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Posts by Carly Sandifer

Sep 18

A simple prompt that reveals new writing ideas

I believe you have to make your own writing inspiration rather than waiting for it to happen. I’ve found I can generate inspiration by being observant, reading, and by using writing prompts and freewriting. Even when I feel resistance, I find that if I just start, I surprise myself.

One of the most effective prompts I use is one in which I type or write in a notebook, “I remember.” Then I time myself for about 20 minutes and list everything I can think of. If you’re trying to access memories for a memoir or to spark a short story or poetry ideas, you’ll be surprised at what this exercise reveals.

The second step is to do the same thing with the phrase, “I don’t remember.” You might think, “how can I write about what I don’t remember if I don’t remember it?” Have faith. These prompts are a good way of letting go of writing resistance. These exercises, especially done together, have a way of revealing themes and emotional moments that will take your writing to a whole new level.

What are your favorite ways to warm up for writing or excavate new ideas?

For more ideas to nurture writing inspiration, read Carol’s post, Four ways to cultivate writerly inspiration.

Sep 16

How to create new stories from existing writing

Part of writing includes stalled starts and manuscripts that are better left in a drawer. But sometimes those pieces of writing that didn’t work out can be turned into something new. Add to that, poems or essays or short stories that reveal ideas and characters so compelling that they may generate brand new works.

One example of this is the memoir Breaking Clean by Montana author Judy Blunt. The first chapter was initially an essay Blunt wrote as a college writing assignment.

Short story writer Pete Fromm wrote How All This Started, a novel, which began as a short story by the same name that was published in his short story collection, Night Swimming.

I recently read a poem to my writer’s group and my writer pals said they wanted to know more about one of the characters in the poem. Maybe my poem will lead to a short story or novel.

Even drafts that don’t work may have promise. As we write and read and write again, we change and learn. We have a new perspective. A draft that didn’t seem to work years ago may have new life in light of all we’ve learned.

What drafts or works have you written that still resonate? Maybe now is the time to give them new life.

Sep 12

2 Comments

Why your brain is your frenemy when it comes to reading and writing

Our brains are capable of doing amazing things, including adapting to typos and duplicate words in text as we read so that we can speed through a document without even noticing the mistakes. Convenient. We see what we expect to see.

But that can be a problem when we’re trying to create a polished manuscript free of typos and glitches. Add to that the fact that the more we read the same piece of text, the closer we are to it and the less likely we are to spot errors.

There’s even an Internet meme (with an element of truth to it) that calls this malady typoglycemia. See for yourself:

“I cdn’uolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg: the phaonmneel pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rseearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Scuh a cdonition is arppoiatrely cllaed Typoglycemia .

“Amzanig huh? Yaeh and you awlyas thguoht slpeling was ipmorantt.”

Go to the Wikipedia typoglycemia page to see the correct text.

So knowing this, how do we bypass our brains when it comes to reviewing text for errors? Read more

Sep 10

3 Comments

Doodle your way to a story

Doodling has a unique way of affecting how we process information and work out problems, says Sunni Brown, who teaches people how to do strategic doodling. It literally improves our creative thinking.

I find when I push too hard to come up with an idea or direction for my stories, the harder it is to find a creative solution. When it comes to getting a draft of a story down on the page, doodling can help you relax and have fun. It’s a helpful distraction — a way of playing, doing something to get into the non-analytical mode of creating that allows your wild ideas to swirl around.

To make it easy to doodle, I like to keep a sketch pad on my desk and in my writing to-go bag in case I start getting too analytical about my writing.

For more insights about doodling from artist Judy Clement Wall, read her post, 10 Things doodling has taught me about the creative process.

Watch Sunni Brown’s Ted Talk about doodling for more fun facts about doodling, including definitions for the word.

Related posts:

Boost your creativity by doodling

Draw your way into a scene

Sep 5

1 Comment

In writing, anything worth doing is worth doing badly

“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” – G. K. Chesterton

I’ve never met a writer yet who doesn’t feel resistance to writing in one form or another.

Sometimes getting stuck is a sign you need to do more research or try freewriting your way to ideas. The antidote is to just push forward no matter how messy it may seem.

Resistance can take the form of procrastination, failure to write certain scenes that are “difficult,” and a fluttery feeling in your stomach that feels like fear but is a good sign that you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone. At that moment, your shadow self may be telling you all sorts of things to feed the fear.

“You’re too old.”

“You’re not creative enough.” Read more

Sep 3

Swimmer Diana Nyad reaches her goal: Lessons in persistence we can draw on as writers

“You don’t like it. It’s not doing well. Find a way.” Diana Nyad’s mantra as she swam from Cuba to Florida.

On her fifth attempt, Diana Nyad, 64, met her goal Monday to swim 103 miles from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida. It took her nearly 53 hours.

Nyad, made her first try in 1978 at the age of 28. She made more recent attempts after turning 60, battling jellyfish stings, asthma, dehydration, and sharks. In this final attempt, Nyad swam without a shark cage and had a support team who went before her to clear the way of jellyfish and sharks. She also wore a special mask to protect her face.

For anyone who has goals, whether they’re to make a record-breaking swim or write and publish a book, Nyad’s example offers a lesson in persistence.

One of the things that has helped me reach my personal goals has been finding people who inspire me and whose example I can follow. I followed Nyad’s progress since her attempt in 2010 and this weekend as she met her goal.

According to a CNN story, as Nyad came ashore, she told reporters she had three messages: “One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a team.” Read more

Aug 29

4 Comments

Stuck on how to write about yourself? Try these story starters

Writing about ourselves can be a terrifying and confounding task, whether it’s for an About page, a memoir, or autobiography.

If you’re confronted with the task of writing about yourself, it can be an easier project if you think in terms of storytelling. What are the stories of your life?

Try these story starters to create a list of topics you can draw from to begin your manuscript. Armed with a list of ideas, think about the scenes you could write. Once you have raw material, you can shape it into a finished whole.

  1. What are the pivotal moments of your life?
  2. Who were the influential people in your life — for better or worse.
  3. What is your philosophy?
  4. What are your most striking childhood memories?
  5. What were the highs and lows of your life? Read more
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