Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Common Sense Tips for Writers from Editor Adele Annesi

Adele Annesi, author of Writing Lynx, a wonderful resource for writing sites, wrote me:

"Of the many writing-related blogs, [yours] is one of the few that deals with the grist of novel-writing in a way writers can relate to and see results.

"When we're in the midst of writing, it's hard to see the forest for the trees, and we easily miss what would otherwise be common sense. It's great that someone else is there with tips to aid the process — at least agents are now looking past my query letters."

Adele has published and won awards for her writing; from her years of experience as a professional editor, she wanted to share these common sense tips for writers:

For narrative: Write with your experience, not about it (especially for people with a journalism or nonfiction background, writing needs to be writing, not reportage).

In a similar vein, tell a story; don't report the facts.

For varied points of view: Make sure to "inhabit" all your characters, and use a different voice for each to distinguish one from another.

About dialogue: In a Hemingway kind of approach, most dialogue is about what we don't communicate, not about what we do communicate.

Thanks, Adele! Be sure to visit Writing Lynx and take advantage of this resource-rich site (http://writinglynx.blogspot.com/).