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Posts by Carly Sandifer

Mar 4

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Find a writing buddy and do a 10-day Blitz



Years ago, I would meet a friend each morning before work to go for a walk and talk at a nearby high school track. We both wanted to exercise, but we had crazy, unpredictable work days. We figured out that we could exercise in the morning without interruptions. I rarely ever missed the walk because I knew she would be waiting for me and vice versa. We discovered that this bit of accountability was a powerful tool for success.

The support of a like-minded friend can go a long way towards meeting your goals, whether they’re fitness, business, or writing aspirations.

So I was intrigued when I read Suzanne Main’s blog post, A Whine, a Wine and Writer’s Nights, about her new writing buddy. All our competing projects, work, and family demands can easily eat through our day even with the best of intentions. So Main and her friend began meeting a couple times a week to write. They don’t critique, share work, or even talk much. Just write. Read more

Feb 28

How one award-winning writer finds story ideas in unlikely places

I find that the oddest moments or most unlikely observations have a way of providing material for stories and poems.

In an interview with Amy Purcell, who won first place in The Writer magazine’s Short Story Contest, she says she loves nature, is an avid reader of National Geographic, and often tears out pages about subjects that could serve as metaphors. She uses imagery of bees in her award-winning story, Home Repair, which was inspired by a trip to Home Depot. (See the February 2013 issue for more details, including winning entries for second and third place).

Random interactions often reveal details and nuances of people that I find I can use in poetry. Last summer, a landscaper who was sleuthing the source of a leak in my yard’s irrigation system inspired a poem about the hardness of life. Read more

Feb 26

Can’t find the wild word you need? Make one up

You would think that with all the words in the world, you’d have no trouble finding the ones you need in your writerly pursuits. Not so.

Sometimes, the words we want may be the ones we have to make up.

I’ve been reading children’s and YA books recently and love the way the authors have created words. One of my favorites is, Frindle, by Andrew Clements and Brian Selznick. It’s a story about a boy who decides to convince his classmates to start calling a pen by the name Frindle. Soon his town has joined in and then the country.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, is a heartbreaking and funny story about a terminally ill girl who meets and falls in love with a boy she meets at a kids’ cancer support group. Here are several of the made-up words Green uses:

  • askingly
  • prostitutional
  • cancertastic
  • cancervania

Using odd and original words and word combinations help set a tone and voice for a story, as well as create unique nuances in characters. In some stories, authors invent whole languages. Read more

Feb 22

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Two ways to create characters your audience will care about

Quick. Think of several of your favorite characters in books or movies. What makes them stand out to you? Character traits are one thing but focus on those and you just have superficial characters, says screenwriting teacher John Truby.

What grabs viewers and readers most about your character?

1. The fundamental weakness of the character

2. The character’s goal in the story.

If you can create a goal for your hero which forces him or her to deal with their deep weakness, you have the makings of a great story, says Truby.

Learn more in this 3-minute clip.

Feb 20

5 Comments

Lessons learned from one blogger’s 365-day novel writing challenge

Blogger Amanda Martin, who committed this year to blog a daily installment of her novel in progress, made it to day 50 yesterday and has logged more than 42,000 words. I’ve been following her posts and have noted interesting lessons and inspiration about the writing life and craft.

In her post yesterday, Martin wrote: “My main question is why people like the posts they do: is it because of the Claire installment or my daily diary/diatribe?”

Here’s my take…

For one thing, words add up. Even if you don’t have much time, you can write something, and that something will add up to a full manuscript eventually. Martin, her two children, and husband have all battled colds and flus during this time, but she continued to write. Read more

Feb 18

What will you create to make the world awesome?

Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your way, you’re tired, or you just need a burst of energy to restore your writing momentum? Here’s a three-minute pep talk for all of us who could use a little encouragement.

Kid President wants to know: “What will you create to make the world awesome?”

Let’s get to it!

Feb 14

2 Comments

Six tips for writing a love letter

No matter how much we strive to polish our writing skills, it’s not always easy to find the words we want to say, especially when the stakes are high. Finding the words though is worth it and a gift that money can’t buy.

On this Valentine’s Day, as you search for just the right words to write to your beloved, find inspiration in these words Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to his wife Josephine De Beauharnais.

“Dearest Josephine, I wake filled with thoughts of you. Your portrait and the intoxicating evening which we spent yesterday have left my senses in turmoil. Sweet incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart! Are you angry?  Do I see you looking sad? Are you worried? … My soul aches with sorrow, and there can be no rest for your lover; but is there still more in store for me when, yielding to the profound feelings which overwhelm me, I draw from your lips, from your heart a love which consumes me with fire? Ah! it was last night that I fully realized how false an image of you your portrait gives! You are leaving at noon; I shall see you in three hours.  Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire. –Bonaparte”

These tips might help you write your own love letter:

1. Write a draft. Think of your first words as a draft that you will adjust. This takes some of the pressure off and frees you to fling those words down on the page. Read more

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