Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 237

Basic Writing Principles Across All Media

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Last week, I mentioned that I was prepping for a class on timeless
writing principles for my students who are majoring in e-media. Today during class,
I opened up the question to my knowledge network on Twitter, and received some excellent
feedback.




[I've bolded the ones that I had in my actual presentation before opening the question
up to Twitter!]

Always, always, always consider your audience.


@LaurieBoris



Make sure the rhythm is right. Good writing grooves like good music :-)

@jackiesface



Less is more, especially when it comes to modifiers. If you modify everything,
then you modify nothing.


@KristenLambTX



Yes--Study Marshall McLuhan. The medium is, indeed, the message.

@Deffree



Read your work out loud. Holds true for fiction, blogs, articles, everything. If it
sounds wrong out loud, it needs editing.

@kimswitzer



Don't use the qualifier 'very.'


@geoffrey_little



One that gives me the most trouble - Write now, rewrite later. Don't try to
do both at the same time.


@1stine



If an adjective or adverb adds no higher value to the sentence, get rid of it.


@lightherlamp



Less is best. Be concise.


@DJordanLane




My rule - know your audience.


@MaestroDSCH



Try second person in article or blog ledes.

@DavidRutsala




"Be specific." Vague sentences don't work when you're limited by time. You can't be
James Joyce on social media.

@Veronica_Jarski



No secret - describe w/verbs. "He dashed out the door." Not "He ran quickly
out the door."

@Gary_at_PROSOCO



My Fav !! Keep the sentences short

@cothrust



Tell the truth. Or go into advertising.

@Ditchwalk



Give your characters depth; emotion, struggles, challenges, reasons, bring them to
life. Quality before quantity.

@BuddhistKnight



Expect re-writes and edits, they're not a negative, they're an essential. Go
back, make it better when ideas call


@BuddhistKnight



If you lack motivation; set yourself a minimum of say one quality page a day,
it releases pressure, then expand.

@BuddhistKnight



The five paragraph essay. Never fails me.

@booksquare



Get who vs whom right, and don't confuse bring with take; then make each sentence
so beautiful that I wish I had written it.

@askjohnabout



Plus, if it doesn't sound like  something you would actually SAY, then it probably
won't seem very authentic. Use your voice.


@askjohnabout



Keep cutting until you get message across with lowest possible word count. Simplicity
is an art!

@BucksWriter

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Back to Basics: Why Am I Getting Rejected?

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Rejection is often the No. 1 area of pain, concern, and obsession for writers. More
often than not, writers want to know WHY they've been rejected. Here's the standard
advice I most frequently offer.



Why are editors rejecting my work when family and friends love it so much?

Your family and friends love you and see you in your work. An editor doesn't know
you and is often more objective, especially when it comes to marketability. Publishing
professionals have distance; you and your clo...

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 9/24/10)

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I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets.
If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Want to know about the best stuff
I read each week? Click
here to subscribe to my shared items.




Quick plug for upcoming Writer's
Digest online classes:




How
to Write & Sell Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels by agent Kristin Nelson. (Includes
critique of your pitch!), on September 30







Best of Best

Agent...

Stop! Before You Post Your Work Online, Read This

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Today I'm a guest over at Writer Unboxed:

Giving
Stuff Away Is Not a Strategy

I discuss how and when you might want to give your work away for free,
and how strategies differ between published and unpublished writers—as well as between
fiction and nonfiction writers.



Go
check it out!




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Super-Powered Book Proposals Secret #4: Give the Publisher Room to Negotiate

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This post is part of a series I'm writing on how to super-power
your nonfiction book proposal. For the majority of nonfiction book ideas (except possibly
memoir), you should prepare a book proposal first, rather than write the manuscript. To
find out if you should write a book proposal, click here.








Secret #4: Give the Publisher Room to Negotiate


It used to be very common in a book proposal to give details related to:



the specific length of the book (remember, if you're...

Timeless & Core Writing Knowledge: 3 Strengths for Success

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As I prepare curriculum for my writing class (for e-media majors), I've been thinking
about the core strengths that every writer needs no matter what medium they're working
in.




I came up with the following.



Storytelling prowess [plot & structure:]. There's a reason that knowledge of
plot and structure, from Aristotle's
Poetics, is regurgitated or renewed across virtually every writing instruction
book. It works. I often recommend, for a more contemporary take, listening to Ira
Glass...

7 Free-to-Enter National Writing Competitions That Impact Your Career

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Writing contests have always been extremely popular (at least as long as I've been
around the writing community), but entry fees can really add up if you're frequently
or widely entering competitions.



But there ARE a handful of national writing competitions—totally free to enter—that
can make a huge impact on your writing career. Here are seven.

Amazon
Novel Breakthrough Award


There are two categories: general fiction and young adult. Unpublished OR self-published
work is allowed...

Glimmer Train Monthly News

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Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories
for their July Very Short Fiction competition. This competition is held twice a year
and is open to all writers for stories with a word count not exceeding 3,000. No theme
restrictions. The next Very Short Fiction competition will take place in January. Glimmer
Train's monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: J. Kevin Shushtari [pictured above:], of Farmington,
CT, wins $1200 for "The Vast Garden of Strangers." His...

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 9/17/10)

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I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets.
If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Want to know about the best stuff
I read each week? Click
here to subscribe to my shared items.




Quick plug for upcoming Writer's
Digest online classes:




Publish
Your Children's, Tween, or Teen Fiction in Today's Market by agent Mary Kole (includes
critique of your first page), on September 23



How
to Write & Sell Science...

Should You Hire Someone to Design Your Website?

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In publishing, we often say how critical it is to hire a professional editor if you
plan to self-publish. Or we say how valuable a professional publicist or PR person
can be.



As someone who isn't trained as a designer (but who has worked with many designers
over the years, and knows the benefit of great design), the following advice is going
to sound paradoxical, yet …



As a writer, you don't need to hire a designer or a design firm when you first start
your own site or blog. Why? Three k...