March 10, 2015

Writing Much Gooder

Since I’ve begun to write regularly, I’ve been attempting to hone my style and improve my writing.
Then again just because one sharpens mud,
it doesn’t mean you have a spear.
But ever since I received my first positive response,
I’ve become more addicted to writing
than an Amish Man using an indoor toilet in winter.
(I apologize to all the Amish for that last statement.)
Seeking to improve my writing skills I have sought various internet books and websites entitled “Seeking To Improve My Writing Skills”.
After much research I have ascertained common advice from various sources.
One bit of advice that I was drawn towards, (because it was the easiest to do) was to read and study authors whose style is something I’d like to aspire towards or emulate.
Two writers quickly sprung to my mind and I went to their websites to take a good long look at their work.
Now this is where I should name these writers and provide links to their websites so you may also enjoy their work.
But if I do that it is unlikely you’ll come back to finish my own article.
So take my word for it. They write real good.
Both of these guys are humorists and I noticed some similarities between them on their websites.
They have heaps of awards, Pulitzer prizes, bestselling books, movies made from their writing, basically, everything I’d like to have with a lot less work or time.
In college both of these authors were English majors.
I wasn’t even an English sergeant.
This puts me at a slight disadvantage.
I majored in computer science.
Or as I like to call it “Linguistic Archaeology”.
That’s because all the computer languages I learned to program are dead and extinct.
But I can fix the Cobol on your mainframe in case Y2K shows up late.
But back to the path of these successful writers.
One thing that they did that seems to be a springboard for writing success, recognition and syndication, was to write a regular column for a newspaper.
This is something that is becoming almost impossible to do.
There are maybe a dozen or so major newspapers left in this country, and their numbers are dwindling every day.
One reason for the decline of newspapers is the rise of the internet.
People no longer turn to newspapers as they once did. They often spend their time reading columns by untrained non-English majoring hacks who also have a blog.
I thank you for that.
But how does one grow an audience?
Besides befriending and commenting on every blog,  post and Craig’s List ad you come across?
If you know, let me know.
In the meantime I will keep researching, trying to improve, trying to figure out how to make money doing this,  and writing purely for the love of it.
I appreciate your reading, and I ask you to join with me on this literary adventure.
Tickets are half price if I have a partner.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.