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Jan 31

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Inspired by Rilke: What you should write about and why

If you ever feel stalled with your writing, you might find inspiration in Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.

Rilke, a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, is known as one of the most significant writers in the German language.

He wrote the letters to 19-year-old student Franz Kappus, who had sent Rilke poems to review. Rilke declined to specifically review the poems, but his letters offer a meditation on creativity and the writing life. After Rilke died, Kappus published the classic collection of letters, including the first one you can view at poets.org.

His letters have helped many writers consider the place writing has in their lives.

Rilke responded to Kappus’s concerns about rejection, telling him he was looking outward and encouraged Kappus to look within for answers and test his desire to write.

“Does it stretch out its roots in the deepest place of your heart? Can you avow that you would die if you were forbidden to write? Above all, in the most silent hour of your night, ask yourself this: Must I write? Dig deep into yourself for a true answer. And if it should ring its assent, if you can confidently meet this serious question with a simple, “I must,” then build your life upon it. It has become your necessity. Your life, in even the most mundane and least significant hour, must become a sign, a testimony to this urge. Read more

Jan 30

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The number one way to create a likable character

The late screenwriter and writing mentor Blake Synder taught that in order to have your reader or audience fall in love with your main character, you had to have a “save the cat” scene. This is a scene where your protagonist performs a simple act of compassion toward another.

In Snyder’s words, “It’s the scene where we meet the hero and the hero does something–like saving a cat–that defines who he is and makes us, the audience, like him.” (From Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need).

Watch the short clip below of Clint Eastwood’s “Hang ‘Em High,” hosted by author Steve White, that shows the “save the cat” scene in action:

To read what Snyder has to say about titles, see my previous post, “A killer title must have irony and tell a tale.”

Jan 29

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Make a journaling habit that sticks with one sentence a day

The first month of 2013 is almost finished, and if you’ve committed to start a journal this year but struggled to maintain it, you may find it easier to take a minimalist approach.

I read about one-sentence journaling recently in an interview on the blog Creative Liberty written by Liz Massey. Massey interviewed life and creativity coach Quinn McDonald, who holds workshops about writing one-sentence journals.

This is how McDonald came to write one-sentence journals:

“Because I was a newspaper editor, I began to write headlines for my days–just the most important thing was covered. While checking in on one of my favorite websites (DIY Planner), a woman mentioned that she would journal more if she could write just one sentence a day. That did it–I developed “One Sentence Journaling,” as a class.” Read more

Jan 28

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A killer title must have irony and tell a tale

In his well-known book on screenwriting, Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, Blake Snyder explained that the title of your screenplay (or novel) is an important component of your logline (for a novel, think of the logline as your one sentence pitch).

A killer title, he wrote, must have irony and tell the tale of the story. One of his favorite movie titles was, “Legally Blonde,” because it encompassed the essence of the story and was unexpectedly humorous.  On the other hand, he felt the movie title, “For Love or Money,” was a horrible title because it was too vague. (There’s even been four different movies with that title, none of them memorable).

Snyder’s advice on titles can apply to any writing project–even poetry or short stories. He made me realize that the working title for my current project had to go because it met none of his criteria for a good title–it didn’t show what the novel was about, it wasn’t unusual or ironic, and it didn’t hook the reader. In fact, the old title probably got in the way of my writing. Yikes! I may change the title again in the future but at least my new working title is pointing me in the right direction–the direction my story wants to go in. Read more

Jan 25

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One writer’s breakthrough and how to look for your true passion with a simple quiz

Have you had any breakthroughs while doing some kind of challenge?

Blogger Christine Bissonnette experienced a breakthrough moment when she went on an artist date as part of a 12-week Artist’s Way Challenge this week. She felt a whole new kind of energy from seeing a movie by herself when she realized the experience wasn’t affected by anyone else’s expectations. That energy comes through in her blog post, Silver Linings: Break-throughs and Paradigm Shifts.

Christine is doing something I aim for and hope you are too. To always be on a quest to live true to yourself. If this is your goal too, look back at the interests you gravitated to and times you were most happy. When I’ve brainstormed with friends about what they want to do with their lives, I tell them to look back to their childhood for clues to their true self  — the time in their lives when they didn’t doubt themselves or set limits.

As we grow older, it can become harder to retain that spirit. But I can’t help but think that striving to hold on to your true self boosts energy, makes you more excited to get up in the morning, and increases your writing flow. Read more

Jan 24

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Generate writing ideas with online photo galleries

In my last post “Overcome writer’s block and generate new ideas with tarot or picture cards,” I wrote about how I stumbled upon the benefits of using tarot cards to inspire my writing.

I’d like to share another great source of inspiration I discovered recently. Sometimes, Carly and I will go to Shutterstock or iStock to find photos for our blog posts. Recently, we purchased a large number of photos, and I helped find pictures for our blog. What I discovered was a plethora of inspiration!  Read more

Jan 23

What you can learn from author Dan Pink and Bob the Builder

Besides being able to write and revise stories, writers need to be skilled in the art of selling. Especially nowadays, when writers are called on more than ever to sell themselves and their books. So when I heard that Dan Pink had written a book about selling called To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, I bought it.

Along with the insight about selling, I came across some advice that applies to writing.

Pink says that when facing challenges, like making cold calls and pitching prospects, some self-help gurus might advise you pump yourself up with statements such as, “I’m the best salesperson on the planet,” and “No one is as awesome as me.”

While you must believe in your product or service and your ability to sell it, Pink says that social science reveals something more nuanced about how we talk to ourselves and its impact. Read more

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