365 Stories In a Year (and a whole lot more)

A Tuesday Writing Tip

Lee Pound — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:10:01 +0000

When you are getting ready to write, first think through what you really want to say, then outline your piece before you begin to write. In addition make sure you know who you are writing to. If you are no clear on our audience, you are wasting your time writing.

Rewriting

Lee Pound — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:27:47 +0000

Rewriting your article or book is the single most important part of writing. This is where you take a first draft that is okay and make it marvelous.

Rewrite logically, looking for compatibility, grammar, headings, style, etc. and making sure all of these are directed at what your reader wants, not what you want.

Quality in writing is important but not the only thing.

Lee Pound — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:03:55 +0000

A key point I keep making is the value of quality in your writing. Recently I read a blog or two about a recent fiction writer who sold a million books on Kindle. Many of the people complained about poor quality and a few said it didn’t matter.

The truth is somewhere in between. If an author sells a million copies of anything, it means they have touched an emotional chord in their audience that precipitated word of mouth and sales. This emotional chord is part of the quality of writing, even if the words themselves are no match for Hemingway.

I’ve often said that the better the quality of your material, the more likely it is to sell. It is also true that a poor quality piece can occasionally sell many copies for reasons that have nothing to do with quality.

A million sales does not make the quality better, it makes selling easier. Book publishers want winners first, quality second. People are more likely to buy a popular book because it is popular, not because it is good.

What does this mean for quality in writing? It counts but it not the only thing. Marketing and connections are important as well, as is plain old-fashioned hard work. Quality makes the rest easier just as poor writing makes it harder. Neither makes it certain or impossible.

As long as you are writing books and articles, make them as good as you can then go out and sell the heck out of them. You never know, yours may just be the one that catches on.

The Writing Myth

Lee Pound — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:28:36 +0000

There are two widespread myths about writing that are equally insidious.

The first is that writing should be easy, that the first draft is enough and that publishing will easily follow.

The second is that writing is so hard most people cannot do it.

The truth, of course, is in between. Basic writing is rather easy. All you have to do is put words down one after the other. To make it good you thn have to work on the words you put down, which is harder than you might expect at first but not so hard it cannot be done.

The trick is to work at it. Deeper thought and discussion with a coach will make a huge difference in the quality of your writing. I’ve found that two people working together can produce material three or four times better than one working alone.

Who is your reading audience?

Lee Pound — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:48:50 +0000

When you write, always keep one thing cler in your mind: your reading audience.

Your writing must reflect their needs and wants for it to be effective. Always ask: Is that the way my reader will understand?

Working From an Earlier Draft

Lee Pound — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:35:55 +0000

You may finish a draft of your book only to discover that it doesn’t work as well as you wanted it to. In that case, go back to the beginning and do your avatar exercise again. You may be able to salvage some material from your draft but don’t count on it.

Working on Your Outline

Lee Pound — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:31:26 +0000

Your outline is the most important part of your book. When you create an outline in detail, you are thinking deeply about your subject.

It is good to this process with another person close to your project for maximum impact, perhaps a coach or mentor.

Writing and Graphics

Lee Pound — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:20:07 +0000

At times, particularly in a non-fiction book, graphics will tell your story much better than words. You’ve often heard the old saw that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s true.

In your book, look for opportunities to insert graphics in place of blocks of type. Your reader will susally get and remember the information far better.

A Writing Tip For Monday

Lee Pound — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:54:03 +0000

Always create a complete avatar of your reader before you write. The longer your piece the clearer the avatar must be. This way you will know exactly who you are writing to.

How much do you edit?

Lee Pound — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:06:47 +0000

The truth is you edit until it is done, not until it is perfect. Even in professionally published works you will at finds errors. I found some names misspelled in a book I am reading now.

However, editing is meant to make the book readable. Yes we want to catch asmany errors as possible but at some point the returns vanish and we start changing just to be changing. that’s when it’s time to stop editing.