"The day you stop learning is the day you begin decaying. . ."
--Isaac Asimov
After adding a new Monday feature, Partners on the Path, to the regular Wednesday Author Interviews, the blog week was feeling sort of heavy on the front end. So I've decided to add a Friday feature, which I'm sure you've already figured out--The Most Interesting Thing I Learned This Week.
So the first thing I did was create this super fabulous quote about learning. Just to be on the safe side, I googled it, and sure enough, Mr. Asimov had already said it, and way more eloquently than me, of course.
I've always heard you can learn something new every day, which reminds me of a quote from a favorite author of mine.
'You learn something new everyday.'
What are you learning?' Sophos asked.
'To keep my mouth shut, I hope.'
— Megan Whalen Turner
But I've not yet learned to keep my mouth shut, so I'm going to come here every Friday and discuss the most interesting thing I've learned this week. Here it is:
This week I learned about physical clichés. The nuggets of wisdom came courtesy of literary agent, Mary Kole. You can find her post here: Kidlit.com
The information I read there sent me scrambling to my WIP where I quickly searched the document for the words "stomach" and "heart". The result? Guilty. On 15 accounts. Ugh.
I have a tendency to be The Queen of Cliché, but I thought I'd abdicated and given up my crown. This week I learned I still have it on.
Did you learn anything important this week, or are you decaying? You can keep your mouth shut, or you can be like me and share. I'd love to hear what you've learned this week.
Well, in terms of writing, I once again learned -- while editing my ms -- that what I think readers need to know and what they *actually* need to know are not always the same thing. I'm always amazed when I sift through something for the twentieth time and realize, "OK, this is not that essential to the story." Again and again, it's the same: trust that the reader doesn't need their hand held. They get it! Now slash and burn that verbiage!
ReplyDeleteKLM's point is a great one! I'm not to that point with this WIP yet, so I'll keep stumbling around with what I think readers need to know.
ReplyDeleteI learned that sometimes you have to let the story find you, no matter how much you want it written yesterday. Sometimes a story just isn't ready to show its whole self until you pulled a few more hairs out or gotten lost in some unexpected diversion that completely turns your WIP around...usually in a good way. Don't rush it. And don't think it has to be right from word one. That 's what revision is for!
So interesting. Thanks for sharing, Angie. I like your idea for your Friday posts, too.
ReplyDeletePhysical cliches! Oh no. I just added another thing to my list of what to look for during the revision process. Thanks!
ReplyDelete