Our writers’ group has seen a lot of people come and go in the time we’ve been together. Because of that, we revisited an old topic in our last meeting that I won’t re-blog about. However, we have a new idea.
Our group is a bit different from others I’ve been a part of in that we do not do critiques. Well, we do, some, but it’s nowhere near the focus of the group. Each month, a different member will present on some topic related to writing. I’ve talked about blogging in the past as well as lit mag publication. Next month, I’ll be talking about cultures in writing. One member had the idea to start a list of ‘rules’ we discover as we go through our material that will help those who are new or miss our meetings.
Here are the first four rules we came up with.
- Never use a phrase or clause when a single word will suffice.
- Be concise all the time, be precise when necessary.
- “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.” -Stephen King
- Beware of colloquialisms and when used, try to contain them to dialogue.
What do you think of these rules? The third is a quote, but I think it serves well as a rule as well. We’ll end up sorting our list by category, but here’s where we start. What else should we consider adding?
Until next time, write on.
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Taking On a World of Words 