Why Punctuation is Terribly Important

*Chuckles*

Rules for Writers

...by Erica Jong

1. Have faith--not cynicism
2. Dare to dream
3. Take your mind off publication
4. Write for joy
5. Get the reader to turn the page
6. Forget politics (let your real politics shine through)
7. Forget intellect
8. Forget ego
9. Be a beginner
10. Accept change
11. Don't think your mind needs altering
12. Don't expect approval for telling the truth -
(Parents, politicians, colleagues, friends, etc.)
13. Use everything
14. Remember that writing is Heroism
15. Let Sex (The Body, the physical world) in!
16. Forget critics
17. Tell your truth not the world's
18. Remember to be earth-bound
19. Remember to be wild!
20. Write for the child (in yourself and others)

There are no rules.

She has more weekly tips at her website.

Current projects:

- Write on Austin! - Wrote a piece and am having the writing group look it over and provide feedback before I submit it.

- The Onion - I have been assigned a restaurant review, but it's not guaranteed to be published unless I impress the editor. Will keep you posted.

- Two new articles up at Newsvine - "Soar or Hover: What to Do After Graduation" and "Reverend Ms."

So things are happening, and I don't feel like as much of a loser ;)

I want to keep this writing blog afloat but I don't seem to have any time for my writing anymore.

Piece of Advice #1 for all would-be writers: Find time to write!

Seriously. Every time I read an interview with a famous author, and the interviewer asks, "What advice would you give to just-starting-out writers out there," the author inevitably says, "Sit down and force yourself to write!" And it's true.

They suggest waking up an hour early - dear God - to get that novel done. Or scrawling out poems on napkins during your lunch hour. They don't care how you do it, just that you do it.

I need to get to it myself.

I am happy to note, however, that one of my good online friends has created a writing group for myself, herself and two other writer friends. There are only four of us, which gives me confidence in sharing my work and being vulnerable. We share and critique our writings. Naturally I haven't shared much yet because I'm not writing but I'm getting there, and it is great to know they are there for this purpose, as I am for them. One of the members shared this excellent link by chick lit author Jennifer Crusie on how to start a writing group, if anyone is interested.

Issue #2 of Della Donna is up and running.

This particular 'Lit by Chicks' section has a special place in my heart :) Although I love it, and it is beautiful, I do think it could be used effectively in an argument regarding the gender socialization of children from a young age!

I realized something important today. I am working on a novel, though for the past few months, "working on" is a loose term. I had an idea, I wrote up some stuff a few months ago, then my laptop died and I lost it. Came back to the idea, wrote some more, then trashed it. So I have the idea in terms of the two main characters and the ending, but nothing else.

I have often read authors such as Toni Morrison speak of watching their characters to see what they do, which implies that the author doesn't control the actions and thoughts of the characters. Seems like a funny concept, I know, but it is an important one. The characters have to be real in your head, separate individuals from you. They have to have their own lives and you just have to document it, in order to be successful at least. That has never really happened for me; I struggled to figure out what to make characters do and such. If my story wasn't based in reality, if it was pure fiction... I had as hard a time as any reader guessing what would happen next.

Recently, though, and I'm talking the last week or so, my characters have come alive in my head. I will be doing something else, totally unrelated to the novel, when all of a sudden I will see them doing something, some scene, where they are and how they feel. It's awesome. I think I am finally on the right track with this thing. I have gotten more valuable stuff down in the last couple of days than anything over the last several months.