Motivational Monday

Start early and work hard. A writer's apprectiveship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he's almost ready to begin. That takes a while.

~ David Eddings ~

Writing Tips

I received these writing tips via email, with the credit going to George Takei (Star Wars fame). Not sure how true that is, but I couldn't resist sharing:

1.      Avoid Alliteration. Always.

2.      Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3.      Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.)

4.      Employ the vernacular.

5.      Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

6.      Parenthetical remarks however relevant) are unnecessary.

7.      It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8.      Contractions aren’t necessary.

9.      Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

10.  One should never generalize.

11.  Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

12.  Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

13.  Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.

14.  Profanity sucks.

15.  Be more or less specific.

16.  Understatement is always best.

17.  Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

18.  One word sentences? Eliminate.

19.  Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20.  The passive voice is to be avoided.

21.  Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

22.  Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

23.  Who needs rhetorical questions?

Motivational Monday

This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don't consider it rejected. Consider that you've addressed it 'to the editor who can appreciate my work' and it has simply come back stamped 'Not at this address'. Just keep looking for the right address.

~ Barbara Kingsolver ~