Writing blogs, and lyrics for tracks, i get caught up in a lot of traps that make me stumble, i.e-writers block, lack of inspiration, worried about how other's will perceive it, procrastination, never finishing a piece off completely. But i found an article where Stephen King gives you 7 tips to better your writing. Check it out.
1. Get to the point.
Don’t waste your reader’s time with too much back-story, long intros or longer anecdotes about your life. Reduce the noise. Reduce the babbling. In On Writing King gets to his points quickly. Get to your point quickly too before your reader loses patience and moves on.
2. Write a draft. Then let it rest.
King recommends that you crank out a first draft and then put it in your drawer to let it rest. Now, how long you let your text rest may vary. King puts his manuscripts away for several months before rereading and start the editing process.
I often let a post rest for a day or two before I start editing (as I´m sure many other bloggers do from time to time too).
This enables you to get out of the mindset you had when you wrote the draft and get a more detached and clear perspective on the text. It then becomes easier to edit, add and cut in a sometimes kinda ruthless way. The result is most often a better text.
3. Cut down your text.
When you revisit your text it´s time to kill your darlings and remove all the superfluous words and sentences. Removing will declutter your text and often get your message through with more clarity and a bigger emotional punch.
Don´t remove too much text though or you may achieve the opposite effects instead. King got the advice to cut down his texts by 10 percent from an old rejection-letter and has followed this advice for decades. While editing my blog I´ve found that 10 percent seems to be a pretty good figure not just for mammoth-sized books.
4. Be relatable and honest.
King has an honest voice in his fiction and in his memoir. He tells it like it is and makes us relate to him and his characters. Since King´s fiction often is of an odd kind with strange plots that seldom happen to normal people I think one of his strengths as a writer is being able to write relatable content anyway.
One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and honest characters with both bad and good sides to them. People we can relate to with all of their faults, passions, fears, weaknesses and good moments. King´s characters seem human. That creates a strong connection to the reader who starts caring about the characters.
Another key to being honest and relatable is keeping a conversational style. Keeping it simple and using language that isn’t unnecessarily complicated. Using the words that first come to mind.
5. Don´t care too much what others may think.
King admits to being needy about the emotional feedback he gets when he lets his wife read a new story for the first time. He gets a kick out of hearing her laugh so she cries or just cry because something in manuscript really touched her. But he has also gotten tons of mail over the years from people who confuse his sometimes nasty characters with the writer. Or just thinks he should wind up in hell. And King hasn´t always been a favourite among literary critics either.
But from what I gather he just sits down at his desk and keeps writing every morning anyway. If you listen too much to your critics you won´t get much done. Your writing will probably become worse and less fun. And criticism is often not even about you anyway.
6. Read a lot.
When you read you always pick up things. Sometimes it might be reminders about what you know you should be doing while you write. Sometimes it’s some cool idea or just the world and atmosphere the writer is painting. Sometimes it’s something totally new that makes your jaw drop. That one is my favourite. And sometimes you learn what you should avoid doing. There are almost always lessons you can learn.
If you want to be a better writer you need to read a lot to get fresh input, broaden your horizons and deepen your knowledge. And to evolve you need to mix yourself up with new influences and see what happens.
How do you find time to read more? You can cut down on other evening activities like watching TV-shows you don´t care for that much anyway. Or, as King suggests, you can bring a book to waiting rooms, treadmills or toilets. I like to plug in an audiobook while I´m on the bus or walking somewhere.
7. Write a lot.
I’ve saved the most important tip for last. To become a better writer you probably – and not so surprisingly - need to write more.
Many of the best in different fields – Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods - have gone beyond normal limits of practise. And so they reap extraordinary results.
But what do you do when you don´t feel like writing? Waiting for inspiration can become a long wait.
One good way to get around this is to find an effective solution to reduce procrastination. You may have to try a few before you find one that works for you. Another way is well, just to do it. And if you just get going your emotions changes a lot of the time and any initial resistance becomes fun and enthusiasm instead.
I know the boys back in Irvine, like to do a bit of the jamming, so i messed around with this arp on my keyboard and three drum beats, i just messed around for a bit in one take so forgive the amateurishness, i just switched the beats abruptly, and i mishit keys, but all good!
Arpin
This is the track we recorded about a month ago, and finally done. I know, I know, I never thought i would write a track based on past relationships either, but i think after a lot of thought i see the similar paths in which most of my relationships ended, and i was able to reflect on it a bit. but here it is!
http://www.last.fm/music/Ray+Ricafort/_/Letting+Go+of+Her?autostart
I know you prob all have heard this song numerous times, but i still can't get enough of the Kid Cudi "Day 'N' Nite" Crookers Remix, and still can't help myself from not getting into it and vibin with it when it plays...OOOOHHHHWEEEEE!
First one's a little jazzy tune i tried to mess around with after reading one of phil lee's posts about jazz. Second ones a little hip hop beat with some sampled i discovered. def. wanna work more and developed these both
Man, i can't believe this, i can't describe how i feel right now, i'm just sitting here all my friends are drinking chillin laughing gettin rowdy, but me i'm content sitting right here on the couch, soaking it up, and contemplating what Pac's win means to me, but especially for the 90 million pinoys in the P.I who need that hope, that inspiration, and that faith, to keep it moving, and keep it going, because if Pacman can come from nothing and leep on grinding, then so can I. I love what it will do for my dad, an unparalleled joy and invigoration that will continue on to further make him battle even harder against cancer. I love how many critics that were holier than thou condemning this match, talking about how Pac was gonna get destroyed and only took this fight for money. But i figure they'll all be changing their tone now acting like they knew all along. Maybe Manny did do it for the money, but you can rest assured that his purse is as good as the Filipino peoples, as he's so quick to give it back to them. He did it to make history, he did it to carry a nation and lift em up, he did it to show that he is the pound for pound number one boxer in the world, all you'll hear him credit God, and his countrymen, but never himself. So thankful, words don't really describe it, Greatest Sporting Event Of My Life, but makes even better HISTORY! Congrats Pacman.
My head is about to explode, im fidgeting like a crackhead, i've never been this excited and felt so deeply about one sporting event in my life, im officially trippin son, GO PACMAN GO!!! shock the world i know it's in you, all of the P.I and all your fans around the world are praying for you!
