august 25

sometimes mid story you will find chronologically inconvienient stuff pops up -- like a good ending when you're on chapter 3. don't be afraid to interrupt your work to write it down. you can go back to the chapter later


writing prompt:

have a piece you are working on via keyboard next to a notebook and pen. that way when you are working with one side of the brain (creative freeflowing prose) and the other engages (planning how the book as a whole will take shape) you can take advantage of both. try it for the next writing session and see for yourself.

august 24

the building blocks of a good story are the ones you use every day. the same words strung together in a different order say a whole other thing entirely. if your words are not rearranging enough to say something new -- if they are stale even to you, you may need to be intentional about switching things up. really listening when others talk means you will understand their back stories, where their idealogies and beliefs they look at the world through come from. if you read works by writers you disagree with, you will see where you and they have common ground and what it is that makes you different.

writing prompt:

think of the most polar opposite people you know. is there anything they have in common, no matter how absurd or small? put them in a scene featuring it.

august 23

it is easier to talk that to act sometimes. which is why we like advice, both giving and taking it. the only danger is that in talking, there is a big long pause before any action is taking place.

writing prompt:

what things would you advise yourself to do about your writing habits if you were a good encouraging friend or conversely, a critic? weed out the productive bits and take a page of Rx today.

aug 22

you know when you hear other people make excuses for not being able to accomplish what they want to. it's a turn off, isn't it? because if you want to, you can take baby steps towards the goal, put the time and effort in, make other adjustments to make it happen. hold yourself to that same standard.

writing prompt:

now is not the time to paralyze yourself with blame if you have been talking about your goals more than doing them or making excuses for yourself for not getting to work. just get to work. make a mini goal -- x amount of words and hit it.

august 21

the opportunity is there every day to make a difference with our writing. and it isn't in a forced heavy way. we as readers all need a variety of reads: something light, something to make us take another look at life, something to affirm us where we are...
instead of worrying that what you're producing today isn't what another's is, take a look at what category it falls into and celebrate it for what it is.

writing prompt:

what vein is your current project in? write it without second guessing it. if you have your doubts, set it aside and work on something else. it will look better when you come back and revisit it.

august 20

in writing, so many things count as research. in fact, being a writer can serve as the impetus to have a super fabulous life, where you enjoy the little moments, see slights as entertainment and material, generally see a whole other side to every situation. you are blessed.

writing prompt:

take a scene from a recent day and slant it, exposing the part you visually recorded, but did not comment on. if you don't want it ascribed to your life, put another character in front of it. there you have it: entertaining honest fiction

august 19

it is your job to create things that are not what they appear. the fiction piece that stands most securely is the one that is a piece of inspiration stretched taut over the framework of an outline. no matter which comes first, they work best together.

writing prompt:

start two separate writing pieces. start one as an outline, another unrelated one as a freeflowing prose. take the prose and find the points to expand on and go from there. take the outline and ruminate on it until you get a story flowing. both methods work. neither are better than another.