Tuesday Two-Minute Writing Tip – Some of the Best Writing Quotes

Got two minutes? Then check out this week’s quick tip ~ Today’s a lazy day, so I’m cheating by sharing quotes…

Hello and welcome…I am a freelance editor and an editor for The Wild Rose Press, as well as an author. I often struggle with my own writing, and I have found that sometimes, a little reminder of ways to improve the process can be helpful, so, I like to share these moments of brilliance with others :). But, in this busy world of ours, who has time for pages and pages of writing tips? That’s why I’ve condensed mine down to quick flashes you can read in (approximately) two minutes. Enjoy…

Disclaimer: All of my tips are suggestions, and are only my opinion. And, for the most part, there are exceptions when going against my advice will make your story read better. Take what works, leave the rest.

Let’s just have some fun and be inspired by quotes…

(This first one is something I’m trying HARD to adapt. I’ve been reading and re-reading Chris Fox’s 5,000 Words Per Hour and one of the main takeaways, and the first thing a writer should do, is daily writing sprints, tracking your progress each day, etc. I think this is critical, yet I haven’t made it a habit…yet. It might be a good idea to schedule a certain time per day and do your sprints with other authors, even if you are just starting out with 5 minute sprints a day for the first week) – 

Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.
– Jane Yolen

I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.
– Stephen King

A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.
– Sidney Sheldon

First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!
– Ray Bradbury

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.
– Erica Jong

I do not over-intellectualise the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.
—Tom Clancy, WD

There is only one plot—things are not what they seem.
—Jim Thompson

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.
– William Faulkner

Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them.
– Flannery O’Connor

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
– Robert A. Heinlein

Fiction is about stuff that’s screwed up.

– Nancy Kress

All the information you need can be given in dialogue.
– Elmore Leonard

 

Please feel free to share some of your faves in the comments.

Until next time…Happy Writing!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ONLY 99 cents!! 

(Click on the cover to be taken to the Amazon Buy Page)

 

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*** If you would like to send me a few sample pages (around 7500 words or so, even though I will not edit that many on the blog. It just gives me more to choose from) for me to edit and share on an upcoming blog post, please do so in the body of an email to AliciaMDean@aol.com. Please use the subject line: “Blog Submission” This is for published or unpublished authors. In the email, please include whether you would like me to use your name or keep it anonymous, and whether or not you would like me to include any contact info or buy info for your books. Also, you can let me know if you would like for me to run my edits by you before posting on the blog. Please keep in mind, this is for samples to use for blog posts. I will not edit or use samples from all the submissions I receive, but I will use as many as possible. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

How to write a novel? That is the question. There are probably as many answers to that question as there are people who ask it.

Wanting to write and actually doing it are two very different things. I am well acquainted with the sometimes grueling process of churning out a story. Over the years, I have tried many methods for creating and completing manuscripts, and have tweaked and honed it down to a workable (for me) process.

Using specific examples from one of my own novels, Without Mercy, I share my method in this mini how to book. The first eight steps actually deal with plotting while the last two are designed to help expand your outline into a well-developed draft. There is no one, perfect way to create a story, but there will be a method, or methods that work for you. I’m not sure if this is the one, but it works for me. Only you can decide if it also works for you. Fingers crossed that it does!

*** Warning – Please do not purchase without reading a sample. (This is solid advice for any book, fiction or non. If you are not intrigued in the sample, you will likely not enjoy the book)

Amazon: Click Here