Write Out

As a child, I had what my parents & sister referred to as my "white out" phase... I used the stuff like paint on my Hot Wheel cars. Eventually, I used it to white out mistakes on a typewriter (yes, saying I've used a typewriter ages me)... but never-the-less, this is what I did.

I used to write out my stories long hand. I remember a blue pen and yellow notebook. If you don't know me, know this - my handwriting is terrible. So bad, that I don't know what I write sometimes.

Between whiting out errors on a typewriter, trying to read my handwriting and 'editing' by crossing out with a pen - penning any story took a considerable amount of time. A revision meant rewriting which meant more time. I was a kid, so I was okay with it, then my dad bought a computer and I learned to type faster.

No, I leave the white out at home & only have a notebook nearby for random ideas. The stories them self get written onto my laptop. I've come along way.

Writers:
Tell the story of how far you've come in your writing career.

Too many words

In high school, my creative writing teacher used to say, "you'll toss 80% of what you write." I used to wonder how many words I'd have to write, to write a 100,000 word book.

He also said, "Show, don't tell."

Another bit of advice when editing is eliminating unneeded words. "You can say more with less."

Writers:
What advice can you add about cutting the fat with your words?

Writing Lies

Of all professions that I want to pursue with the utmost passion, I chose writing lies. Well, I don't like to call fiction writing, lie writing - but if you boil it down, I'm making something up for 'entertainment' purposes.

Writers Bookstore:
Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers by Lawrence Block

Word Painting

You've all heard the adage a dozen times, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

As writers of books that don't include pictures or other illustrations, we must paint a picture with words for our readers. Often times, our description can't do it justice. We fail at 500 words. However, an up side is that this allows the reader to use their own creativity to fill in the rest of what they think we are trying to "paint".

Often, a good writing exercise is to take a picture and describe it in 1,000 words.

Readers/Writers:
Are their authors or specific books you can think of that you read that you could visualize better than any movie?

Writers Bookstore:
A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words: Image-Driven Story Prompts and Exercises for Writers by Phillip Sexton

Words Fail Me

One bit in the song lyrics "Fair" by Remy Zero have always struck me as intriguing.

...all my words were bound to fall.

I imagine a character saying everything they can possibly say to keep the other person from walking about, but even their words aren't enough.

The book I hope to complete this year is entitled, Left Unsaid which touches on the topic of saying too much or not enough.

Writers:
Do you ever feel like you can never find the "write" word(s)?

Writers Bookstore:
Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing by Patricia T. O'Conner

Only as Good as Your Word

A writer's credibility is important for non-fiction books. But at the same time, if I'm writing about a city in a fictional book, I want to stay true city's landmarks. If my reader has lived in Chicago all their life and something in my writing contradicts a place they know - even if it is fiction, would that mistake cause him/her to close the book or be so distracted that they can't concentrate?

Research for fiction writers is as important as research for non-fiction writers.

My friend Tosca Lee is researching Biblical text and other similar text as she prepares to write a fiction book (based on the Bible) about the life of Judas.

She did the same (extensive research) with a book about Eve from Genesis and another book about a devil that wants to write a book. Her research is time consuming, but in the end, her words paid off. The books have recieved rave reviews.

Just like an actor would research a role if they are playing a doctor or a cancer patient, we the audience need to believe them and not think, "they are just acting".

Writers:
What resources do you use for researching?

Man of my Word

Writers strive to find 'their voice' amid all the other writers out there.

To have a certain style that stands out and is liked by all readers is a hopeful dream as a writer pens whatever the writer is writing at that moment.

Writers want to over hear readers say, "I love (author's name) way of writing, he/she has a gift."

Writers can take hours to craft one sentence. Writers second guess practically each word - hopeful, the word they chose is adequate. I call it 'manning my words'.
Amen for the 'backspace' button, back in the day before computers, writers would have pills of crumpeled paper in their wastebasket & just beside it.

Writers Bookstore:
Finding your Voice

For the Write Reasons

There are many reasons to write:
1. To entertain
2. To inform
3. For historical (or as I say, "hysterical") purposes
4. For personal future reference
5. To convey in writing what you can say in any other form
6. more?

Writers:
Why do you write?

The reasons I write are many. But to 'try' & put it simply, I write to convey in words what I can say with my lips in hopes that my words will have a positive impact on someone or a group of people, hopefully more. To provide insight in my words and to leave a legacy.

Words that Matter

Writers can spend hours struggling over finding the perfect word to convey just precisely what they want.

They'll sift through a dictionary and most of the time, a thesaurus. They might write a word, delete it, and write it again. They may even utter to themselves the word out loud, just to hear it. To an outside observer, it might look like they are crazy.

Why. Why would a writer site and think about one single word for such an extended period of time? Can't they just move on and come back to it? They could, but their mind would still continue to dwell on that word they couldn't write.

I believe that words are used to convey more than they mean, therefor that single word can make a world of difference to the writer, and in the end - the reader.

It is fulfilling for a writer to find the right word at the right time.

Words to a writer should never feel inadequate.

A writer chooses the right word at the right time to make a difference to a reader.

I remember writing a eulogy for my grandparents. I spent more time coming up with the words than writing the words themselves. I wanted to convey to those attending the memorial service, how much my grandparents mattered to me.

Empty, plain, every day words wouldn't suffice. They had to be meaningful, impactful - they had to matter.

The Power of Words

Words can have a powerful affect on people - both positive & negative. Just as we can visually picture an event, we hear in our heads the voice and the words that someone spoke to us.

Literary Agent, Rachelle Gardner writes about "The Power of Words" in her blog.

Some people are more natural with verbal, others are more natural with written. When talking to someone, 'words' seem to clash in my head quickly and I never seem to be able to say exactly what I want to say.

My vocabulary is vast, but I still find myself visiting dictionary.com from time to time. I should buy one of those word-a-day calendars or many word-a-day sites.

As a writer, I want to imagine someone reading something I've written; jotting it down and passing it on. I like to imagine something I write resonating with them. Something I write that causes them to stop and ponder my words.

The preface to my book Left Standing touches on using words to affect others.

Leave a comment talking about a time you said something to someone or vice versa and the affect that had on either of you.

Do you love words?

In "Pay it Forword," Kevin Spacey's character Eugene Simonet is a teacher who holds up a dictionary and proceeds to hand out dictionaries to the class.

"Words, we are going to learn to love words," he says.

Do you like words? Do you have a large vocabulary? Do you find yourself looking up words you don't recognize or are you occassionally unsure of a word's meaning?

Writers Bookstore:
Dictionary/Thesaurus & more...