Writer Myths: The Three Big Fish

Hi, folks, whoa, I get busy in September. My youngest started high school. I've got two in college.  It's amazing how packed my days are right now. This month I'm going to touch on all the Writer Myths that I know.  I hope dispelling some of these myths will help you on your journey. I hope they put a smile on your face. I hope you find your spirit lifted and ready to do more work than you thought possible.

Writer Myth # 1: Write every day! Ha! Every writer finds her own rhythm. Some take a month off and write that month only. Some write on Saturdays. Some write on holidays. Some write during NaNoWrMo.  Some do write every day. There are dozens of strategies and some of them work. If you don't write every day and you are producing books, chin up! If you are not producing work, you may find writing every day helps you. Otherwise, follow your muse!

Writer Myth #2:  Write what you know! Baloney! You can read. You can research. You can write what you don't know if you want. The deal is by the time you are finished writing about it, you will know it. What happens if you want to write about someone who can fly. Do you really know about that? I mean, writers have BIG IMAGINATIONS. You might have to study stuff like bumblebees and birds and airplanes to get the flying just right in your story but I'm sure you'll find some stuff that is original to your view of flying. Writing is alchemy -- conjuring gold with a philosopher's stone. I like to say write what is true. If you start writing and find you don't know what is true, figure that out.

Writer Myth #3: Show don't tell. My eyes are rolling into the back of my head. This myth roams and roams. We don't call it story writing, but story telling. And the genius advice is: never tell anything. The trick  in writing a story is that you have to show and tell. Come on, did you go to kindergarten?  What do you show? What do you tell?  This is a good way to think about it.  Some things need more showing that others.  Somethings need more telling.  For me,  a good book has a lot to show, but slices in some telling.  The trick is to keep it all in a voice that I'm willing to stay up late at night reading with a flashlight under the covers.

I hope my mythbusting has cheered you up! I hope that you write your heart out. I really do because I love a good book. I'll be back next week with more myths.

Now it is time for our doodle of the week: "Kid Astronaut."

This week's quote is one of my favs:

"The unexamined life is not worth living."  Socrates.