I’ve met a few people who had marvelous ideas for stories or articles but they quickly dismissed any skill to put that idea to paper. “I don’t have what it takes to be a writer”. Although I agree there’s a degree of skill needed, I think many people forget how vast the writing medium can be.
One must consider what you want then also where lies your skill. One writer I met wrote with such incredible wit and style, but complained how he couldn’t manage the colorful metaphors the other writers in our group managed. While writing from a prompt, his story read very much from the viewpoint of an officer chasing a fugitive. I explained that his choice in writing Voice fits perfectly with where his story was going. Police, or anyone of the military, tend to think concisely and with facts. Any other style and something would definitely be lost.
I think too often people think of a writer tells stories, and that’s not true. Plenty of writers master articles, essay, commentaries, and informative pieces that include compact, factual writing. Some styles are the down-to-earth honesty, while others master a style incorporating the weaving of symbolism and colorful phrases. Which one is best? Its like comparing apples and oranges.
Write from the heart, but experiment from time to time with other genres. Where one style doesn’t fit well, another might.
Anyone who writes a journal can tell you how cathartic it can be to put one’s thoughts and feelings to paper. At one point in my life, I fell into a deep, dark depression. Page upon page filled with rants, and complaints. I poured out all the anger, frustration, and misery I had. Oddly, at the time, I then realized that the spouting of my problems didn’t offer me much of an outlet. In fact, it occured to me that perhaps this served to only enable me and keep me in this dark place.
I then began to refocus on what I wanted out of life. Instead of pointing out all the bad, miserable things in my life, I would find a topic, even if mundane and insignificant, to write something positive about my life. I wanted to retrain my mind to see the silver lining instead of always the gray clouds. Something remarkable happened.
I found as the days progressed, finding something to write about grew easier, the subjects more complex, and I found more things to feel good about. Whenever I’d fall into a rant, I’d force myself to stop, write a star to indicate where I stopped, then write about something postiive instead.
Now my personal blog shares the funny stories, the odd thought, or perhaps something deeper that I want to share with others. Sometimes I do share a bad day, but instead of a rant, I voice how I want to work on fixing the problem, or working out my issues. Sometimes I’ll even ask my online friends their thoughts on the matter.
Writing helps me keep a pro-active thought process, to consider options, and work out issues instead of simply staying a victim. Words provided me a means to not only express myself, but to heal myself in many ways. Although I can’t say the depression is entirely gone; life is, after all, about ups as well as downs- I find that writing provides me solace and a means to work out issues.
Words have the power to persuade, to provoke emotion, and more importantly, to make changes in one’s life.
I found this meme at Got Muse? and felt it might be fun to do;
1) Where do you write?
Mostly on my desktop computer in my office. Sometimes I jot things down in a notebook I keep in my purse.
2) When do you write?
I try to do writing in the morning, but evenings are the best time for me.
3) Planner or Pantser?
I generally write by just writing whatever inspires me in the moment, but stories I tend to do chapter by chapter plotlines.
4) Coffee or tea?
Coffee!
5) Pen and paper, or computer?
Mostly computer. My handwriting is pretty bad.
6) What gets you in the writing mood?
If I get the house to myself and find the writing bug (usually hiding somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind).
7) What pulls you out of the writing mood?
When people want to come into my office to use the laptop or just need to ask me something. (Which my husband does….and often).
8 What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever read/heard/received?
A writer is someone who writes. An author is someone is published. This really hit me because I always said I never really thought I was a ‘real’ writer because I didn’t publish much. A friend told me he considered that if I were paid for what I wrote; I was an author.
9) Got muse?
Not lately. I have to force myself to write.
10) Who is the biggest supporter of your writing?
My friends, and my writing group.
11) Sound or Silence?
Silence, but I will listen to music sometimes to spark some creativity.
I love the Firefox browser. I also use Internet Explorer, but only if a site won’t open or have a plug in I need. Otherwise, I stick with my Firefox due to the neat addons and personalization things I can do with it.
I really love how the toolbar works, where I can add folders and bookmarks as I see fit. I keep Thesaurus, Dictionary, Wikipedia, and a link to my local library at the ready, as well as a folder with all the writing sites I’m a member of.
