My Top Ten List of Writing Tip Lists

I was searching the internet the other day for blog post ideas because well...honestly I felt my blog had become stale. Posting blog articles had become infrequent. Good ideas had run away from home.

Of course, I ran across several posts listing blog post ideas, which was very helpful...sort of. Here's my blog post about my search for blog ideas. One of the suggestions was the popular top ten list blog post. List ten of anything.

10 breeds of cat that will disdain your presence
10 roller coaster rides that will knock your brains out
10 horrible songs that will get stuck in your head 
10 reasons to avoid shopping at that big box chain store

Since I've been a member of the writing community, I've found that writers might be the most paranoid, insecure bunch of creative personalities on the planet. So much second-guessing about already published work. Should I have done this different or that better? What can I do to make readers love me...um...I mean my work? Any little bit of criticism (interpret this as negative reviews) sends most of us into a frenzy to try to correct our perceived writing deficiencies. After all, there must be a REASON we are not at the top of the bestseller list every single day. Right?

Yes, we admit it: Our pride is wrapped up in how our writing is received. Our book baby is a part of who we are. We've put our heart and soul out there for people to evaluate. If you don't like my writing, you just might not like me. Well, that's the fear deep in our writing hearts.

So much has been written about making one's writing better. I did an internet search for writing tips lists and the search results resulted in a long list. I'm gonna share my top ten list of writing tip lists. Well, no that's not quite true. These aren't my top ten. These lists are just the ones I decided to list here.

Breathing Fiction        Joss Whedon’s Top Ten Writing Tips           http://breathingfiction.com/2012/11/30/joss-whedons-top-10-writing-tips/

The Guardian              Ten Rules For Writing Fiction            http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

Goins, Writer              10 Ridiculously Simple Tip for Writing a Book         http://goinswriter.com/tips-writing-book/

Writers’ Digest           10 Tips for Writing     

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/10-tips-for-writing

I took the time to read the above lists, and I found some really interesting points. A few takeaways that might be helpful.

Apparently there were a few blog writers that didn't get the email about keeping the list to just ten points.

iUniverse                     Twenty Writing Tips from Fiction Writers   http://www.iuniverse.com/expertadvice/20writingtipsfrom12fictionauthors.aspx

Thought Catalog         21 Harsh But Great Writing Tips From Great Authors         http://thoughtcatalog.com/cody-delistraty/2013/09/21-harsh-but-eye-opening-writing-tips-from-great-authors/

Writing Forward         The 22 Best Writing Tips Ever          

http://www.writingforward.com/writing-tips/the-22-best-writing-tips-ever

99U                             25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer        

http://99u.com/articles/7082/25-insights-on-becoming-a-better-writer

Notice how the lists keep getting longer? I skimmed these and started noticing a lot of the same quotes from the same authors.

By the time I found the next two on the list, I had quit reading.

Daring To Live Fully  57 Tips For Writers, From Writers    

http://daringtolivefully.com/tips-for-writers-from-writers

Write to Done             How to Be a Writer: 201 Compelling Tips    

http://writetodone.com/how-to-be-a-writer/

Two hundred and one tips? Who has time to read that many tips. I don't. I need to spend my time...writing. And that is my point. Okay, here's Denise's one and only writing tip:

Just write.

It's That Time Of Year Again...

It's that time of year again. No, not sweater weather. I live in Louisiana. There is only one day a year that it is cold enough to wear a sweater. No, not the end of daylight savings time. Although we did just experience the wonderful Fall Back event, that's not what I'm talking about. No, not crank up the fireplace season. I wish I could. I've needed to get my chimney swept for several years, and I'm too embarrassed to admit how many. Have you ever seen what smoke will do when it has nowhere to go but back up into your living room? Not a pretty sight.

If you guessed Christmas cookie baking time, then you guessed right. It happens every year. The weather turns cooler (notice I didn't say colder), the leaves fall, the trick or treaters have come and gone, and my children say, "Mom, will you bake us some cookies?"

I baked my first batch tonight. Here's the link to the recipe from Betty Crocker:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/classic-peanut-butter-blossom-cookies/a3563f6e-96b0-443f-ae0a-53cef4be6db6

Pre-bake

Post-bake

My cookies didn't turn out exactly like the picture on the website. Truthfully, my attempts at baking never do look like the recipe picture. :( 

I had a couple of accidents after I took them out of the oven. Two of the precious little darlings slid right off the spatula and landed on the counter. They were delicious.

I miss the days when a person could eat cookie dough right out of the bowl. Not any longer. Too much risk of ingesting the salmonella virus.

You know what? I'm going to Google eggless cookie dough. A gal's gotta have something to do after she types The End on her next release.

If you have a favorite cookie recipe, please share it with me. I'm always looking for something new to try.