Category: Writing tips

A must have book for writers

04/26/2011

Great book for writers

“The Writer’s Book of Wisdom, 101 Rules For Mastering Your Craft,” by Steven Taylor Goldsberry is a must have must for any writer. This book is chalk full of little gems covering a wide range of topics.

There are writing tips, important writing reminders, reality checks, inspirational quotes and great advice.  The book is small and each of the 101 rules only takes up about a page, if that. This makes it the perfect book to flip through and read choice bits of Goldsberry’s wisdom. Depending on your mood, certain rules will catch your attention and usually you’ll find the one you need to read at that moment.

The one that spoke to me while writing this post was Rule #7 Fail. This one has a great start: “Fail well. Fail with training. Take a shot. You may miss. But failure is a better teacher than success. Think of a shot itself as a victory.”

Priceless advice for any writer. So if you haven’t already, add this book to your writing bookshelf, every rule is worth reading over and over again.

The best cure for writer’s block is brainstorming

02/02/2011

Brainstorming

Writing is an unpredictable process. Sometimes a writer finds the creative groove, the words flow and magic happens. What was once a vague concept is suddenly there on the page in black and white perfection, letters forming words conveying ideas.

Other times writing is messy and even painful. Writers block strikes and a simple project that should only take minutes turns into dark hours of frustration, loathing and anger. The blank page just stares back taunting.

This has happened to all of us at some point and believe it or not there is an easy cure…brainstorming! You would be amazed at how your brain starts firing off possibilities and solutions once you bring a few more brains into the mix.

Brainstorming works because it forces you to walk away from your computer screen and interact with somebody else. Writer’s block is a symptom of too much alone time, too much time with only you and your brain.

If you’re not able to get a group of people together, then just start talking about what you are working on with a friend, family member, preferably someone not involved in the project who can provide a fresh take. It doesn’t have to be an expert in the field, just someone with enough knowledge about the topic to have an opinion or something to say about it. You would be surprised, sometimes people who have zero knowledge on a subject come up with the best ideas because they are new to the topic and think of things no one else has.

So the next time you find yourself staring at the computer screen in agony, walk away, call someone you know and start chatting about your project. You will be amazed at the results.