From the monthly archives:

January 2011

But What Do You Really Mean?

January 31, 2011
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The one piece of advice that I most frequently give to my students is “be specific”. I say and write it so often that they’re probably tired of hearing it. However, I do believe that you must be as specific as possible if you ever hope to communicate anything effectively. We often rely on “big concept” words or phrases to generalize feelings.

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Finish Before You Become Someone Else

January 24, 2011
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Over the years, I’ve become my own best editor, out of necessity. When you write as much as I do, you have to rely on yourself or have money to pay someone to read your work – asking my friends to constantly read my work becomes annoying for everyone involved. You have to learn how to be brutally honest with yourself.

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Instant Writing Makeover

January 20, 2011
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A haircut, change of clothes, or even some make-up can drastically improve a person’s appearance. In the same way, a few quick fixes can improve your writing! If you don’t have a lot of time to revise (maybe you’re finishing an essay at the last minute), you will need to make the best of what you have, even if it’s not perfect!

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The Importance of Staring at the Wall

January 17, 2011
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Soon after, I started to write and revise voraciously, which I hadn’t really done (at least not at this pace) since early summer, when I had some time off between jobs. For the past two weeks (on the days I don’t work at my other job), I have done nothing but read, write, eat, and sleep. I realize what a luxury this is, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to focus on my own work.

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Will You Read Me a Story?

January 12, 2011
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When I was a child, my mom used to take me to Story Hour at our local library. At Story Hour, one of the librarians would read one book out loud, slowly and deliberately. She would complete one page then open the book toward us so that we could see the illustrations. She had a great reading voice – pausing and creating inflection where appropriate.

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