art

This artist is dropping bombs about writing

/ Stuart Danker / 8 Comments

Ideas are about confluence. I believe it’s Neil Gaiman who said that. I can’t come up with quotes like that. That’s because I don’t typically insert ten-dollar words like confluence into my everyday speech.

And that’s despite the fact that I live in Kuala Lumpur (which literally means muddy confluence in Malay), but I digress.

Anyway, in my spare time, I watch sketchbook videos so I can fancy myself an artist. That’s when I came across this talented Singaporean’s video and found myself upon a confluence.

Chroma Moma’s (who shall henceforth be known as CM) thoughts on art mirrored mine on writing, and that was how this post was born.

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This Is What You’d Do If You Took Your Writing Seriuosly

/ Stuart Danker / 123 Comments

Woman biting a notebook

If you took writing seriously, your first instinct would’ve been to click on this post to tell me I spelt my title wrong. Awesome job. That’s what a serious writer would do.

But don’t feel left out if you didn’t, because you’re here, and that means you’re awesome either way.

Besides, writing is more than being the grammar police, am I right? It’s not just about being keen with the language. You’ll also need to approach it from a crafter’s perspective rather than an artist’s.

That’s why I’ve always enjoyed Ann Patchett’s book on the craft titled The Getaway Car. You don’t see it brought up often, especially when compared to the usual suspects such as Stephen King’s On Writing or Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird, but boy is it filled with tons of crafting wisdom.

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Write More Vivid Stories With This One Method

/ Stuart Danker / 58 Comments
Crowd throwing coloured

Photo: John Thomas

Writing involves descriptions. You can’t just drop characters in a formless room and have them, say, swinging swords at each other without interacting with their environment.

That said, you can’t just wax lyrical about the surroundings and forget that you have a story to tell. Personally, I fall into the white-room category, often choosing to err on the side of too little description.

No matter what you choose, though, you should know that there’s a way to instantly spice up your writing, and that’s the use of concrete language. This concept is fairly new to me, and it’s changed the way I look at descriptions, so perhaps it could help you as well.

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Want To Finish Your Novel? Try Micro-Writing

/ Stuart Danker / 84 Comments
Micro-Writing Typing - Damian Zaleski

Photo: Damian Zaleski

I was a stringer for the national newspapers once. My job was to pick up any assignments that the full-time team couldn’t handle, which amounted anywhere from one story every fortnight to two articles a week. That meant that my income was unstable at best, but what made up for it was the lack of daily commute or morning meetings, and all this before the digital nomad movement.

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Why You Need To Write For Your Eyes Only

/ Stuart Danker / 61 Comments
Eyes Only Eyes - Alexandru Zdrobau

Photo: Alexandru Zdrobau

Would you continue writing even if no one reads your work? On the other hand, would you voluntarily write something meant for your eyes only?

Would the act of expression itself please you? Or would you write only to the promise of monies and adulation?

Oh, don’t look at me that way. I assure you that this question isn’t as silly as it seems. There have been famous authors who didn’t set out to be published, after all.

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