Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Spur-of-the-moment Ideas on Writing and Reviewing

A new friend asked me a few things about writing a story in general and reviewing in this site. So off the top of my head, here are a few impromptu answers.


Easy to say: “Tell a story worth telling, and know your characters. Use concrete detail. Use active verbs. Avoid passive voice. Eliminate most adjectives and adverbs.”

Are the above statements simplistic? Yes and no.

No, because if one minds the above statements well enough, one will have a decent piece of writing.

Yes, because there is more to writing; a lot more more.

Frankly speaking, even if a writer stays within the limits of the statements above in block letters, those things are difficult to do, if unprepared, when she/he has the inclination to write anything. Some have to fight with the technicalities of the piece while others cannot find a story worth telling or characters they know well enough to act in their stories. So, even in the yes answer, a lot of preliminary work is needed. Like people watching, like keeping alert for stories floating around the neighborhood or in the news.

Also, writers like me like to write what they want to write because they want writing to be an adventure of sorts. I like to write about places, things, and situations I know little or nothing about. True, some research goes into the melting pot in this case, but the enjoyment I get out of writing is priceless.

Writing as a career, if a writer can turn it into writing what he likes to write, offers an incredible freedom. Real writers write all the time. They also read all the time. Best yet, they live all the time. They orbit around wars (Remember Hemingway in the Spanish war?), bullfights, celebrations, adventure treks, and best of all people. All kinds of people.

True writers do not avoid action. They hang around in big cities, smallest villages, classical music concerts, heavy metal concerts, policemen, detectives, grandmothers, campers, business people…the list is endless. If a writer knows his world, his world will attend well to his ideas.

As for reviews, if a writer critiques another writer’s work, it is important to remember to critique the piece and not the writer. In other words, the comments need to be directed to the piece, such as, The story is…; The poem is…The second line lacks rhythm or rhyme, etc. Plus, one should remember to talk about what is right in each piece, for even the most amateurish piece can have a winning point.

And if one is being critiqued, taking the reviewer’s words with an open mind is a good idea, since everything can be improved. At the same time, a writer must not change anything if it doesn’t feel right to him. There are some distinct and some slight differences among peoples of the English speaking world. People from UK, India, Australia, Canada, US and even the different regions of US have different ways of using the language. The reviewer may not be aware of this. When he/she is suggesting a different word or phrase, he/she is using her own experience and education. The point need not be argued; just accepting or disregarding it is the way to go, so one may profit from the experience. If the reviewer asks why a piece is written in a certain way, the writer may explain his point if necessary, but rebutting may lead to unpleasant consequences, since a review is a personal opinion and not a debate for winning or losing.

Have a wonderful time as you write!