A lot of teachers who read Ask a Tech Teacher are also authors so once a month, I share the most popular post from the past month on my writer blog, WordDreams. Here's one that's humorous while hitting close to the heart:
***
At times, I wonder if I'm missing some critical piece required to be a Real Writer. I do a lot of the right things--
- I read, a lot.
- I'm observant.
- I'm a loner (or, the flip side--I don't mind being alone).
- I bloom where I'm planted.
But is that enough? I went in search of other traits successful friends have that might inform my endless quest to succeed in a craft that few can. Here's what I found:
- Writers have a selective memory--they forget the bad stuff people say and remember the good. Otherwise, we get depressed.
- Writers are conversant with their muse--anywhere, any time, any subject. It doesn't matter. When s/he starts talking, writers listen.
- Writers are tethered to their voicemail in case that Big Call from an agent comes through. If there is no call, they check to be sure their voicemail is working properly.
- Writers understand the importance of taking a break to do something fun, like read a book. If they are one of those unlucky folk who get writer's block, this will suffice.
- Writers never show fear in front of their computer. It's like a dog--it smells our distress. It'll then do nasty things like crash in the middle of a scene or corrupt your file.
- You can tell a lot about a writer by the way he/she handles three things: rejection, fame, and a change in their schedule.
- In golf, one of 14 clubs has to be the right decision. In writing, all 14 are wrong because readers want unique.
- Writers don't want to be judged by what s/he does between the lines.
- Writers believe in the impossible, in miracles, and in Santa Claus. They will spend hours on a paragraph, or sentence, and consider it time well spent.
- To rephrase Voltaire: "No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking from a writer."
- Where the engineer thinks of his equations as an approximation to reality, and the physicist thinks reality is an approximation to his equations, the writer thinks it doesn't matter if the prose are elegant.
Read more of this post
No comments:
Post a Comment