Bad basketball scars our souls. Bad writing hurts more. Teaching both requires clear thinking and clear communication.
Have an idea folder, notebook, Commonplace Book or treasure chest for storage and retrieval. Clip, save, and redeem those green stamps.
Ted Lasso shares the Walt Whitman quote above (and hates tea, "brown water").
Ideas, plays, recipes, music, quotes or whatever need safe storage. When information becomes outdated or disproven, move on.
Laurie Kilmartin shared her "transitions list" with us. Thanks, Laurie for the mindstuck get out of jail free card.
Develop a writing plan, place, and time. Write with purpose. Inspire.
Bob Woodward includes a minimum of six key points to share with readers per piece. He doesn't club readers with the boldfaced highlighting.
First drafts are meant for revision. Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird) reminds us they're supposed to be shitty. (Inconceivable. The first was worse?) "One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around."
"Kill your darlings." VERY and REALLY make really, very poor writing. "Shave syllables." Coaches and writers are editors.
To write better, to communicate better, keep sharing.
Lagniappe. MasterClass. Steph on shooting off the catch
Lagniappe 2. "This could be the best day ever." Over six million people watched this. Why not you?
"If it's someone else's problem, you probably don't have the answer anyway."
"I was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards."
"Tell us about ___________ in your own voice.
"Try to do a little better."
"If people want you to write more warmly about them, they should have behaved better."