Anne Helmstadter's, The Story Immersion Project, is one of my many email subscriptions. Her post today mentions writer Malcolm Gladwell. His name didn't ring a bell – I'm not good with names - but I read his David and Goliath - a phenomenal book.
Gladwell has a list of 10 writing rules. In her post, Anne said they aren't only about writing but to live by as well.
Here are three from his list (I'll save the others
for future posts) with some of my thoughts:
Pursue your passion.
Whether your passion
is writing, walking or doing yard work (They're mine!), carve time to do them. Spend
time with people who encourage you but also keep you accountable. There's a reason
you are passionate about certain things. It's a spiritual seed planted in your
soul. You are meant to do it!
Understand passions
don't always come easy. One of my passions is my family. Nothing is more important
to me. It is not easy raising three teenagers, but I'm not giving up.
P.S. And there
is nothing easy about writing a novel. I'm giving up on that, either.
Shift your
thinking.
Oiy. This could be
difficult no matter which side of the line you fall on politically. I will
steer clear of that debacle and gear it toward writing.
One thing
writers must, must, must do is have humility. I cannot express this enough. If
you are unwilling to listen to (and often apply) someone's suggestions
(especially if they are an experienced writer), you have already failed. Sorry but
it's true. Whether writing or not, your goal should be to submit your best
work. This will NOT happen if you aren't willing to heed the advice of others.
Will their critiques be difficult to hear? Absolutely. Suck it up, Buttercup. I
say that with love.
Focus on
quality, not speed.
Speed is okay to
stretch your writing muscles or defeat so-called writer's block. Recently I set
a timer for three minutes and typed the entire time. Quality work? Nope. But it
made me curious if it were a literary world I'd like to explore further. Perfection
isn't a priority or the point in an exercise like this. Quality matters when
you're writing a novel or short story. It takes time. As much as you love your
first draft, it's not good enough. Not even close. Again, with love.
Until Next Time,
rg
2 comments:
I love the first tip, pursue your passion. I agree with you. Our passions are spiritual seeds. When we pursue them, we feel fulfilled. When we feel fulfilled, me give more to the world. When we give more to the world, others feel inspired and give more to the world, too.
I like how you took the points being made by Gladwell and applied them to how and where they speak to you, to your life. I love that no matter how many times we read important reminders (like, follow your passion) each time it is still an "aha!" moment.
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