Sharpening Your Writing

While it is a lot of fun, there’s no doubt that writing is a lot of hard work too. Fortunately the two are not exclusive and we as writers do get the satisfaction of writing. This could translate to getting for you: money, fame, recognition or self-fulfillment, depending upon why you are writing in the first place. Like any other skill, your writing gets sharpened with practice and incorporating improvements in your style.

As always, I would like to share a few blog posts that made a lot of sense to me:

• The WiseInk blog reminds you of words you may be using too frequently in your writing. Many of these become habits over time. The first step is to be aware of this trend and identify the words you over use. Then you consciously avoid using them, at least till that habit is broken.
• How balanced is your writing? By this I mean, how well have you used all three elements of Action, Narrative, and Dialogue? This post in the Socialpolitan comes as a reminder that you need to maintain the right balance as appropriate to your writing genre and story. Remember, “AND”. Action-Narrative-Dialogue.
• Your book is finished and you are raring to send it off to publishers and literary agents hoping to make a sale. But ask yourself, is your work really ready yet? From the WiseInk blog, here’s what you need to ensure before you submit that manuscript.