I've been a working writer for a few decades now. And in the past 10 years or so, I've had the additional privilege of being able to teach commercial writers how to get better gigs, and how do a better job with them. As I look around at advice given to aspiring copywriters, there's a weird piece of advice that I see all the time. Success as a … [Read more...]
Creative Self-Indulgence and the Working Writer: How Far is Too Far?
In our "Killers and Poets" Facebook group (you should join us!), we've just launched a book club to read Ursula LeGuin's recently published writing manual, Steering the Craft. The first chapter is about "the sound of writing" -- about the music of written language, from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories to Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were … [Read more...]
The Art and Craft of Writing, Part 2: Practices to Improve our Craft
Recently I wrote about where writer's voice comes from. I talked about that combination of experiences that leads each of us to have something unique to say. Your voice rises up out of all of your experiences. And the more you write, the stronger your writing voice gets. It's important to spend plenty of time just figuring yourself out, and … [Read more...]
When Creativity is Scary: The Bad Biker Boy and the Blank Page
Once upon a time, I took a jewelry-making workshop. As soon as we sat down, the instructor handed us a stack of blank white copy paper and said, "Draw a simple jewelry design. Don't worry about how you would actually make it, just get an idea on the page." Now, there was a gentleman in the class who was training to start a new career, after … [Read more...]
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