In a perfect world, every poem I write would be amazing and worthy of being published. The world is not perfect, and very few of my poems are amazing. In fact, for every one, good poem I write, I probably write between seven and ten duds.
Archives for April 2012
Six Things Readers Need
Most people can be self-centered, and writers are no exception. They become lost in their own words. They forget about their audience and the best way to reach it.
What is the Point of Write Right?
The point of Write Right is not to club people with grammar rules. It is not to discourage writers who either are new to the writing life or who are struggling to write for one reason or another. It is not to criticize poor writing for the sake of criticizing poor writing.
Embrace Crappiness
Last night, I wrote a crappy poem.1 I then wrote a mediocre poem.* It probably was a crappy poem, too, but I decided to work with it. It was slightly better than the outright crappy one, and I needed to work on a poem. I needed to work through the crappiness. Why? I believe that embracing crappiness is a part of being a writer. It’s only in writing the crappy thing that I can move onto writing something better – if only by a few degrees.
Don’t Be “That” Writer
Today’s post is courtesy of Nancy Davis.
There are many great writers out there that I am simply not a fan of for whatever reason. Sometimes it can be a style issue, or there could be something missing emotionally for me.
Write Right: Easy on the Adverbs
Elmore Leonard has a rule regarding adverbs: “Never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said.’” His rule could be applied to adverbs as a whole. When possible, if at all possible, avoid adverbs.