Label: words
Writer Unboxed: Unmasking the Muse
When writers mourn that their muse seems to have moved out during the night leaving no forwarding address, it always breaks my heart. Not because the muse ditched them. But because they believe that their talent, hard work and dedication alone can’t cut it. That is, not without the magical help of some unpredictable, fickle and unknowable “outside” force. I say it’s high time we unmask the myth of the muse, and give credit where credit is due. And I … More
What Really Grabs Us When We Read
One of most revealing (and sometimes scary) things about brain science is how often it exposes the real reason we do something. You know, as opposed to the reason we’re absolutely positively sure we did it. Which translates to: we’re often very, very wrong. Just knowing that you might judge a stranger as either a warm or cold person, based solely on whether you’ve just held a cup of hot or iced coffee, sure can give you pause. The point … More
EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT WRITING IS WRONG — Myth Number One
Myth Number One: The goal is to learn to write well. How it’s perpetuated: Everyone says it – writing books, professors, writing groups, editors, agents, even readers. It sounds so logical, who’d argue? Why we fall for it: The first goal of any story is to anesthetize the part of the reader’s brain that knows it is a story. When we get lost in a good story, it feels like reality – literally. Recent research has shown that when we … More
EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT WRITING IS WRONG — The First Part of a Series
5 Reasons Why Writers Get Bad Advice Here’s how it usually goes down: A promising writer is struggling with some aspect of her novel. When we discuss it, it turns out what’s holding her back is a piece of writing advice she’d been told to follow or — as one writer recently reported — “No publisher will ever consider your work.” It happened again today. What kills me is that, as is so often the case, the advice the writer … More
Writers Who Love Words Too Much
There’s a major myth out there I’ve been dying to take a shot at because it does so damn much damage. When a student mentioned it to me again yesterday, lamenting the fact that just about every writing course she’s ever taken has fallen prey to it, I figured hey, there’s no time like the present. Here’s the myth: Being a good writer means writing well, which translates to having a way with words. And so writing courses, writing groups … More
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“I’m willing to show good taste, if I can, in somebody else’s living room, but our reading life is too short for a writer to be in any way polite. Since his words enter into another’s brain in silence and intimacy, he should be as honest and explicit as we are with ourselves.” – John Updike
- Jennie Nash: The Making Of A Novel
- Nathan Bransford
- Laurie Abkemeier
- Pub Rants
- Ask Allison Winn
- The Rejecter
- Miss Snark, Gone But Not Forgotten!
- Rachelle Gardner: Rants and Ramblings
- Writer Unboxed
- Meg Cabot
- Caroline Leavitt
- Slushpile
- Karin Gutman: Spirit of Story
- Blog of a Bookslut
- Balls, Buzz & Hype
- Terrible Minds: Irreverent to the Max
