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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Feb 6

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Critique your manuscript with this checklist

For me, revising a manuscript is like putting a puzzle together — making all the pieces click into the right places. But without a plan, it can be overwhelming.

You’ll find many ways to approach revisions depending on the phase you’re at in the process. Below, I’ve offered tips I’m following as I revise my current work in progress. Maybe, they’ll help you too.

First, I print out a double-spaced copy and take a pass through it, noting where I’ll go back and make detailed changes. This is what I look for:

1. Awkward sentences, phrases. Note with an “AWK” in the margin and circle the sentence or phrase.

2. Vague or wrong words. These could be places where another word would be better or I want to get more specific. Common changes here include the word “some,” non-specific descriptors, such as “beautiful,” and places where I should show instead of tell. Read more

Feb 5

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Practice mindfulness 10 minutes a day to change your life and your art

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for ten minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in uncomfortable positions.)

Puddicombe says we rely upon our mind to be focused, creative, spontaneous and to perform at our very best in everything we do. And, yet, we don’t take time out to look after our mind or nourish it. He says we spend more time looking after our cars, our clothes, and our hair than we do our minds.

Our minds go round and round until we’re so distracted that we are no longer present in the world in which we live.

You don’t have to become a monk, like Puddicombe did, to learn how to nourish your mind so you can be the clear, creative, compassionate soul you’re meant to be.

Practicing mindfulness for 10 minutes a day can change your life and your art: (Tweet this)

To read more about my experiences with meditation and writing, click here.

Feb 4

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More writing insight from Rainer Maria Rilke: Mine the art of your life

What is your approach and philosophy about writing and the writing life?

Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke offered advice and ideas about writing in a series of letters to a young student, Franz Kappus, who later published them in a collection called, Letters to a Young Poet. You can read more about Rilke’s philosophy in my last blog post, Inspired by Rilke: What you should write about and why.

In his advice about what to write about, Rilke urged Kappus to be cautious of generalities and examine the themes present in everyday life.

“Write about your sorrows, your wishes, your passing thoughts, your belief in anything beautiful. Describe all that with fervent, quiet, and humble sincerity. In order to express yourself, use things in your surroundings, the scenes of your dreams, and the subjects of your memory.” Read more

Jan 31

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Inspired by Rilke: What you should write about and why

If you ever feel stalled with your writing, you might find inspiration in Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.

Rilke, a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, is known as one of the most significant writers in the German language.

He wrote the letters to 19-year-old student Franz Kappus, who had sent Rilke poems to review. Rilke declined to specifically review the poems, but his letters offer a meditation on creativity and the writing life. After Rilke died, Kappus published the classic collection of letters, including the first one you can view at poets.org.

His letters have helped many writers consider the place writing has in their lives.

Rilke responded to Kappus’s concerns about rejection, telling him he was looking outward and encouraged Kappus to look within for answers and test his desire to write.

“Does it stretch out its roots in the deepest place of your heart? Can you avow that you would die if you were forbidden to write? Above all, in the most silent hour of your night, ask yourself this: Must I write? Dig deep into yourself for a true answer. And if it should ring its assent, if you can confidently meet this serious question with a simple, “I must,” then build your life upon it. It has become your necessity. Your life, in even the most mundane and least significant hour, must become a sign, a testimony to this urge. Read more

Jan 29

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Make a journaling habit that sticks with one sentence a day

The first month of 2013 is almost finished, and if you’ve committed to start a journal this year but struggled to maintain it, you may find it easier to take a minimalist approach.

I read about one-sentence journaling recently in an interview on the blog Creative Liberty written by Liz Massey. Massey interviewed life and creativity coach Quinn McDonald, who holds workshops about writing one-sentence journals.

This is how McDonald came to write one-sentence journals:

“Because I was a newspaper editor, I began to write headlines for my days–just the most important thing was covered. While checking in on one of my favorite websites (DIY Planner), a woman mentioned that she would journal more if she could write just one sentence a day. That did it–I developed “One Sentence Journaling,” as a class.” Read more

Jan 25

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One writer’s breakthrough and how to look for your true passion with a simple quiz

Have you had any breakthroughs while doing some kind of challenge?

Blogger Christine Bissonnette experienced a breakthrough moment when she went on an artist date as part of a 12-week Artist’s Way Challenge this week. She felt a whole new kind of energy from seeing a movie by herself when she realized the experience wasn’t affected by anyone else’s expectations. That energy comes through in her blog post, Silver Linings: Break-throughs and Paradigm Shifts.

Christine is doing something I aim for and hope you are too. To always be on a quest to live true to yourself. If this is your goal too, look back at the interests you gravitated to and times you were most happy. When I’ve brainstormed with friends about what they want to do with their lives, I tell them to look back to their childhood for clues to their true self  — the time in their lives when they didn’t doubt themselves or set limits.

As we grow older, it can become harder to retain that spirit. But I can’t help but think that striving to hold on to your true self boosts energy, makes you more excited to get up in the morning, and increases your writing flow. Read more

Jan 23

What you can learn from author Dan Pink and Bob the Builder

Besides being able to write and revise stories, writers need to be skilled in the art of selling. Especially nowadays, when writers are called on more than ever to sell themselves and their books. So when I heard that Dan Pink had written a book about selling called To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, I bought it.

Along with the insight about selling, I came across some advice that applies to writing.

Pink says that when facing challenges, like making cold calls and pitching prospects, some self-help gurus might advise you pump yourself up with statements such as, “I’m the best salesperson on the planet,” and “No one is as awesome as me.”

While you must believe in your product or service and your ability to sell it, Pink says that social science reveals something more nuanced about how we talk to ourselves and its impact. Read more

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