Write Your Essay II

Three other tips I've picked up on writing, occasional sources of help for me:

*The thing you Googled repeatedly yesterday? That's the thing to write about. Sometimes I *believe* I want to make somber points about "Fun Home," but I have spent twelve hours Googling "show tunes with Gavin Creel." That's telling me the point I have to make is really about Gavin Creel. I could want reality to be "otherwise," but trust me, Creel is the topic you want to read about, if you're looking in my brain on that particular morning.

*Aim for a well-stocked cupboard. The reader wants to feel that the writer's mind is "well-stocked," at least on the topic in question. So if you're going to write about Idina Menzel, check to see if you have six or seven points to make about Menzel. You can even jot down the points. Then you won't get lost as you write. If you don't have those points at your fingertips, maybe choose a different topic.

*Write for you, and for no one else. This came from Jennifer Weiner. If you're writing to impress someone, or to make a commercial splash, your motives will be transparent. The thing you have to tell is the thing that you personally can't stop thinking about. This might seem like the quirkiest, most-irrelevant thing: an observation about salt, or about cardigan sweaters. But, if you're passionate about the subject, the reader will notice the passion. And then maybe the writing will be impressive and commercially splashy--even though this was never your number-one intention.

Again, have fun!

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