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Posts from the ‘Writing Exercises’ Category

Nov 7

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How keeping a writing practice list can increase your NaNoWriMo word count

Today is the seventh day of NaNoWriMo and, amazingly, I’m on track with my word count! But I need to plan ahead for the rest of this week because, starting tomorrow, I’ll be attending the Story Masters writing intensive with Literary Agent Don Maass, author and writing mentor James Scott Bell, and Chris Vogler, a Hollywood development guru and author of The Writer’s Journey.

I’m super excited and blessed to be able to attend this event but that also means I’ll have to find snatches of time for writing to make sure I stay on top of my Nano goals. We’ll have writing opportunities in class and an evening gathering of fellow NaNoWriMos so that will help. My plan is to break it up in 500 to 700 word segments until I reach my goal for each day.

I’m also making a Writing Practice list (ala Natalie Goldberg). These are ideas that pop up as I’m writing that I add to an ongoing list and that become writing topics for later. I call it my WP list. Read more

Oct 25

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Enter the inspiration zone to generate story ideas

Tanya Lloyd Kyi has a prescription for filling blank pages: Freewrite with childlike abandon. Kyi shared tips about writing and generating ideas in her workshop, “The Inspiration Zone: Practical ways to generate and sustain ideas,” at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference Oct. 19-21.

Kyi said that, as a child, she wrote constantly and didn’t worry about who saw it. But things change when you get older.

“We can find ourselves in a straitjacket worrying about what we’re allowed to write about and not write about,” she said. “Sometimes we have to cast away those doubts and just write.”

Writing prompts can spark ideas for new stories. Read more

Oct 10

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Tips for creating the climax scene in your novel

In her book The Plot Whisperer,author Martha Alderson writes about creating the climax scene in a novel. This is the scene that holds the greatest intensity and highest drama in the story. This is where all the forces of the story come together and where the protagonist must directly confront the antagonist. Just when it looks as if all is lost, the protagonist will discover or rediscover something within her that allows her to prevail.

The climatic scene directly answers the question at the outset of the novel—will the protagonist reach her goal and be victorious?

Alderson says, “A writer who has not experienced a transformation in her own life often cannot see, feel, touch, smell and hear the scene depicting such a moment for the protagonist.” Read more

Oct 5

Discover your art as you go along

Write something truly awful to find the good stuff. That’s what poet Brendan Constantine promotes in his post “Idle Hands are the Poet’s Playground: Brendan Constantine on Taking a Chance.”

“Furthermore, it will always be true that our poorest work lies ahead of us. We’re going to write something truly awful in the future. We have to. Why do we have to? It’s often the only way to uncover the good writing. Like going through a kitchen drawer, sometimes we have to take out things we don’t need in order to get at the things we do.” Read more

Sep 21

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Push forward with your writing dreams even when it’s scary

Sending out a query letter, sharing our writing with a critique group, or even sending a finished manuscript can be scary. The stakes are high: What if we receive negative feedback or are rejected?

It’s easy to get stuck. But doing nothing just breeds more fear, doubt and regret.

What you should know is that for every bad thing that can happen, so can something good. If you’re in a respectful critique group, you’ll hear what’s good about your work, as well as ideas to enhance it. If an agent declines to represent you, you’ll likely receive some bit of feedback that can help you target your proposal differently the next time. Ultimately, you have more information to work with. Read more

Sep 20

Story ideas are everywhere but what is the right one for you?

Story ideas are everywhere but how do you find one that can sustain and excite you through the long process of writing an essay, novel, or even a short story?

Here are three earlier blog posts (including some exercises) to help you find what works for you:

Don’t write what you know, write what sets you free

Write to your white-hot center

Stuck on what to write? Consider these big ideas

Sep 11

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What I learned by writing a 91-word memoir

Sometimes limiting yourself forces a sort of creativity. Boundaries open up possibilities. I learned this recently while writing to a specific word count for a contest.

The 91-Word Memoir Writing contest sponsored by the Gotham Writers’ Workshop celebrates longtime Gotham student Norma Crosier (left) who died in July five days before her 91st birthday. The deadline to enter is October 15, 2012. The winner will receive a 10-week workshop and $91 cash.

Writing a 91-word memoir felt like flash fiction mixed with poetry.

Here are some tips: Read more

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