Writing Art With Impact

Small White butterfly (Pieris rapae) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Life isn't art – life is life. But photographs of life can be art. Paintings can be art. Poems can be art. And novels can be art with impact.

In any genre.

Art with impact requires attention, opinion, technique, and refinement.

• Attention: Before you can write about something, you have to notice it, possibly study it, probably observe it, definitely think about it.
• Opinion: A natural byproduct of thinking about it is forming opinions. Opinions form the cores of your book or poem. If you write about it, you think it worthy of note. Characters you create reflect your opinions about humanity and different types of people. The ways you establish mood, the types of conflict you choose, the settings you choose to explore. All of these are based on your opinions and assumptions.
• Technique: You express your opinions through technique. Beats, plot points, dialogue, transitions, action and reaction scenes, there are so many techniques at so many levels of your story. Technique gives you ways to express your ideas that are recognizable by the reader.
• Refine: No photograph, painting, poem, or story can include everything. Part of what makes a piece yours is what you choose to include and leave out. Thee ways your piece balances scope and depth.

Raise Reader Tension: The Unknown

 Introduce the Unknown and you will have the reader on edge -- an immediate increase in
reader tension. You can do this at any point. I think Middles are particularly well-suited for doing this since Beginings are for set-up, Endings are for wrap-ups, but Middles are for complications. And what is more intriguing and unsettling  to the reader than an "I know something you don't know"? Especially right when the reader is getting complacent.

English: Hampoil cave entrance from inner angle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        Foreshadowing in prose, allusions in dialogue, or unexplained events are just a few ways to raise reader tension. Some of this might be plotted into your first draft but if you have places that sag but are necesary to the story, you can add elements of the unknown to draw the reader back into the story.
        Look for ways you can rewrite the scene so the characters explore a new area (a cave, empty building, new sector of the city. A place neither the characteer nor the reader has ever been before.
        Look for places where you tell back-story or history directly and without conflict. Or brainstorm back-story or history that is not included in the story but you wish you could have included. Turn this into a secret to be kept from the reader (and maybe the character) that must be discovered through hints and clues given out by various characters and settings.
        Take a character who is important (but maybe not vital) to the story and rewrite your manuscript so the reader never actually meets this character.
        Take your time when introducing a new character or setting. The reader doesn't need to know everything at once. In fact, the reader doesn't need to know everything at all just so long as you know. Show the action and take your time with the explanations. (Some explanations can wait longer than others.)
Introduce uncertainty, mystery, indecision -- the unknown -- to increase reader tension. Raise reader tension to help tighten the sagging, dragging passages of your manuscript.

Raise Reader Tension: Main Characters

         How can you increase reader tension? I mentioned that it isn't the character that has to feel the tension but the reader. One way to achieve this is through tweaks to your main characters. Remember that surprise is key to reader tension.

English: A thermite reaction using Ferric Oxide. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        One reason readers become complacent is that over time, they learn to predict character reactions. This is especially true in the middle -- after character has been established. By the middle, readers think they know everything there is to know about the character. If you allow this, there is risk that the reader will get bored.
Use their assumptions against them while remaining true to the character you have created.
        Give your character an unexpected reaction. Unexpected to the reader, that is. You will have to justify the reaction and the readers will see that there is more to the characters than they thought, maybe an unmet need, controversial belief, previously unrevealed back-story.

NOTE: this works best if you set up reader expectations before challenging those beliefs. Find several similar situations in your manuscript that evoke the same reaction. Then insert or alter a situation that is almost identical except that it includes a personal trigger that will cause the character to react differently. The reader will be surprised, confused, intrigued. The different reaction will put the reader on edge until the change of behavior is explained (in a way that stays true to character). Done right, you can also deepen character with this technique.

        Another way to use your main character to raise reader tension is to exploit his/her character arc. A character becomes predictable when turning points are delayed for too long, lack surprise twists, or have steps that do not offer enough change in character outlook/motive/behavior.
        These techniques should help you to keep your reader guessing and engaged with your main characters. Keep the reader unsure, keep the surprises coming, and you will be well on your way to raising reader tension.

