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 
Hi Bill, I read your blog via email every day and I have never taken the time to tell you how much I appreciate you devoting so much of your time and energy to helping other writers. You inspire me and I wish you continued success!
Melissa, what a lovely surprise. Thank you so much for being so loyal and gracious with your praise. People like you feed people like me with your kind words.
Oh I definitely agree about courage to write and also to use our creativity, as well as imaginations to say what we are thinking in a different way they we may have originally shared previously. I am constantly trying my best to re-invent the wheel here so to speak and really just couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much as always for the great tip and Happy Monday again!!!
And Janine, that is exactly what writers do….we reinvent the wheel. Perfectly stated my friend.
Good luck with your reinvention today. 🙂
Well you hit the nail on the head for me this time–I get stuck when I think too much about the product–and not enough about just flowing–as long as I keep writing–I can see how that is a matter of courage–
Thank you my friend–
Bless you Audrey! You have serious talent my friend; I am in awe of your poetry.
Creativity gotta be oozing or else audience would yawn and either flip the page or jump to another writer…cause writers are being sold in pennies…lol
seriously creativity is very low priced, Bill
I liked your exercise of turning a noun into an adjective etc. gotta try that out.
Happy Monday!
Ruchira, it goes back to the 10 second rule….you gotta have some pizzaz with any article or you lose your audience.
Have a great week Ruchira!
Thanks for the tips. Always a great help.
My pleasure, Dianna! Thank you!
Self doubt….yes, that’s a baddie. I had some good (but hard to hear) constructive criticism from a friend recently about one or two of my blog postings. I needed to hear it though. Instead of getting all down and negative on those quiet days, or feeling depressed and invisible, she suggested making a file filled with things that people have said good things about my writing. Reviews, comments, articles I’m proud of, sales of my book, etc. I’m going to work on that this afternoon…I thought it was an excellent idea. Have a great day friend!
Great to have you back, Mel. I love your comments. Kick that negative energy to the curb. We writers have no time for it. 🙂
You are an emotional writer, Bill and that’s ALL you can be! I’m exactly the same way – blood, sweat, and tears, and apparently, i’m told that’s what people want when they read – a book especially…
i have been on a journey of learning and where i once thought i might drown, it turns out i may be an excellent swimmer! I haven’t felt this strong in 6 years!
This is a great column, Bill – i very much enjoy it!
Leslie, you are a very strong swimmer my friend, and I hope you never lose that ability to elicit emotions in your readers. Thank you for the kind words and I appreciate you stopping by again.