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Posts tagged ‘writing tips’

Jan 9

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How blogging has taken my writing to another level

In her last post, Carly wrote about how blogging about writing has helped her become a better writer. When we first started discussing ideas for a blog, we kept coming back to the idea of blogging about writing because we both love writing so much. It was and still is our main passion in life.

If you’re like us, you write because you love to. You write because you want to. You write because without writing you wouldn’t be you. Writing is oxygen. Writing is life. And without writing, we may as well be one of the walking dead.

So how has writing a blog about writing made me a better writer?

  • That old saying that “to teach is to learn twice” is true. It’s one thing to learn something new about writing craft, but when I share that information by putting into words what I’ve learned, I learn it on a whole new level. Read more

Jan 7

Go beyond craft to find the heart…and art of your story

When I first decided to venture from writing poetry to prose, I read a lot of how-to craft books and took a few writing courses. Eventually, I decided I wanted a more focused approach so I enrolled in a low-residency MFA program through Goddard College.

You don’t need an MFA or any kind of degree, of course, to be a writer, but it was perfect for me. It allowed me the time I needed to focus on craft, and it forced me to read widely. This is what I’m thankful for most, I think, is the opportunity to read and learn how to analyze other writers’ work. I read works from authors whom I never would have otherwise read. Read more

Jan 2

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How to reclaim your life and energy for your art

In my last post, “Busting the writing myth of ‘not enough time,’” I wrote about author Heather Sellers’ belief that this concept of not having enough time is really a misdiagnosis of what ails us as writers. Our real problem, she says, is that we try to be, “everything to everyone,” and, as a consequence, become drained. We literally don’t have enough energy left to finish our writing projects.

I definitely fall into this category. I run a busy, full-time business with my hubby where I often begin work around 8 a.m. and work up until the time I drop into bed around 11pm to midnight. Yes, we take breaks during the day—lunch, dinner, exercise (hopefully), and we have the freedom to do what we want, when we want, but it’s a hectic lifestyle. I struggle with fitting my writing time in early in the day before I become too tired to do anything but drool on the keyboard.

In her book, Chapter After Chapter: Discover the Dedication and Focus You Need to Write the Book of Your Dreams, Sellers suggests making a list of everything we do in a week. Read more

Dec 30

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Busting the writing myth of “not enough time”

When I get overly tired, I tend to do dumb things like walk into walls, trip going up the stairs, or bump my toe into a hard piece of furniture. Little things. Annoying things.

The day after Christmas, I could tell I was suffering from this state of fatigue because I walked into the bathroom door, I spilled aromatherapy oil on our piano, and as I picked up a picture frame from a bookshelf, the glass slipped out and sliced my finger on its way to the floor. Ouch. I lost a nice patch of skin from the side of my pinky finger and had to hold gauze on the wound for two hours to get it to stop bleeding. Double ouch.

I took the rest of the day off, realizing, a bit belatedly, that I needed to rest and regain my energy and motor skills.

In “Chapter After Chapter: Discover the Dedication and Focus You Need to Write the Book of Your Dreams,” author Heather Sellers writes about how many would-be authors say they can’t finish their novels or writing projects because they don’t have enough time. She thinks this is the case of a misdiagnosis. In reality, she says, it’s not really time that is the issue but a lack of energy. I can relate to her diagnosis. Read more

Dec 23

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How to tell when you have a good idea for a story

In her short ebook, “2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better and Writing More of What You Love,” author Rachel Aaron shares tips on how she went from writing two thousand words per writing session to ten thousand. For more details, see Carly’s earlier post.

In Aaron’s chapter “How I Plot a Novel in 5 Easy Steps,” she says that Step 0 is deciding whether the idea you have for your story or novel is the idea that you really want to spend your time on. How do you know if it is?

1.  You can’t stop thinking about it. You’re doing the dishes or some other menial chore and you find yourself totally lost in your thoughts about your story. Or, you’re at work and can’t seem to focus because your antagonist is whispering in your ear about his evil plans for your main character. Read more

Dec 17

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Using the poetry in us to influence our writing

“….Everybody, even people who don’t read poems, have poetry in their heads…,” says poet Hans Magnus Enzensberger.

Filmed as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, the 4-minute video below features poets Enzensberger and Tracy K. Smith, who discuss the nature of poetry and their process of working together.

Enzensberger says we find poetry in nursery rhymes and prayer and other everyday occurrences. Poetry is part of the fabric of our lives. Poetry can be a way in to other writing formats.

Watch the video below and then check out my earlier post, “Using poetry to enrich your prose” to see more ways that poetry can inform our lives and our writing.

http://vimeo.com/47090158

Dec 11

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Lessons in character development: parental influences

Our parents give us our first view of the world. We incorporate their lessons into our lives and, sometimes, we spend the rest of our lives trying to unlearn these beliefs and developing our own worldview.

The other day, I was wondering what the characters in my work-in-progress have learned from their parents about love.

Growing up, I learned some very specific things about love:  Read more

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