Category: Writing Tips

This one actually comes from my brother. His was a solution to art. When he couldn’t digitally paint, he’d switch to pencil. If that didn’t work, he’d switch the paper from white to a yellow legal pad, he’d switch to painting or markers, or . . . a red pen.

When we’re blocked creatively, it helps to switch up how we’re trying to create.

If you can’t type on your laptop, try handwriting your story. Try different inks, or on your computer try different fonts. Change something.

A lot of writing is the art of tricking your mind to do it after it says it can’t.

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I recall reading somewhere that Kurt Vonnegut wrote his stories with his sister in mind, as if he was speaking to her.

Vonnegut’s work has always had that nice quality of be present with him as the story is being told. Not in an auditorium, but like you’re both standing on an elevator together, shoulder to shoulder and his mustache is threating to bristle your ear.

I think he achieved this quality by writing as if he was telling someone close to him the story.

When we tell a story to a person, there are things we would tell one person that we wouldn’t tell another.

You’re not going to tell your boss the reason you’re late is that you were out having the grandest adventure and just got in the door twenty minutes ago. But you’re probably going to tell that one work pal–maybe including a few embellishments, leaving out the embarrassing parts. You’ll cater it to them.

There are things they know and things they don’t, and you will have to give them those background stories. Maybe they don’t know that cohort of yours that kept you out late. Now you have to tell them that cohort’s life story, so they understand why you didn’t just go home.

I’ve tried a few people (not my sister yet though), and I notice the results tend to resonate stronger with me than when I’m just trying to put the story to paper. When I’m thinking about that other person and telling them the details that they’d find interesting, it seems clearer to me what I should write. The story might not take on a conversational tone, but it feels more like I’m conversing rather than writing.

Next time you sit down to write, pick one person you know that you want to tell that story to.

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One of my oldest tricks for writing is to use music in the background.

I try to find an album or a single song that isn’t too intrusive, but perhaps lends itself to cinematic qualities that match the tone I am looking for.

Using the same music each writing session allows me to return to a similar headspace.

BUT . . . it can get tiresome.

There are a few bands and albums I can’t listen to again since I played them on repeat during a draft.

There are others that I return to, fondly remembering their guidance.

I don’t always listen to music when I write (more often I do not). But I always listen to music in the car. During a novel draft, I will not change whatever album I’m listening to. The time in my car listening to music is generally when I think about what I’ve written and what I want to write next. Having consistent music keeps me in a similar headspace. Of course, after a month of the same album, it’s usually a relief to change up an album when a novel draft is completed.

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We all use the same words over and over again. Same phrases too.

But it’s often hard to notice it unless someone else points it out. But if you’re weary of repetition there’s a couple of steps you can take.

If it’s a short story, it’s rather easy. I’ll run through the steps, but afterwards I’ll include tips for preparing a larger document, say a novel . . .

I use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

1. Create a copy of your story (or just don’t save changes after you do the next step).
2. In Microsoft Word, Use the ‘REPLACE’ feature
3. In the FIND type a single space
4. In the REPLACE type ^P. This will turn every ‘space’ into a new paragraph.
5. Hit replace all. Now every single word you wrote is on a separate line.
6. Select All and Copy (control-A then control-C)
7. Open Microsoft Excel, select a cell, and paste (control-V) You will now see every single word vertically in their own cell on the spread sheet.
8. Sort the date Alphabetically. Do this by using the Sort feature after selectin the entire column.
9. Now scroll down, you will see long stretches of those words you repeat too dang much!

TIP #1– You can also fill the second column with the #1, to make tallying words easier, with an advanced sort. But trusting my eyes is usually enough for me.

TIP #2– For longer documents ESPECIALLY, use the find and replace to delete words you KNOW are going to be used and can’t help but be used. FOR EXAMPLE: a, the, an, of, is, are, he, she, they, I, me, you, your, not, was, were, that, ‘Character or location Names’, etc.

TIP#3- Almost forgot, oops. Punctuation should be eliminated first. So find and replace all punctation and replace it with a tap of your space bar.

TIP#4- Remember, just because you use a word a lot, doesn’t mean it is wrong. Repetition can be done right and can trigger a rhythm in the reader, but for all other words, break out that THESAURUS!

TIP#5- A small sample size is fine. Choosing one chapter or one short story is going to benefit you as much as running every story and every word of your novel through this scenario. Words that we repeat that are problematic will show up, and once you learn which words you overuse, you just have to remember to avoid them (or replace later).

TIP#6- Keep a list of those overused words to FIND and REPLACE during your next edit.

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