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The Ten Most Important Things Every Writer Needs toKnow
Following is a list of useful instructions for writing and life. They are notsecrets, mine or anyone else’s, but they are helpful to keep in mind. Isuggest printing them out and taping them on your wall.
1. Beware the romantic haze
It’s easy to indulge in a romantic haze and get carried away by thesound of your own words—attractive phrases, the sensuous play of vowels and sibilants, the sly insinuation of disguised intent. These arethe tools of what was called in an old song, moonglow. There’s acertain amount of fun to be had behind this curtain, but it doesn’twithstand the daylight. After all, you are on a mission. What comes of this stuff anyway?
2. Ignore, disregard, combat, quash, or by any means at your disposaldestroy nagging self-doubts
Nobody wants to hear or read about your self-doubts, qualms orscruples. Just an oblique reference is usually too much, even for yourspouse. Readers want to see, smell, feel, hear, and taste your words,but they will put up with a certain amount of failure of language if youcan give them a little thrill. I’m talking about myself, but you may havefound the same.
3. Nothing but the truth
Personally, I want the truth, spoken clearly and with confidence. Everyweek through my childhood the hardboiled L.A. detective SergeantFriday deadpanned on black-and-white television, lips hardly moving,“Just the facts, ma’am,” and audiences salivated waiting for the line. This is what I am after, and what readers want as well. I don’t mean, of course, the facts of your own life, but the truth of human experience. This is probably harder to get at than it sounds, but between theromantic haze of self-delusion and the harping of doubt lies a narrowpath, a fragile bridge. The trick is to listen to the inner voice. The trickis to listen to your heart and write what it speaks, to reinvent yourself every day, every minute, to be fully alive and not just go through themotions.
Be here now
wrote Ram Dass in the 1960s. It’s still a relevantmessage. Don’t pull the blinds down or half shut your eyes into acomfortable twilight, and don’t poke at yourself for being imperfect in
 
your efforts. Put your chin up, your chest forward, and stepdeliberately into the present, into the day. Hup, two, three, four.
4. Don’t take advice
Actually, I’m not sure what I had in mind when I added this to the list.People offer all kinds of helpful criticism and often point out flaws thatneed fixing. You wouldn’t want to go through life all character-disordered because no one pointed out your narcissism for instance. If you keep taking their advice you will get stronger and stronger, and bythe time you die you will be almost perfect.
5. Don’t worry about your mistakes
Somewhere I saw Miles Davis quoted as saying, if you play a wrongnote, play it loud and everyone will think you played it on purpose. Thisprobably goes without saying.
6. Know your audience
In my occasional role of marketing consultant, this is my firstinjunction. Since writing is a business like any other, I can extend thisadvice to you as well. If you write short stories, poetry, fiction, oranything inspiring, inspired or inspirational, you will be the first,primary, and sometimes total readership. The great thing about this isthat knowing your audience is the same thing as knowing yourself,which Socrates made clear is the most important thing anyone can do.So by heeding this crucial directive to know your audience, you kill twobirds with one stone, so to speak. And while I have never killed twobirds with one stone—I haven’t actually killed any bird with a stone—Ican affirm it to be very efficient. Actually, I know there are moreefficient ways to kill birds. This is just an old saying.
7. Your family and friends are not your audience
 They will either love everything you have written or else pick it todeath. What do they know? When I was a child they still sold bounddiaries with little locks and keys. There was a reason for this. Thesedays you have a password to protect your computer. Joking aside, if you want feedback, I recommend joining a writers group with smartpeople who like you, but not too much. The main thing is to be carefulabout the food they serve.
8. Read everything you can
of 00

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lisahickey

And, ahhhhh, moonglow! I embellish, hoping for moonglow. Will be on the lookout.

reply03 / 12 / 2010
lisahickey

I loved this "read things no one else does, and you will learn things no one else does". It did make your #4, "don't take advice", a little suspect however.

reply03 / 12 / 2010
David Cole

It's all suspect. Take it with a grain of salt, perhaps on the lip of a margarita glass.

03 / 14 / 2010
RitaJWebb

I enjoyed this list. A lot of truth in it.

reply02 / 23 / 2010
Renee Miller-Johnston

I moderate a writing group and I'm definitely going to share this, I think you've offered some excellent advice for writers. Number 1 is a big one for me, I cannot stand pages and pages of 'purple prose', and number 7 is a great one. I learned that early, thank God. They're all good. Thanks for the reminder.

reply01 / 20 / 2010
Two Plus Plus Productions LLC

Number 7 screams - Your family and friends are not your audience. Wicked insightful and appreciated.

reply12 / 31 / 2009
David Cole

thanks. It's been a long time since I've been called wicked.

01 / 02 / 2010
Luddite

I have some writers coming over this afternoon for year-end goodies (including good conversation) and I'm going to share this with them. It's good!

reply12 / 31 / 2009
Helen Winslow Black

Best Writing Tip on Scribd 2009, from my favorite writing tipster! David, you're guest of honor at my Virtual Algonquin Round Table. Happy New Year! The Ten Most Important Things Every Writer Needs to Know

reply12 / 31 / 2009
Two Plus Plus Productions LLC

Cheers from this side of the Algonquin! I'm rather fond of "5. Don’t worry about your mistakes." Fortunate for me; I've made a ton of them.

12 / 31 / 2009
isablue1279

love itt!!! specially the part of own mstakes!hat's some priceless advice dude!i really did like it!and thanks for the words of wisdom:]

reply11 / 29 / 2009
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