Raise Reader Tension: Surprise

Tightrope Walker (Photo credit: the other Martin Taylor)

        Does your story drag when you reread it, despite a well-conceived plot? You may be having trouble with dramatic tension. A feeling of tension in the reader is vital to building suspense because it keeps the reader from feeling complacent.
        Reader complacency is the enemy to tension. A reader can still feel complacent -- and bored --  even when faced with the fastest, most action-packed plot.
        How can this be?
         The complacent reader knows what is going to happen. So even when the character is surprised, the reader is not. Predictability is the enemy to dramatic tension.
It is not necessary for the character to feel the tension, so long as the reader feels it.
        After all, the character isn't the one reading the book, turning the pages, making the decision whether or not to put the book down or stay up through the night. Tension in the reader overlaps with -- but is not identical to -- tension in the viewpoint character.
You can fight complacency with uncertainty. Not uncertainty in the character (though that can help) but uncertainty in the reader.
        Surprise the reader.

Dare to Write Bad

Scribble (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One great fear of writers is that they will write something bad. I say “Write away!”

• Practice: To write well, you first must write badly. Writing is a skill that can be improved only through practice. Bad writing is writing where you make mistakes. A diligent writer will learn from those mistakes and gradually stop making them. That you know your writing is bad means you have a feel for the criteria of “good” work but didn't quite make it this time.
• Edit: Many first drafts are read badly. Good writing often comes through edits. Plan to revise and you can write as badly as you need. The important thing to remember is that you cannot improve a WIP that has not been written.
• Create: There's a need that drives any piece of writing. By writing something, even something bad, you are making, creating, doing. Even if you don't dare show it to anyone else, it was worth the time and effort it took to express yourself.
• Flow: You write what is on your mind. By writing, you put those thoughts into words. Sometimes the flow is the goal, rather than the aesthetic quality of the work. And who knows? The bad writing may trigger a great work, a healing, or a personal revelation.
• Critic: Maybe the finished product is not as bad as you think. If you are your own worse critic, then it might be a good idea to show the (polished) product to someone you trust to kindly analyze it. Even if it is awful, a kind critic will find the nuggets of goodness inside.

90% Perspiration

idea (Photo credit: Tony Dowler)

Everyone, it seems, has an idea for a book. A book they will write “some day, when I get around to it”. Of the few people who actually start to write that book, many (maybe most) soon give up. Welcome to the world of the writer! “10% inspiration, 90% perspiration”.

Every day has its challenges, some seem insurmountable. The story goes off track, the words won't come, you hit a dead end. It takes work to recover, make up for lost time, and find solutions. Creativity is a necessary ingredient, but so is relentless effort.

Then there are the edits. Few first drafts clearly convey the writer's intentions. Sometimes you remove vast chunks, realize there are holes to fill, or find places where logic just broke down. Creativity is still an important element, but no one who has revised a WIP would discount the importance of “elbow grease” or a red pen.

Even after the WIP is finished, if you decide to pursue the publishing track, there are rejection letters. Publishing typically means research, test readers, submission guidelines, and multiple tries. Success means not giving up.

Tenacity is an often overlooked quality in writers. You may have a very supportive environment but there is probably no escaping the voices (inside and outside) that say you are not good enough, that what you write is trashy/escapist/frivolous, and that you should look for a “real” job/hobby. To keep writing under such pressure is another dimension of hard work.

So as important as it is to have an idea or three, any writer knows that alone is not enough. A poem, a book, a lyric, a screenplay, any of these takes work. And to produce a piece that clearly communicates the writer's idea usually takes a lot of work. But most writers will say that the process and the result are worth the effort.

Revision: logic and imagination

An unspecified river in Bangladesh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         Both logic and imagination are necessary in revision. Revision is not some dry process. It is fluid, floating between solid logic and airy imagination. The writer dips her toes in each world. Logic gives you the ABCs – structure, guidelines, rules. Imagination gives you the words.

Logic tells me to use the space to expand on my main conflict. When I deleted nonessential chapters, I also deleted a number of chapters that grounded the reader in the main character's ordinary world. It bothers me that the reader does not get a real feel for her home village. So I want the setting to be in the village and I want the building conflict between the main character and the antagonist to involve the villagers.

