The next time you think about asking somebody – you know, like your favorite writer – to read your work and give you an honest evaluation, keep in mind that this is the kind of result you might get:
November 9, 1938
Dear Frances:
Nope, I’m not quoting myself. The above are just a few words spoken to me by Norman Mailer back in the day. (I.e., when he was alive and holding court in Manhattan and I, as a young writer, had just been introduced to him by – I kid you not – an NYPD detective. (No, not one who’d ever arrested him…yet.)
Mailer’s words to me come to mind because of this invigorating article from one of my favorite sites, io9.Com. I like io9 a lot. (Mostly because from time to time they mention me and seem to like me too. Just call me the Sally Field of TV writing.)
We first read this title as “10 Tips About Basic Writing Complacency,” but we’re glad we were wrong cuz where we’re at, which is the exact opposite of feeling complacent, we’ll get a hella lot more out of learning about writing competency.
by Mark Nichol (DailyWritingTips.Com)
Amateurs look for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work.
Chuck Close
