Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Writing

For the A to Z Challenge, I’m posting promo and other tips for writers. Today it’s writing.

There’s many things we can do to improve our craft. The two most effective are reading and writing!

Just like working out muscles, writing skills need to be worked and stretched every day. However, that doesn’t mean you kill yourself trying to add another 1000 words to your manuscript! Some days it just doesn’t flow. Some days we don’t have enough hours. And some days we’re just beat!

But writing something - anything - is better than nothing.

What should we write? Blog posts, articles, letter, emails, writing prompts - anything to maintain the daily habit! Elizabeth Spann-Craig posted a great list of Writing Warm-ups that will give you ideas.

We’re writers. That’s what we do - write!

Are you writing something every day?

16 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Thanks so much for the mention! You're so right--writing skills need to be worked out like muscles. A little every day really helps keep us in the flow.

Alison Miller said...

Yes - A-Z blogs. :)

I do try to write at least something every day.

Great post!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

At the moment I'm writing every day.

Yvonne.

Sandy said...

Thanks...That's a habit I'm trying to learn.

Laura S. said...

Writing every day is so important! I think it's also important to write something creative every day (if what you write is fiction). Writing in your journal or a blog post is better than no writing at all, and that will make you a better writer when it comes to grammar, sentence structure, and even editing (gotta shorten those blog posts so people will stick around!). But writing creatively every day is really what's going to make you a more dynamic and imaginative fiction writer.

~Sia McKye~ said...

I do write every day. Actually, I hardly think about it in terms of should I...? I just do it. Not just my WIP but all sorts of things.

Some days it just doesn’t flow. Some days we don’t have enough hours. And some days we’re just beat! Amen to that truism!

Beth Blair said...

I do write every day but I've realized I need to mix up the type of writing I do every now and then to keep it fresh. I'm loving your A-Z posts!

Arlee Bird said...

If I do slack off writing on some days, I usually make up for it on others. I like the forum of blogging since it allows for a variety of spontaneous writing exercises. Now I need to read more.


Lee
Tossing It Out

notesfromnadir said...

You're right. A writer writes. It's that simple!

Tony Eldridge said...

Diane, I don't know if you're like me, but the "busier" I get, the easier it is to let reading and writing slip, even though I know how important it is. Thanks for the reminder.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

You're welcome, Elizabeth. I thought it was a great list.

Laura, I used to keep such great journals! Found some old ones the other day when we chucking old papers. I kept them, of course!

Sia, tell me about it!

Lee, I definitely need to read more.

Tony, it does slip!

Thanks for visiting! Sorry, I was gone all day for a speaking engagement and most of yesterday, too. I promise to catch up with everyone tomorrow.

Southpaw said...

Do blog comments count?

I've slacked off a lot lately. But I'm trying to do just like you said a little at a time.

I love this series.

Jemi Fraser said...

So true!! I've been laptopless while my poor little guy is away in Repair Land - but I've been doing a lot of reading to keep up!

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

I write every day, even if it's just a list of things I should be writing.

TerryLynnJohnson said...

I've recently taken some time off specifically to get more writing done. And I've actually done LESS than I normally do while working full time. #headscratch

Maxine Thompson said...

I've been writing my morning pages since I re-read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way