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Nov 30

Do you fear writing? Try these tips

Do you ever fear writing? I think fear can be a sign we care: the stakes are high and we want to get the words right. We want the plot to work and characters that grip our readers.

Being scared of writing is not the same thing as not being a good writer, writes Jennifer Watkins at A Different Daylight. Watkins, (@ladyfuchsia) writes about why she’s scared of writing (and tells a story about a famous writer who also feared writing).

In his guest post on the blog “Make a Living Writing,” Ollin Morales offers tips in The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Your Writing Fears.

At Men with Pens, Agent X writes in the post, 7 Deadly Fears of Writing – Part 1 of 8 that, “many creative people often scare themselves out of a good project before they even put a pen to paper.” He suggests Your Writing Coach, a book by writer and coach Jurgen Wolff, that works as an antidote to transforming your inner critic into a constructive guide.

Nov 29

Research made easy: the five-click Google

Writers are fantastic procrastinators. We push papers, arrange paperclips, make those gigantic rubber band balls, and get sucked into the internet faster than the Roadrunner can outrun Mr. Coyote. We use any excuse to delay actually doing what we’re supposed to be doing: writing.

Research is another example. Yes, sometimes we need to do research for our stories or novels but too many of us can get sucked into that bottomless pit never to emerge again. I can’t count the number of times I’ve logged online to “do a little research” and find myself, hours later, knee deep in the different dialects that skinwalkers use. Read more

Nov 28

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The holidays are upon us: Tips for writing a letter to friends and family

It’s that time of year. Time to dress up the dog in a Christmas sweater, sprinkle tinsel on a tree, and write the beloved holiday letter. Just in case you’re at a loss for what to write about, here are a few prompts:

Milestones — Note anything you’ve knocked off your bucket list (if you don’t have a bucket list, start one!). In her letter last year, one friend reported her twins had graduated from college.

Life changes — How have you changed in the past year and how did the changes come about?

Plans for the future — What are your hopes and plans for the future? Give your readers a sneak peek of life to come.

For even more ideas and insight about writing holiday letters, check out my Apply your writerly skills to a holiday letter post from last year.

Nov 27

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In memory of Precious: 30 authors inspired by their feline pals

We’re sad today at One Wild Word because we lost Precious Chase, one of Carol’s cat’s affectionately known as “PC.”

Precious died Monday after blessing us with her presence for 14 years.

In honor of PC and the inspiration cats everywhere give their writer pals, we’re sharing this link from BuzzFeed.com: 30 Renowned Authors Inspired by Cats. You’ll find lovely photos of writers and their cats, as well as quotes.

In this earlier post, Carol writes about her cats as muses.

We’ll miss you PC.

Nov 26

Follow your creative instincts: It worked for Francis Ford Coppola

I’m all for listening to good advice, the value of critique groups, and feedback in general. But in the end, you must follow your own creative instincts.

Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, The Godfather II, and The Godfather III, as well as many other movies, had creative differences with movie studio Paramount Pictures during the making of The Godfather. For one thing, he disagreed with Paramount about casting the movie. Coppola wanted to cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, while Paramount wanted Ernest Borgnine or Danny Thomas.

At one point, Coppola was told by Paramount: “Marlon Brando will never appear in this motion picture.” After pushing back, Coppola was allowed to cast Brando, but only if he met certain conditions. Read more

Nov 23

Author Salman Rushdie tells how to create realistic fantasy

Salman Rushdie said he always wanted to write a book with a flying carpet in it, and he finally did. He says the way to make a fantastical idea seem real and believable is to ask questions about the nature of the idea and relay the truth of it to your reader.

The 3-minute video below shows the process he goes through to make any idea believable:

Nov 22

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Any dog can be thankful: Today we say thank you to our readers

As a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. One of the sayings she is known for in our family is: “Any dog can be thankful.”

With that in mind on this day of Thanksgiving in the USA, I want to thank all of our faithful and supportive followers at onewildword.

Today, I’m highlighting three followers who inspire me with their words and content. And thanks to all our readers for being part of our community.

Cast Light is a great source of inspiration. I particularly enjoy this call to action. And especially for those who are in the midst of NaNoWriMo, find a burst of energy in this post about finish lines.

If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you know how much we advocate reading. Jane Fritz’s post about a balanced reading diet is excellent food for thought.

You have to love Scripts & Scribes (@scriptsscribes), a free writer’s resource website. Find some writerly insight by listening to their interviews from top  professionals in publishing, film & TV, theatre, and comic books.

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