Elephant Journal's Weekly Editor's Letter from Waylon Lewis

elephant's best of the week! No Images? [Click here] [11 Writing Tips]. Writing is simple. Keep it simple. It’s communication. It’s personal. It’s real. Or it’s nothing. 1. Read. Read writers you love. 2. Read your work outloud. You will find mistakes that your eyes don’t catch. Or, mentally, write to a friend (I visualize an intelligent but ignorant friend—so I don’t have to talk down to them, but I do have to explain and not take any in-group-knowledge for granted. I also visualize them in a café, or wherever we might meet up, over a beer…if I’m reviewing a movie, for example, I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t like it. I’d speak personally, making eye contact, I’d speak colloquially, and frankly). 3. “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” ~ Mark Twain In other words, don’t use “very” or other superfluous words, much. 4. “When writing dialogue, avoid using an adverb after he/she said,” he said wisely. IE, you shouldn’t need the adverb to convey the meaning or intent of the dialogue. [Via]. “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” ~ Stephen King 5. “My favorite has always been the Gary Provost lesson on varying sentence length to create rhythm and flow.” [Via]. This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important. 6. Learn how to use paragraphs. Paragraphs separate ideas, but they can also… 1) create space for the reader’s eye, and… 2) drama by separating out one sentence in the beginning, end, or at a dramatic moment in the middle. Space. Drama. 7. Generally, don’t be...[read the rest]. Whatever your view, as long as thoughtful—[send it to us, and Elephant will edit & feature it.] Yours in the Vision of Enlightened Society, [Waylon H. Lewis] Editor-in-Chief: elephant journal; Host: [Walk the Talk Show] Readership: 11 million readers a month! Subscribe, free, to our Daily Wake Up Call & Walk the Talk: [get our newsletters] (or forward this email with a personal recommendation?). Read unlimited elephant: [$2/month]. Or, keep reading 3 free articles a day—free. Top 10 of the Week. [The Ultimate Quote to Live a Mindful Life By.] [Read more] [Five Ways to Live More Simply.] [Read more] [What to do When You Only Have 5 Minutes to Prepare to Teach a Yoga Class.] [Read more] [A Code for Finding Happiness & Contentment in Everyday Life.] [Read more] [The Delicious Sandwich you’ll Never get Tired of—with Green Goddess Mayo. {Vegan}] [Read more] [The Easiest Way to Develop a Daily Meditation Practice.] [Read more] [When I Wed the World.] [Read more] [Five Things I’m Going to Do (And One Thing I’m Not) on Inauguration Day.] [Read more] [A Doctor’s Guide to the Best & Worst Oils.] [Read more] [The 6 Best Spiritual Teachings of Wayne Dyer to help us Get Over Ourselves.] [Read more] Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis [How to find your Path.] [Watch now] Shop only Ethical: [Organic Rose Quartz Face Créme] [Read more] Get this from Elephant: ["Things I Would Like To Do with You" B]ook Buy one & get the second for only $10 more. [Shop now] Best of Elephant: [Emotional Health is the new Sexy.] [Read more] [Subscribe to our newsletters] Please add info@elephantjournal.com to your address book to ensure future email deliveries. You are beautiful. [Like] [Tweet] [Forward] [Preferences] | [Unsubscribe]