Writing Tip 9: Write it Down Says Terrie Moran

Author Terrie Farley Moran offers some sage advice she learned from another author.

"My writing tip comes from author Gillian Roberts (ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS). Her advice is: DON'T WRITE IT RIGHT, WRITE IT DOWN.

"I have that phrase stuck to my monitor on what is probably the tenth or twelfth grungy looking 3x3 sticky. This one is written in blue ink. The predecessors have been in black, brown, green, red, and even pencil. Some were written in script, but I find block letters work best for me."

Writing Tip 9: DON'T WRITE IT RIGHT, WRITE IT DOWN

Moran says the phrase stops her from interrupting her work.

"It stops me leaving my work in progress to check the thesaurus, or the dictionary, or to 'search' some exotic point. Side trips are distractions that interrupt my flow, and can lead to a less than stellar story all because I stopped to research at exactly the wrong moment."

** Good idea! How many times do we get up to check the fridge or just wander around to avoid - writing?

** What are your "side trips" that keep you from getting your story down on paper?


-- Terrie Farley Moran is author of numerous short stories. Her latest, "Just Call Me Nick," is in the Wolfmont Press anthology of holiday crime stories, DYING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND. All proceeds are being donated to the USMC Toys for Tots.