Saturday, August 29, 2009

Blog Chain: Advice for Writers

So here we are at the end of the chain. This chain was started by the awesome Cole, so head on over there if you'd like to start at the beginning (or because her blog's so awesome). Or you can head over to Michelle's blog who answered this before me :)

The blog chain topic is:

This blog chain is a game! Your subject is writerly advice. Pretend you are addressing a crowd of aspiring authors eager to soak in your words of knowledge. The problem is, you've only been given a time slot of five seconds. In one sentence (no more than 20 words), please summarize the most important words of wisdom you can impart.

There's been a lot of really amazing advice and I had a tough time coming up with something that someone hasn't already said but I think I came up with something appropriate:

"In order to have life experiences to write about you have to get out there and experience life."

In other words, don't get so caught up in writing and trying to find an agent and getting published and writing the next book and tweeting and blogging and reading your contemporaries that you forget that there's a big wide world out there for you to explore. Not only will it make you happier but it'll make you a better writer.

9 comments:

  1. Very good advice. It's easy to get caught up in all the writing and editing and social networking, but you're right...if you stop having real life experiences because you are so focused on your writing worlds....what are you going to write next? :)

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  2. Awesome advice! And soooo very important.

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  3. Great advice! The only way to get authenticity in your work is to have experience to back it up!

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  4. I agree. Let's get off these computers and go out to play.

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  5. This is great advice! In film I remember one of my professors saying that so many screenplays seem as if they were written by people who have spent their whole lives doing nothing but watching movies.

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  6. Very true! I guess there's hope for older writers who have been around for a while. ;)

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  7. Fabulous way to end the blog chain!!!

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  8. Sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. Sometimes that's the scariest thing to do.

    Regardless, it is wonderful advice.

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