by Peggy Bechko
Here’s an interesting quote I came across:
“If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham
Hmm, really?
Author: Peggy Bechko
Peggy Bechko: We writers have a lot on our minds…
by Peggy Bechko
We writers have a lot on our minds and sometimes some of it might be better left behind. I mean sometimes we think and plan so much we can end up sabotaging ourselves or doing it all wrong.
Think about it, if you, as a writer are pondering how to be the next (fill in the blank with superstar script writer or author), then you’re on the wrong track. If all you’re doing is imitating or mimicking and not breaking out to be the writer YOU are then may I suggest a change in course.
Another thing many of us writers are guilty of is being obsessed with discovering what the ‘rules’ are and then following them. Now, when they apply to things like what a producer requests to make his or her life easier and get to the reading of your script or what an editor requests in the way of setting up your manuscript, the rules are to be followed. But when it comes to your actual writing, give it up, don’t be so knotted up about it and find your inner guide to tell you what your real story telling direction is. Who knows, breaking rules may equal creating new ones.
Peggy Bechko: Suspension of Disbelief
by Peggy Bechko
All writers have heard the term.
We all expect it of our readers when we create that alternative world where our characters live and stuff happens.
So the question is how do we as writers get our readers or in the case of movies or TV our watchers to go along with us, suspend their disbelief and live in our world – through a book a movie or a TV show?
Peggy Bechko: Writers And Artists Nurture Your Creativity
by Peggy Bechko
We’re coming up on the holidays… So, I thought I’d spend a little time musing about creativity and what it takes to keep that part of us pumped up, nurtured and ready to go. Some suggestions, as it were, to help the blocked, confused and wandering – also the steady writers and artists out there who might need to take a breather or find a new path.
Hopefully some of these ideas will perk you up, give you a new slant or just assure you you’re not alone.
If you’re stuck on a story or whatever you’re attempting to create – and I know you’ve all heard this, but you probably need to hear it again – for heaven’s sakes take a break. Do something mindless or that will force your conscious brain to focus elsewhere and give your subconscious a chance to free range a bit. Take a walk, shovel the drive (in winter), mow the lawn (in summer), do the ironing or maybe cook dinner. Surprise your spouse with that dinner, he or she is no doubt so used to you being so immersed in your creative work that they rarely see a decent meal. Seriously, give yourself a break, give everyone a break, unclench.
Peggy Bechko: Writers – The Only Real Mistake…
by Peggy Bechko
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” ~ John Powell
There’s a statement it’s hard to dispute and it can apply to many things in our lives, but I’m going to apply it to writing, and I’m going to take it a step further.
Actually you can’t make a mistake in writing. Yes, you can write poorly, but of course, hopefully you/we will learn from that so it’s not a mistake at all, right? Your grammar or your spelling may be awful, but that’s not unfixable, right? There are tools to help and of course you can, what was that again?, learn.