Your Writing Group May Not Be the Best Thing for Your Writing
Support. Camaraderie. Feedback. Connections. When we think of our ideal writing group, these spring to mind. We’d love to have some forum for sharing our work and commiserating the challenges and celebrating the wins. A good writing group can give us all of these things.
Aspirations, Intentions, and Goals – What Do They Mean for You?
I’ve been rereading Oren Jay Sofer’s Your Heart Was Made for This, taking my time and reading one chapter weekly, implementing its lessons in my meditations and daily life. This week’s is about Aspiration, which brought to mind the subtle differences between aspiration, intention, and goal-setting.
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
It’s one of the questions writers dread. People who don’t see themselves as creative ask this with genuine curiosity, though, like it’s some holy mystery they don’t have access to. And to be sure, a brilliant novel (or any piece of art) can seem confounding: how did they do that? I feel it myself as I read, and even more so when I contemplate a piece of art or music or dance (although with those, I know that I don’t have the skill to pull it off; with writing, I can’t help but compare how I might have executed the idea with the one on the page).
14 Great Writers’ Conferences Spring-Summer 2024
Looking to improve your craft? Learn about publishing? Pitch to agents and editors? Hang out with fellow writers? Get some writing inspiration? Think about attending a writer’s conference.
Conferences exist all over the country (and abroad). Some are smaller, regional conferences. Some are large and draw people from all over the U.S. Some are geared toward specific genres. There’s no one perfect conference; the right one for you at this time depends on a variety of factors:
10 Essential Websites for Writers
Obviously, ten websites out of the thousands out there covering every aspect of writing is, well, the proverbial drop in the bucket. Maybe a molecule of the drop in the bucket. But below are a few I often direct writers to, or ones I enjoy myself.
Feeling Stuck in Your Story? Embrace the Power of Ideation
All writers know the feeling (I had it this morning). You get to the end of the scene you planned, and then...
What?
You don’t know.
What are your characters supposed to do now? What should happen next?
12 Steps to Return to a Long-Neglected Writing Project
Last summer I finished a draft of a middle-grade (MG) novel, and sent it out to a few beta readers – people I trust to give good feedback. They delivered, and I did a cursory read-through of their comments. Before I could do a thorough read-through, or start revision in earnest, I decided to move to a different state.
My Annual List of Gifts for Writers, 2023 Edition
It’s that time of year again, where we get to delve into unique, fun gifts for writer friends (or ourselves – we need treats too!). Here’s a little inspiration for your gift list – or your wish list!
How to Break Out of a Creative Rut
We all fall into them from time to time. They can take a variety of forms:
Always exploring the same themes in our work
In writing, relying on the same phrases, words, or style
Being afraid to let the writing flow and discover what you want to say. All creative work is a balance of letting creativity flow, and then taming it into a shape for consumption by an audience. Fear of letting it get “out of control” can make your work rigid and uninspired.
How to Plan a Successful DIY Writing Retreat
It’s not too late for a summer writing retreat! I love writing retreats because they allow you time to really delve into a project. Too often in our daily lives, we have to squeeze writing in between all the other “life stuff.” A retreat, no matter how short, gives us the time and mental space for a deeper dive.
Artist Date Ideas for Summer: Exercises and Adventures
Summer is a great time to get in some Artist Dates and do something different. If your Artist Dates, like mine, have veered more toward watching a movie on Netflix than anything really interesting, now’s the time to grab some new ideas.
Who Is Your North Star?
I love me some Mel Robbins. I love listening to her podcast, because she gives down-to-earth, no-nonsense advice on how to live your best life.
Of course, the best advice in the world is no good if you don’t apply it, and a recent episode had me thinking: What is the North Star of my writing?
This concept comes from an exercise that Mel’s daughter did in her performing arts program at university. Your North Star is simply the person whose creative journey most inspires your own.
Writing Goes Bananas
Lately I’ve gotten hooked on watching baseball again. Not just any baseball, but Bananaball, as played by the Savannah Bananas.
They play their own game, with their own rules, similar to but not the same as regular baseball. Their rules are designed to make the game more fun, and move faster. Most of all, they center the audience rather than the players.
What to Do When You’re Stuck in Your Story
This week, I’m feeling stuck in my manuscript revision. I have some big decisions to make that will affect the rest of the story. I have ideas, but they will take the story in different directions. I’m feeling bogged down and anxious as to which direction will make the most sense and be the most interesting for the story.
Which just goes to show, even when there’s a plan for editing your book, it’s easy to get sidetracked and lose focus.
How to Keep Writing No Matter What
A little while ago I was invited to be a panel guest on the topic of “How to Keep Writing No Matter What” at the Lesley University MFA program, where I got my MFA a number of years ago. I faced an auditorium of MFA students who no doubt strongly believe that they will defy the odds and continue writing after they no longer have regular deadlines and faculty giving them tons of helpful feedback and encouragement.
Frankly, many of them won’t.
Where Do You Get Your Inspiration?
This month I’m celebrating finally finishing the draft of the rewrite of my Middle Grande novel. It was pretty much a Page One rewrite, and frankly I’m not sure it’s any better than the original. It was fun to do, but I’m glad it’s over. Well, not over - I still have to revise. But first I need to let it sit for a while. I need to let all the questions percolate in my brain. Then I’ll re-read it and see what I’ve got.
My Most Popular Articles of 2022
As we rush toward the holidays, I realize most of us do not have time to red and absorb lots of articles and new information. But maybe next week there will be a lull... we can hope! So I thought it might be fun to see what my most popular articles were from 2022, and put them all in one place so you can catch up on any you missed. May they bring you inspiration for your writing in 2023!
To Know Your Main Character Better, Create a Vision Board
But, you might say, I’m a WRITER. I paint with words. Words are my jam. Text is my Queen. What is this vision board thing anyway, and how can it help me?
Your Writing Matters
For whoever needs to hear this today, I say this: Keep writing. Keep putting your voice out there. Your art, your passion, your creativity, your sense of humor. The world needs it more than ever.
Challenge Accepted!
This week I started a 22 Day Pushup Challenge – to do 22 pushups a day for 22 days, to raise awareness of the high suicide rate of combat veterans. (I know there are various estimates of how many average suicides there are per day, but this is the one the challenge uses, so it’s the one I’m going with). Twenty-two pushups is doable for me, although on top of other workouts it can be a little tougher (yesterday, between false starts filming and a workout that already included a bunch of pushups, I ended up doing 98. Today, closer to 50).
The point is, I like challenges. I tend to do my workouts as “challenges” anyway to keep them interesting and keep motivated. I’m not invested in becoming a super-athlete, but challenges are a way of setting goals and working toward them consistently.
The same goes for writing challenges. If the prospect of the blank page is de-motivating, or if your energy on a project is flagging, or you’re in query hell and feeling discouraged, a challenge may be a good way to get out of your slump.