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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Advice for Novelists (Part 4)

C.J. Darlington, co-founder of TitleTrakk, is running a great series on her blog: She started a series of blog posts in which industry professionals (editors, agents, publicists, authors, etc.) share their responses to this question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

James Scott Bell's advice is this: Arnold Palmer said golf came down basically to this: hit it, find it,then hit it again. Well, writing is sort of like that, too. Write it, edit it, then write it again. When you write, don't be hung up on making it perfect. Don't be bollixed up on writing techniques.
Read the rest here


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2 comments:

Millions of Exaggerations said...

That really makes sense. I'd read a lesson with Annika Sorenstam in a golf magazine a few years ago and she said that when she addresses the ball, she's already decided on and committed to the shot. She just steps up and hits. This kind of thinking, to me, is vital to the writing process. Get an idea of what you'd like to accomplish, step up, and swing. Fortunately, unlike golf, you can go back and hone your shot after-the-fact if it flies a little to the left or the right.

I'd recommend books by Natalie Goldberg to anyone who is curious to explore this method deeper. If you can, try to find the dual copy of Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones.

Tricia Goyer said...

Thanks for your insightful comments. Great stuff!

I enjoy Natalie Goldberg, too!

Tricia