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May 2

Using background sounds to create realistic settings

A couple years ago, a friend told me that when her 90-year-old mother got hearing aids, she found out she would have an adjustment period as she began to notice things that over time she had stopped hearing.

Once she began to wear the hearing aids, she heard the hum of refrigerators, sounds of cars going by outside, and other background sounds we all take for granted. This reminded me of staying in houses where I’d lie in bed in the quiet of the night and hear the creaking of the house, the wheezing of the furnace, and the clanging of radiators.

I’ve thought about how I should show this sensory part of the world in my scenes and settings. It’s a way to add realism, and I imagine it makes it easier for readers to immerse themselves in the story world I’m trying to create. Read more

May 1

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What I learned by reading poetry in front of the Rotary club

Yesterday was the last day of National Poetry Month. We had a fun month here in the Pacific Northwest. It seems as if each year, more and more local community organizations get involved in promoting the arts.

Last night, I joined eight other poets for a reading at a local Rotary Club where we were featured in their program. I almost didn’t go to the reading because reading your work in front of other poets who you know is one thing, but reading your work in front of a group of strangers with probably no poetry background is quite another.

But, forcing myself to go fearward, I attended the event and I’m glad I did. We ate great food, had fun, and shared our poetry with others in the community who weren’t familiar with poetry. And, I think we dispelled a few myths about poets along the way: only one poet wore a beret, only one poet wore all black, and nobody dangled a cigarette from their lips while reading (though one poet did read her poem “19 Cigarettes” about when she tried to quit smoking). Read more

Apr 30

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Practice the 5-minute “what if?” exercise to enhance your creativity

We’re all born creative thinkers, but sometimes it’s easy to think we aren’t when we’re stuck on a plot or trying to figure out a piece of dialogue for one of our characters.

Part of losing our sense of creativity comes with growing up. When we were kids, we didn’t worry so much about everything having to be logical or correct.

As Michael Michalko says in his book, Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, our minds are marvelous pattern recognition machines. We’re taught to see what we think we “should” see. This helps us be more efficient in many ways. But it’s also why we can read through a page of copy multiple times and miss typos. Our brain compensates and “helps” us see the patterns of what we expect to see. Read more

Apr 27

Famous writers’ rules of writing

Writers are apprentices. We are constantly trying to polish our craft. I know some writers who’ve written for years, are best-selling authors, and still strive to learn and grow as much as they can.

You can’t teach writing like you can brain surgery–there are just too many variables but you can head the advice of those best-selling authors. Everybody has their own method but here are a few tips from the pros:

George Orwell’s Five Rules for Effective Writing

Robert Heinlein’s Rules of Writing

Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing Plus Some – this post includes Leonard’s rules plus other authors, including Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, and Neil Gaiman.

Exercise: Create your own “rules” list and hold yourself accountable to them for 30 days. I’ll post my list soon.

Apr 26

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I’m carrying a poem in my pocket today

Today, to celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day, I’m carrying the poem, “Self Portrait” by David Whyte.

It’s easy to participate. Find a favorite poem and carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends.

You can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem.

Poem in Your Pocket Day is celebrated each year during National Poetry Month established by the Academy of American Poets. Part of its mission is to introduce more Americans to the pleasures of reading poetry.

Poems from pockets will be unfolded at events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores in all 50 states throughout the United States today.

Visit www.poets.org to choose your own pocket poem.

Apr 25

Get your RDA of poetry here

As National Poetry Month draws to a close, make sure you get your RDA (recommended daily allowance) of poetry!

This 15-minute Ted.com talk by former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins  should give you the boost you need. With his trademark wit, Mr. Collins shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into animated films in a collaboration with the Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this entertaining and inspiring talk — don’t miss the hilarious final poem!

Apr 24

Random scrivenings from my writer’s notebook

Writers have to be the kind of people who look closely at the world and what’s going on around them. We must develop our writer’s antennae and constantly tune in to the odd, poignant, and startling details.

Here are a couple of notes I collected and noted in my writer’s notebook during a recent trip. I’m always looking for good names and scored with two in one flight.

Entry one from my commonplace book:

“Good character names: Pink Wilkerson. Short for Pinkney.”

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