Imagination uses these guidelines to come up with several scenarios. The antagonist can turn the villagers against my character in an attempt to keep her from interfering with the plan he is about to execute (inciting incident). The main character can try to prove the antagonist's innocence to her best friend, only to become suspicious herself. I like these two best, so I decide to combine them.

See?

The writer is the river that washes against two banks and takes shape from both.

5 Ways to Free Your Writing

Dancers at the annual Cinco de Mayo Festival in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cinco de Mayo is (in part) a day that celebrates freedom. As a writer, fight for freedom from cliches, stagnation, and writer block! Just as the Mexicans turned back an invading force, you can fight against these enemies of writers everywhere and everywhen.

• Brainstorm: Avoid cliches by listing multiple scenarios. I find that my best ideas come after the brainstorming becomes difficult because I'm really stretching myself. Another benefit of brainstorming is that you can combine ideas, adding complexity – even if you go with your original plan.
• Want: Write what you want, not what you think you should write. You are writing for people who like what you like. So write for yourself and you will be writing for them. Also, when you write what you want you will be more enthusiastic, creative, and persistent.
• Carry: Keep a voice recorder, a notebook, or note cards to record ideas as they come. Then they'll be available when you want them. As an added benefit, the act of recording them can generate additional ideas.
• Ask: Other people love to share ideas for characters or settings. This gives them a chance to be part of the process and gives you a new perspective.
• Rewrite: When a scene doesn't work, rewrite it regardless of your time constraints. Better to do it now rather than later. A bad scene or line – or one that just doesn't “fit” – can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection during the submission process.

Working with an Absent Antagonist

Day Thirty-eight: Skulking (Photo credit: mbshane)

The book opens when the protagonist finds recent signs of the monster she has been hunting. The creature is nearby but does not actually appear until the next scene. Who is her main opponent? The creature. Where is it? Not here.

Scenes of pursuit and flight are perhaps the most common examples of absent antagonists. And thrillers are not the only books where the antagonist is not present. Maybe the protagonist is his/her own antagonist. How does the writer keep the reader involved when a direct confrontation just is not possible? Here are some techniques:

• Develop the sense of danger. She knows it is out there but not exactly where so it could appear at any time. Show destruction previously caused by the antagonist and hint at what it could do to the protagonist.
• Develop the sense of uncertainty. Not only could it appear at any time and from any direction, she's never actually seen the creature. Let her imagination run wild.
• Make the mood forbidding. Plants rustle without a wind. Sour smell from the burned out den. Lack of magic where there should be lots. No wildlife moving. Add what could be a bad omen. Skin prickles. Imagine that ghosts or some part of the setting is trying to warn her of danger.
• State fears/ worries/ uncertainties from the protagonist's POV. If she is unsure of her success, the reader will worry too.
• Set a time limit. The protagonist has to find the creature now before there are more victims and before someone else gets involved.
• Have someone warn her of the danger. Have someone warn her of the worst case outcome – the one that happens or one that is similar to what happens.

Biting the bullet

Culled paper (Photo credit: Dvortygirl)

After two days of hemming and hawing I decided to rewrite this chapter from scratch, too. Technically, it isn't from scratch. When I rewrite a chapter in this draft, I reuse the summary and incorporate new notes then fill in the gaps. But most the words I keep are new. (can't keep the summary) My writing friend who I met with today agrees that the two chapters I have rewritten this way read much better. I just might do all my chapters like this. It might be faster and produce a better product. Just wish I had thought of this strategy earlier. Guess I'm still learning. Someday this will be my first draft instead of my second.

Do you find your job is still a learning experience?

Revision Step 1: Delete for Conflict!

This blog post looks at what to delete from events in order to improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. By deleting content in your first step of revision, you won’t waste time polishing material you will only remove later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

The blog does NOT delve into different types of conflict, a break-down of what a scene is and is not, or types of transitions. Again, each of those would need its own post. The post carries the subtitle “Delete for Conflict!” because most of an event is made of conflict (I know you know this). But remember to look at the entire event – both before the conflict starts and after it is resolved – because the entire event can benefit from these warning signs.

