I want to share with you something the author wrote: "Writing is so intensely personal — our thoughts, emotions, memories, imagination, fantasies right out there under the spotlight — that it really is a striptease act. So it’s natural to panic if someone doesn’t think your naked prose is perfect. Hopefully when you get feedback, you can use it to make your work better. But if someone gives self-serving, snarky comments in a workshop or writing group to build up his or her own ego, leave at the … [Read more...]
Day 68: Making Use of Fear
In life there are so many things we can be fearful of. Some seem irrational like small spaces, loud noises like fireworks shows, or even the little itty-bitty spiders that to some say, "it's more afraid of you than you of it." I think my granny (with noises) and my mom (with spiders) would beg to differ. When it comes to writing, fear can grind us to a halt. We are afraid of what some might say about our writing. Or we won't ever find an agent or publisher so why try. Or sometimes the … [Read more...]
Day 67: Seinfeld’s Calendar
You might be thinking, "What in the world does Seinfeld's calendar have to do with writing?" It's simple. He, too, is a writer. A writer of comedy. He knows how to make people laugh. He was so good he even got his own TV show that went on for years. Personally, I was never a fan of him or his show, but millions of people were and still are, so much so that his show remained on for years. Here's the thing. Did he become popular overnight or do you think he worked at it several years while he … [Read more...]
Day 65: Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse
I have to tell you that as of right now I sit here sitting in my comfy, cozy rocking recliner getting ready to go read today's phrase, I had to laugh as I can only imagine what will be said. I guess we'll find out in a second. Here I go... Well, here it is. I thought it best to quote what she said: "Why You Don’t Show Your Work to Your Spouse. When Norris Church Mailer showed her husband, Norman Mailer, the first one hundred pages of a novel she was working on, he said, 'It’s not as bad as … [Read more...]
Day 63: Feast or Famine: Part 2
Have you ever sat down to your computer or your binder paper and suddenly you have nothing to write. In fact, this goes on for several days. Nothing is coming to you. This is what we writers hate to have happen: Writer's Block. Or the famine. For whatever reason, all of our ideas have dried up like a lake that goes through a severe drought and dries all up. We want to write. We've scheduled our time out and yet here we sit. This has happened with my daughter's dedication website for me. If … [Read more...]
Day 60: Showing Up
I think this has been my exact problem these past several months. To be reliable to my own writing muse. Ever since last July when Mari's 5 year mark came and went, I've had a hard time trying to motivate myself to do any kind of writing. Whether it was writing something for Mari's website or this one, writing something for her book, or just writing for my fiction book, I just couldn't find the motivation. I kept being told by others that even if I only write a sentence a day I needed to … [Read more...]
Day 39: Keeping a Journal
I love keeping a journal. I typically go for long periods of time without writing in it but when I do it becomes a daily ritual. Right after Mari died I told Keith I had to get a journal. What I wrote in there were all my very raw and exposed emotions. Sometimes it felt like I wrote the same things over and over. It's one of the ways that helped me through my grief. And then one day I had tons of thoughts swirling around in my head. But I had a different feeling this time about writing … [Read more...]
Day 34: The Duck or the Pâté?
OR It's strange to think of pâté. Personally, I've never tried the stuff and really don't want too. When I was growing up my mom let my sister have a pet duck. His name was Peepers. I always thought it strange to have a pet duck but we did. He was a cute little thing. When I think of pâté I think of him. I just couldn't think about doing it. Eating Peepers, uh, no. When I read what Ms. Abercrombie wrote it was more like she was … [Read more...]
Day 32: Improvisation
When we think of the word improv, we typically think of actors and actresses in an acting class. All they may be given is a word or a phrase. From there the true magic behind acting comes forth. They get to play out whatever comes into their heads. Sometimes its funny. Sometimes sad. Sometimes it just makes you think. The bottom line is they have fun doing what they love to do most and that is to act. This should be the same for us as writers. To be able to tap into our own creative muses and … [Read more...]
Day 23: What Writer’s Do
Man, it is really interesting, yet not surprising, how different we all are when it comes to how we wrote. I just read about a guy who literally sets his alarm for 4am, wakes up in the dark and doesn't turn on a light, puts his computer on his lap making sure his monitor is a black screen, writes for a few hours, goes back to bed, and then wakes back up at 8:30am to edit what he wrote. I couldn't imagine doing all that. As it is, I'm not a morning person. The night hours are when I shine. But it … [Read more...]
