Write, write, write. I’ve posted about this–”Writing 101″ on my blog–so I won’t bore myself repeating, ad nauseum, my contention that most writing classes and courses are useless. There is no substitute for hard work, daily discipline. You get better (at anything) by doing, making mistakes and correcting them. Good reading, critical reading, is also important. Look for works that challenge you rather than entertainments. Dissect classics, figure out how the writer DID that.
I know of a number of big-time authors who spent hours copying out paragraphs and pages from the prose masters to help them perfect their craft.
Friday, June 22, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Write, write, write. I’ve posted about this–”Writing 101″ on my blog–so I won’t bore myself repeating, ad nauseum, my contention that most writing classes and courses are useless. There is no substitute for hard work, daily discipline. You get better (at anything) by doing, making mistakes and correcting them. Good reading, critical reading, is also important. Look for works that challenge you rather than entertainments. Dissect classics, figure out how the writer DID that.
I know of a number of big-time authors who spent hours copying out paragraphs and pages from the prose masters to help them perfect their craft.