Yesterday I was sweltering in 100+ degrees that even my ancient air conditioners couldn't cool down. I realized in the late afternoon I had been pretty unproductive during the day and that I'd be better off getting out of my apartment and doing something, anything. So I headed over the hill to the cooler side of town since I had to pick up a book for a PR workshop I'm attending on Friday. While I was at Barnes and Noble, I noticed a small book called Robert's Rules of Writing: 101 Unconventional lessons every writer needs to know. I picked it up, now that I'm conscious of everything that has to do with writing, thumbed through it and bought it.
This little book is a gem. I decided to treat myself to a meal in an outdoor cafe and started reading the book. The author, Robert Masello, has published 15 books, a couple of which are about writing. Essentially his rules are about breaking the rules that you may have learned about writing. I read through the first 7 rules while I enjoyed my quiche and glass of chardonay. I could almost imagine I was at a sidewalk cafe in Paris.
Here's a sample:
Rule 3: Throw Out Your Thesaurus.
The voice you write in is the voice your reader hears and, ideally grows to trust.
Rule 7: Skip the Starbucks.
Starbucks is where writers go who want to be seen in the act of creation, who treat writing like some kind of performance art. Never mistake Starbucks for your office--and leave the laptop home.
Rule 18: Memo Yourself.
How much better would it have been to have simply jotted down a note or two at the time you had this breathtaking idea?
Rule 65: Show No Mercy.
Writing is a process-- of discovery, of refinement, of invention.
As I read through the Rules, it seemed to me that a lot of what Masello has to say can be applied to our Blog to Book Projects as well as to writing on blogs. The book is published by Writer's Digest Books and is around $10 on Amazon.com if you're curious about checking it out.