![]() Use shorter words, shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs at the points of greatest complexity.ĩ. But it should grab the reader’s attention.Ĩ. Not even a first draft, but a Zero Draft.ħ You don’t need to tell everything in the first sentence. The antidote to writer’s block is lowering your standards. The antidote to procrastination is REHEARSAL, writing it in your head.ĥ. The numbers correspond to the order in which they were written.Ģ. A lifetime of writing adviceĪs you read these here, you have to imagine them scribbled across the page in black ink from a green Poynter Institute pen. ![]() ![]() More and more, it seems to me, what a writer remembers is often the most important. I finished the project in one sitting, writing by hand in the makeshift journal, without reference to any of my books. I would select my favorite bits of advice, not just from the new book, but from the six that preceded it - the kind of practical strategies that work best in my coaching and teaching. He was asking, in essence, that I write him a mini-book, a personal anthology of my thoughts on writing.Īt first, I was put off by the brashness of the request. “Just like the Apollo 13 which launched on that day,” he wrote, “I’m feeling lost in space and can’t wait to find my way home.”Īlong with his letter he sent a tiny notebook he had created, a few pieces of paper stapled together with a request: “With some distance from writing ‘Tell It Like It Is,’ perhaps you could scribble some key thoughts down from it.” He included a self-addressed return envelope and $25, enough for postage, coffee and a “juicy muffin.” He then caught a notice of my new book, “Tell It Like It Is: A Guide to Clear and Honest Writing,” due out April 11. What did he want from me? It turns out he had read two of my books and found them helpful. (I thought of that stamp of a gray cat with its eyes closed.) Both parents suffered serious illnesses and his cat went blind. He had written three diet books and had taken a course on screenwriting during the pandemic. He described himself as a scribe who was, like Jagger, not getting satisfaction from his work no mention of his acting career. The sender was a writer named Paul Khanna. Whoever sent this seemed to know something about my interests and sensibilities. When I flipped it over, it was sealed with a Mick Jagger stamp and hand-written note: “He also can’t get no satisfaction….” The envelope celebrated “Her Majesty the Queen’s PLATINUM JUBILEE.” Five stamps carried the postage, each with a distinctive image: Soldiers from WWII three lines from my favorite Shelley poem, “ To a Skylark” four members of the Rolling Stones and a gray cat with its eyes closed. The letter that inspired Roy Peter Clark to draft a quick list of his best writing advice.ĮDITOR’S NOTE: This essay is shared with our friends at The Poynter Institute by request of the author.īy Roy Peter Clark Early last October I received a small package from England, which looked most interesting even before I opened it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |