[stylist] How could I improve this story?

Thu May 10 22:59:13 UTC 2012

I also recommend _Traveling Mercies_ by the same author. She is hilarious in 
the way she tells a story.

Lynda Lambert
104 River Road
Ellwood City, PA 16117

724 758 4979

My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 4:15 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] How could I improve this story?

> Barbara,
> Are both books available from NLS? Older books are not on bard, but most 
> are.
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Barbara Hammel
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 9:46 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] How could I improve this story?
>
> I downloaded both of the books you suggested.
> Barbara
>
>
>
>
> Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Chris Kuell
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 5:51 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] How could I improve this story?
>
> Barbara,
>
> My first suggestion is that you download/request a book called 'Bird by
> Bird' by Anne Lamott. It's an absolutely wonderful book on writing and 
> life.
> The title derives from a story she tells about her brother. One time in
> school he had to write a report on the birds of North America. He puts it
> off because he's overwhelmed by the topic. Finally he asks his father--how
> can I possibly write a report about the birds of North America? "Bird by
> bird," his father answers him. "Just take it bird by bird."
>
> My second suggestion is that you try to adopt a new attitude. Writing 
> isn't
> easy. Sure, penning your thoughts or sketching a few rhymes can be fun and
> enjoyable and you don't have to break a sweat. But to be what I'd call a
> 'great writer' takes hard work, no matter what type of writing you do.
> Anybody can throw words down on a page, but only a writer can make them 
> come
> to life.
>
> The work of writing comes in creation, editing, revising, rewriting, and
> polishing. There isn't a book or essay out there that you thought was 
> great
> that wasn't slaved and sweated over by the writer who crafted it.
>
> We are actually fortunate these days because writing on a computer is so
> easy. A hundred or more years ago, writers wrote draft after draft by 
> hand.
> They didn't have spell checking or google to double check their work and
> facts. They couldn't get feedback from half-a-dozen friends across the
> country within a few hours. I remind you of this to help give you
> perspective.
>
> My third recommendation is that you read over your first chapter, then 
> think
> about how you would like to change it. Think about what would make the
> chapter better, the characters more realistic, what details will bring the
> setting to life for the reader. Then sit down with a blank document open 
> and
> rewrite it. Don't be afraid of the work. Writing is hard work, but it's 
> not
> the coal mines. J.D. Salinger spent 10 years writing and rewriting 
> 'Catcher
> in the Rye' over and over again until he got it right.
>
> Several years ago I drafted a longish short story, about nine thousand
> words, which I was pretty proud of. It took me about two weeks of writing
> every day to finish it. On the first day of the third week I opened the
> document--and it was gone. To this day I don't know what happened to it. 
> All
> I can figure is that I did a select all to adjust formatting, then did
> something to delete the text (easier to do years ago) then saved the blank
> document. Doesn't matter, my story was gone. So I cried, I swore, I broke 
> a
> few things. Once I'd accepted that the story was truly gone, I sat down 
> and
> wrote it again. This time it turned out to be about six thousand words, 
> and
> you know what? It was even better. Firstly, I cut out a lot of the boring
> stuff, but remembered all the lines I'd written that were really strong.
> Secondly, in the first writing of the story, I grew to truly know the
> characters. In the second writing, I did a much better job at bringing 
> them
> to life. Now, it still wasn't publishable, and in fact I think I revised 
> it
> 5 more times until I had it just right. It was published in 'Bewildering
> Stories', and later republished in the anthology, 'The Best of Bewildering
> Stories'. In all honesty, I probably put more than 150 hours of work into
> that single story. That's why I say good writing is hard work.
>
> Now, the good news is that the more you put work into the craft, the 
> better
> you get at it. It still takes a lot of work, rewriting and revising and
> editing, but you do get better and better at it. You can also see how your
> stories or essays improve, which makes the process a little easier.
>
> Yes, the tone of your story may change. But honestly, it will probably
> change for the better. If you want to be a good writer and not just a
> hobbyist, don't shy away from the work. Reading books on the craft can be
> very helpful. BARD doesn't have it, but I think web braille or bookshare
> does, but I highly recommend a book called 'Self Editing for Fiction
> Writers' by King and Brown. It's an excellent resource that walks you
> through the entire process of turning that mediocre first draft into
> something you can feel really good about.
>
> Are you up to the challenge?
>
> chris
>
>
>
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