My friend Toni (man, just saying that makes me feel like a gangster…) has a great list on her blog today of ten things she knows about writing. She brought the concept onto Backspace this morning and asked us all to make our own lists. So, without further ado, here are ten things I know about writing:
10. Not everyone will get what you’re trying to pull off with a story.
9. As in everything, be yourself. Good things will follow.
8. I’ll never understand how writers got that poetic alcoholic stereotype. Who can write when they’re tipsy? Not me.
7. It’s easier to believe the bad things people say about your work than the good.
6. It’s easier to answer “What do you do?” when you have a book coming out.
5. Waiting on agents never, ever, ever ends.
4. Even when you’ve sold a book, it won’t feel like you’re going to be published…and maybe it never will.
3. Wow…sitting in a chair and writing all the time sure has an affect on the size of your butt.
2. Writers–even amazingly successful authors–are the nicest, most giving people on the planet and they all want you to succeed.
1. Buy stock in Office Depot.
What about you? What do you know?
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10. no matter what you think you are writing about, your reader will get something else out of it.
9. there is always a better word thant the one you are using.
8. whatever you love best in your piece, it probably needs to be cut
7. writing is really hard
6. writing well is even harder to do
5. editing is a labour of love
4. it is also the shortest route to insanity
3. I should have taken typing in high school/college
2. showing is much harder to do than you think
1. inspiration really only strikes when you are a) driving, b) on the toilet, c) in a meeting or d) anyplace else it is inconvenient or impossible to write the idea down.
Great list, Ewoh! But incidentally, I took typing in school…it did me no good. I still hunt and peck.
ROFL… after way too many years on a keyboard (been at computers since the mid-to-late ’70′s) and loads of writing in college, I still have to look at the keys when I type. At my best, my peak, during NaNoWriMo last year, I got all the way up to about 27 words per minute. How pathetic is that?
I reviewed my list and I see that all of my comments are negative. I should add that there are the creative high’s, the epipanies, the pure love of creating and the awesome gift of sharing with others… among others.
I can peck really fast–actually managing about 40wpm when I get in the zone. Plus, I have this angsty grumble whenever I hear the words “home row”.
My logic: It’s not HOW the words get on the screen, but what they look like once they’re there.
LOL!
I am a two–maybe four–finger typist. I have to look at the keys, too.
Brian . . . you’re up on my blog!
As for what I know . . .
There is not a finite amount of good or success in the universe and generosity of spirit among writers will always return in kind. It is the jealous or snarky people who must worry about what returns back to them.
SWWWWEEEEET!!!! HUZZAH for the non-typists!
Thanks Erica… going to check it out right after this post!
I love what you know! You should share that with everyone. Actually, it is the same principle/idea as the wiccan rule of three… which paraphrases roughly as ‘whatever you send out into the world comes back to you three times as strong’.
And isn’t Heather the cutest and most adorable little goth you’ve ever seen?
OMG! *blush, blush*
I’m a big believer in karma, no matter one’s faith. Do good and good will return to you. Do bad…
Well, let’s just say karma is one tough bitch…and she never sleeps.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Karma.
Karma who?
My Karma just ran over your dogma.
OK, so maybe that was out of line… but it’s still the best knock-knock joke I know… and saying that I know (well, and telling too) knock-knock jokes is probably just a bad thing to do.
I’ll go crawl back under my rock now
And I’m comforted by the fact that I’m not the only one telling knock-knock jokes.
Hey guys:
As a Buddhist, I just try not to put anything negative out there, and try to help my fellow man. Woman. Dog. Etc. Simple principle.
E
My wonderful friend Christopher is Buddhist too! (Hi, Christopher! ~Pssst! Everybody wave!~)
Informative summary, bookmarked the site in hopes to read more!