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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Jan 9

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Seven ways to breathe life into your novel or short story idea

Are you stalled at some point in your story or manuscript development? Or maybe you’ve finished a project and are jumping into a new one. Generating an idea for a novel is one thing, but how do you build it out into a manuscript? Maybe you’re looking at all the ideas you’ve collected, and you’re stuck about where to go next.

Breathe life into your novel ideas by brainstorming your ideas. Here’s where to start:

1. Ask the question: “What was happening in my life when I thought of this idea?” For memoir writers, this is especially powerful. Big life changes or milestones often spark new ideas. Whether you’re writing a memoir or novel, our inner selves drive themes in our writing worlds. Many novels are autobiographical to some degree — consciously or unconsciously. Our life experiences can’t help but inform the stories we write. Read more

Jan 8

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Turn your goals into daily habits

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

I was reminded of the above quote this week while reading Kathie Pugaczewski’s blog post “Keep Pulling.”

Aristotle was right. We are our habits. Day in and day out. Creating better habits takes consistency and discipline for a certain number of days until the pattern becomes ingrained into our very being. Read more

Jan 7

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Four techniques to tap into your imagination

Have you ever noticed how being creative and being stressed out aren’t very compatible?

Coming up with new worlds, creating characters, and putting words in people’s mouths require us to think big, tap into our imaginations. The writer’s life requires a certain amount of stress-free time for maximum creativity.

Just being alive brings a certain amount of stress. Add to that stress caused by high pressure jobs that can knock us out of our groove and block our ability to create. Even just fatigue from regular day-to-day life and all its demands can deplete us of creative energy.

If you find you need to fire up your imagination, here are some ways to get back in your groove. Read more

Jan 4

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Tools and techniques to jumpstart 2013 goal setting

January is a great time to set new goals for the year. January is about renewal. New Goals. Excitement. Anticipation.

Below are a few posts from Carly and I to help you with your 2013 goal setting:

Try these tools and techniques to keep your 2012 writing plan on track 

Reach your goals quicker with a writing partner 

Make a goal-setting ritual

We wish you a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!

Jan 3

My writerly inheritance: The curiosity gene

When I was in elementary school, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Working as a journalist turned out to be the perfect job for me because it required asking questions, which is one of my favorite things to do.

My blogging partner Carol’s post, What writerly traits run in your family?, got me thinking about my writerly DNA.

I was born with the curious gene. I figure I inherited it from my mother. When I was a newspaper reporter, she often called me with some tidbit of news she’d heard or something she saw that she thought I’d want to know about because it might make a good story. And she was often right. Read more

Jan 2

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What writerly traits run in your family?

My father was a difficult person to  live with but, in his own way, he was very philosophical. He was a voracious reader of daily news and current events. He loved learning new things and was always calling me and my cousins into the kitchen where he sat on his favorite stool and read interesting excerpts to us. Granted, there was a lot of eye rolling going on at the time, but over the years I gleaned his enthusiasm for reading, learning, and considering new ideas. Read more

Jan 1

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Happy New Year: What’s your theme for 2013?

There’s something about the first day of a new year that seems so full of promise. A new beginning.

Some people like to set New Year’s resolutions, and others prefer to have a personal theme. One of my friends has a word or phrase she picks to be her guide for the year. A touchstone that inspires her to live the life she intends. I talked to her yesterday to find out if she’d decided on her 2013 theme. She said she’s spent too much time over the past 10 years “waiting.” This is the year she takes action instead of waiting for the so-called right moment. Her 2013 theme: “There’s no time like now.” Read more

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