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Oct 21

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Find creative possibilities in your workplace

In these economic times when everyone knows of someone who has lost a job, we all have work of some sort — even if it’s looking for another job. Some people work as stay-at-home moms and dads, while others work in small businesses, schools, or large corporations.

Whatever your situation, jobs are sources of great writing material. You might find inspiration to write a poem, an essay, a scene for a short story (after all, your characters likely have jobs too), or maybe even a whole novel.

Broadcaster and author Studs Terkel chose to literally write about other people and their jobs. In Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, he interviewed people in all sorts of jobs — from a factory worker to a fashion model. The narratives move between mundane details, emotional truths, and existential questioning. Read more

Oct 20

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How to riff your way to more ideas

Earlier, I wrote a post about word riffing—applying the musical technique of riffing to find just the right word. Sometimes, I use this riffing technique to generate ideas for plot, character traits, or anything else I might be stuck on.

Often an idea will grab my attention and I’ll follow it, riffing along to see where it leads me. Riffing is like dominos–one thing leads to another. To really get my brain going, I ask questions such as: What if? What’s next? How does it feel?

This happened recently when a friend was diagnosed with an illness. She told me how the doctor’s words felt like a curse. The idea of words as a curse intrigued me so I started asking myself questions. Below is the poem that was born from my riffing: Read more

Oct 19

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Breathe life into characters with the right names

What do you think of when you hear these names? Holden Caulfield, Bilbo Baggins, Jane Eyre, Hannibal Lecter, and Scarlett O’Hara.

Memorable character names help grab readers’ attention, and gripping characters become so real that readers remember them long after they read the last page of a book.

I collect names the way I collect other writing bits in my commonplace book. I wrote these down recently: Virgil Doty, Pernelle Parker, Carlyle Scoggins.

Here are a few things to think about when you’re creating character names:

Avoid similar sounding names – Especially in the beginning of your story, readers will be meeting your characters and trying to place them and the relationships. Jared, Jason and Joseph are all nice names but too many “J” names might throw off readers. Read more

Oct 18

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The simple & profound power of words

Words are more powerful than we realize. They convey thoughts, ideas, motivations, and hopes. Words deliver us into our future. I’ve always loved words whether they’re spoken, written, sung, or signed. Naturally, I  like to share them. (Of course! That’s why I’m writing this).

A few years ago, I bought I new laminator for my office. You know how it is with new toys. I went a little crazy. I laminated everything I could get my hands on. I even made handmade bookmarks with some of my favorite sayings. I decorated them with various stickers, laminated them, and mailed or handed them out to friends or business acquaintances.

Recently, I received an email from a woman I hadn’t come into contact with for at least five or six years. Evidently, she’d been the recipient of one of my bookmarks: Read more

Oct 17

A blast from the writing past

If you’re new to One Wild Word, you may have missed some of our earlier posts. Dip into some posts from the past and shake up your writing mind.

Write lyrically by reading poetry

Learn more about how poetry can be your bubble bath for a productive writing session. Read more

Oct 14

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Reach your goals quicker with a writing partner

I met my writing partner, Carly, at a conference. We clicked immediately and discovered that we only lived forty minutes apart. As we worked on our writing, we called each other for support and met every few months to write. When Carly moved to another state, we continued meeting via instant messages and on the phone. And we started a blog.

The benefits of having a writing partner are numerous. Writing can be a lonely business.  Even if you’re married or in a relationship, nobody really understands a writer like another writer. Not only can a writing partner provide moral support and camaraderie on your journey, you can spur each other on to reach your goals. Read more

Oct 13

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Want to get published? Take over the TV station

Have you ever noticed that one of the first things revolutionaries do when they start a coup is take over the TV station? That’s because controlling communication is key to attracting attention, managing the message, and sparking change.

If you’re trying to get published, maybe you don’t want to go that far, but it doesn’t hurt to think like a revolutionary. If you want to get noticed you have to get your work out there.

Besides sending out queries, try these tactics as part of a plan to communicate and share your writing with the world.

1. Submit excerpts of your project for publication in magazines or literary journals. It could lead to a book deal from an agent who sees it and wants more. Read more

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