• Ignores main story goal. The characters are not trying to reach (or prevent) the main story goal. Every sub-goal needs to tie back to that main story goal.
• Lacks conflict, tension, or suspense. The three are not the same. Conflict is a struggle between two or more characters. Tension is the physical, mental, and emotional strain caused by the conflict. Suspense is the reader's uncertainty about how the conflict will end. If you are missing any of them, the reader will probably loose interest.
• Takes tangents. A tangent differs from a valid digression. Sometimes a character will get deflected from the initial scene goal – and that can be fine. BUT: Is the scene goal answered by the finishing event? Can you justify the diversion? Was it somehow caused by the last event or did the even “just happen”? (Hint: the second scenario is bad.) Does the tangent serve some purpose? Ex., foreshadowing, essential backstory. If not, it needs to go.
• Story still drags. When this happens, then the pace may be too slow. Use all the articles as a check-list to see what can be removed. But don't stop there. Also try shortening the length of sentences and paragraphs. This alone will make the story flow faster.
  
  

This is Part 2 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

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Three very different book on planning events…

Bell, James Scott. Conflict & Suspense. Cincinnati, Ohio: Wiriter's Digest Books, 2011.

Dibell, Ansen. Plot. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1988.

Franklin, Jon. Writing for Story. New York: Plume, 1994 (republished).

How to Write Dialogue (video)

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-write-dialogue

A video about writing good dialogue, especially for introducing and maintaining conflict.

Revision Step 1: Delete for Dialogue!

This blog post looks at what to delete from dialogue in order to improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. Dialogue is an area I struggle with but many other people love. By deleting content in your first step of revision, you won’t waste time polishing material you will only remove later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

• Doesn't advance story. Story is not just plot. It is also the characters, the world, the mood, and the milieu. If a piece of dialogue doesn't do one – or preferably more – of these things, it needs to go!
• Pace. Fragmenting dialogue and thoughts will speed up the pace. Remove some tags and nonconverstional prose.
• Out of character. It is easy for many writers to write the way they talk. It is harder to write the way the character talks. Make sure to remove your slips of tongue. Keep in mind not only the characters' education, social class, and time period, but also their moods, who they are talking to, and where they are when they are talking (setting).
• Poor logic. There are three pieces to any event: stimulus/cause, internalization/reaction, response/action. In that order, please!

This is Part 5 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

Three very different book on improving dialogue…

Cheney, Theodore. Getting the Words Right. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 2005. 2^nd edition.

Kempton, Gloria. Dialogue. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 2004.

Spencer, Brent. Dialogue Tips & Traps: A Guide for Fiction Writers. Writers Workshop Press, 2012. 1^st edition. Ebook.

Dramatic Dialogue: Steps to Great Conversation Dialogue

http://www.creativejuicesbooks.com/dramatic-dialogue.html

found by shutethesquare on Tumblr

She says about the link...

Dialogue in a story is different from real-life talk. If we were to record a normal conversation we’d find it filled with idle chatter, incomplete thoughts and broken sentences. Most real-life conversations would be too tedious to read.
Written dialogue has to capture and hold the attention of readers. If your characters ramble on, the way people do in real life, you’ll lose your audience. So cut out the flab: words that don’t serve any useful purpose, sentences and paragraphs that cause the story to drag.

Revision Step 1: Delete for Character!

This blog post looks at what to delete from your manuscript in order to improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. By deleting content in your first step of revision, you won’t waste time polishing material you will only remove later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

Characters assumes that you have developed the people in your story or have plans to do so. The blog looks at staying true to your characters and your reader. Always, in my book, the reader comes first, the main character(s) comes second, and so on. The blog does NOT deal directly with character development but the tips and strategies will probably help you in this area, too.

• Flimsy reactions. A flimsy reaction is a label like “sad” or “startled”. These reactions are flimsy because they are insubstantial. They don't show anything about your character except at the most superficial level. Delete (or replace) reactions that are not concrete, don't give insight to your character, or don't convey movement.
• Out of character. Each character is an individual with quirks. When a character starts behaving like a stereotype, delete that action. Also delete moments when your character actively runs counter to his/her own nature IF you are not showing the character's anxiety and/or reasons.
• Overlapping characters. There are good reasons for overlapping qualities – especially in the protagonist and antagonist – but multiple characters who fill the same role, have the same personality, or share similar names, can be confusing to the reader. While an excellent effect when done deliberately for group characters, when you find overlapping characters you probably should consider merging or deleting a few.
• Too many characters. This can be confusing for the reader, especially early on, because the reader likes to focus on one (or a very few) characters at a time. When many characters are competing at the same level of importance – especially in the opening sections of a book – someone needs to go.

