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Posts from the ‘Writing Exercises’ Category

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

Sep 7

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Two posts to inspire a do-it-yourself writing retreat

If you’re looking for ways to generate new work or push forward on an existing project, consider holding your own writing retreat. Retreats can be a great way to push aside the distractions that deter us from writing.

These posts detail how two writers approached holding a writing retreat alone or with others.

On her blog Book of Kells, Kelli Russell Agodon details how she and friends met to generate work using writing exercises. Agodon shares the writing exercises and benefits of doing them.

Jason Theodor wrote about his do-it-yourself writing retreat complete with tips from setting up a writing space to finding the time to get away.

Aug 16

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Try these techniques to amplify emotion in your writing

I like to say that good writing is about getting the right words in the right order.

In the novel, A Feather on the Breath of God, author Sigrid Nunez infuses her sentences with a tone of sadness and distance by using several techniques, including lists and a rhetorical device called anaphora.

Anaphora is a technique that involves repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences. It lends emphasis and can enhance the emotional impact. Read more

Aug 10

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How artists can benefit from meditation

Earlier this week, Carly wrote a blog post featuring a talk David Lynch gave about the effects of meditation on creativity.

Meditation is a wonderful tool that has added immeasurable benefits to my life, including:

  • Increased awareness of myself and my motivations;
  • An expanding of consciousness—I see things more clearly than I used to;
  • Increase in creativity; Read more

Aug 8

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What childhood books do you remember?

From the time I learned how to read, books have made a huge impact on me. I’ll never forget my third-grade teacher reading, “Where the Red Fern Grows,” and bringing me and my classmates to tears.

Other books I remember:

Charlotte’s Webby E.B. White. Wilbur the pig befriends a spider named Charlotte.

Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow. Celia Garth transforms from a fashionable dressmaker to a patriot spy during the Revolutionary War. Read more

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