Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Professional Journals on Writing 13

How write vivid descriptions? Using smells in describing: “Smell is our most primal sense and is easily overlooked in writing; smell can take us back to our early memories or evoke strong feelings and associations…. Remember the way the house smells on a holiday when someone’s been cooking all day or the smell of the school cafeteria in the ninth grade when it was spaghetti day.” E DeMarco-Barrett. The Writer (Mar. 06), 12.

How deal with rejection? Author kept getting the same rejection notes when sending poems to Southern Poetry Review. Finally, sent a collage of these rejection notes. Received a different rejection note. Advice: concentrate on your writing, not on being successful.” J Goldman. The Writer. (Mar. 06), 14. [RayS: I’ve often seen similar advice. Don’t write to publish everything. Just write for the sake of writing. When it’s good enough, try to publish.]

How will you know that you used the right punctuation? “You will know you are using the best possible punctuation when, ironically, you don’t even know it is there.” N Lukeman. The Writer. (Mar. 06), 26. [RayS: Once again, I have seen similar advice and it makes sense. The problem with mistakes is that they distract readers from your meaning. When punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, etc., are correct, readers concentrate on meaning because they are not distracted by mistakes.]

What is the most important part of your writing? Writing and reading begin with the first paragraph. Make it good. S Breen. The Writer. (Mar. 06), 41.

How can writers deal with rejection? Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times before finding a publisher. J Reich. The Writer (Dec. 07), 6.

How keep track of your novel as you write it? Keep an idea book. Keep a daily log to track your progress. Make scene cards. Use chapter file folders. Use a loose-leaf binder. Use character lists. Keep a running synopsis. K Davis. The Writer (Dec. 07), 26-27.

No comments: