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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Jun 24

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Do you write in a lab or a factory?

I’ve always called my writing space, my “writing room.” This room is where I have three bookshelves crammed with books, my table with my computer and office supplies, and my chair and file cabinet. But inspired by this post from Seth Godin, I’ve decided to call my writing room my “writing lab.”

We work either at a lab or a factory, Godin says. People who work in labs are searching for breakthroughs at the risk of making mistakes because making failures helps us learn what works, he says.

Factories are all about churning things out – Twinkies, car parts, widgets – in the most efficient possible way. Read more

Jun 17

Find writing success in small, daily actions

It is a universal law that you must express your power

or the power will turn against you. What do you choose? 

—Michele Jamal, Shape Shifters:

Shaman Women in Contemporary Society

The above is one of my favorite quotes because it reminds me to express my power or be my “gift” each and every day. We all have gifts—a light that we uniquely bring to the world—but we don’t always display or use our gifts.

Recently, I was reading “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success magazine, and realized how easy it is to ride along in life and not make the daily little choices we need to make in order to allow our gifts to shine. I spent much of my early adult life just going with the flow and letting others make choices for me. Because I wasn’t proactively living my life, life was living me.

You know what I mean and, if you don’t, here are some examples:

  • Did I really inhale that bag of potato chips without even thinking about it? Read more

Jun 13

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Challenge your writing mind with free online short story and poetry classes

I’m a learning junkie, so I’m always excited to find new resources.

A One Wild Word reader alerted me to Academic Earth, which features a collection of free online courses from top universities, including MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

While it’s not the same as sitting in the classroom, and you don’t receive college credit, you’ll find class notes, suggested reading, and videos of lectures.

Here are several classes in the humanities category:

Writing and Reading Short Stories

Modern Poetry

The American Novel Since 1945

While you’re at it, check out this 2-minute video about the late Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451: A Novel.

Jun 12

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Immerse readers in your stories by using micro details

Have you ever analyzed which qualities of a piece of writing draw you into a story?

One way writers can immerse readers into their stories is by using micro details. Something about these details makes a setting or character so real and authentic that the reader can’t help but sink into the story. Read more

Jun 11

Using storytelling in writing: Two examples

Are you a storyteller? I come from a long line of storytellers. They’re not necessarily writers (in fact, I believe I’m the first “writer” in the family tree), but they are serious tellers of stories.

I wrote about my family’s storytelling in my memoir. In one scene, I’ve just come home from 4-H camp with a sprained ankle and my father has met me in the parking lot of our grocery store with bad news about my cousin and best friend, Susan. Read more

Jun 6

“Books on wheels” spread the joy of reading

Since the printed word came into being, people have been promoting literacy one way or another. An early way of doing so was via bookmobile. The first “books on wheels” were developed in the 1800’s in England as a way to get books to rural areas far away from city or town libraries.

I remember waiting with barely-contained excitement each week for our local bookmobile “Little Chief” to drive up to my parents’ grocery story. Being the only business in our small bayside community, we were a natural location for the bookmobile to offer its weighty words and bright, shiny covers to patrons.

I’m sure Little Chief was one of the reasons I became an avid reader. I devoured my books each week so I could experience the joy of choosing new ones the next week.

Despite the internet and the e-book revolution, the bookmobile still exists in our county. I passed the big, purple behemoth the other day and had an instant flashback to those early days of learning to love to read. The adventures of Huck Finn, the Swiss Family Robinson, and the Lone Ranger echoed my own adventures as I discovered the ample forests of my childhood. The bookmobile was my bat mobile where all kinds of adventures awaited me each week.

Bookmobiles are still used in many countries and some are run without a vehicle. Examples include:

Jun 5

Write with a body double for courage

Recently, I was at the local hospital while a family member was having surgery. Though I was keeping other family and friends updated via email, text, and phone on our loved-one’s progress, I owe a debt of gratitude to my cousin who came to the hospital and sat with me.

Having somebody physically by my side made me feel less alone and made this event feel “doable.” It reminded me of the earlier posts Carly and I wrote about having a “body double” while writing. Having another person physically present next to you while you write gives you a wonderful feeling of community and kinship. We all have doubts at some point during our writing and having a body double can give you the confidence and courage you need to continue on.

If you haven’t tried writing with a body double yet, I highly recommend it.

To read more about writing with a body double, read Carly’s post: Find writing success with a buddy.

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