walk over to our laptops and desk top computers and flip a switch.  That one action opens the world before us.  One can Google almost any topic and get back 1000s upon of 1000s of hits.  Not all great hits to be sure but a little weeding will solve that.  And if the net doesn’t offer up enough answers one can then find many periodicals and books on the subject that one can purchase.  In some cases for a pretty good price!  Articles, websites, pictures, there is no end to what is available on the net.  Of course we still have the libraries, but the card catalogs have been replaced by computers, and in many cases if your branch doesn’t have what you need you can order it from another.  I personally still enjoy going to the library to do some of my research.  Many times I go there with my laptop and sit for hours doing my online research as most are now wired with wifi.

When I was writing “Voodoo Street” I needed to get some history on Voodoo as a religion.  While I still spent hours on the research it certainly was easier doing it from the comfort of my home office with a fresh cup of coffee at hand.  A few keystrokes and a whole new world of knowledge opened up before me.  In addition while I had a good working knowledge of the area in Brooklyn where my story takes place, my descriptions were made that much easier by pulling up some pictures of the area using Google and Flickr.

One caveat, just because it’s in print doesn’t mean it’s true.  Many times people will start a website or blog with a personal agenda.  Not necessarily to confuse an issue but sometimes to persuade others to come over to their way of thinking.  There is a wealth of research material available but one has to be careful and use common sense.

 So here’s to accuracy and the ease of research.