Congratulate yourself for your first draft. Then get back to work.
After two or three hours of solid work, I saved the first draft of a full page ad for the magazine I produce.
The project had taken a lot of thought, then even more trial and error to make the text and photos fit. I took some satisfaction in having gotten this far. … Continue reading
It’s useful, but far from final.
I’m glad that yesterday I worked through a rough layout of the article. Having edited the text, I wanted to confirm it would work well with the photos for the number of pages I’d projected.
After several intense hours, I accomplished my goal. I’d put in place all the elements for four pages in the magazine. It was time for … Continue reading
Remember to review your verbs.
While I’ve worked and taught with several bestselling writers, I learned one of my best tips from someone who wrote picture books for children.
She advised writers to print out their first two pages and circle every verb. “You don’t want,” she said, “writing that’s isy and wasy.”
Thirty years later, I’m still seeking and correcting wasy … Continue reading