We all want to make our writing the best it can be and, to that end, we all need advice from time to time. A community of writers helps to provide that. From now on, I want to be part of your community.

On this page, you'll find tips on writing and editing. Use what you can to strengthen your own writing. If you work diligently, there's a good chance we'll end up sitting side by side autographing books someday!

Here's my writing advice:

For tips on publishing your writing, click here.

Tanka

A tanka a day keeps the doctor away. Well, not really, but writing tanka is a great way to capture a moment, whether spectacular or ordinary.

I'd never written a tanka until this fall. In September, my arts group challenged each member to create a work of art every day for a month. I chose to write haiku. I liked the discipline so much, that I decided to continue the following month on my own. I didn't want to keep writing haiku, though. I decided to try my hand at a new form, one I hadn't experimented with before—Tanka.

For those of you who don't know, Tanka is a five-line poem from the Japanese tradition. Their poems were usually about moods and seasons. The subject matter in American Tanka is more broadly based. The syllable count may vary as well, though I personally prefer to stick with a strict syllable break: 5-7-5-7-7. Again, it is the challenge of the form that intrigues me. I like pushing against limits, stretching my mind for ways to shape my thoughts to fit the strict format. It is a great discipline.

As a writer, if you are not growing, you are stagnating. And one sure way to grow in craftsmanship is to experiment with new forms. So, I invite you to try it. You'll be amazed at how sharp your skills will become at forming metaphor, not to mention how quickly you will be able to access a broader range of vocabulary. Try it!

And by the way, don't wait for something spectacular to write about. Capture the mundane, as well. It's all about practice.

Kitchen cabinets
scheduled to arrive in time
to ruin Christmas.
Where's the poetry in that?
I'm searching, searching, searching...

All for now—