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Posts from the ‘Craft’ Category

Jul 3

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Try Scapple for mind mapping your writing ideas

In an earlier post, I wrote about the power of clustering to generate new ideas. Normally, I use paper and pen because there’s something about writing my ideas out longhand that gets my synapses flaring. But recently I discovered Scapple, an online tool that helps you get ideas down on the page and then make connections between them.

Scapple is for Mac and sold by Literature & Latte, the people who created Scrivener. You can use Scapple as a mind mapping tool or not. The program doesn’t force you to make specific connections. It doesn’t expect you to start out with one central idea off of which everything else is branched. There’s no built-in hierarchy–every note is equal, so you can connect them however you like. Read more

Jul 2

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How to preserve your memories in a travel journal

One of the best things about traveling is the anticipation before the trip. Another is reliving the memories later.

If travel is on your agenda this summer (or winter depending on where you live), it’s a perfect opportunity to write a travel diary. You’ll capture memories of your holiday and likely return with material you can turn into stories, poems, or maybe even a travel story you can sell.

Pack these travel writing tips for your next trip:

1. Observe and write with all your senses. Note the scents as well as sights. Record what you hear. Once when I was traveling through a village in southern Greece, I saw an older couple walking up the road with a flock of sheep. When I remember that trip, I hear the ringing of the bells that were attached to their collars. If I hadn’t gotten out of the car to photograph the couple, I wouldn’t have heard the sound. Read more

Jun 25

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The power of clustering to generate writing ideas

Recently, I’ve been toying with an idea for a creative nonfiction piece that I want to enter in an upcoming writing contest, but I’m having a difficult time getting all the threads down. After reading about different plot tools in author Holly Lisle’s “Create a Plot Clinic,” I decided to try her idea of clustering to expand on my idea. 

Lisle says, “To cluster, you write a word, a phrase, or a question, draw a circle around it, draw an arrow, write the first word, phrase or question that comes to your mind in relation to the first circle, and keep writing and drawing until you’ve formed a web.” This technique is also called mind mapping, and I’ve used it before but then sort of forgot about it.

So I pulled out my yellow pad and pen (colored pencils and drawing paper are fun, too) and wrote my original idea in the center of my paper and circled it. From there, I drew lines and other circles and wrote down the first words that came to me. Within a half hour, I had my entire piece outlined in the mind map.

Here’s a picture of what it looked like when I was done (don’t be frightened off from my handwriting–it comes from my paralegal days):  Read more

Jun 20

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Master class tips for reading and writing poetry, part II

The more I read and write poetry, the more I see how it helps me approach other forms of writing. In my last post, I wrote about tips for reading and writing poetry. Here are several more tips from a master class I attended taught by poet Matthew Shenoda:

  • Make the title a jumping off point. I usually start out with a working title but then change it at the end after the poem is fully formed.
  • Analyze the “story” the poem tells, it’s angle, and how it pulls you in. Read more

Jun 19

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Write scenes a beat at a time

In Sandra Scofield’s The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer,the author defines the term “beats” as small units of character action and reaction.

Beats are, “the way we break down events into small steps of action, making it possible to evaluate whether those steps move the action effectively toward the culmination of the scene.”

Scofield recommends jotting down the beats of each scene before we write or before we revise in order to have a clear vision of where the scene is going. If we have a sticky or muddy scene, this exercise can help clarify the scene and make it stronger. Having the beats of a scene clearly thought out also makes it easier to control pacing and review the logic of the scene. Read more

Jun 18

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Master class tips for reading and writing poetry, part I

Do you ever struggle to figure out what a poem means or how to approach writing one?

I’ve always loved poetry so when I studied for my MFA, I attended every poetry workshop that I could, even though it wasn’t my focus in the program.

One of my favorite classes was a master class by poet and teacher Matthew Shenoda.

One of Shenoda’s tips was to read poetry conceptually. He suggested we ask ourselves these questions:

Jun 12

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Immerse readers in your stories by using micro details

Have you ever analyzed which qualities of a piece of writing draw you into a story?

One way writers can immerse readers into their stories is by using micro details. Something about these details makes a setting or character so real and authentic that the reader can’t help but sink into the story. Read more

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