words on words

If I write rapidly, putting down my story exactly as it comes into my mind, only looking back to check the names of my characters and the relevant parts of their back stories, I find that I can keep up with my original enthusiasm and at the same time outrun the self-doubt that’s always waiting to settle in.

“This business of… being a writer is ultimately about asking yourself, ‘How alive am I willing to be?’” —ANNE LAMOTT

The key to good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing, the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary.

Description begins with visualization of what it is you want the reader to experience. It ends with your translating what you see in your mind into words on the page.

Remember that the basic rule of vocabulary is use the first word that comes to your mind, if it is appropriate and colorful.

The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling the truth about what you see.