Comments on: Why writers need deliberate practice

By: Pablo Flamiano

Pablo Flamiano — Tue, 31 May 2016 15:45:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. This is a great idea, and I'm not wasting any minute anymore.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Mon, 30 May 2016 14:26:00 +0000

In reply to Pablo Flamiano. You're welcome. For a best short exercise, I suggest copying the work of another writer. Try to do this for five minutes every day. Think of it as scales for writers!

By: Pablo Flamiano

Pablo Flamiano — Mon, 30 May 2016 11:56:00 +0000

I have always wanted to improve my writing and thought that the best way to do it is to practice everyday, just like what athletes and musician do. But I didn’t know how to go about it. What could be the equivalent of a scale exercise or batting the ball to writing? Now, I found the answer in this wonderful article. Thanks a lot for sharing.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 19 May 2016 16:17:00 +0000

In reply to Lesley Grainge. Sounds like a great compromise, Lesley! Good for you for figuring it out.

By: Lesley Grainge

Lesley Grainge — Thu, 19 May 2016 15:10:00 +0000

Really great post. I agree that finding someone to tutor me is more valuable than feedback alone even if it is constructive. I think it is because tuition is more focused on a skill rather than just looking at what worked and what didn’t. When I was at Uni I found my best tutors always linked tuition with the feedback on my essays and then expected me to have worked on the skill with subsequent work. It made all the difference. I am interested in your Get it Done course but need to find some funding- however, I am on the case. I have found a good second best on MOOC’s. They have structured the building up of skills even though I don’t get personalised tuition and only peer feedback. They have helped to identify specific things to work on rather than just relying on repetition to improve things, if that makes sense?

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:34:00 +0000

In reply to LJ. You're very welcome, LJ. And, yes, I'm a big fan of Art Plotnik, author of Spunk & Bite.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:33:00 +0000

In reply to Juliann. Glad to hear that copying is working for you, Juliann!

By: LJ

LJ — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:59:00 +0000

Copying others’ work was a big component of a copywriting course I took–so there must be something to it. I’ll try and make it a habit and set my timer–like I just did with my 20 minutes of Rosetta Stone Spanish!
Funny how you mentioned Spunk & Bite. It took me several chapters to appreciate his writing but by the end, I was impressed with his use of descriptive words and phrases and also learned about contemporary trends in writing. It’s a worthwhile read.
Thanks for informative post!

By: Juliann

Juliann — Wed, 18 May 2016 16:55:00 +0000

Daphne, your metaphor has me laughing … at my self. Other than a couple of years of lessons when I was child, I have been persistent at trying to get better at the piano without the help of a teacher. I will never be really good because I don’t understand all the theory. But, I have to say, I’ve used the copycat method you suggest for writing with pretty good results. When I confront a piece of music and can’t make out the timing of the notes, I find the music online, listen to it carefully and then mimic what I hear on the piano. It works! (I am resolved to try it with writing now, too.)

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 18 May 2016 15:21:00 +0000

In reply to KSW. Start with making writing a daily habit, KSW. (And by daily I mean 5x per week. We all need to take weekends for recovery!)