I keep things simple, because adding too many things to a browser can slow things down on the Web. I keep only the ones I use frequently and feel as though I can’t live without;
StumbleUpon.com is a highly addictive toolbar I have to shut off when I’m not using it. This is only because I can spend hours of my time clicking through sites, video, and pictures that fall under the tag words I’ve chosen. I find so many new web sites because of it.
Scribefire is a neat little addon program that works with your blogs. I have WordPress and Blogger blogs, which easily work with Scribefire. I can add more formatting with the Scribefire than if I go through the sites.
Google Bookmarks provides me a way to backup all my bookmarks somewhere else so I don’t lose anything.
Shareaholic allows me to pick and choose which networking sites I use such as Twitter, Facebook, and yes, even StumbleUpon so I can share sites I find interesting with my friends.
I’ve found a number of questions amid young writers curious about ebooks and how to create them. They’re easy to create. Its the marketing that’s the ‘unfun’ part. (In my humble opinion).
If you want to more about created PDF documents, click on this article;
PDF Basics and Essential Tools.
One member who joined the group not long ago admitted that the driving to my house for the meetings was a bit too much for her. This is perfectly understanding these days considering the gas prices. I wasn’t offended at all when she opted to start her own group. Unfortunately, it takes more than general interest to keep a group going.
She soon discovered only one or two people would show up, if any at all. Only a handful of people even signed up. I emailed her, assuring her that given time more writers would join. I encountered the very same thing with my group’s early beginnings.
I didn’t mind if people didn’t show being our meetups were at a book store. I’d content myself for an evening of reading and perusing books. As I began to take more interest in having a successful group, I took more action towards that goal.
This meant I personally welcomed each and every writer who joined the group. I posted messaged, regardless if anyone commented. I started having meetings with topics that a writer might find intriguing such as character development, writing exercises, and breaking through writer’s blocks. More people joined. More people attended.
Eventually the group expanded from two to three to as many as ten. This is about the size you’d want. Any more, and meetings tend to get noisy and complicated. You have to expect members to even start breaking into smaller groups.
Now we’re getting responses for sponsorship, published authors wanting to speak, and we even had a real movie producer speak to the members about submitting scripts. I think with persistence, luck, and most importantly, a wonderful group of fellow writers, I couldn’t have made it this far.
I consider myself a ‘work-in-progress’; a developing character in Life’s story where the conflicts and resolutions tend to tip the balance of my happiness. I’m not one to believe someone else writes my tale. Ultimately, that is for me to do, but learning about the process of good story telling taught me so many valuable lessons about this real life story I live.
Conflicts need solutions. When depressed, I tend to wallow in my misery rather than ‘take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them’. Instead of bemoaning the state you find yourself in, do something about it. Life is about choices; easy ones, tough ones, but choices nonetheless. Your story needs a resolution to end the conflict.
Villains fulfill their needs too. A good villain works from his or her own motivation. Understanding what motivates them helps you find some way to come to terms with them. When difficult people provoke my ire, I try to take a moment to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. Are they working from their own insecurities, emotional baggage, deep rooted issues I cannot possibly fathom, or perhaps they need to stroke a underdeveloped ego?
Think outside the box. Struggling with story plots and characters, a writer avoids the stereotypes and cliche’ that might put their novel in the trash. To mix things up, I turn things around, mix personalities, and ask many questions if this or that will work in a story. Much is the same in real life. I question rules, wonder about people’s motivations, and consider actions that others might not consider orthodox.
I’m the hero of my own story. Perhaps more the ‘reluctant hero’, but a hero nonetheless. The story intertwines the day to day efforts of homeschooling my son, thereby shaping him into a healthy happy adult, while pursuing my own goals to be a writer, an overall ‘good guy’ (or in my case, a gal), and to see oppurtunities as they arise.
What do you think your writing teaches you?
While organizing my writer’s group, I discovered writers who had no interest in blogging, let alone a web site. You may find that having both offers one of the best means to market online but also offers a writer a means to make their writing public.
But why blog at all?
It shows off your writing. This can be good or bad because while you might be able to write wonderful stories, the day to day posting in a blog ends up mundane and boring. It doesn’t have to be. I don’t mean to publish your writing or articles through a blog, however. Sharing your writing includes the day to day events of your life made public, and made interest through your writing school.
