Monday, August 17, 2009

Blog Chain: Words of Wisdom for Writers

Blog Chain time again! :D

This time, the lovely Cole Gibson started by posing this challenge:

This blog chain is a game!

Your subject is writerly advice. (I just made that word up. Hee) Pretend you are addressing a crowd of aspiring authors eager to soak in your words of knowledge. The problem is, you've only been given a time slot of five seconds. In one sentence (no more than 20 words), please summarize the most important words of wisdom you can impart.

Check out her pearl o' wisdom here, and please leave one of your own: (http://colegibsen.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-chain-post-only-one.html) The best part about this topic, is that EVERYONE can play! Leave a pearl of wisdom on her comments, or here, and I'll pass them along.

Hooray for group knowledge! :)

But, no pressure, this means I have to contribute my own tidbit of advice, the most important thing I've learned so far in 20 words or less.

Ready?

Okay, no more stalling. Here goes!

Take it slow--make sure your writing is the best it can be, then research all you can before querying!

BOOYAH! 20 words exactly.

Now it's your turn! What is the one Wisdom Nugget you'd like to bestow upon newbie writers, or wish someone had bestowed upon you?

I'd love to hear! :)

Next up, answering this question is Kate Karyus Quinn on her blog tomorrow: http://katekaryusquinn.blogspot.com/. Don't miss it!

16 comments:

Michelle McLean said...

ooo good one! Nuts, I think this is one of those chains when it's going to suck to go near the end ;-D

Rebecca Knight said...

Bwahahahahaha!

It'll be really interesting to see what everyone comes up with, though :P. It was harder than I thought sticking to those 20 words!

Amanda Bonilla said...

Nice offering of wisdom Rebecca! I agree. I learned my lesson the hard way with my first book and now I'm about to shelf it. I won't make the same mistake twice! Thanks for the great advice!

Rebecca Knight said...

Oh, man, I'm sorry to hear that, Mandy! I went through the same learning curve, and am still editing my first novel. Maybe we can start a support group? ;)

Hopefully this chain and everyone's advice will help some folks out so they won't have to learn this themselves!

Unknown said...

Too true. How many times do we hear about agents being unimpressed with manuscripts that are clearly first drafts? Not taking your time is a disservice to yourself as a writer. But, boy, is it ever hard to resist sending it out the second you type THE END.

Cole Gibsen said...

Excellent advise. I queried my first MS without a clue. Sooooo embarassing to look back on it now.

Kate Karyus Quinn said...

Oooh, I think I need to have this advice tattooed on my body somewhere - although that's a long tattoo - maybe I would just use the first two words of it:P

Christine Fonseca said...

That one is AWESOME!!! Man - I hope I think of something. I don't most 'til next week!

Rebecca Knight said...

Thanks, guys! :D I can't wait to hear what you've got. I'm a relative noob to this whole thing, so I appreciate all the wisdom I can get. Lol!

B.J. Anderson said...

Great words of wisdom, Rebecca! And so very very important. :D It's so hard to be patient.

Shaun Hutchinson said...

Michelle : Thanks a lot since I'm the last on the chain ;o) No pressure or anything.

Seriously though, this is awesome advice. The kind of advice I wish I'd had when I queried my first novel. Sigh.

Abby Annis said...

Great advice, Becca! I think I'm a little new to this process to be handing out advice, but I appreciate any newbie advice I can get. :)

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Good advice! I sure do seem to be taking my writing slow these days. ;)

Kathryn Hupp-Harris said...

So true. I think a lot of writers rush to get their story out without realizing the intricacies of the writing craft.

Annie Louden said...

Nice advice. I'm already following it b/c I haven't gotten to the querying stage yet.

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