Writing exercise

Lisa Yee, an American YA author, is running a writing competition where you are required to tell a story in 25 words or numbers or fewer. Give your story a beginning, middle and an end, she says. Also add pathos, drama and/or humor and get extra points.

I think it’s a good exercise help writers write as tightly as possible, especially children’s writers and poets. So I tried it out. Here’s my entry:

Bam! Mommy 4ls. face w@. W8. W8. 911?

Wanna try it?

Career advice I wish someone had given me when I began my career

I wish someone suggested when I first launched my writing career that I start in the newsroom. I’ve found journalism to be boot camp for any kind of writer, even if they plan to write short stories and novels in the long-term.

Since I began working as a journalist, I’ve gotten into the habit of delivering publishable material everyday, rain or shine. No one cares whether I’m inspired, tired or suffering from writer’s block. And even if my first draft is a stinking bundle of tripe, I have to rewrite, edit and polish until it’s publishable.

EVERYDAY!

So I’ve gained a lot of discipline about the writing process, and gain confidence as you learn to deliver under extreme pressure.

I think the training also gives a writer a half-way decent chance of building believable characters, because you have learnt how to sort out credible stories from PR fluff and outright lies.

You’ll know if there’s something dodgy about the character. If this character you created gave you a lead for a story, would you believe him/her? Would you follow it up? Would your publication agree to publish it, thus putting its rep on the line as the purveyor of truth?

A journalist also meets a lot of interesting people (future character studies), goes interesting places (future settings) while also building a readership.

By the time your books comes out, there are readers who’ve heard of you and take you seriously, and your writing career is just seen as branching into something else, not starting from scratch.