Apr 5
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.
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
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
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
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.
In need of some creative fuel to finish off the week? Power up with this trio of blog posts about writing craft.
Marla Madison reviews Don’t Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden and reveals 11 tips to create compelling sample chapters that will entice readers to buy the whole book. As it turns out, these tips are just plain good writing advice.
Darcy Pattison at Fiction notes writes about her search for a scene to avoid a “sagging middle.” Learn more about her exploratory techniques and find other great links to scene writing tips.
Poets and writers of any genre will find a burst of creative energy from Keith Jennings’s guest post at The Write Practice about collecting and connecting images and words. At the end of the post, you’ll find a writing exercise to practice connecting the images you’ve collected.
Someone asked me recently if I was a plotter or a panster. In other words, do I outline and plot my stories and poems before writing or fly by the seat of said pants? I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I usually have an idea of where the piece is going and make a few notes along the way, but mostly I just write. And rewrite. And rewrite some more.
But things are changing. Since my next book is fantasy, it will require more planning than my memoir. Also, I don’t want to take as long to write my next book. I’m hoping to shave off a few years. (Yes, seriously, years).
Since I’m in new territory and expanding my comfort zone, I’m using some aids along the way to help me brainstorm, plan, and outline. Read more
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