A Net in Time

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Writing

Seven Reasons to Find a Writing Community

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You know how easy it is for writers to write on their own? To stick to themselves, writing and reading on their own?  Anguishing over plot lines, fumbling over character development, musing over poetry lines, and waiting for the next blot of inspiration to hit. Sometimes we forget a rather important aspect of writing… having a community we can talk in.  Real people in life that we can talk to, gain inspiration from, realize that we aren’t alone and more.

seven reasons to find a writing community

You know how C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien founded the Inklings?   Feeling alone with their ideas that were out of the mainstream until they found each other and over ale and stories discovered encouragement.  Other men joining in, until they had a group of writers spurring each other on and offering ideas and inspiration to each other.

We are no different you know?   We need each other.  Do you know the benefits of having a community?

Benefits of having a community

  1. Encouragement/Support/Fun/Friendship – all wrapped up in one bundle.  Where would we be without good friends who share a similar interest?   How can we write alone all the time?  Where can we find the inspiration to go on when we don’t have others who share our hobby or interest?   In person or on-line, it’s great to have people you can laugh with, cry with, and just be with.
  2. Critique – A writing community will also want to help you do better at what you want to be best at.  They’ll critique you work in a building up manner, wanting to help you be the best you can be.
  3. Ideas – stuck?  Not sure what to do next or what word would fit well with your thought?  Struggling to understand a character you haven’t quite filled out yet?  Having a group of like minded souls can inspire you as you bounce ideas off each other.
  4. Mentoring/Education – Trying to figure out the best way to do something?  Stuck on what on-line platform to use, or what it means to tighten up a line or a paragraph?  Needing an answer to question that maybe someone else has already figured out?  Being part of a group is a good way to get those questions answered.. whether by you or another member.
  5. Accountability – ..have a goal.. like with NaNoWriMo 50,000 words in a month? Imagine you are all doing this encouraging each other, pushing each other along.  Have a deadline to get a poem in?   Or you need to do that mock up for an editor?
  6. Motivation – Stalling happens. Wouldn’t it be great to have a person who has been there done that be there to give you a nudge?  Tonight I was watching a show with hubby where a gal had given up doing her art, and another artist brought out a canvas and said GO… do it now.  Pushing her to return to a hobby loved. Giving her to motivation to do it for herself.
  7. Promotion/Publication – sharing our work.. whether it’s just for ourselves or for a larger audience, a writing community can and will help you with this.  Even if you only share within your group..a community gives you the opportunity to give a clearer voice to the words you write.  They can also host speaking events, or publish an anthology of your group works.

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Four Hints for Reading Out Loud

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When reading in How to Write a Poem, one of the chapters talks about how to read your poetry out loud to a group.  I have to admit, I hadn’t really thought about this too much.  It makes sense though, to pay attention to the poem that you are reading, so you can give the words all the weight, and the lines the feel that the author intends.

person reading, text four hints for reading out loud

When you read your poetry, or poems written by others, these are some of the things to pay attention to.

Lines And Punctuation:

In a recent poem I wrote I used these words and lines

Weeping, Wailing
Mourning arise.

For after mourning,
the dawn will come.

Reading those lines quickly such as weeping, wailing, mouring arise.  For after mourning, the dawn will come.   Doesn’t sound the same as if you read

Weeping, wailing (pause) mourning arise (short pause)  For after mourning (pause) the dawn will come.  (longer pause).   You need to give the appropriate breaks as the lines and punctuation call for. Don’t over do it with watching the line breaks, or give the wrong sort of weight to the punctuation.

Slow down

Slow down in reading.  Take the time to savour the words and remember, you aren’t reading a report, you are reading a poem.  Words that are meant to say more than just the words written. Let those words live, express them well verbally and don’t be afraid to use your body as well.  Let your poetry come alive for what you are communicating is emotion and the story. 

Key Section

You will find as you read over a poem in preparation for reading it aloud that certain sections will resonate with you more than others.  Emphasize those sections, let the truth, or the emotion, of those sections ring out to your listeners. Slow down, modulate the tone, volume and pitch of your voice, and let your connection with the words show.  This connection will show the importance of these words and draw your listeners in. 

Humanity

Remember this, you are a human, reading to other humans. You aren’t reading to a wall or to a robot where how you present yourself doesn’t matter.  Practice before you set out…memorizing bits of it of if you can, remember to look at your audience not worrying if it takes a moment to regain your spot, read with confidence and good posture and enjoy what you are doing.  Sharing good poetry with others.

Transferrable

Even though I used poetry as an example, each of these four points is worth remembering if you are reading any story outloud.   The need to remember how the story is written.  This was recently made very real to me in a story I am listening to on audible.  The main character was running away… Bush. Bramble. Thorns. Thicket. Branch. Duck. Weave.  These staccato word burst of out the speaker bringing to life the fear she had as she ran heedless into the forest.   The reader did an excellent job of bringing the emotion to life.

