Murphy’s Laws for Writers (Part II)
When I posted the first 10 “Murphy’s Laws for Writers,” I said that I would share the rest in a future newsletter. Today, I am making good on that promise, but before you read them, here are some more Murphy’s Laws Cousins: + Murphy’s Laws of Law Enforcement (Your bullet proof vest was supplied by the lowest bidder.) + Murphy’s Laws of Drinking (Never drink with... Continue Reading
Resources for Publishing Your Writing
Taken from the May 2013 newsletter. Adventures in submitting The work of researching publications and sending out manuscripts has changed radically with the growth of the web which is both a good thing and a bad thing. In the old days, I had an intimate relationship with journals. As Borders and Barnes & Noble popped up (Sorry, there are no independent stores in my area) it became easier browse... Continue Reading
Video Writing Tip: Face Your Fears
Peter here with Murphy Writing’s very first Video Writing Tip. The process is so new to me that my finger is the star of the very first scene. Like all first drafts, I need to revise it. And I will—but I want to know your opinion first. I have a bunch of Video Writing Tips in my archives, but if you think they’re a terrible idea, I won’t inflict them... Continue Reading
Murphy’s Laws for Writers (Part I)
Poor Murphy. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. You know you’re having a Murphy day when things go from bad to worse to terrible. What you may not know is that there are Murphy’s Love Laws (If he isn’t taken, there’s a reason), Murphy’s Military Laws (The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire), Murphy’s Laws of Sex (If... Continue Reading
Leap before you look!
I know. You’re thinking I’ve got that backwards, and perhaps I do. Don’t look down. That’s me in the picture jumping off a cliff in Wales into the Irish Sea. The locals call this extreme sport coasteering, and it is both brilliant and terrifying. There sea was very rough on the last Saturday in August. The remnants of Hurricane Bill had kept our guide Alex off these cliffs for... Continue Reading
What are you afraid of?
Everyone is afraid of at least one thing. I am lucky because I am afraid of a lot of things: dogs, numbers, deer ticks, crowds, dying, clowns, loud people, trees, The Wizard of Oz (Those damn monkeys…), certain family members, peaches (Fuzz in my mouth? No way!), open mics, fairy tales (Ok, I still read them, but I shudder), priests, grass, high windows, germs, paper…let me catch my... Continue Reading
Murphy’s Revision Style Sheet
Murphy’s Revision Style Sheet 1. Eliminate clichés which are the vermin of imaginative writing. Initially fresh images, clichés have been taken over and made mundane by too frequent usage. They have lost their original authority, power and beauty. They raise their predictable heads (aaah, a Cliché!) in the early drafts of even the most experienced writers. Turning a cliché against itself by... Continue Reading
Murphy’s Roof Preading Tips (a.k.a. Murphy’s Proofreading Tips)
Why You Should ProofRead Why is the new year celebrated on January 1st when everything is dead or frozen? For me it begins on the first day of spring, and one of my rituals is to take inventory of the stupid things I’ve done lately. Misspelling Hemingway (I still think it should have two m’s) in my February newsletter on revision rises to the top. I know, I know, I... Continue Reading
10 Ways to Avoid Writing
From the July 2011 Murphy Writing newsletter. 10 ways to avoid writing It’s summer! The flowers are blooming, the days are longer, but the mosquitoes have been snorting Red Bull, and depending on where you live, dust storms, fires or floods are trying to kill you. How can you concentrate on those neglected poems or the novel you abandoned last August? Better put off your writing for two or three... Continue Reading
Have you “Reader Tested” your writing?
I lead lots of workshops and classes for poets and writers each year. It’s usually a pleasure, especially in extended courses when I can see each writer grow over a period of time. One thing I tell my students is to make believe they must pay their reader one dollar a word to read their story or other prose. This shakes them up. Then I tell them to make believe... Continue Reading
