Arts
Constance Hale is a delight. An honest, heart-warming delight. She projects a buoyant, youthful energy that inspires me to keep placing pen to paper (or fingers to keys) no matter the brain strain. She’s a pat on the back and a gentle nudge out of the nest. “You have wings. Take flight. Soar. Write.” She also endures. While most may view her vast readership as an enviable success, she struggles with Peak Content like most writers. Words are “cheap.” Publishing doesn’t pay. This realization forced her to reconsider her career, but she stuck with it, stayed frosty and hitched to the love of her life. She chose writing over a fancier car. She chose more ingenious means to generate income with writing as the fuel. Her book Sin and Syntax took my feeble grip of English and tightened it like a vice. It is among my most highly recommended books on learning how to write well, to write with moxie and shake things up. It allows me to be wicked while good, mischievous while remarkable. She taught me to how to captivate through dynamic, crisp, clean language. After reading Sin and Syntax, I realized language, at its core, can only express a subject performing an action. All other constructs and mechanics are scaffolding to this single feature. And through servicing actions that highlight ”states of being,” we empathize with the doer or taker and acquire genuine emotion. “John hits Sam.” Ouch, I’m sad for Sam and I dislike John. This is writing’s absolute power: it is raw existential energy with potential to mold the human psyche and ignites with a willing mind. I cannot express the life-altering impact this realization made upon me. It may appear trite at first glance, but for whatever reason I had worn a pair of muddy goggles most my life and Constance lovingly wiped them clean. She also replaced the glass, put on new straps and bumped up the prescription. She enlightened all aspects of English grammar hitherto mysterious, be them prepositions, adverbs, passive voice, cadence or . She covers it all and you will be better for reading her. “You can’t force a metaphor. Sometimes you just have to mull things.” In this episode of Bleeding Ink, Connie and I discuss her career. Her impact on other writers. How we can all benefit from an agile creative process, where mulling’s importance equals making. We discuss how she overcame her struggles, her latest work and where she’s headed. I am honored and thankful she agreed to guest on my show—these conversations are why I do what I do. Snippets How growing up in Hawaii gave Constance Hale a unique perspective of language Learn how Constance Hale’s Sin and Syntax changed my writing Which key books can transform your grasp of the English language Why boring English classes have led to boring writing How studying simple sentences will bring clarity to your voice Why you don’t need more than nouns and verbs The difference between static and dynamic verbs Why verbs are the most important word in a sentence How to reason through the passive voice and how to best use it How Sin and Syntax went from a mid-list struggler to over 100,000 copies sold Learn about Constance’s long career as a journalist How Constance fights to stay relevant How to deal with constant rejection Why Constance decided to continue writing instead of pursuing a more lucrative career Why you should take risks on a regular basis Learn Constance’s creative process—it’s great Why the imagination needs breathing room Discover the different between maker, manager and mulling time. Why a writers retreat may be right for you ]]>