Five Reasons to Share Your Writing

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Do you know that when I first started writing poetry as an adult that it was REALLY hard to let people know I liked to write poetry much less let them read it?   MAN that was so hard… and to be honest, it’s still hard but, other than at a writer’s conference I attended, no one has even dissected it and made me feel less than. It is so hard to do though, especially when you start.  I want to encourage you with five reasons to share your writing. 

five reasons to share your writing

I’ve learned to avoid writer’s groups … at least at this point because I don’t know enough about how to dissect someone’s poetry to be very comfortable about having others dissect mine.. I dunno .. does that make sense?   This doesn’t mean I can’t share my poetry with others though.  It’s an excellent thing to do.

Why?

SO glad you asked.

  1. It gives us confidence to continue writing.  Doesn’t it do you good when someone says “I really liked that piece”.  Makes you feel like a million bucks doesn’t it?  So then you want to do it again right?  It’s a huge confidence booster isn’t it?
  2. It gives our words meaning.  We can’t just write for ourselves… writing is meant to be shared.  Even if all you do is write back and forth to your best, longest lived friend.  Or have a small blog in your corner of the universe, or have a mega blog with so many readers it boggles the mind. 
  3. It could be useful.  Perhaps that poem your wrote, or article you spent time agonizing over, is just what the reader needed as an encouragement or to spur them on to better things, or was a balm to a wounded soul.  Maybe that piece of non-fiction taught a 13 year old something he didn’t know before!
  4. Feedback… Even though it’s hard and can crush your spirit.. feedback can also show you what you are doing well and how to make the rest even better. It’s a bit of a two-edged sword right?  The side benefit is if you share your work with discerning writers (so not your very best friend or your mom who will probably like everything you do), you may just end up reading their work and finding your mind sharpened just a bit more.  Fire feeds fire you know?
  5. New readers, new friends, new opportunities.  You never know where your writing will take you.  Someone might read one piece, and then decide they need to read more, and then more and they will share it with their friends and before you know it, you might have a whole following.

What do you say?   Give it a chance?  Let iron sharpen iron?  Find yourself encouraged?   Finding readers that are encouraged or helped?  Isn’t it a lovely thing?   Share it!

 

Banish Writer’s Block

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Oh, this chapter in Pep Talks for Writers made me smile.  Why did it make me smile?  Oh.. it brought me back to the joy of my Five-Minute-Friday writer’s community.   If you’ve visited my blog any Thursday or Friday you’ll almost always find a post written for them.  I find them fun and…. more importantly, they stimulate my thinking. Stimulated thinking is what helps me to banish writer’s block.

Banish Writer's Block

You see Writer’s Block doesn’t have to exist.  You can have moments of not knowing what to write or times when your creativity seems to lag, but if you figure out some tricks you can negate those times.  Every writer needs to have a few of these ideas up their sleeve for when times get a bit ragged in the creativity department. 

Ways to banish Writer’s Block:

  • Ray Bradbury would write out list of nouns and see how they connected to each other. 
  • Get out in nature, look around and just be out there.
  • People watch in a mall or well.. anywhere. 
  • Stop allowing yourself to be distracted.. turn off the tv, the cellphone
  • Allow yourself to become bored.
  • Become physically active.. run, garden, work out, go fishing anything…just get physically busy
  • Do something fun… play a game with your kids, build with lego, colour, solve sudoku puzzles etc.
  • Go away for a day or weekend, get out of the ordinary.
  • Read a book.
  • Join a writer’s community and talk with other writers.
  • Do some freewriting, either on your own or with other writers.
  • Listen to music, perhaps even a type you aren’t in love with.
  • Play with letter art, doodling or calligraphy.  Have fun with words artistically.
  • Figure out if having a routine helps you to write.
  • Get together with a friend either in person or over the phone, perhaps text a good buddy and chat for a while.
  • Make a bullet list of ideas or places.   Anything that remotely connects with a character, place or idea. 
  • Go to an art museum and muse about what you see in the photos, or wonder about an old coin.
  • Walk in a cemetary…not the modern new day ones, but one with graves from the past, and let your curiousity lead you. 
  • Read blogs, poetry, good books, bad ones (they might inspire you to do better), cartoons and cereal boxes.  You never know where inspiration might start.
  • Have a friend challenge you to write on something.  Currently I’m listening to a book where an author was challenged to write about a lost roman legion and pokemon.   It’s turned out pretty good!
  • Use a device like story cubes and pick out three pictures to base a short story on.
  • Teach a class or take part in one.
  • Spend time with a group of children and just kick ideas around with them about what they are interested in or what questions they have about whatever. 
  • Write a letter to yourself, or pretend that a long-lost friend is writing one to you describing their life’s explorations.
  • What can you think of?

Writer’s Block is only a problem if you THINK it is a problem.  Don’t let your momentary lack of creativity, or fear, or needing to take a breather be what stops you from writing.  Work around it and just move forward.  Something will click, it always will.  Just go on… stretch a little.  You’ll be glad you did. You will find that you too can banish writer’s block.

Use Boredom For Good

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You know how letting kids be bored isn’t a bad thing?

It’s the same thing for writers.  We need to learn to use boredom for good.

use boredom for good

Just as a child who is bored, who doesn’t have their time or brain filled with things to do, finds something to do, usually something with a creative bent.  A writer who is bored will find something to think about and eventually to do or at least write about.   I know when I have nothing to do my mind immediately fills with a storyline.

So utilize boredom.  Don’t treat it like an enemy but rather is a friend and helpmeet.

Shut off the devices.  Close the doors.  Don’t read a book, or chat with friends. Perhaps you need to get outside and just be alone in your own space.  Let your mind have the freedom to roam unimpended or distracted. Let your body be busy if necessary but let your thoughts be free to mull around and come up with their own ideas. 

quote by louis c.k.

Next time you are sitting at a doctor’s office mindlessly waiting don’t pull out your cell phone. Pay attention to your boredom, what is it teaching you? So many stories and ideas might be surrounding you.  The elderly fellow using a cane with a pin in the lapel of his vest. The youngster hanging off his momma’s leg.  The lady in the business suit tapping her fingers impatiently.  What are their stories?  That interesting fabric, could it be important?   Who designed that purse?  Could there be a world ruled by spiders? What thoughts are inspired?   Any interesting worlds that might be imagined?  What research could be spurred on? 

Writer Revise

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writer revise

You have written a story, a poem, a non-fiction piece.   It’s a fine piece of work for a blog, book or magazine article. It’s done. OR… is it?

Have you stopped to read it over?  Or to change the odd word here or there?  Have you double-checked your spelling?  What about that sentence there, is it reading the way you want it to?  Have it all tidied up?  EXCELLENT!

But is it really the way you want it to read? Is it the best you can make it be?

For anything

Ask yourself these questions

  • Am I clear about what I am writing about?
  • Have I written with my audience in mind, answering their questions?
  • Am I writing in a manner appropriate for the topic at hand?
  • Did I make sure I included supporting examples and details??

For Poetry

Ask yourself the following

  • Have I removed excess clichés?  Can my images stand for themselves?
  • Have I channeled emotions through the five senses?  for instance…how can you show love or hatred through your senses? 
  • Have I used strong verbs and concrete nouns?  Making your words seem more in the moment.
  • Have I cut, compressed and condensed everything I can?  The more tighter you make your words, the more pungent your words will be.
  • What have you risked? What has inspired you from recent reads? Can you emulate what you like?

Revision is merely the act of making what you have to say better.  It’s not taking away your voice or the natural feel of what you write. All revision is, is answering questions to make what you say more clear to those reading your words.  That’s worth the time don’t you think?

 

 

Fear Not the Long Sentence

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All my life I’ve been told to be mindful of long sentences, that it’s important to keep them short.  Imagine my shock when in Writing Tools I’m told the following:

“Write what you fear.  Until the writer tries to master the long sentence, she is no writer at all, for while length makes a bad sentence worse, it can make a good sentence better.” (p.36)

The author then proceeded to quote a few passages from Tom Wolfe which showcased the beauty of a long sentence.  I have to admit, if I had read it for myself I wouldn’t have thought it was all one sentence, but OH what a glorious sentence!   Very much showcased the beauty of a well-written of a long sentence.

fear not the long sentence

Long Sentence Attributes:

What helps make a long sentence good?

a. makes sure the subject and verb of the main clause come early in the sentence
b. use the long sentence to describe something long. Let form follow function
c. Chronological order, use it.
d. use the long sentence in a mix with short and medium length sentences.
e. use the long sentence as a list, or catalogue of products, names, images etc
f. Edit carefully, long sentences need to make every word matter.

Using long sentences go against the grain, the best writers aren’t afraid of them, so learn how to use them well. Sometimes you just have to take the chance, after all, writing is an act of faith, not just a matter of grammar.

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar. E.B.White. Click To Tweet

Break out of the trap of thinking that all sentences must have 18 words or less.  Mix up your sentences, have some short, have others long.  Consider that Elizabethan sentences often ran to 45 words, Victorian to 29, and today we average 20 or less.   It’s not a bad thing to use a long sentence, word it well, use it well and become a better writer.

How to improve:

How can you become better?

You can become better at writer longer sentences by keeping an eye out for them, examine them, see if they meet the criteria listed above.

You can also practice.  Take some shorter sentences and see if you can put them together to make a well-crafted longer sentence.

You don’t have to make a complex sentence, even a simple sentence can be long.  Try describing your table top, contents of your garbage can, or a painting on the wall.  Take whatever you have and practice.  It’s the practice that will help you improve.