Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry is notoriously difficult to translate. For non-German speakers, Rilke’s writing in Letters to a Young Poet is the closest we can get to the poet. It doesn’t only bring us closer to his writing style, but also the man and the general nature of poetry and writing. In Letters to a…
Month: May 2021
Kill Your Darlings.
For some, it’s a fundamental and obvious piece of writing advice that they’ve practiced for years. To others, it sounds odd to the extent that following it would be detrimental to your writing. Because why would you want to kill your darlings? Aren’t they supposed to be cherished and nurtured? This post will show what…
What is a motif?
Understanding the motifs in your writing will help your creative process and how you talk about and sell your work. In this post, I’ll define what a motif is, how it differs from a theme, and then suggest how you might use a motif in a story. A motif is a dominant or recurring idea…
How to write a novel.
Every novelist has a unique process. A certain breed of writer can write a novel in fifteen or thirty days, some taking part in NaNoWriMo. It’s not something I’ve tried, but, time permitting, I want to in the future. It’s a good way to get down a solid first draft, writing freely without time to…
How to Edit Well: 14 Micro Editing Tips.
Here’s an editing cheat sheet. I’ve used it for almost ten years since the most influential teacher of my life handed it to me. In ‘The best writing advice anyone has given me‘ and ‘Should writers worry about offending readers,’ I shared advice from Carl Tighe and Moy McCrory. But it was Adrian Buckner, another…