This is Part 4 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

Three very different book on character development…

Edelstein, Linda. Writer's Guide to Character Traits: Includes Profiles of Human Behaviors and Personality Traits. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 2006. 2^nd edition.

Hood, Ann. Creating Character Emotions. Cincinnati: Ohio, Story Press, 1998.

Swain, Dwight V. Creating Characters: How to Build Story People. Norman: Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.

Immerse Your Readers in Your Setting

Immerse Your Readers in Your Setting.

Revision Step 1: Delete for Summaries and Description!

Delete key on PC keyboard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This blog post looks at what to delete from events in order to improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. By deleting content in your first step of revision, you won’t waste time polishing material you will only remove later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

Summaries and Descriptions may be where your voice shines through most clearly. If you aren't sure what your voice is, here is a great place to look. This area is one that can help define the genre you are writing and every genre comes with its own expectations. Regardless of genre, there are guidelines for good summary and description. I attempt to touch on these.

• Serves one purpose. Good summary and description should do as many as possible of the following: unify the story, ground the reader, establish or intensify mood, develop character and world, show physical and emotional reaction, introduce or develop background, set up or fulfill reader expectations, foreshadow, increase suspense, raise tension, trigger an event (or mini-event), compress time, influence characters.
• Poor placement. Large chunks of summary and description just don't work in the middle of intense action because it slows the pace. One of the exceptions is when you want to stop all forward action – maybe create the impression of a frozen moment of time or a slow motion sequence.
• Dragging pace. Delete any summary and description that is not essential to the story at that moment. If it is important later, put it later (unless you are deliberately foreshadowing or using similar techniques). This strategy of spreading out crucial information (and if it isn't crucial it shouldn't be there at all) can increase reader curiosity and engagement. The largest amounts of summary often happen during transitions and transitions are particularly vulnerable to mistakes that slow the pace of the story.
• Out of character. No matter what POV you are using, you are still using a point of view. Point of view influences what you can mention. Delete anything the character would not notice. Each of your characters will notice some things but dismiss others, be repulsed by this and obsess over that. POV is affected not only by attitudes and preferences but the current state of mind. A person who just visited a dying friend probably won't revel in the glorious sunshine but notice the flies on the trash heaps instead. Or maybe that person (being an individual) would do the reverse. When you use multiple points of view, you may want to show the reader the same setting with this in mind. Delete summary and description that is out of character at that moment.

This is Part 3 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

Three very different book on summary and descriptions…

Alberts, Laurie. Showing & Telling. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 2010.

Bickham, Jack. Setting. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 1994.

Rozelle, Ron. Description & Setting: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Believable World of People, Places, and Events. Cincinnati: Ohio, Writer's Digest Books, 2005.

Revision Step 1: Delete for Style!

Symbol delete vote (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

           I'm doing some major revisions of a manuscript. I recommend beginning the revision process by looking for things to remove. Many times deleting content will improve clarity, voice, logic, and flow. As an added bonus, by deleting content in your first step of revision you won't waste time polishing material you will only remove your labor of love later on. And if deleting content leaves holes, you can brainstorm and fill the gaps with something even better.

Whether you have found your writing voice or are still flailing around, there are still ways to make your narrative more logical, precise, and clear to the reader. The blog does NOT intend to place greater value on any particular type of voice (wordy, terse, slang, etc.) or to influence you in a particular direction. If I did, then it wouldn't be your voice, would it?

