Today on the MS Editors blog, I ask if good writing, like good typography, is invisible. Read the post and let me know if you agree!
I also talk about the 7 Writing Maxims, what makes a strong voice, cliches, formal writing, critique partners, and how to not annoy your reader 🙂
Be forewarned: I included a TON of links to resources you might find useful.
There are a few days left to enter my giveaway for Marvel’s Pride & Prejudice graphic novel. To enter, click here.
In other news, the StoryWorldCon courses now have their own website: StoryCadet.com.
The Cadet Course (for pitching and submitting your stories) will start June 8 and go for eight weeks. Find out the different pricing options and the schedule here. If you purchase the complete workshop before June 1, you get an extra $10 off!
Curious about what it takes to become a freelance editor? Soon I’ll be doing another #AskEditor series and sharing my chat with my 2015 intern about how I got into editing and my advice for freelancers-to-be.
For 7th on 7th, I take a blog subscriber’s seventh page and show you how I’d improve it for the upcoming #pg70pit contest. See the #70pit16 contest schedule here.
THE ORIGINAL PAGE
– his musculature hugging them. He could be a model for the cover of GQ or Men’s Health. I felt my eyelashes fluttering involuntarily – was I batting my eyes flirtatiously, or just trying to focus? And then our eyes met…and locked. I could have sworn his eyes changed colors like a mood ring. It felt like we had gone through eternity together. I felt the strongest connection between this stranger (and yet not a stranger) and me. Then he lowered his eyes quickly and stated, “Walking and texting can kill you. I apologize. It’s just dangerous…you could’ve run into that door,” he smirked.
Wednesday on the MS Editors blog, I applied Tina Fey’s rules of improv to writing first drafts. Check it out!
I’ve mentioned before (in 7 Tips for Writing Realistic Dialogue) that trying improv (the art of performed improvisation) can improve your writing.
Well, currently I’m reading Bossypants by Tina Fey, and in it she gives the rules of improv and describes how these rules have changed her life. The rules are as follows:
Applying these rules to your writing will help you soldier through a crummy first draft by shutting up your internal editor. The trick is to improv against yourself.
Say “YES”
Stop arguing with yourself and start writing. Stop saying you can’t do it, or it’s too hard, or you need to learn more before you can start. Just start. Your improv partner (you) might be crazy, but go with it. In fact, craziness usually translates into energy, so embrace the crazy and hammer out that…
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Lara Willard 