Words of Wisdom on Writing


10 Writing Rules from Elmore Leonard
drawing by Austin Kleon

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Blocked....The Mystery

Blocked. Not the type ruffage will clear. I haven't even been able to blog, write fiction, write anything for a while now. It woke me up at 4 a.m. today - I've written 2 paragraghs of fiction in the last couple of weeks. Why? Personal shit getting me down? Maybe. Story well run dry? Don't think so. Introspection? Yep. Soul searching? Yes. Fear? Na. Loathing? Yes. Yes. Yes. Fear? Maybe. Self doubt? Getting warm. Fear? Yep, you caught me. A writer I respect wrote me a long email after I whined to her. She said write 1000 words a day, even if it sucks the big hairy green one. Today I write. . .
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To SASE on Not To SASE that is THE Question.

Ok, I think too much digital ink and time has been spilled on the subject but since Ms. Snark didn't post my comment on her blog, I feel drawn into the fray. For those few of you who don't know an SASE is a self addressed stamped envelope usually requested or required by agents, publishers, magazines, and others for inclusion with any submittals of work for review. This morning, the blogshere is a buzz with two opposing views, one by rising author Joe Konrath , and the other by anonomous literary agent, Miss Snark . And the comment I made that was not posted: "A Tale of Two Tragedies: First, a good writer fails to find the good agent because an SASE is not included in the submittal and the agent refuses to read writer's work. Second, a good agent fails to find the good writer because the writer didn't include an SASE. What a shitty plot. You decide." Ok, I gave her qudos for her reading 100 synopses, but quashing freedom of speech -that's just wrong. Ok, m...
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A Volkswagon Radiator Hose

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There's nothing sexier to male(and probably some female) mystery fans than a woman firing a gun. (Ok, other than maybe a naked woman firing a gun.) Anyway, I digress. Years ago, as a teen, I attended an automobile mechanic's class. During the first week of class, the teacher sent me to the local auto parts store to pick up a radiator hose for a 1970 Volkswagon Beetle. The joke, on me and every new student that fell for it, was there is no such thing as a VW Beetle radiator hose. It doesn't exist. The VW Bug is air cooled. There is no radiator. Everyone laughed. I felt like an ass. Anyway, though fiction writing is "fiction", it is important that the factual information used; gun descriptions, location descriptions, forensic and investigative techniques must ring true. Any author that avoids verifying or checking the facts risks pissing off readers, loosing credibility, or at the very least, diminishing some readers pleasure in reading the story. I recently finishe...
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