George Orwell’s Six Tips for Better Writing
theunionjournal.com – Monday May 25, 2020
It is often said that there are no rules for writing well. But it is not true. For example, it helps to have on hand the six rules George Orwell proposed. They were remembered by his son, Richard Blair, in an interview made by Bernardo Marín and published by EL PAÍS a few days ago.
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other made phrase that you are used to seeing in writing.
2. Never use a long word if you can use a short one that means the same thing.
3. If it is possible to delete a word, always do it...
Bookselling Requires a Great Query Letter & It's Harder Than It Looks
bleedingcool.com – Monday May 25, 2020
The query letter is a single page—usually closer to half a page—whose purpose is to explain who the writer is and what their book is about. As Hodapp says, the letter has one goal: to get the agent to request the full manuscript, "period." It's harder than it looks. Agents receive thousands of letters and only respond to a small fraction.
Hodapp spent time explaining so many ways a query can go right or wrong. She talked about "comps," or comparative titles, the one or two existing books that the author's book is most like. Sometimes authors are afraid to mention comps because they don't think the comparison is close enough, or they mention too many– just another example of a challenge the author has to navigate to get the agent's eye. She also talked about tone, how authors can let emotions curdle a letter into a sort of complaint email, which defies the purpose of trying to get a follow-up. Hodapp frequently presents on writing and querying, and her advice is invaluable.
How to write a novel in lockdown
goodhousekeeping.com – Saturday May 23, 2020
Summoning up the energy to be both creative and disciplined in order to make something meaningful is an enormous challenge at the best of times. All but the most robotic of writers are in a perpetual struggle to capture the novel that seemed so perfect when it was conceived, so writing well at a time when we are all distracted and anxious and pre-occupied seems even more daunting.
Writing is as much about stamina and discipline as it is about imagination and inspiration, so you need to put yourself in training. Every book is different, with its own unique set of problems, and it’s never easy (and nor should it be, like anything worthwhile) but after 21 novels, I’ve found a few tricks to keep me on track: a combination of routine, confidence-building and kindness.
How to write 1,000 poems in 1,000 days
theguardian.com – Tuesday May 19, 2020
For the past 1,000 days, I’ve been writing at least one poem a day. I started on 17 August 2017 as a terrorist attack was unfolding in Barcelona. I was alone in a pub (standard for poets) and found myself writing a few lines on my phone. I posted it on Instagram, where I explained that I was experimenting with writing fast poems. That experiment is now wildly out of control.
It may not be the healthiest pursuit. It requires daily engagement with the details of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, school shootings, celebrity deaths, sporting events and the slow plotlines of Brexit, Trump and climate change – and now there’s a pandemic to write about. Even so, there are days when it feels as if either the news or my mind has slowed to a standstill. It has helped that “Tuesday” rhymes with “quiet news day”.
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