When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.
When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.
writing advice
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Malcolm Cowley on meditation
The book or story shapes up — assumes its own specific form, that is — during a process of meditation that is the second stage in composition. ~ Malcolm Cowley
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Malcolm Cowley
The germ of a story is something seen or heard, or heard about, or suddenly remembered; it may be a remark casually dropped at the dinner table (as in the case of Henry James’s story, The Spoils of Poynton), or again it may be the look on a stranger’s face. ~ Malcolm Cowley
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott Tip #6 of 6
To be a good writer, you not only have to write a great deal but you have to care. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott Tip #5 of 6
Writing is about learning to pay attention and to communicate what is going on. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott Tip #4 of 6
Your job is to see people as they really are, and to do this, you have to know who you are in the most compassionate possible sense. Then you can recognize others. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott Tip #3 of 6
Good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott ~ Tip #2 of 6
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom ~ Anne Lamott ~ Tip #1 of 6
I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. ~ Anne Lamott
Writer’s Wisdom on Writer’s Block #6 of 6 Tips
I would never write first — I don’t think that’s good at all. As soon as you write in language, it becomes frozen. It’s better to think first — to think for a long time — and then write when you’re ready to write. ~ Joyce Carol Oates
