From my work experience
Emergency room physician: Why are you taking this med? Patient: because the doctor prescribed it.
How to write well
Turn letters into words, words into sentences, and sentences into wonders.
Read flash
I read a lot of flash fiction for 5 reasons: 1. I started as a publisher a long time ago 2. I started as a reader even before that 3. I started as a writer before I could read 4. I love reading it 5. I want everyone to love it
Pulling your leg
Caution: if you pull my leg and I pull yours, both of us won’t be able to walk.
Never give up
I don’t give up submitting to the same #litmag, even after a dozen rejections. I tried to give up once, but I gave up on giving up.
Five reasons for rejections
You’re not a Real Writer until the day you realize that a rejection doesn’t mean your story is bad but: 1. Another story is better 2. The editorial assistant partied the night before 3. The pub took all the stories they needed 4. You didn’t follow the guidelines 5. Your story is too good for…
The second to last prounun
You have to realize that the usage of the second pronoun in creative writing is overrated by the factor of 2.
Persist
Not to be discouraged by rejections is a good first step but the next one is to be persistent. Edit the old stuff, write the new and send them out. The story unsent is a dead story
Mark’s rules of writing
Add layers. The more you have, the better. Don’t worry if some readers would miss them. The better ones won’t. Banish cliches. A bit of irony won’t hurt in most cases. Don’t moralize. There are enough preachers besides you. Don’t repeat what has been written already but feel free to improve the best writers’ creations….
Always
When I see the word “always” in the question, e.g. “is writing always fun?” I always say no.