Delivered in a panel today, some rather fine words of wisdom as regards writing, from Meg Houston Maker:
Writing is thinking, and thinking is hard
Assume limitless intelligence in your reader, but no prior knowledge.
Tell a story that nobody else can tell.
Ask yourself questions, and pose questions to your reader.
If you write on behalf of a business, remember that organizations don’t talk, people talk.
Get to the point, and condense your prose.
The stronger your position, the more sober your prose.
Exclamation points should be reserved for exclamatory remarks.
If you don’t know something, you may need to find out.
Put everything about a subject in one place, and texture your prose.
Generate questions in your reader’s mind. If you can keep your reader asking why, they’ll keep reading.
If you’re doing things right, your voice will evolve.
Learn to work with an editor, because a good editor is on your side.
You need a good ending, but not a clever ending, and don’t try and trick your reader, because they’ll never forgive you.
“One of the most unique and beautiful of acts, you will have penetrated another person’s mind. (On what it is you’ve done when you’ve created great writing …)
Tags: #wbc10, Meg Houston Maker
June 28, 2010 at 4:29 pm |
Christopher, many thanks for attending the session, and I’m so glad you found these points useful. I’ve posted the complete list on my food and wine journal, Maker’s Table (http://www.makerstable.com). The last point, expanded, sums the whole: “If you succeed at this, and if you tell the truth—your own truth—you will have achieved one of the most intimate and beautiful of acts: you will have penetrated another mind.”
Cheers,
Meg
July 1, 2010 at 3:56 pm |
Hello Meg! Thanks so much for the update, and my apologies if I got any of these wrong, or misquoted you in any fashion! I’ll get a link up to your full list asap …
CW