July 2, 2008

A friend I’ve known since we were in high school together is interested in becoming a writer. She is so serious about wanting to be a writer that she is taking a writing course.

Here are things about writing she probably won’t learn from the course:

Don’t start writing if you’re looking for fun. This is my favorite writing quote: I hate writing but love having written.

Don’t expect to get rich by writing. There are a few who make a living, some even a good living, but for every one of them there are thousands who don’t even get paid.

Be careful when writing humor. Years ago I wrote what was supposed to be a funny and tongue in cheek column about having “In God We Trust” on coins. A firefighter friend didn’t get my point and thought I was advocating removing those four words from coins. My position was the exact opposite. We had several conversations but I couldn’t convince him that I didn’t want God removed from coins and other governmental things. “I’ve got it right here in black and white,” he’d say, referring to the newspaper column he clipped and saved.

In fact, be careful with every written word. Once it’s published there’s no getting it back. Oh how I wish that wasn’t true.

Writing isn’t the easiest thing, but it isn’t brain surgery.

I know many writers and most get down in the dumps. We all get the blues from time to time, but writers seem more prone to sad streaks than others. I’ve also noticed this in artists, poets, and musicians.

Find a good place to write. Hemingway had a great spot. It was kind of like a tree house and it was attached to the second floor of his house in Key West.

I do well writing on trains, airplanes, and hotel rooms, not so well on beaches, picnic tables or at home.

After the writing is finished, walk away. Come back later and read it again.
The ways to make it better will be obvious.

Find writers you enjoy and read them. Read them first for pleasure. Then go back and read them again to analyze how they write.

Don’t ask people you know to critique your writing. They’ll tell you it’s good no matter how bad it is.

Keep pen and paper on your nightstand, in your pocket and in your vehicle. Ideas come at odd times.

Travel as often as possible. There’s something about being away from familiar surroundings that makes writers want to write. Thank goodness for laptops.

Listen. If you read the words and they sound bad in your head, something is wrong, probably something grammatical.

Write. Sounds obvious but writers need to write. The more often writers write, the better it gets. At least that’s the hope.

Procrastination is a curse for all writers. Take this column, for example. I had a week to write it. I started two hours before it had to be finished and now I don’t have time to walk away and read it later.

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Joe Kelly is the editor and publisher of The Boonville Herald & Adirondack Tourist and THE GRIFF.