CATCH 22:MY FAVORITE WRITING TIPS

⊙By Melissa Donovan

一直以来，《作文天地》栏目给大家介绍了各种各样的写作建议和技巧，两年过去了，同学们收获如何呢？有没有学到一些东西？写作水平有没有提高？其实每个喜欢写作的人都有一套自己的做法，比如本期这位博主Melissa，她对待写作就是个标准的行动派——要多读、多思，最重要的是勤动笔，“写”不可以已。

1 Do it. Write.

2 Read as much and as often as you can. Remember, every writer is a reader first.

3 Keep a journal or notebook handy at all times so you canjot down[匆匆记下]all of your brilliant ideas. If you’ve got a smartphone, make sure it’s loaded with[装载]a note-takingapp[应用]. A voice-recording app also comes in handy for recording notes and ideas.

4 Make sure you have a dictionary and thesaurus[同义词词典]available whenever you are writing.

5 Beobservant[善于观察的]. The people and activities that surround you will provide you with great inspiration for characters, plots, and themes.

6 Grammar: learn the rules and then learn how to break them effectively.

7 Invest in[花钱买]a few useful resources[工具书], starting with The Chicago Manual of Style and The Elements of Style注.

8 Stopprocrastinating[拖延]. Turn off the TV, disconnect from the Internet, tune out[不理睬]the rest of the world, sit down, and write.

9 Read works by successful authors to learn what earns a loyal[忠诚的]readership.

10 Read works by the canonical[权威的]authors so you understand what constitutes[构成]a respectable literary[文学的]achievement.

11 Join a writers’ group so you can gain support from the writing community and enjoy camaraderie[友情]in your craft[行业].

12 Create a space in your home especially for writing.

13Proofread[校对]everything at least three times before submitting your work forpublication[发表].

14 Write every single day.

15 Start a blog. Use it to talk about your own writing process, share your ideas and experiences, or publish your work to a reading audience.

16 Subscribe to writing blogs on the Internet. Read them, participate, learn, share, and enjoy!

17 Use writing exercises to improve your skills, strengthen your talent,and explore different genres[体裁], styles, and techniques.

18 Let go of your inner editor. When you sit down to write a draft,refrain from[忍住]proofreading until that draft is complete.

19 Allow yourself to write poorly, to write a weak, uninteresting story or a boring, grammatically incorrect poem. You’ll never succeed if you don’t allow yourself a few failures along the way.

20 Make it your business to understand grammar and language. Do you know a noun from a verb, apredicate[谓语]from a preposition? Do you understand tense and verb agreement? You should.

21 You are a writer so own it and say it out loud: “I am a writer.”Whether it’s ahobby[爱好]or your profession, if you write, then you have the right to this title.

22 Write, write, write, and then write some more. Forget everything else and just write.

注：《芝加哥手册》和《风格的要素》都是英文写作方面的经典工具书。《芝加哥手册》第一版由美国芝加哥大学出版社于1906年发行，是世界公认的、英文出版业内最常用的格式标准之一。《风格的要素》出版于1918年，主要讲解英语的文法原则与运用，被认为是“每个学生和写作者的必读之书”。