Painting With Light

All the best, most creative and colorful writers on the planet do two special things, every single day of their lives.

They Write
Growing and improving as a writer takes practice. Lots and lots of practice. The kind that only comes from writing daily.

It also involves soliciting and incorporating feedback you can trust, from people who can evaluate your words objectively and provide honest input … “This part confused me,” or “I found the unusual character names distracting.” (Thank you, Judy).

They Read
I’m not talking about a casual reading of the Sunday newspaper headlines, or picking up a magazine article once in great while. Reading is not something good writers only do on rare occasions. Quite the contrary. To be a really good writer requires lots of reading.

Tons of it.

Every. Single. Day.

I’m always surprised when I hear an author-wannabe make a comment like, “I’m not much of a reader.”

How can that possibly be?

How do you know what good writing looks like, if you don’t see it regularly? How can you possibly be creative or innovative, when you don’t know how others have structured their stories? Can you really find your way through a novel without studying plot resolution?

Frequent reading also teaches you, in the most pleasant way possible, correct spelling, sentence structure and grammar. You absorb what’s “right” … or at least what works … without instruction or lectures.

Repeat!
It’s important to repeat both steps frequently. It’s like anything else — the more you do it, the better you get, and the easier it becomes.

As a kid, when I first learned how to ride a bike, I wasn’t very good at it. Like most bike-riding newbies, I was the wobble all over, hope I don’t fall, kind of kid. As I got feedback … “Keep pedaling!” or “Look straight ahead!” … I improved. I became determined to master it.

The more I practiced, the better I got.

It works that way with writing, too.

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, the more you read, the more you learn about how to present your information. The more you write, the better you should be.

Early on, I took this quote from one of my favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, to heart: “Write. Read. Repeat.”

If you do the same, I can guarantee one thing …

It’s a formula that will improve your writing.

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My books have all garnered some terrific reviews, and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Visit my web site to hear the remarkable radio interview about my novel “Blood Lake” by The Authors Show.

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I plan to attend the next Rochester Writers’ Fall Conference at Oakland University on Saturday, October 21, 2017.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning writing, storytelling

This entry was posted on June 15, 2017 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Award-Winning Fiction, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.