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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

Mar 1

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The awkward art of writing sex scenes

“It is not sex that gives the pleasure, but the lover.” Marge Piercy

In The New Republic’s recent article, “The Smitten Word: The Awkward Art of Writing About Sex,“ author Sam Lipsyte writes about one of the most difficult subjects for writers to tackle–sex scenes.

He says the conventional wisdom that less is more is usually best, but it can also be a cop-out. He writes:

“Sometimes, though, you have to face the multi-spined beast head on. Be brave, and trust in your love of language and your love of sex. (Or lack of it.) Trust in the modern gods who guide your hand: Sad and Funny. Like it or not, these are the twin poles for most of our tiny thoughts and doings. Sad and Funny are both the world and how we withstand it.”

Read the rest of Lipsyte’s article for more do’s and don’ts of writing sex scenes.

You can also read my previous post “How to Write a Good Sex Scene.“

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 27

How to write surprise endings

In his book Plot & Structure,James Scott Bell has a great chapter on story endings. He writes about the different types of endings, including the twist or surprise ending.

In a way, all of our endings should incorporate surprise or the unexpected. We don’t want our stories to be so transparent that the reader can guess what comes next, eventually becoming bored with our story.

So how do authors come up with great twist endings? Bell admits he doesn’t know exactly as it’s not something that can be boiled down to a formula. But he does offer tips for helping us brainstorm possibilities. 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

Feb 25

Three posts to help you mine your life for writing ideas

One of my goals this week is to brainstorm ideas for a series of new poems. I thought I’d go through some of our previous posts for writing inspiration.

I hope you find the following three posts helpful in your own quest for writing ideas:

“Exercises in memoir: finding your story” offers several exercises to help you mine your memory for anything from memoir to poetry to fiction.

“Embrace your day job for writing inspiration” offers a Ted Kooser poem and insights from Carly about finding writing ideas at work.

“Four way to cultivate writerly inspiration” lists more ways to find inspiring ideas.

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