Monday, February 1, 2010

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

It's a quiet Sunday night as I begin to write. At first it's all stuttering and stopping, cross and erasing. The creative complexity of writing, of making language flow from thought, escapes me. I'm trying too hard. I'm thinking too grand.

I go back to the basics. Write about what you know. Use single, short declarative sentences. Always seek the active voice. Show, don't tell. Write. Put pen to paper. Then, only then, let the inner copy writer's voice come out.

Finally it comes. Yes, this is. If I had to compose a group of words to live by, these might be mine.

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