Things I Have Learned ... From YOU!

The interesting thing about working really, really hard on a writing project, is that suddenly you have no time or topics for blogging. I mean, really, how many posts do people really want to read on how this rewrite is going?

(By the way, it's going really, super well. As in, I've been at it less than a week and have over 20,000 words done. Of course, yesterday marked the first time my floors were swept in I-don't-want-to-think-how-long, and the pile of clean laundry in my laundry room is threatening to take over my house unless I start folding, and my family has been eating vegetarian for the simple reason that I never remember to take meat out of the freezer early enough in the day .... but hey. The WRITING is going great!)


One really fantastic thing with this rewrite that I do want to mention is how much the writing blogs I've started following in the last year have helped. For example? In the first version, my MC had to look at her reflection for me to feel comfortable giving her physical description.

I know. CLICHE!

I knew it was cliched even then, but it wasn't until reading a bunch of different blogs that I started to realize just how cliched it was. And, even better, how to avoid it. Now, she simply knows how she looks. Because really, how many of us need a mirror to describe how we look? I haven't looked in a mirror since leaving the house for Bible Study last night, but I can tell you right now exactly how I look:

Ash-blonde hair with lighter highlight and darker lowlights to brighten it and give it depth. Just about jaw-length, mostly one length except those front pieces that used to be bangs and I am desperately trying to lose (I TOLD the hairdresser bangs don't work for me, but she didn't listen. They never do). High, broad forehead. Dark brows that used to meet in the middle but are, thanks to tweezers and wax, mostly tamed these days. Blue eyes with long lashes that make the ever-present dark circles underneath look even darker. A blunt nose that I've always hated, even if it is a family trait. High cheekbones, one of my few claims to beauty. A mouth that is almost always smiling at least a little, and usually a lot, and mostly straight teeth thanks to my lovely orthodontist (and would be perfectly straight if I had been better about wearing my retainer after I got married, but hey, what young newlywed wants to go to bed with a mouthful of plastic?) Receding jawline that I HATE, especially when combined with my nose, because the two together make my profile look idiotic. My only comfort comes when I remember that Lord Peter Wimsey had no chin, either. Coarse skin if I don't moisturize, prone to redness when I don't wear my correcting powder, and thank goodness for modern makeup!

(I just got up and glanced in the mirror. The only things I forgot were my ears, which are unremarkable, and my glasses. I have no excuse for forgetting the latter. They are the first things I put on when I wake up, and the last I take off before bed, and I've worn them (well, not this particular pair, but glasses in general) since I was twelve.)

I've digressed here, but to try to return to my original point - the tips and tricks I've picked up from other writers, editors, deep readers, etc across the internet have helped me to be more critical in my own work, and I am tremendously thankful. I'm learning so much more than I've been able to do just on my own, especially with things such as building tension, pacing scenes, creating conflict ... I'm a fairly straightforward thinker (no tortuous mind for me, as Poirot had), and so my stories tend to happen in a straightforward manner, which equals BORING for the reader.

I'm even eliminating most of the adverbs I've always liked to add to my dialogue tags, and that's a habit I never thought I'd be able to break!

The internet can be a terrible distraction for anyone, especially writers, but the people who share their knowledge and experience through the internet? You are wonderful, and I thank you!

What are some of the best tips you've gotten from other writers on the internet? What are ways you've been able to improve your writing, that you might not otherwise have done? If you were to describe yourself without the aid of a mirror, what key element(s) would you miss, if any? Does your hairdresser ever listen when you try to tell her things about your hair?