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"Tell me a story" -- Advice from Writers

by Tom Johnson on Sep 17, 2009
categories: creativity technical-writingwriting

I listened to a good discussion about writing from a group of Mormon writers on episode 7 of Everything Creative, an LDS sponsored podcast. Some parts of this podcast are a little lame -- I hadn't heard of any of the writers, and parts of it are churchy. But the advice is on target. Here are few notes:

  • The things that get in the way of writing are also what provide substance in your writing. A writer explains how one of her friends moved to Ireland to seclude herself away to write, but while her friend's writing had good literary execution, it lacked substance and story.
  • The best advice for writing is condensed in just four word: "Tell a good story"
  • The process is the purpose. In other words, rather than looking toward the end, enjoy the act of writing, because the purpose of writing is the self-discovery that takes place during the writing process, not at the end.
  • Stories are what give us meaning in our lives. That's why we return to them again and again.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

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