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Aug 2

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Embrace your day job for writing inspiration

Many of us dream of spending our days doing nothing but working on our craft. More likely though, we must write around jobs and other obligations.

Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, a teacher, a nurse, self employed, or working in the corporate world, your day job (or night job) can be a treasure trove of writing gold.

I went to a workshop once about finding writing inspiration from the workplace. I didn’t think I could capture anything interesting from my corporate job. But when I thought about it, I realized that the actual work wasn’t necessarily gripping, but the drama can be found in the people and their politics, personalities, and emotion. I’ve found plenty of dialogue nuggets from overheard conversations. And I’ve noted ideas for character traits from my workplace observations. Read more

Aug 1

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Three ways to feed your muse: muse juice, part 1

Ever feel as if your muse is sitting back, stuffing her face with Bon Bons while watching reruns of “True Blood”? How do you inspire her to get off her ever-widening rear end and get back to work?

Check out www.Ted.com, where you’ll find “riveting talks by remarkable people.” Or, as I affectionately call this website—muse juice.

One of my favorite inspirational talks is by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. In trying to answer the question, “Where does creativity come from?” she tells of the time she met American poet Ruth Stone who grew up in rural Virginia.

Sometimes, when Ruth was out working in the fields, she’d feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape—like a “thunderous train of air” barreling down on her. She’d run like hell to the house to get paper and pencil so when the poem barreled through her she’d be ready. Sometimes, she’d almost miss it. During these times, she’d grab a pencil and reach out with her other hand and catch the poem by its tail, pulling it back to her. When this happened, the poem would come out on the page perfectly intact but backwards—the words written from the end of the poem to the beginning.

I love this story because it feels as if it could be true. Read more

Jul 29

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Use foreshadowing like John Steinbeck to deepen your writing

I like to think that excellent literature has an after effect. The meaning sinks in and the story resonates even after you finish reading it.

One of the ways to create this effect in your writing is by foreshadowing — through the use of hints — the theme of the story or action that will occur later.

I experienced this “after effect” after reading “Of Mice and Men” a novel by John Steinbeck about two migrant workers — George and his developmentally disabled friend Lennie. The two friends, who dream of owning their own farm someday, take jobs at a ranch where a tragic accident destroys their hopes.

Early in the story, another worker named Candy is pressured to end the life of his sick, old dog. Another character, Carlson convinces Candy to let Carlson put the dog down.

Carlson demonstrates how he would do it:

“The way I’d shoot him, he wouldn’t feel nothing. I’d put the gun right there.” He pointed with his toe. “Right back of the head. He wouldn’t even quiver.”

Later Candy tells George:

“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” Read more

Jul 28

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Igniting passion as an artist

Whether you’re a writer, painter, photographer, or other type of artist, you are a creator, a mini-god, a microcosm of the macrocosm. And you create for a reason. All artists have their reasons. I began creating as a way to answer questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Is there any purpose to my life? Why do things happen the way they do?

These questions are what motivate me to write. In the writing, occasionally, I get answers. There are other reasons why I write—I like to tell stories, to explore relationships and psychology. But my real passion for writing stems from my original questions.

What is your passion? Why do you create? These are important questions every artist needs to answer for themselves. The key, I think, is in the word passion. Read more

Jul 27

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How editing others makes me a better writer

You know all that time you spend reading other people’s work? It can make you a better writer.

Everything from proof reading to content editing improves my skill. A couple years ago, I spent an intense weekend editing a manuscript for a friend who was on a tight deadline. When I went back to my day job on Monday, my brain felt as if it had undergone a huge shift, as if it had gone to boot camp and come back with new strength and stamina. I attacked my work with extra clarity and insight.

When we read and critique someone else’s work, we can see it in a different way because we aren’t close to it. This kind of editing reminds me of what I should do with my own writing and makes me appreciate even more the attention others give my work. It’s like reading literature to become a better writer but with a slightly different, more active twist as I mark up the pages with notes to the writer.

These are some elements I spot, and accordingly, can apply as I revise my own manuscript. Maybe you can use these as part of your revision checklist:

Repetitious content. With all the shuffling that goes on during revisions, it’s easy to repeat scenes or similar information in more than one place. This is one of those areas that’s easy for me to spot in other writers’ work, but difficult for them to see. Read more

Jul 26

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Two reasons to keep a poetry or writing journal

Shortly after Joan Larkin published her latest book of poetry, My Body: New and Selected Poems, I took an afternoon writing class from her.  I’d been writing poetry off and on for twenty years and had developed my own style for writing and saving my work. It looked something like this:

  1. I go for a walk, or do the dishes, or some other activity that requires little thinking. As I walk or scrub, I let my mind and eyes wander. Let them flit over ideas and objects until something seizes my imagination. I ask questions: What does this mean? What could this mean? What if?
  2. At some point, the words start coming. If I’m still walking, I speak into my iRecorder but eventually, I sit down and write out my first draft by hand—usually on a piece of lined notebook paper, but not in any particular journal or notebook. Read more

Jul 25

When life sucks, note it in your “good material” file

And even when life is good, be prepared to note it.

I have a friend, along with many others, who was laid off from her job in the midst of the financial market meltdown. While she and her coworkers had been told layoffs were coming, she couldn’t help but be devastated.

At the same time, she told me later that she also couldn’t help but be fascinated by observations of her boss and the HR representative as they broke the news: the smirky, nervous smile on her boss’s face, the canned corporate speak.

Later, cleaning out her desk, she would note the uncomfortable reactions of co-workers left behind, loud crying from behind a conference room door, and the angry response of one worker who threw items from his desk on the floor before being escorted from the building.

Ever the observer, she noted, “Damn. this is good material.” Read more

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