So you wanna a be a writer!

I intended to write about writing this week, but before I even started I looked for an old column that I wrote.  It was in January 2005 and I really don’t have much new advice. I have cut some to fit in my usual 900 or so words; and I have updated a few paragraphs.

If you want to be a writer, you have to write.  If you don’t write, then being a writer will only remain a dream.  That is what I told myself over fifteen years ago.  Then I submitted my “Bear Stories” to the Northland Reader, a month or so later “Tech Staff Shortage”, then “Berlin Wall”, and before I knew it I was writing for almost every bi-weekly issue.  When the Northland Reader went weekly as the Reader Weekly, I soon started writing weekly.  Every so often the muse left me and I didn’t submit a column, but now it is hard not to write a column.

One way to start writing more is to keep a journal or a notebook, not necessarily a “What did I do today” but a collection of your ideas, no matter how fragmentary.  I have a small collection of hard-back blank books in which I jotted ideas about what I did or felt or saw for years.  One of these years I might transcribe them to my computer

You can also use little spiral bound notebooks that fit in pocket or purse.  Don’t forget to carry a pen or pencil.  Or you can use scraps of paper.  The problem with scraps of paper is that they pile up and don’t get organized.  It is fun to unbury them and read what you wrote a month or a year ago.  I posted a few of these on my blog last week. Now you can put your ideas in your smart phone or tablet, but just like the scraps of paper, you may bury them among all your other info.

The really best place to start serious writing, that is writing that other people read, is to write letters or emails to your friends and relatives.  Before putting your letter in an envelope or clicking the send button, reread what you wrote.  Does it give information clearly, does it convey your mood, and does it encourage a response from your reader?

Write in sentences and paragraphs. Each sentence should give a single idea, and a paragraph should give a set of related ideas.  I have a relative who sent emails as one big run-on paragraph; we found his messages very hard to read because we couldn’t focus on his thoughts.

Another good place to do serious writing is letters to the editor.  Why not write a letter to the Reader Weekly about this column?  Or to the News Tribune or the Star Tribune about what you think on an issue.  I must be getting stale because my letters are not published as frequently as a few years ago.  I try to follow the TUT principle; that is, a letter to the editor should be Timely, Unique, and Terse.  If you wait two or three weeks to write, if you write a letter similar to all the others, and you ramble on like this column, you probably won’t get published.  But if you email your letter as soon as you read an article, if you state an idea that is not given in the article, and you write in sentences and paragraphs and keep it to the size the newspaper wants, you greatly increase your chances of having your letter published.

The best basis for writing is lots of reading.  Read newspapers, magazines, and books. Unless you want to write about TV, turn it off and read instead.  Read novels, biographies, and histories.  Read books about writers.  One I particularly enjoyed is “It’s Been a Good Life” about Isaac Asimov.  If you read it you will sense the joy of expressing your thoughts to others.

Every good writer has an editor.  Pick up any book and read the acknowledgments; not only have many people contributed with ideas, but others have read the book and given the author comments, not only the publisher’s editor, but friends and colleagues. Before you dash off that important letter to the editor, ask someone else to read it.  You might be surprised at what familiarity with your letter lets you overlook.  My wife often reads these columns before I email them.  Although I complain that she can be too picky, very often she finds either a blatant error or suggests a better phrasing.  She’s out of town this November 2014 weekend, and so any mistakes are wholly my fault.

If you would like to meet and talk with other writers, contact Lake Superior Writers – www.lakesuperiorwriters.org or 1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 129, Duluth MN 55811.

Finally, what do you do about the dreaded writer’s block?  Generally, just go do something else for a while and try again later.  The humor writer James Thurber discussed this at a party with other writers.  One said he typed “The” in his typewriter and then words started coming.  Thurber tried it the next time he had writer’s block. He typed “The” and just stared at it.  After awhile he typed “hell with it” and went back to bed.

Or you rewrite an old article:)

This article was published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-11-06 and can be found at  http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/06/4303_so_you_wanna_a_be_a_writer.

Why Read?

Fact: Reading can make you a better conversationalist.

Fact: Neighbors will never complain that your book is too loud.

Fact: Knowledge by osmosis has not yet been perfected. You'd better read.

Fact: Books have stopped bullets - reading might save your life.

Fact: Dinosaurs didn't read. Look what happened to them.

From an email from ABE Books.

I spend too much time on my computer, or not enough?

I spend too much time on my computer, or not enough?

My son recently said I could stay away from my computer for a day or two, meaning doing without Internet access. Others have said that many people spend too much time on their computers.

But do they? Do we spend too much time in our houses or at our desks? Do we spend too much time with pencil and paper doing our accounting and bill paying? Do we spend too much time in an easy chair reading a book or magazine or newspaper? Do we write too many letters on paper to friends, politicians, or newspapers? Do we spend too much time getting our pictures developed and organized into scrapbooks? Do we spend too much time learning a piece of music for voice or instrument?

The fact is that a personal computer is an enabler of all these activities.

I once spent half an evening developing and printing a roll of film. Now I can have a hundred pictures ready for viewing in 15-30 minutes. I can print a copy of one in less than five minutes. Or I can distribute copies to the world in minutes.

Sure, I can dash off a note on paper in five minutes, but my recipient might not see it for two or three days. I also must add another five minutes for addressing, sealing, and stamping the envelope. With email I can send a quick note in one minute or a couple of paragraphs in five. If I make a mistake, I can correct it in a few seconds, if I see it. But we don't always see are errors on paper either.

Anyone who has used a computer to balance a checkbook knows, that even if it can be frustrating, a spreadsheet can be much more accurate than 10 pieces of scratch paper.

Once upon a time, some people subscribed to three newspapers a day and two magazines a week. Now too many people sit glued to a screen following somebody else's priorities and waiting minutes for what they are really interested in. On the other hand, one can scan hundreds of newspapers and magazines on the Internet from around the world or even search for a particular item of interest.

There is much more that we can access or do with our computers than I can write about in these few words. The real problem is that we can do so much that it is difficult to focus on what we should be doing now. It is like a 1,000 item smörgåsbord. What do we eat first?