May 10, 2016

This Is How You Write

writing This week I’m speaking at a writers’ conference in Seattle. I’m excited to meet the writers and hear their stories, because writers are made from special cloth.

Whether you write in the privacy of your own journal or on a blog or in the form of notes to your kids, there’s something brave about putting words onto paper.

I wrote this manifesto to share with the writers I meet this week—and with you, too. In case I don’t get to sit down with you in a one-on-one session, happy writing!

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This Is How You Write

Write it down. Scratch it out. Start over again.

This is how you write.

Write. Edit. Delete. Cry.

Breathe.

Rethink. Rewrite. Reorganize. Revise.

Repeat.

This is how you write.

Put on your sweatpants. Get a cup of tea. Plant yourself in the chair and tell your fingers to type.

This is how you write.

Spend time with imaginary people. Fall into a rabbit hole of research. Believe that productivity isn’t always measured by word count.

This is how you write.

Chain-read books. Soak up the different voices. Then find your own.

This is how you write.

Ignore the laundry, the dishes, the clock ticking inevitably toward dinner.

This is how you write.

Eavesdrop at the car wash, the grocery store, the DMV. Store up nuggets of dialogue.

This is how you write.

Get a snack. Check Facebook-Instagram-Twitter-YouTube. Stare out the window. Get another snack.

This is how you write.

Create, like your Father before you. Mark this space as sacred.

This is how you write.

Also: ignore the people who say “This is how you write.”

Do it your own way.

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What else would you add to the list about how to write?

February 2, 2015

Announcing the Winner of the Book Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who contributed writing tips and advice in our discussion 10 Quotes for Writers! There were so many nuggets of wisdom in your comments. I wish I could sit down with each of you and continue to glean insights from you.

And now, announcing the winner of the Bird by Bird giveaway. I used a random number generator to pick comment #11. Congratulations to Rachel Quigley! (Rachel, I’ll send you a separate message about getting the book to you.)

January 27, 2015

10 Quotes for Writers

In my almost dozen years of editing, I’ve had occasion to acts as both coach and cheerleader for my authors. During that time, I’ve discovered this secret about writing: At some point or another, every writer gets stuck. Maybe it’s on the first page, when you’re staring at that dreaded blank screen; maybe it’s somewhere in the middle, when the freshness has worn off and there’s nothing left to do but slog on; maybe it’s at the end when you’re ready to be done but it’s not quite coming together. And as a writer myself, I’ve felt the pain of writer’s block firsthand.

So I’ve been collecting these quotes for years, some more profound than others, with this central message: You are not alone. You may feel stuck, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a writer. You may feel stuck, but that doesn’t mean you should quit. I hope these words from people a lot smarter and a lot more talented than I am will inspire you on those days when you’re having trouble putting one word in front of the other.

There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges. —Ernest Hemingway

Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for. —Ray Bradbury

Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it. —Madeleine L’Engle

We are people of the word. Words matter because they carry ideas and ideas rule the world. —Richard Foster

If you can do it for joy, you can do it forever. —Stephen King

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. —Jack London

A book is a soulish thing. It is physical—dots of ink and paper from old trees—and yet it feeds our minds and moves our wills. . . . Books connect us with ourselves and with others—and perhaps with God. —John Ortberg

Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. . . . We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. —Anne Lamott

Writing makes a person very vulnerable. It opens you to public criticism, to ridicule, to rejection. But it also opens conversation and thought. It stirs minds, and touches hearts. It brings us into contact with our souls. —Joan Chittister, Order of Saint Benedict

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. —William Faulkner

What’s the best writing advice you’ve received?

Write your comment, and I’ll send a free copy of Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott to one randomly selected commenter.

April 8, 2014

10 Ways to Tell You’re a Writer

I’m heading to the Festival of Festival of Faith and Writing later this week, which is essentially a three-day binge on books and writing. I always come back feeling refreshed and reminded why I’m in love with words. In anticipation of the festival, here’s my list of signs that you’re a writer.

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A writer is someone who quilts words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into stories, and stories into something that will keep us warm at night.
A writer is someone who delights in finding precisely the right word at the right time . . . with the right word count.
A writer is someone who hears the siren call of laundry and Facebook and Netflix but somehow manages to keep rear in chair long enough to string some words together.
A writer is someone who wakes up in the middle of the night scrambling for a pen to capture those nocturnal wisps of stories.
A writer is someone who kills her darlings (but marks their graves in case they can be brought back to life one day).
A writer is someone who notices the little things other people miss. The gunmetal-gray of an April sky. The smell of new grass in spring. The old woman in the shadows with a story to tell.
A writer is someone who slows down time to help the rest of us pay attention.
A writer is someone who knows that words don’t appear magically out of thin air; they come out one idea, one keystroke, one drop of blood at a time.
A writer is someone who believes that words have the power to start a conversation, build a bridge, and remind us that we’re not alone.
A writer is someone who believes that words have the power to change the world, or maybe just one person. And that maybe that’s the same thing.

In honor of writers everywhere, I’m giving away a writing journal today. It was made in Thailand by precious women who are trying to get on their feet again after being exploited and trafficked. You can find out more about Women at Risk’s ministry here, and you can find more products like this journal here.

To be eligible to win this journal, simply answer this question: What do you think makes someone a writer? How have words made an impact in your life?