Sunday, February 4, 2024

Take Risks in Your Writing



UsE FLoWERy SPEeCH 
Don't be too flowery!
Use MoRe SynOnyms! - be more sensual 
edit edit edit
DO YOU DO YOU 
A THOUSAND TIMES DO YOU
EVOKE THE SENSES!

The noise is endless!


Some writers can't spell well.  Some use huge scientific words that may be acceptable to a certain audience, but offputting to another. 

Some writers can communicate in words that deliver such shock value they penetrate.  Some are good at invoking readers' senses.  Some are better at building suspense than others are.  Some are better at getting to the facts quickly.

Maybe you don't find your own writing compelling. Maybe yours just doesn't seem to measure up to others, at least in your mind.  It doesn't matter.  Don't be tempted to copy others.  Learn from them, but don't copy them.


Do you.  Write what needs to pour out of your brain. Release your gift through your fingertips.  Just get it out.  Put it in a blog. Write an online article. Write an X or Facebook post. Write an ebook, or novel. 

Your writing might be what the world is waiting for!

---Side note:  Do you watch X-Factor or American Idol?  If so, have you caught on that it usually works against a performer? This includes choosing to do Whitney, Adele, or Mariah's songs. You will be compared, so doing well-known songs of popular singers is an unwise choice. Don't try to copy popular authors.

Have you caught on what they mean when musicians are told they are doing karaoke?  It could mean they are putting on a fake twang or slang or accent that mimics the original singer. Don't do it. 

Don't do any of these in your writing.  Don't try to be someone else just because they're successful.



WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY?

Do you fall into self-doubting thinking you're a nobody? You can't possibly know who will come across your writing and find it helpful, entertaining, or educational. 
While it helps to write for the reader you are picturing remember, that there is a wide pool of readers out there.  

Some readers can't stand wading through flowery speech.  For example, I might like to understand that the scene I'm reading about takes place in the fall so I have context, but I don't necessarily care to know how much you loved to hear the sound of crunching leaves under your feet, or how you adore the scent of wood burning in fireplaces. Maybe others would like that. 

I'm a get-to-the-point kind of person. Nevertheless, do be creative. Use tools to help develop your writing. In the end, be true to yourself. 

I just read an editor's critique for a writer trying to put together a fiction story.  When I read the editor's version, she'd added in things the original author hadn't said or even hinted at.  Yes, the editor's version was more compelling, but if the writer uses the editor's suggestions, doesn't it change her story? Doesn't it make her inauthentic? What do you think?


DO YOU!


I'm trying to say, don't get caught up in following all the rules or trying to write a book with the focus of it being to sell tons of copies.  Simply write what's on your heart. 

If you don't have what it takes to sell tons of copies, plan to make bill-paying money another way. Keep your day job. Appreciate the breadwinner in your home. Use your pension wisely. Most of all, enjoy the writing process!



FIND FREEDOM
be YOU!

No comments: