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Posts by Carol Despeaux Fawcett

Apr 17

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Four ways to cultivate writerly inspiration

A young woman introduced herself to me at a poetry reading recently. “I write poetry, too,” she said. “But only when the inspiration strikes me.”

Ah, youth. I remember saying the same thing when I was younger.

You see, I’d bought into the myth that writers are a temperamental lot who only write when their muse “inspires” them. Fortunately, I’ve grown as an artist and realize now that the best writers are the ones that cultivate their inspiration daily. They discipline themselves to write each day even when they’re tired or don’t feel like writing. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, inspiration becomes a habit.

How can you cultivate inspiration? Read more

Apr 13

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Three poetry sites to inspire your muse

In honor of National Poetry Month, here are three poetry websites I subscribe to and why:

Academy of American Poets at www.Poets.org.  I lead a busy life, so I especially love receiving the poem of the day in my email. I may not have time to peruse the entire site each day, but I do have time to open an email and read the poem of the day. I feel as if I’m enriching my life a poem at at time. Read more

Apr 11

A poem about a poem becoming a poem

Considering my love of all things related to writing, it makes sense that I like poems about writing.  A friend recently sent me the poem “Workshop” by Billy Collins–a poem about a poem becoming a poem.

You’ll have to read the poem to understand what I mean.

Collins’s poem sparked my own idea for a poem. Double bonus.

Exercise: Pick a favorite poem about writing and use it to inspire your own.

Happy National Poetry Month!

Apr 9

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Writerly habits of perseverance

Writer’s write. We know this. But sometimes life happens. Lately, my life has been one big interruption. In February, my mom passed away, two days before her funeral our bathroom flooded, and since then we’ve been living in the midst of a remodel.

We live in a hundred-year-old house, so one thing uncovers another and it never seems to end. A person could get bleak. A person could give up writing for the interim—especially considering that I have two (small) useable spaces in the house fairly clear of sheetrock dust, contractor tools, and supplies. When you work from home and have nowhere else to escape to, it can be a problem. Read more

Apr 5

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A new poem for National Poetry Month

 

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m posting one of my poems below. Ideas for poems are everywhere. Most of my ideas come from daily life–like this poem below, “A rice farmer from California.”

Please visit us again this month for more posts about poetry.

Read more

Apr 3

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How to write a good sex scene

Have you ever read a sex scene that made you cringe? I have. Have you ever read a sex scene that months, or even years, later you think back on and it still makes you sweat? I have.

The first scene, the cringe-worthy one, was written by one of my favorite male authors. It was so bad, I felt embarrassed for him. The scene was full of thrusting and grunting and other horrible, clichéd descriptions of the physical act of sex.

The second scene, the one I still think about to this day, was less about sex and more about the surroundings and emotions of the characters. Read more

Mar 30

Hone your craft with these three writing posts

Writers are some of the most avid learners I know. We want to know about everything. That’s why I love reading other writers’ posts. This week, these three posts taught me something new. Enjoy!

Finding Your Natural Writing Voice by Charlotte Rains Dixon. Some great ideas on finding the “voice” of your story.

Keep ’em Hooked by Laura Griffin. Are you making these mistakes in your chapter endings? If so, try these fixes.

Realistic Expectations for Writing a Memoir by Bill Roorbach, with Kristen Keckler. My favorite part of this short article is the last paragraph on polishing your work.

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