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Lets face it, plots are good for movies, but when over-considered they tend to make books creak.
So, unbloat your plot.
Credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images; Jeff Spicer/Getty Images (2)
Listen for the quiet line.
Anyone can tell a big story, yes, but not everyone can whisper something beautiful in your ear.
Let me share the WORST AND MOST HARMFUL ADVICE I was ever given by others.
Write what you know.
Youll have to polish every sentence you write three or four times.
ALL OF THAT WAS HARMFUL TO ME.
IT HURT ME AND SET ME BACK.
So I say again, there are no rules.
Reject rules and critics out of hand.
Do it your way.
Make yourself the writer of your dreams.
Protect your voice, your vision, your characters, your story, your imagination, your dreams.
Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things.
When youre ready, pick it up and read it, as if youve never read it before.
A bad day is when you dont.
Kurt Vonnegut,Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage
