Writers Write!

"It is not love that is blind, but jealousy." - Lawrence Durell

I'll never be Ernest Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I'll never come close to approaching the richness and sincerity of a John Steinbeck.  And, while I can torture myself by striving for perfection and trying to be the best, the one thing (and perhaps the only thing) I can do is be the best "me" possible.  Time after time I find myself criticizing my works in progress even though I should know better.  I beat myself up for not having a first draft that's as good as a master's finished piece.  Silly, huh?  But we writers do it to ourselves over and over.

A doctor doesn't go through all the rigorous academic training of med school, followed by an intense residency, have a practice of his or her own only to say, "I'm not a real doctor."  Yet, we writers do that all the time.  We study, we read, we hit the blank page over and over yet we negate the fact that we are writers when we don't get published or when our published works don't meet the commercial success of a Stephen King or Anne Rice.  It seems that writers at all levels of their career suffer from similar feelings of self doubt.

The best advice I ever heard was, "Writers, write."  It's that simple.

The days that you sit down to write, you're a writer.  The days you let slip away are gone forever.  You won't be able to get those words and thoughts back.  But, when you're actively engaged in a story problem, when you're focused and involved in creating an intriguing plot or an in-depth character biography then you're a writer.  Set aside some time every day no matter how brief to get your ideas on paper.  All of life's other obligations will stand in the way but your job as a writer is to make time to write.  Every word gets you closer to your finished manuscript.

Whenever I take on a new story, one of the first things I like to do is acquaint myself with the territory.  I like to get a view of the landscape.  What's it like to walk in my character's shoes?  What do they see, feel, hear, smell on their way to work, school, the dentist?  I'll usually do a fair amount of research on a place, especially if I've never been there and want the story to ring true.  Better yet, a trip could be just the thing to really add spice to your prose.  Creating an authentic setting helps to establish a sense of trust with the reader.  I find reading books on nature give me a valuable insight into the topography and wildlife characteristic of a region.  These vital details infuse the imaginary world you create with vividness.

This week's suggested website: Writer's FM - (http://www.writersfm.com/writersfm/) The only radio station created for writers by writers. Writer's FM broadcasts 24 hours a day and features music, live interviews, podcasts and more.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Capture all the detail you can about the present moment.  Fill a page with the sights, sounds and experiences that are going on around you right now.  There's more available than you may at first realize.  Give your very best and have a great writing week.

Back to Work

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." - Francis Bacon

In many ways Labor Day is like the start of a new year.  I’m surprised we don’t celebrate the new year in the fall.  Think about it.  Labor Day marks the beginning of a new school semester.  It's the unofficial end of summer.  It’s also a time when people typically return from their vacations and settle back into their work routines.

I like to use this time to organize and prepare for the work ahead.  Like a gardener that expects a plentiful harvest, writers need to create an environment where their creative efforts can germinate and mature.  This is a perfect time to get rid of the clutter in your writing area.  Make room for the wonderful new ideas that are coming.  I keep a handy list next to my desk of my big projects for the year.  These would be the big picture things.  I want to get back into school, I want a new job, a new car, to finish my novel, a bigger house, etc.  But also, I keep a smaller list that simply reminds me of my day-to-day objectives (1,000 words a day, an hour of exercise, read 1 book a month, etc.)  A lot of the time the things that we do daily don't seem like much.  I recently thought if I learned ten new words a week by the end of a year I'd increase my vocabulary by more than 5,000 words.   A small step that would lead to a huge payoff, guaranteed.  Like in a garden, paying attention to the small daily things we could do to improve (our writing, our lives, our relationships, our finances, etc.) is the key to the fruitful life we crave.  Nothing happens overnight.  Sow the seeds of positivity in your garden and expect a healthy bounty of good works to follow.  

Some people have books they love and return to time and time again for inspiration and clarity.  I'm one of those people that believe technology is actually a good thing for the publishing industry.  Instant access to so many books, magazines and other forms of writing I've got to believe have had a positive effect on our national literacy rate.  I could be wrong.  Maybe it was just Oprah that got us back to reading.  In any event, I've always loved the classics.  I feel there are certain works that every aspiring writer should read as a common basis for understanding the craft.   Some of my favorites include F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Anais Nin, Khalil Gibran, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King, Paulo Coehlo, Isabelle Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, to name just a few.  Every writer I know is an avid reader and I can't stress enough how important it is to read both within and outside the genre in which you want to write.  A good adventure story, full of action in faraway places was always my guilty pleasure.

Decide what you'd like to accomplish in your writing for the next coming year.  Take daily steps to create that reality for yourself.  No one was ever born a Nobel Laureate or Pulitzer Prize winner.

This week's suggested website: Funds for Writers - (www.fundsforwriters.com) This online resource for writers offers information on grants, writing contests, awards, markets, available jobs and much more.


This week's writing prompt: Give yourself five uninterrupted minutes of quiet time.  Create a to-do list for any character you're currently working on.  Give him/her a life outside your story.  What are the things (however trivial) that your character must attend to on a day-to-day basis?  Laundry, shopping for groceries?  Fill a page with about a dozen projects or tasks that your character feels pressed to accomplish.  Notice how they want their life prioritized.  It may be different from what you initially envisioned for them.  Give it your best shot and have a great writing week.