Leslie Adkins: writing tips

See helpful articles on writing, by Leslie Adkins, on the Writing Clips page.

"Keep in mind that learning how to write novels is a process. It takes a lot of time and infinite labor. After only a few months of lessons you would be foolish to conclude that you were unfit to become a concert violinist. With writing novels too, if you have a passion for it, you must give yourself years to practice, to learn to overcome your mistakes, and to prove to yourself that you possess the necessary skills." Albert Zuckerman

It's okay to write junk - Practice--Practice—Practice. Honor your gift by learning the craft, by perfecting it.

A Writer is someone who wrote today (procrastination is not honoring your gift). Just write!

All rules can be broken - Does it work?

The Writers Life:   Solitude vs. Isolation
     - Nurture Your Self-Esteem - Writing is an emotional roller coaster. Get support.
     - Persistence. Webster defines it as “Continuing in the face of opposition or
         continuing to exist or endure.”
     - There is no fame in publishing. Keep your aspirations humble.
     - Work while you're not working--always be thinking about your story.

Writing is a business. Be a professional.

Reading is important. Be aware--analyze. Why was it good or bad? Why did I care?

Get Support: It's hard to be objective about your own work. Getting constructive feedback can improve your work (and your attitude). Consider joining (or start your own) critique group. Assemble other serious writers/people you trust.

Writing Exercises

You meet a man in a bar in a strange town. He has a cat on his lap, and he orders a cup of coffee, slowly spoons sugar into it. He strokes the cat's black fur and says, "This contact is illusory. The cat and I are separated as though by a pane of glass, because man lives in time, in successiveness, while the magical animal lives in the present, in the eternity of the instant." What do you say back to him? And he to you? What does the cat do? What happened to this man before he came into the bar?

You are in a waiting room (doctor's office, job interview, etc.). People are sitting more or less in a circle. Describe several of them -- focusing only on their feet! Type of shoes, cleanliness and condition of shoes, toes if they show, how they let their feet rest. Are they quiet or do the feet move? What can you tell about the person from the feet?

Observe someone's hands (this can be in memory or imagination. Describe them as fully as possible. Notice shape, skin texture, any jewelry or disfiguration. What clues do these hands give you about the person's life?

Describe a food, using all your senses. Observe it visually, of course, but also include texture, smell and taste. Describe it again, but in a way that makes it disgusting: how a big juice steak, for example, must appear to a vegetarian.

Write a dialog in which two people are discussing something very ordinary--what movie to see, who is going to win the championship-- but underlying the quotidian discussion is some serious conflict between them. Show what is going on under the surface.

Write down one end of a telephone conversation of someone in your family or a stranger. Given the ubiquity of cell phones, this should be easy to find. Next, write the other half of the dialogue, making up the second person's words. Later, continue the dialogue with what came before it and what comes after....

One of the important things in good prose writing is to have more than one thing happening at once. In this exercise, describe a kiss, taking your time and trying to visualize the action clearly and precisely. However-- have something else going on at the same time. Maybe one person is thinking of a different boyfriend, or perhaps someone's leg is falling asleep, or maybe one person is worried about the garlic pizza he had for dinner.....

“Drama is real life—with the dull parts left out.” Alfred Hitchcock

Web design by
Intentional Publishing & Design