Jump in middle of fray. Be in circle, not outside it. Don't be content being a mere spectator. Take a bite of everything life dishes out. Ray Bradbury wrote, "Tom Wolfe ate world and vomited lava. Dickens dined at a different table every hour of his life. Moliere, tasting society, turned to pick up his scalpel, as did Pope and Shaw. Everywhere you look in literary cosmos, great ones are busy loving and hating. Have you given up this primary business as obsolete in your own writing? What fun you are missing, then. The fun of anger and disillusion, fun of loving and being loved, of moving and being moved by this masked ball which dances us from cradle to churchyard. Life is short, misery sure, mortality certain. But on way, in your work, why not carry those two inflated pig-bladders labeled Zest and Gusto."

Attack writing with PASSION.

The kind of writing you produce will oftentimes reflect current state of your emotions. Be indifferent and your writing will be indifferent. Be cheerful and watch words dance across your page.

Whenever you sit down to write, put your heart and soul in it. Write with passion. Write as if you won't live tomorrow. In her book, Writing Wave, Elizabeth Ayres wrote: "There's one thing your writing must have to be any good at all. It must have you. Your soul, your self, your heart, your guts, your voice -- you must be on that page. In end, you can't make magic happen for your reader. You can only allow miracle of 'being one with' to take place. So dare to be you. Dare to reveal yourself. Be honest, be open, be true...If you are, everything else will fall into place."

Copyright (c) 2004 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ

Tools of Trade

Once, I had a bead collection I acquired from a friend who was sick of beading. She said to me, “if you just look at collection long enough, you’ll have ideas.” This is what I did, and this is how I made my necklaces. For writers, I recommend they look at as many hard copy and on-line publications as possible. Don’t forget to obtain a copy of current Writers Market. It’s a useful publication for profiling buying publications. I suggest budding writer look into publications in sync with their personal interests. For example, I enjoy backcountry hiking and camping. I would probably want to contact outdoors magazines to pitch them some stories. I also have an interest in local newspapers, travel, educational, and holistic healing magazines. I’ve pitched to all of these types of publications. When you find a publication you really like, write down editor’s name, e-mail, phone number and start to pitch. There’s also a great writers’ site called www.writingformoney.com. For $8 per month you can review an interactive on-line listing of publications which are currently buying new work. With these links, you can visit publications directly, read about them, and e-mail editor your pitch. The longer you look at these tools of trade, more ideas will percolate.

Hit a Home Run

You want to hit a home run with an editor and land a story? Well, try going to bat with two to three story ideas instead of just one. Or story you’ve developed can be pitched at different angles, which may make it more suitable for your publication of choice. Make sure to view at least several articles from publication itself before pitching an editor, so you can have an idea of that editor’s taste in material and style. All of these tips should help you land a great story, and even more in future. As with baseball: practice. With practice, you’ll learn how to pitch like an expert.