Writing Meditations: My toolbox and your toolbox

When I started working in my day job I quickly started to build up a ton of resources. Some more useful than others. The ones that I kept coming back to, or that I would use in my discussions with others in the community, were what slowly became my toolbox. I think it’s important for everyone, in their profession, to have a toolbox. As always, I want to share some examples of tools that I am starting to put in my toolbox, and I will link to them.

The Elements of Style

Is it here where I either try to dance around the fact that I am still learning to be a grammar master, or is it here where I pretend that I have it all figured out? Unfortunately, the proof is in the pudding, and you will clearly see in my writing that I don’t have it all figured out. With that admission, I will now talk about one of the most influential grammar tools I have ever put in my toolbox.

Ok. Try to remember the days when you were in school, you got a textbook for a certain class, and you started in on it. If you are like me, with your college days some time behind you, then this will still be etched in your brain. You probably remember that they could have been reduced by half without a loss to basically anything. I would often find myself reading a business book and say to myself, this could have been a medium article max. Well, here is the most surgical book I have ever read. The elements of style will tell how to contract, where to put those commas and everything you need to know to be a professional expert writer in less than 85 pages. That might still sound like a lot, but believe you me, there isn’t a word wasted in this book. Top recommendation! And, it’s completely timeless.

It will be the best, what, five or six dollars you spend. I will swear by it.

How do I use it? Well, I read through it to increase my grammar and literary style skills. I am still practicing, but I also use it as a reference. This is particularly useful in your second draft when you want to knock out some of that editing on your own. Get it. GET IT.

On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft

I talk about this one in my previous post. I’m not really a Stephen King fan though I easily admit his skill. I loved the Dark Tower series, but other than that his work hasn’t really resonated with me. That being said, this book is amazing. I do think that King gets a little verbose in it, and from time to time he meanders more than I’d like in such a practical book, but it’s amazing.

What I love best about this book is that it has some real, Gritty, examples of writing life. King gets really gritty with his advice and the examples from his own life that he uses to show what the writers life can look like. He shares examples of how his first few works got edited and how hard that process can be. He doesn’t spare you in the least, and is about as candid as you might expect from the master horror. Yet, I have to admit, it was very inspiring. Maybe I like that about the book, and you won’t. I don’t know. I like when someone shoots straight with me.

I used this book is probably a more accurate representation than use. Still it remains in my toolbox because there really are some practical examples of grammar, how to approach writing a novel, the difference between a novel or novella, and other tasty tidbits. It’s a great introduction to everything a writer will experience. If any of it seems disparaging an daunting then you might want to take long hard look at your goals and aspirations for writing.

Hemingway App

This one is a bit of a double-edged sword. I wouldn’t take this as gospel as I did with the previous two. It’s the first one that I am suggesting that is literally a tool. If you haven’t seen it already or aren’t too familiar with Hemingway’s philosophy, the basic gist is that it helps you get rid of the fluff and reduce the clutter in your writing. You will have clutter too. But it doesn’t care about your voice, like at all. That’s why I think it’s a double-edged sword.

When I first used it with my novel, having used this tool more practically for blogs, and other marketing efforts, I was really discouraged by it. Wherewith my marketing efforts the fourth-grade reading level made me feel like I’d done a good job, here I felt kinda dumb. I am writing an adult fantasy book. I’m not writing for fourth graders. Well, I learned fast, by copying excerpts from other celebrity writers, that it wasn’t a good gauge of your skill as a writer. More, it was super useful in helping you root out the overuse of adverbs or passive voice. Which, if you are doing it right, your first draft could very well be rife with.

It helps you to become more cognizant of your writing, and constructively critical. I would not suggest using it with your first draft. You don’t need that. Be good to yourself. Mental health is important and very real.

That’s it for now. There’s a ton out there for you to explore. I may revise with some more tools at a later date. I hope that this was useful to you as you are also exploring and looking for those tools that you will constantly return to. There are so many, like spider web charts, character creation methods, writing exercises, and so much more. These tools will have the amazing effect of increasing your confidence, and ultimately you will become that great writer you do desire to be!

- Riley