• Definitely delete any cliché or colloquialism that don't fit with the setting, character background, time period, or genre. Otherwise you risk throwing the reader out of the story. Even if using these is part of your style or you are deliberately using them in dialogue for a particular character and it seems to work, consider deleting most of them. Use just a little bit and your favorites will shine.
• Be concrete. Convince the reader. Delete words like bright. A bright shirt is not a concrete description. A bright yellow blouse is still not concrete. You can get away with yellow (probably) but is the blouse “bright” because it is sequined, caught in a shaft of light, or is it neon? Convince the reader that it is a bright shirt or a bright day or a bright person.
• In line with this last point are adjectives. Search out endings: -ly, -ing, -er, -est, etc., and remove them without mercy. Be concrete, remove most and the few that are left that you absolutely love will have more impact. The On a related note, a and the are also adjectives. Your character leaving the room usually opens the door, not a door. The door is specific and concrete. A door is more abstract. Which door did he open?
• Then there are verbs. Look out for any form of “is” or “being”. These sentences can usually be shorted with those words eliminated. For passives and linking verbs, you can usually cut out half the sentence. Also keep a look out for generic verbs like walked, jumped. Improve clarity by telling the reader how the character does these things. A person can jiggle, skulk, shimmy, disappear into the crowd. Consider modifying generic verbs to show character or mood while staying true to POV and voice.
• Avoid redundancy. The reader is not stupid. A really important point that you want to be obvious about probably shouldn't be said more than three times in the entire book. And remember that what is important to the writer may not be important to the reader. And reader trumps writer. So consider being more subtle than the rule of three. An exception is the character's goal which should be explicitly stated as close to the start of the scene as possible and repeated as often as necessary – like when it changes or is thwarted along the way.

This is Part 1 of a series of five blog entries that look at deleting to improve Style, Events, Summary and Description, Characters, and Dialogue.

Three very different book on voice...

Edgerton, Les. Finding Your Voice: How to Put Personality In Your Writing. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 2003.

Hale, Constance. Sin and Syntax. New York: Broadway Books, 1999.

Payne, Jonny. Voice & Style. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1995.

8 Kinds of Awful Writing Advice by Susan K. Perry

8 Kinds of Awful Writing Advice by Susan K. Perry

1. Advice that demoralizes you. One young poet despaired when a teacher told her to put her poems in a drawer for ten years before sending them out. That advice plays into a paralyzing perfectionism. You can usually manage to see your words through fresh eyes in only a few days or weeks.
2. Advice that limits your potential.  Could it be true, as a novelist once wrote, that if you’ve left a novel unfinished for a few years, you may as well forget about it?  Not if your passion for project is still there or can be resurrected.
3. Advice that cramps your imagination.  Should you only write from your own point of view or about a group to which you belong?  No, that’s too rigid.  Great fiction has been written from the point of view of the opposite gender or from another era or culture. It’s all about pretending.
4. Advice suggesting that what works for you is nonetheless wrong. One novelist worried when told it was best to “Get the story out first, then polish.” His own method was to polish each section before moving on. That worked for him because he never became paralyzed by obsessing over every minor detail to the detriment of making any progress at all.
5. Advice that’s more market-oriented than you are. You may often hear, “Anticipate what the audience wants and then give it to them.” While that has worked well for some authors, others can’t create at all if they’re not pursuing their passions. There’s a time to focus on whether your work is the best it can be for reaching the audience you have in mind. But to prematurely zero in on what you think “they” want can be inhibiting.
6. Advice that’s impossible to follow. My favorite example of this is “Don’t think.” I, for one, can’t write from my toes, elbows, or even my heart. The trick, of course, is to take this less literally, and to learn to think in more inclusive ways than the usual grocery-list-compiling way.
7. Crazy-making advice. Examples: “Read everything,” or its reverse, “Don’t read at all when you’re writing.” Obviously one can’t read everything, even in a particular genre. Focusing on junk leaves little time for the good stuff. I like to immerse myself in the kind of work I’d like to produce myself.  As I read so many books, I’m not worried about imitating someone’s voice.
8. Advice that insists there’s only one correct way to write, propose, query, or submit your work.  Should you always avoid adverbs? Never use the passive voice? Never start a sentence with “there are”? Every one of these “rules” is broken constantly by top writers. And while there are established formats for query letters, nonfiction book proposals, and novel synopses, for every successful sale based on those formats, there are numerous exceptions.
(Source: blogs.psychcentral.com)