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You're a writer.
Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.
—Henry David Thoreau
Experience
What inspires you?
Is it the view from your kitchen window? Hearing kids laugh? The smell of your morning coffee as the cup warms your hands?
Take some time to breathe in (that's the literal meaning of "inspire"), and notice the things that bring you to life.
An old writer once told me...
This is such a perfect description of the art of writing. Don't you think?
Writing is Easy Organic Cotton Tee
When somebody asks you about your choice of career, you can tell them that "Writing is easy..."
Price: 24.99
Them's writin' words!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWriting Down the Bones
Inspiration and finding your muse
Have you ever written something really powerful, then later, when you wanted to write, thought, "How did I ever do that?" You try to reach that level again, and... nothing.
I was talking to a friend about this, and I said I was trying to figure out how to make those moments come. She told me that she listens to music (especially movie music), and then she recommended Writing Down the Bones.
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Pocket Classics)
And there it was, on page 11:
"...I attempted several times a month to write about my father dying. I was exploring and composting the material. Then suddenly, and I can't say how, in December I sat transfixed at the Croissant Express in Minneapolis and a long poem about that subject poured out of me. All the disparate things I had to say were suddenly fused with energy and unity—a bright red tulip shot out of the compost."
She shares with us the wisdom of her Zen master — teacher — Katagiri Roshi, who told her "It is very deep to have a cup of tea." Don't believe it's all so esoteric, though: At another moment, when she'd asked him about feelings of oneness and enlightenment that overtook her each time she tried to write, he told her "Oh, it's just laziness. Get to work."
Natalie Goldberg's book will help get you unstuck just when you need it.
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 05/12/2008)
Interpret
Rain.
Is this the view out your window? Does your desk overlook droplets of water, caressing the windowpane as a lover?
Or does this window represent something darker? A hunger of the soul? The anguish of a lost child?
The cold feeling
of your canvas
shoes that time you
left in such a hurry?
Inspirational stuff
This mouse-pad gives me a little push, just when I need it -- when I sit down to work.
And the t-shirt will be perfect for my next writer's group meeting.
Begin it now Mousepad
Remind yourself to follow your dreams. This quote, attributed to Goethe, says: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic to it. Begin it now."
Price: 15.99
Begin it now Women's Cap Sleeve T-Shirt
Remind yourself to follow your dreams. This quote, attributed to Goethe, says: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic to it. Begin it now."
Price: 24.99
Galley Slave Writer's Dark T-Shirt
Are you a slave to the pen? Or the word processor? Tell the world you're a writer with this attractive shirt, and classic quote from Balzac.
Price: 22.99
Writers' Publications
important websites for writers
- Writer's Digest Magazine
- Writer's Digest is the popular magazine for writers.
- Writer's Market
- Writer's Market, the first source for book and magazine publishers, is now on the internet. Visit here when you're ready to submit.
- Resources for Writers
- Please visit my complete Writers' Resources page, with articles, books, and editing information.
The Moleskine Journal
To be a writer, you must write.
An old writer once told me...
The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.— Raymond Chandler
Your turn to write
Do you have a favorite writing spot? A favorite book about writing? Tell your story!
Writing Communities Online
Review sites and writers' groups
-
Short Story Group
- There is a small, friendly critique forum here for short stories, and also one for poetry.
- Coffeehouse for Writers
- Workshops you can take and free writers' forums make this a really great place to meet other writers and learn about the craft.
- Aylad's Writer's Group
- A yahoo group with light traffic, and nearly 400 members.
- FanStory
- You can read and review the work of other aspiring writers, or for a very small subscription fee, you can submit your own for review.
- Zeugma
- Zeugma is an active and very attractive online poetry critique site.
Fantasize
PerspectiveAh, to see things from your eyes. Feel the crunch of litter under my feet, smell the humans retaking the house after my day of solitude.
Or, just to watch the ritual of the spider, patroling an empty web, or of the writer, making coffee, pacing, and sitting down to write.
Some Nuts and Bolts
A quick reference
- Enter with the action.
- I was looking for just the right link for this writing principle, and I came across this line: Start at the point where the story becomes inevitable. Wow. This blog is worth reading.
- Show, don't tell.
- "Show, don't tell," means that the reader needs rich, full descriptions to feel a part of the story. Don't tell me he's old. Tell me about his wrinkles, his attitude, his posture.
- Avoid passive voice.
- Passive voice is writing that talks about people or things that have something done to them, rather than the people or things that are doing something. "Why was the road crossed by the chicken?"
- Eliminate wordiness.
- Extra words dilute your writing, so it has less impact. Reread your writing, looking for unnecessary words and phrases.
- Don't dangle your participle.
- A dangling participle is an "...ing" verb, used in a way that makes it unclear who is doing what. "While walking to the store, the trees blocked my path." Who was walking? The trees?
- Vary sentence structure and length.
- There are times when you want to make sentences that match, or are "parallel." But most of the time, variety in sentence structure and length helps to keep the reader's interest.
Woe Is I
I wasn't sure it could be done, but Woe Is I demystifies grammar, explaining rules and conventions in truly plain English. If you're interested in understanding more about grammar, this book is a fun and friendly start.
Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $11.20 (as of 05/12/2008)
An old writer once told me...
It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.—Robert Benchley
The First Five Pages
How does an agent decide which manuscripts to read, and which to throw in the "slush pile"? And more importantly, how can you get the advantage?
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
In The First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman, a successful literary agent, shares his years of experience in rejecting manuscripts. From creating a clean, appropriately formatted manuscript, to avoiding errors that new writers make, he puts it all out there.
Which is good... because it's much better to get a rejection for a manuscript someone has actually read. Don't you think?
Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 05/12/2008)
Careful with those big words!
Word-of-the-Day
Enjoy today's possibly useful, possibly bizarre, word:
- cavil: Dictionary.com Word of the Day
- cavil: to raise trivial objections; also, a trivial objection.
Getting the Words Right
Getting the Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve Your Writing
Divided into three sections, "Reduce," "Rearrange," and "Reword," Getting the Words Right provides the details you need—in understandable language—to improve your own writing.
Cheney covers things like creating smooth transitions, correcting inconsistency, maintaining point of view and style, and of course, eliminating wordiness.
If you're dedicated to becoming a better writer, I highly recommend this book.
Amazon Price: $11.89 (as of 05/12/2008)
The Fine Print
(c)2006 Angela HarmsPhoto credits:
Photo of the journal by Jennifer Guillory.
Photo of the flower by Charles Lam
Photo of the rainy window by Los Cardinalos.
Photo of the cat by doviende .
The Obligatory Technorati Profile
