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It occurs to me that this would actually make a great writing exercise.
It would force you to really focus on what you’re trying to say, encourage you to not waste words.
I think it would lead to tighter writing on both a small and large scale. The math geek in me is already seeing this as scalable to larger projects (their fault for working out of 100).
I’m going to have working on incorporating this into my writing practice.
Posted by Rebecca as Resources at 8:20 AM EST
It’s a sad fact of the world. Somebody works hard to create something. Somebody comes along and tries to pass it off as their own work.
Someday, perhaps, we’ll be able to nurture this out of people, but for now, those of us who create need to be ready and able to deal with those who are only willing to do the work involved in stealing someone else’s work (which can often prove more complicated than actually creating your own work…just as an FYI).
Never be afraid to protect your own work. But never be afraid to share your work either. You control how it’s shared.
Posted by Rebecca as Resources at 7:57 AM EST
Just a quick link-drop today. This guide to writing well already has me reviewing it constantly, and I jut saw it for the first time a few days ago.
It’s a blend of other strong writing resources, and it’s concise.
Read it. Bookmark it. Use it.
Posted by Rebecca as Resources at 7:52 AM EST
I’m still wondering how, exactly, I made it all the way through this book. If you follow me anywhere that i may have mentioned this book, you’ll notice I don’t link to it. There’s a reason for that.
I recently finished Beyond the Writers’ Workshop: New Ways to Write Creative Nonfiction. I gleaned little more from it than some fun psychological structures to apply to characterizations. It was far less useful than the two creative nonfiction books I read before it, and the author spent most of the book talking down to the reader. The writing was overly cerebral for the topic at hand. It wasn’t very welcoming, and then advised the reader on how to make writing creative nonfiction unwelcoming for students from elementary school all the way through graduate school.
Do yourself a favor- read the other two creative nonfiction books I reviewed. Walk right on past this one. It will save you from gnashing your teeth.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized, Resources at 8:09 AM EST
“Adventure is just bad planning.”- Roald Amundsen
This may be true of life itself, but in writing it’s only somewhat true.
Think about it. Those of us who plan out our stories may end up changing things along the way because the story went in unexpected directions. Those of us who let the story take us along for the ride can often end up with an incredible story on our hands.
Maybe there’s something to be said for not planning, or being open to mis-steps in our planning.
Posted by Rebecca as Writing Prompts at 8:27 AM EST
Two-thirds of the way through my exploration of creative nonfiction books, I feel like I’ve learned more about crafting fiction than nonfiction. I guess that somehow, that was to be expected since creative nonfiction seems to be widely defined as nonfiction told through a dramatic method.
Writing Creative Nonfiction was actually the first book I wanted to read on creative nonfiction. I don’t remember how I stumbled onto it, but I remember reading a review of it and thinking that it sounded interesting. The review said that the book would help you craft better nonfiction writing, especially if you were writing instructional material. I can only assume the person read a very small section of the book, because nearly the entire book is one long discussion on dramatic vs summary method and how to weave them together. It even warns at one point that the techniques will be difficult to apply to an instructional or reporting situation.
All of that said, and knowing my goal is to craft the Dead Bunny works carefully and well, I plunged on and learned a lot about dramatic writing and summary writing. Again, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to use this to help spice up and weave Dead Bunny articles into a coherent book, but you never know.
Let’s start with dramatic writing, which receives far more time than summary writing. Dramatic writing is generally considered the domain of fiction because it revolves around the scene. It contains the action, the motion in the piece. It pulls the reader close to the story, shows them details that might be missed in an overview. It contains thoughts, dialogue, actions. It gives us an idea of what is driving the people involved of the event without ever telling us what to think. Because it usually involves a lot of intimate details (mannerisms, inner thoughts), nonfiction writers feel they have to avoid this style of writing because it’s not necessarily objective, it evokes emotion from the reader, and it may require the writer to draw conclusions they can’t completely prove.
The summary method, on the other hand, is the narrative that holds these scenes together. It gives us the general overview when we really don’t need to know the small details. It contains more of the information that you wouldn’t glean from interacting with the people involved in the short period of time you know during the nonfiction piece, and it tends toward a more objective view on the situation, thereby making the story feel more familiar, more comfortable.
The book goes on at length about both methods, breaking them down into other types of writing. The book also includes sections on sharpening your writing, conducting research, and maintaining ethics in your nonfiction writing. I’m sure I’ll be reviewing my notes frequently, just because I came away with so much useful information.
It might even strengthen my fiction writing while helping me develop my nonfiction voice.
Posted by Rebecca as Resources at 8:03 AM EST