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Posts from the ‘Craft’ Category

Apr 19

Guerrilla grouting and writing

End of week 5, emergency remodel.

In February, our upstairs bathroom sprung a leak that dripped down the wall and through the ceiling downstairs. We wanted to replace the bathroom and kitchen floors anyway, so we hired our contractor friend.

We live in a 100-year-old house and, as these projects tend to go, one thing led to another and our two-week job is now almost into week six.

I appreciate our contractor because I’m about as handy with a hammer as an elephant is with a paint brush (excepting those amazing elephant artists). I do have an awesome pink hammer but the most action it’s seen is when I accidentally dropped it on my foot when I brought it home from the hardware store.

Since my contractor will be gone for the next week, I volunteered to do whatever needed to be done in order to keep the momentum going. I want my house back. I want my life back. And I have a deadline because of an event in May. So–my job this weekend is to grout the shower tiles and finish grouting the floors. Read more

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 16

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Spark story ideas by asking these five questions

One of my writing friends and I were kicking around story ideas this week so we could send out pitches for freelance assignments. I analyzed how we formulated our ideas and thought I’d share these questions in case it helps spark ideas of your own.

These questions are also good for generating ideas for other writing projects, including memoirs, novels, and short stories.

What is misunderstood? Sometimes, something that you think is wrong, or misunderstood may lead you to write about it to right the wrong, shed light on a problem, or improve a process. 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.

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Apr 4

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Recommended reading from Ray Bradbury

If you read my last post, you learned about a writing assignment from Ray Bradbury.

As part of his reading advice, Bradbury recommended authors who inspired him and shaped his writing. I’m noting some below in case you’d like to add them to your reading list.

Bradbury advises reading essays on a variety of topics, including biology, anthropology, and zoology. In particular, he recommends Aldous Huxley, George Bernard Shaw, and Loren Eiseley. Bradbury read Eiseley’s The Fire Apes (.pdf) and later wrote him a fan letter.

Also at the top of Bradbury’s list: John Collier – author of Fancies and Goodnights, a short story collection that won the Edgar Award and the International Fantasy Award in 1952. Bradbury described Collier as one of greatest writers of this century, who wrote brilliant short stories that deeply affected Bradbury when he was 22 years old and learning to write. 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

Apr 2

Ray Bradbury 1975
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Improve your writing craft with this assignment from author Ray Bradbury

Renowned author Ray Bradbury has an assignment for writers who want to improve their craft.

Read one short story, one poem, and one essay every night for 1,000 nights.

At the end of 1,000 nights, your head will be full of ideas and metaphors along with your own experiences and observations of the people in your life. His aim is for us to make new metaphors out of all of these ideas and images that are bouncing around in our heads. In other words, stuff your head with literature. Read more

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