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Jun 4

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The Editing Games, part 1

Editing. Does it ever end? Maybe if we have an apocalypse—where we writers would be too busy scrambling to save our skins or ambling down The Road trying to hide from lawless survivors. Or, would we take time out from the metaphorical red pen if compelled to compete with Katniss in The Hunger Games?

Nah. Being writers who want to get our work published, we’d probably just turn the arena into a battlefield of dangling modifiers, unnecessary adverbs, overwrought adjectives, and just plain old unnecessary words aka “fat.” Yes, in editing mode, we writers are fat trimmers. Read more

Jun 1

Need an infusion of creative mojo? Wreck a journal

Do you ever get in a slump with your writing? As in, some event or situation literally sucks the life out of you? Are you clawing and scratching for any minute you can to write? That’s me right now. I’ve barely even been able to “think” about writing since I’ve been working on an impossible, immovable deadline in my day job that required me to spend every waking minute on it.

So now that the project is about to launch, I’m looking for a way to get back into my writing groove.

My blogging partner Carol gave me the book, “Wreck this Journal.” It’s time to get it out. Read more

May 31

A great iPhone app to help you visualize your writing goals

A big component of setting and achieving our goals is being able to see ourselves already there. In high school, I ran track and set the school mile. In cross-country, I often placed in the top three. One of my secrets was visualization. Before every meet, I’d visualize myself running the race and winning. Mentally, it prepared me for the road or track ahead.

I have big goals in my writing life but, in my hectic schedule, I often forget about the benefits of visualization. Recently, I discovered a great goal-setting app for my iPhone called Aspire Goals. According to Aspire, achieving goals is 80% mental and only 20% actual activity.  Read more

May 30

You’re naturally creative: Let your ideas fly

Do you fear you’re not creative? Do you avoid creative pursuits because you’re afraid you’re going to be judged?

Listen to this 11-minute Ted Talk by David Kelley, who feels it’s his calling to help people become more confident about their creative selves.

May 29

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The key to building complex, realistic characters

Ever have one of those “aha” moments in your personal life that just rock your writing world? I love it when this happens.

Recently, while on vacation with my hubby, we were surfing channels late one night and ran across an old rerun of The Odd Couple with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. The Odd Couple, in case you’re too young to remember, was a sit-com about two men Oscar, the slob, and Felix, the neat freak, and how they live together and drive each other crazy. We watched the episode and laughed more at how corny the show was than the jokes (but the jokes were pretty funny too).

Read more

May 28

Seven elements of an extreme character

How extreme are your characters?

Some of the most interesting and memorable characters in literature have contradictory and irreconcilable traits. Extreme characters are a mix of traits that make them so unique that they aren’t like anyone we know.

But it doesn’t mean we don’t identify with some of their characteristics. These characters stick in your reader’s mind.

Tips:
Think of your character’s traits and consider which one you want to emphasize. Mental traits often work better than physical and can power emotional depth in your story. Surprise your reader by turning stereotypes inside out.

Here’s a profile of an extreme character: Read more

May 25

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Improve your writing by resting

To use a cliche, I tend to burn the candles at both ends. I work hard and I play hard. This leads to an exciting, fast-paced life but, lately, I’ve been craving down time. So I’m taking some–in bits and pieces. Because it’s hard for me to take time off, I’ve decided to schedule some into my calendar in the hopes it will become a habit.

When I get enough rest I’m more productive and creative, ideas flow, and I look forward to writing each day. In a previous post, “Nap Your Way to Health & Creativity,” I discuss the benefits of a short daily nap to re-charge our batteries.

Here are two other blog posts that discuss the benefits of taking time off:

From Jeff Goins’ blog, an excellent article by Carol Tice, “How to Improve Your Writing in One Counter-Intuitive Way.”

From Jane Fritz’s blog a very informative article explaining how resting is really part of training, “Good News: How Resting is Really Training.” As artists, we can take this concept into our writing.

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