Archive for the writing Tag

The #1 Writing Problem I See–and How to Fix It

Of course, there are too many writing problems to count… It’d be foolishness to think we could narrow it down to one. Or would it? For the benefit of everyone–including your future readers–I’m going to try. As I sat down at my writing chair last night to consider what I haven’t shared yet over the years of writing these little thoughts, first as an
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The Second Golden Rule of Writing

“I had been forever altered by our brush with catastrophe….My instrument had changed. And I now understood that it would continue to change. That there would be more befores and afters ahead. Fighting it was futile, impossible. Accepting, even embracing this, was the true work, not only of being a writer, but of being alive.” – Dani Shapiro, Still Writing
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Why Language Is Your Only True Power

“One must avoid ambition in order to write. Otherwise something else is the goal: some kind of power beyond the power of language. And the power of language, it seems to me, is the only kind of power a writer is entitled to.”  – Cynthia Ozick Avoid ambition? Is that even possible? It’s always seemed to me it takes a
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Why Language Matters

 “Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides.”  – Rita Mae Brown Writing is editing. You know that. You accept that. But do you love it? I’m serious. It’s easy to love writing, even when you don’t. But editing? Who loves that?    And yet, if you plan to continue your career as a writer, it may be time to learn. When people ask me about
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What My Daughters Have Taught Me about Writing

Working as a writer has much in common with learning good parenting: more than how to communicate, it really starts with learning to listen. Also, both teach by showing you a lot of what not to do. It was several years ago now, but I still remember it as clearly as when I first discovered it. And of course, I thought
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