Welcome back my friends. I hope you had a restful weekend and you are ready to let your creativity flow.
And that is the subject for today…..allowing your creativity to flow. Check out the quote below and then we’ll chat a bit.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
Sylvia Plath
It seems to me that the above quote covers two topics. One is courage. I have had other writers tell me how much they respect my courage for writing about my alcoholism and for opening up my heart and soul for all to see. I never saw it as courage, but I do see it as a necessity. If I am going to be the type of writer I want to be, then I need to pour it all out. How can I expect to stun my readers if I water down the truth and if I hide my emotions from them?
I am an emotional writer. My blood, sweat and tears show in my work, and because they show I then find similar emotions in the responses of my readers. I know of no other way to achieve what I want in my writing.
The second part of that quote that I want to address is the imagination to improvise. I truly do not believe there are any new thoughts, or at least there are very few new thoughts. What we want to say as writers has been said many times before. It then becomes our job to use our imaginations to find a new way to say an old thought. We have thousands of words in the English language to play with; we must mix and match and juggle them to find a new way of saying that which has been said before….that is our challenge each and every time we write.
TIP OF THE DAY
Play with words. Try arranging them differently than you normally would. Instead of putting an adverb before the verb, put it after. Make a noun out of an adjective. Make up your own descriptive phrases. Practice with metaphors and similes. The person who rests on his/her laurels may well find that they have missed the bus while resting.
SITE OF THE DAY
From Writers.com a useful tutorial on using metaphors. You can find it here and I highly recommend it. Using metaphors is a powerful tool for writers and one that is often overlooked and underappreciated.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
Quirk Books has a Quirk Love Story contest going on now with a deadline of October 1st and a $10,000 first prize. Read submission guidelines here and good luck.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
You know the drill….are you inspired?
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY
Here is a residency program for writers held in my own state of Washington. Deadline for applications is October 31st, and you can find the application process here.
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY
But rest assured I will return tomorrow with some more suggestions and sites to check out.
Hey, a reminder….this site is for you. I don’t make a penny from this site and I don’t try to sell you anything. If there is something you would like to see on this site just let me know. If you have questions just let me know. I’m here to make your life easier as a writer. I can’t help with your housework but I sure can steer you in the right direction with regards to your writing career.
Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 