How to write effectively.
1. Cut the boring parts
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
2. Eliminate unnecessary words
Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain
3. Write with passion
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
4. Paint a picture
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov
5. Keep it simple
Vigorous writing is concise. ~William Strunk Jr.
6. Do it for love
Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain
7. Learn to thrive on criticism
You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. ~Ray Bradbury
8. Write all the time
Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. ~Ray Bradbury
The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything. ~John Irving
9. Write what you know … or what you want to know
If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Learn as much by writing as by reading. ~Lord Acton
10. Be unique and unpredictable
I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite. ~G. K. Chesterton
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. ~Oscar Wilde
Zest. Gusto. How rarely one hears these words used. How rarely do we see people living, or for that matter, creating by them. Yet if I were asked to name the most important items in a writer’s make-up, the things that shape his material and rush him along the road to where he wants to go, I could only warn him to look to his zest, see to his gusto. ~Ray Bradbury
Following what works will only get you so far. Experiment with new styles, even if it means taking criticism. Without moving forward, you’ll be left behind.
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- Published:
- September 7, 2007 / 12:19 am
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- Thougts
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