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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Mar 8

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Take Will Smith’s advice and defy the writing enemy

Do you have a piece of writing that you’re afraid to share with the world? You must push beyond the fear, says actor Will Smith.

The ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment, James Lassiter and Will Smith of Overbrook Entertainment are looking for a few talented writers in the America’s Newest Scriptwriter Contest.

“The greatest enemy to doing the things you want to do in this world is fear,” says Will Smith, in a video on the contest website. “The only way to deal with fear is to smash your head against it. Write your work and submit it.”

Smith and film producer James Lassiter, co-founders of Overbrook Entertainment, will judge the contest.

They’ll select two winners — one for a 30-minute comedic script and one for a one-hour dramatic script. Winners will meet with Overbrook Entertainment to discuss opportunities to further develop their scripts. Each winner will receive $5,000. Read more

Mar 7

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Writing success: where preparedness and opportunity meet

Seneca, a first-century Roman philosopher, allegedly said, “Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet.

As writers, the only thing we can really control is preparation. Actor Matt Damon, in his interview with Success magazine, said he took to heart advice form his high school drama teacher, “Just do your work.” He knew that doing his best—even if no one else seemed to notice—was the only way to succeed.

I had a little run-in with preparedness and opportunity myself last week. As I sat in rush hour traffic south of Seattle for a weekend getaway, I suddenly remembered a poetry contest I had wanted to enter. I whipped out my laptop and connected to my hotspot (fortunately, I wasn’t driving) to discover the contest deadline was in ten minutes.  Yikes! Read more

Mar 6

The 10-Day Blitz: Try this tactic to energize your writing

If you read my previous blog post, you know that my blogging buddy Carol and I are on a mission we’re calling the 10-Day Blitz. We kicked off the Blitz to push forward with our writing and project goals.

We’re huge fans of timed writes. It’s a way we focus and push ourselves to throw words down on the page. (It also works for other projects we want to complete.) Sometimes, we’re able to sit in the same room and write together, and other times we communicate via instant messages or e-mail. One of us sets the timer and notifies the other when to “go in” and when the time is up. This structure helps us focus and complete our writing and other projects. Read more

Mar 5

Amanda Palmer and the art of being

Musician Amanda Palmer gave her first Ted.com talk recently on “The Art of Asking.” You can view the 13-minute video here:

Amanda describes her type of music as a mix of punk and cabaret and says that it may not be for everyone. When I went to my first Amanda Palmer concert in Seattle a few years ago, I didn’t know what to expect.

I’ve never pigeonholed myself as one type of music listener—I enjoy everything from classical to rock to country to blues to alternative—depending on my mood and what I want from my listening experience. And, I have to confess, I mainly went to her concert to hear her husband, author Neil Gaiman, read. Read more

Mar 4

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Find a writing buddy and do a 10-day Blitz



Years ago, I would meet a friend each morning before work to go for a walk and talk at a nearby high school track. We both wanted to exercise, but we had crazy, unpredictable work days. We figured out that we could exercise in the morning without interruptions. I rarely ever missed the walk because I knew she would be waiting for me and vice versa. We discovered that this bit of accountability was a powerful tool for success.

The support of a like-minded friend can go a long way towards meeting your goals, whether they’re fitness, business, or writing aspirations.

So I was intrigued when I read Suzanne Main’s blog post, A Whine, a Wine and Writer’s Nights, about her new writing buddy. All our competing projects, work, and family demands can easily eat through our day even with the best of intentions. So Main and her friend began meeting a couple times a week to write. They don’t critique, share work, or even talk much. Just write. Read more

Feb 28

How one award-winning writer finds story ideas in unlikely places

I find that the oddest moments or most unlikely observations have a way of providing material for stories and poems.

In an interview with Amy Purcell, who won first place in The Writer magazine’s Short Story Contest, she says she loves nature, is an avid reader of National Geographic, and often tears out pages about subjects that could serve as metaphors. She uses imagery of bees in her award-winning story, Home Repair, which was inspired by a trip to Home Depot. (See the February 2013 issue for more details, including winning entries for second and third place).

Random interactions often reveal details and nuances of people that I find I can use in poetry. Last summer, a landscaper who was sleuthing the source of a leak in my yard’s irrigation system inspired a poem about the hardness of life. Read more

Feb 26

Can’t find the wild word you need? Make one up

You would think that with all the words in the world, you’d have no trouble finding the ones you need in your writerly pursuits. Not so.

Sometimes, the words we want may be the ones we have to make up.

I’ve been reading children’s and YA books recently and love the way the authors have created words. One of my favorites is, Frindle, by Andrew Clements and Brian Selznick. It’s a story about a boy who decides to convince his classmates to start calling a pen by the name Frindle. Soon his town has joined in and then the country.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, is a heartbreaking and funny story about a terminally ill girl who meets and falls in love with a boy she meets at a kids’ cancer support group. Here are several of the made-up words Green uses:

  • askingly
  • prostitutional
  • cancertastic
  • cancervania

Using odd and original words and word combinations help set a tone and voice for a story, as well as create unique nuances in characters. In some stories, authors invent whole languages. Read more

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