For instance, once I wrote about cleaning my house, but instead of sharing the mundane world of household chores, I embellished a story where the dust bunnies beneath the couch formed a coup and tried to make war with me. I won in the end….obviously.
It keeps you connected to other writers and readers. Sharing the frustrations, hopes, and my dreams of becoming of writer all got added to my blog where other writers found me. Not only did I gain friends through sharing this part of my life on the Web, I also found support and others to commiserate. Only a writer can understand the pain of writer’s blog.
You write daily. By no means do you need to update a blog every day. Some bloggers update once a week, bimonthly, or just rare occasiosn. I find too often the writers that I know do not write daily for whatever reason. A blog can keep everyone in touch with what you’re doing, and more importantly, provides a means so you’re writing something every day.
Feel free to post your blog in comments if you wish to share.
I enjoy reading the numerous questions via Yahoo Answers on the subject of books and writing. I wish the site offered areas dedicated to just writing, or at the very least, move all the Twilight fans to their own section, but instead, the questions on books, authors, and writing all get meshed into a long line of questions for all sorts of readers and writers.
I offer what I can in feedback for the writers offering a piece of their work for feedback. Unfortunately, too often I see other answers insisting their work is great, that they should get it published, and to finish the work. I say unfortunate because I can see the glaring mistakes of not just spelling and grammar, but sentence structure and primarily the complete lack of conflict to their story.
Almost immediately you realize the writing is from a teenager dreaming of becoming the next Stephanie Myers or JK Rowling. Giving a thumbs up to what they offer now does a huge disservice to a writer, when you’re given an opportunity to help them improve towards their goal.
I’m not brutal. I don’t bring out the red pen to slash their dreams into a messy puddle. I most certainly do not tell them they are terrible writers. Instead, I offer constructive criticism to help them understand what makes a story and how they adjust their style to accommodate that.
Whenever giving feedback on a piece of writing, consider the following:
Characters- Can you see them clearly in your head? Do they seem real to you? Are their personalities illustrated through manner and description? Are they well rounded, having both flaws and goals to achieve?
Conflict- Every story must have a conflict. Is the conflict foreshadowed or revealed in the piece of writing? Can you guess, already, what the character must do in order to resolve the conflict?
Style of writing- Does the author have a unique Voice to their writing, such as colorful, dry, concise, or uses metaphor? Are they clear without being boring? Is the writing too heavy with descriptive words? Should there be more, or less, of a style?
Grammar and punctuation- I’m surprised how often I see glaring mistakes in writing, even my own, that writers tend to overlook. Don’t hold back when critiquing writing that shows many mistakes. A good writer needs to understand to capitalize, use periods, spell correctly, and form proper sentences, otherwise its too difficult to read.
Do not be cruel, but also don’t hold back to give praise and constructive criticism. Remember, your critique can provide valuable tips to the writer to improve and thereby achieve their goals.
I’m an avid writer, but this doesn’t mean I always write well. After all, even this blog illustrates days where I sort of blither on fluff. I find my weakness in conclusions becomes glaring- at least to me.
Either way, I find writing very cathartic. If I don’t write here, publicly, I still maintain a journal file on my computer if only to rant or get my thoughts to paper. Somehow its cleansing, as if typing out the words releases the stress inside of me.
I believe words have power, whether its wallowing in one own’s misery and thereby making things worse, or by changing the very thought processes of how the mind works and improving one’s life. Take for instance the art of storytelling. The most important characteristic of a good story is the conflict and eventual resolution however, not necessarily a solution. A solution implies the happily ever after, but a resolution teaches us that problems need a decision- right or wrong.
I found myself in this ‘aha’ moment where this applies to life as well. Certainly I have issues, plenty of conflict, but as a true-to-form Libran, I tend to be very indecisive about things. Its from fear of making the wrong decision, of screwing up and making things worse. Sometimes you just need to decide on an issue to end the conflict.
And I also found that instead of focusing on the conflict of my life, I also need to focus on the resolution of my life. Conflict equates with challenges, that hones our morality and ethics against contention in order to make us stronger or at least better people. Being solution oriented certainly offers a means to look for answers rather than just wallowing in self pity.
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