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Posts from the ‘Writing Exercises’ Category

Jul 7

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Write inspired: Seven ways to use your powers of observation

As writers, we all have routines or rituals. One thing we cannot do though is write only when we are “inspired.” We cannot just write when we feel like it.

However, we can write from inspired ideas we collected earlier. Writing doesn’t happen just when you sit down at your computer or with paper and pen. It’s a constant process of gathering ideas and letting them percolate in your subconscious. These ideas can be the fodder for whole novels, snippets of dialogue, or description.

So how do we find those inspired ideas? Live in full observation mode. Take a closer look at everything around you, and take note.

1. Go to the mall — You’ll find all sorts of people at a shopping mall: men and women, young and old, rich and poor. Observe people to collect ideas for how to describe characters. Watch behaviors,  listen to the tone of conversations, observe how people dress.

2. Read the newspaper — Besides reading news and feature stories, scan the ads, including classifieds. Read more

Jun 23

It’s raining concrete: the #1 rule of writing, Part 2 of 2

Over the years, I’d trained myself to be an observer of life’s details and to use those concrete details in my writing. (I do have an MFA in people watching). But I’d never done the opposite—never thought about turning details into abstractions as Ayn Rand suggests we do in her book The Art of Fiction.

I’m sure at some unconscious level, the details and abstractions ran parallel lives in my mind but I wasn’t consciously aware of them. I never thought, “What do the moles on my mother’s neck represent?”

While on vacation earlier this year, I sat on a white sand beach on the island of Kauai and thought about Rand’s advice. She suggests we practice seeing the abstractions within the concrete details in order to make our minds supple and easily able to notice both the abstractions or premises in our work and how to show them through details. Read more

Jun 20

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What makes a good metaphor?

We’ve all heard them, read them, sometimes written them—those cringe-worthy similes and metaphors that make us wonder what planet the authors came from. Bad metaphors make for good comedy. We get emails with laugh-out-loud examples from student essays, such as:

  • He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
  • She was as easy as the “TV Guide” crossword.
  • The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
  • She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

You get the idea. During my beginning years as a writer, I confess that I too occasionally dipped into the bad-metaphor well. Embarrassing, right? But then I got better. I worked at it. I practiced. When I made the leap from writing poetry to writing stories and books, I made another major discovery about what makes a good metaphor. Read more

Jun 8

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Four ways to stimulate creativity & cure the writing blahs, part 1 of 4

I woke up feeling blah this morning.  A gray Northwest day still affects my spirits despite the fact I’ve lived here for nearly half a century.  Did I just say half a century?  Now I’m really depressed. But I have to get out of my funk because it’s my writing time.  Husband is gone for a few hours (we both work from home), and that’s always the best time for some productive writing. The question is—how do I inspire myself instead of continuing to stare out my window and count shades of gray?

I make a list. For me, list making is almost as satisfying as eating dark chocolate.  Okay, maybe writers do exaggerate.  Off the top of my head, I write down four of my favorite ways to get my creativity and inspiration back on track.  I’ll share them with you as long as you promise to add your own favorites to your list. First on my list is:  Read more

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