The Writer July 2014

Do you admire people who use language in unusual ways? Chances are if you’re reading this, you do – or you are that person. I love when someone turns a phrase that makes me stop and reconsider conventions or expectations. I have a friend who never gets his verb tenses correct, but his mistakes serve to remind me: Break the rules and discover a new truth. Sometimes he speaks poetry without even knowing it. That’s not to say we should eschew the rules. We hate typos and misspellings when they happen in our writing (and when they happen in our magazine – egads). We strive for grammatical and syntactical perfection. And we’re pretty sure you do, too. But it’s that occasional typo or other mistake – for instance, the difference…

DOES WHERE YOU WRITE INFLUENCE WHAT YOU WRITE? Over the past several years, I have traveled throughout the country, particularly the northeast and the Appalachian region, with my husband. He conducts business while I focus on completing a middle-grade novel and writing op-eds for my hometown newspaper, The Charleston Gazette. I often find myself feeling like an early nomad, and the challenges of traveling from town to town and city to city fuel my creative endeavors until it becomes a welcomed anticipation to move to the next location to see how that area, culture and even climate will affect my writing. In the global economy that has emerged over the past few decades, many writers find themselves writing from wherever they happen to land: airport terminals, subway cars, commuter trains…

Hemingway said: “Write drunk, edit sober.” Before there were blogs, tweets and text messages, there was a writer with a pen in one hand and (often) a drink in the other. Here is a collection of bars that writers made famous. The Ritz Bar PARIS THE WRITER Ernest Hemingway WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL “When I dream of afterlife in Heaven, the action always takes place at the Paris Ritz,” Hemingway said. Visit the Bar Hemingway, named in his honor. Several pictures of places that inspired the author adorn the walls. There are rumors that the Bloody Mary was invented here…by Hemingway. DRINK Bloody Mary Woody Creek Tavern WOODY CREEK, COLO. THE WRITER Hunter S. Thompson WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL If Thompson could have designed a bar, it would be the…

I have a lot of creative writing classes under my belt, but I feel compelled to take more. At what point are classes no longer useful? If you’re still challenged by the classes and you find you’re growing as a writer, why not continue? Generally speaking, good classes are a community of writers. They give you an opportunity to discuss writing with like-minded individuals who are thinking seriously about literature and the craft of writing. As a result, no two classes are exactly the same, even if they are lead by the same instructor. Participants bring unique insights and individual concerns. Of course, instructors can offer approaches and share individual knowledge gained from experience. If the class includes a significant workshop component – and most writing classes do – you…

Although writing techniques vary from writer to writer and story to story, I consider four key elements essential for effective writing: accuracy, solid research, lively dialogue and concrete details. Aspiring writers can spend years studying the craft to master these essentials. Or work in a newsroom – a powerful place to learn more about the craft. Of course, newsrooms are dwindling, and opportunities within existing newsrooms are rare. You may have to seek out “virtual newsrooms” or connect with working journalists for tutorials. Or take the following tips from writers whose work is grounded in journalistic technique. 1 THE LAND OF MAKE-BELIEVE “It doesn’t matter whether the story is set in the present day, 100 years ago, 100 years hence, or in a place that has never and could never…

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