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Posts tagged ‘writing tips’

May 22

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Banish writer’s block with this tip from poet William Stafford

“There is no such thing as writer’s block for writers whose standards are low enough.” –American poet William Stafford

Poet William Stafford wrote every day, rising early in the mornings before the rest of his family. This discipline resulted in about 20,000 completed or attempted poems over his lifetime—of which only 6,000 or so have been published. Occasionally accused of being “too prolific,” Stafford would say, “if you get stuck, lower your standards and keep going.”

I needed this advice this week. Stuck on the same chapter for two weeks now, I realized that something needed to give. It’s not that I don’t know where this chapter is going—I do and I’ve even scratched out an outline of the scene. My problem is that I’ve been too hard on myself. I’ve been tired and stressed lately and beating myself up for not getting further in my story AND I’ve been expecting my prose to be at top-notch level during all this. Rubbish.

Taking Stafford’s advice, I realized that I just need to lighten up and get on with it. Write the crappy chapter. Let my prose suck. I can go back and fix it later when I’m not so stressed and fatigued. After all, this is a first draft. And, as my poetry mentor says, “First drafts are meant to be sucky.” Read more

May 20

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British writers weigh in with tips to defeat writer’s block

Despite our best efforts to stay in the flow of our writing and showcase our brilliance in every word and idea that flashes through our mind and onto our white space, we still have times when the words get stuck.

Currently experiencing one of these frustrating moments myself, I thought I’d explore the idea of writer’s block this week and see what other writers have to say about it.

In this seven-minute video, “Getting Through Writer’s Block,” BBC writers share their tips on getting yourself unstuck, including:

  • Try to write something—improving nothing is impossible, improving rubbish is entirely possible. Read more

May 7

Add poetry to your writing repertoire

April may have been National Poetry Month but poetry is a mainstay in our writing life here at OneWildWord. Writing and publishing poetry or short stories is a great way to build up your artist resume while working on longer manuscripts.

Below are three of our most popular posts on different aspects of writing poetry. We hope you enjoy them!

How do you know when your poem or story is done? In this post, Carly shares her thoughts and those of poet Mary Jo Bangs on when a poem feels “done.”

Queen of the list: How I transformed compulsive list making into art is about creating lists to use in your prose or poetry. If you have a compulsion for list making, why not turn it into something useful?

This post answers the question, What makes a good metaphor? And how do you know when a metaphor is working?

May 2

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Rituals of famous writers revealed

Whether you’re driven to writing with ideas exploding inside of you like Ray Bradbury or you take an hour later in the day to go over your morning pages like Joan Didion or you write in the middle of the living room with all kinds of white noise around you like E.B. White, you most likely have a writing routine or writing rituals you practice to make sure you get your words on paper.

Or, maybe, like Benjamin Franklin, you start each morning by asking yourself a question, “What good shall I do this day?” And you end each evening with another question, “What good have I done today?” Read more

Apr 30

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Good storytelling should disturb us

Years ago, when I first started writing prose, I remember a literary agent said he and his wife never watched TV unless they were at the gym or a local bar because they don’t even own a TV. They focus all of their attention on reading.

Looking for role models for my literary life, I thought, “Aha…I won’t watch TV either.” It made sense. Less time in front of the tube equals more time writing or reading. My husband and I didn’t watch much TV anyway, but we did have our favorite shows we’d record and watch later.

At some point in my literary life—after graduating from my MFA program—I realized that being a writer wasn’t just about the ability to write well. Just at important, if not more so, is the ability to tell a good story. Read more

Apr 26

Plot as a driver for change: A cat story

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This week it’s raining cats at our house. Besides having a stray cat adopt us and become our “outdoor” boy, I also had to take one of our indoor boys, Simba, a 20-lb Maine Coon, to the vet.

Considering he hasn’t been out of the house in years (Simba, not the vet), it went pretty well. I did say “considering,” right?

I nonchalantly put the cat carrier on the bed next to Simba and then, like the Flash, snatched him up and shoved him in said crate before he could put up a fight. He hissed going in and then instantly learned how to meow. (Really, he doesn’t meow–he whines when he wants something). Read more

Apr 23

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How not to write a story

Margaret Bail, an agent for the Andrea Hurst & Associates, wants to help writers by telling them how NOT to write stories.

Bail, who is also a writer, presented a workshop at the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference Saturday. Several of her tips also came up during sessions in which agents, editors, and instructors critiqued pages that attendees had submitted.

Check out this list and see if you’ve committed any of these cardinal sins of writing.

In the beginning:

Don’t start with the protagonist waking up. Besides not wanting to see him or her in bed, Bail doesn’t want to see your character brushing her teeth, washing her face or anything else in her morning routine. Read more

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