Tag Archives: become a better writer

Writing With Randomness

15 Aug

003Welcome back and Happy Thursday!

I love this time of year; the days are noticeably shorter and there is a slight chill in the air in the evening, and quite frankly I find it much easier to write when the temperature is comfortable.

I’m all over the place today trying to decide what to write about, and yes, that is the topic for today…randomness.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.”
Robert Frost

Thank you Robert Frost.  I thought I was the only one who wrote like that.

Here’s a look inside my writing process.  I see something….here something….think of something….and I’ll think huh, that would make a good article.  I then write a working title down and save it.  Eventually I go back to that working title and the article starts writing itself.  I have no clue how it is going to end, and it always manages to come to some point without too much of my help.

I love that process.  As Frost points out, it is a process of discovery and I find it exciting as hell.

PASSAGE OF THE DAY

“Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

Yep, Frost again, and that, my friends, is writing at its finest.  If I even approach that kind of writing….if I ever get within a sniff of that quality of writing…I will be a very satisfied writer indeed!

PROMPT OF THE DAY

July drive in Olympia 033

You don’t need me to tell you what to do with this….the road less traveled.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

The Miami University Press Novella Contest is back and the deadline for a previously unpublished novella is October 14th.   You can find the submission guidelines here.

TIP OF THE DAY

Throw nothing away.  Delete nothing.  Every single piece of writing you have done is valuable and who knows when you will find inspiration and need that short story you wrote ten years ago.

When I was a teen, records used to come out and the singles would have an A side and a B side. The A side was the big “hit,” the one the radio stations would be pushing, and the B side was supposed to be a nice tune but not of the quality of the A side tune.

I can’t tell you the number of times the B side tune became a huge hit while the A side tune sank into obscurity.

Throw nothing away!

SITE OF THE DAY

Bubblews is the talk of the writing community right now, supposedly a site where passive income is made much faster than on sites like HubPages.  Give it a look here and see for yourself.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

So much to do and so little time…welcome to my world, and your world, and yours, and yours…..

May you find all the time you need to chase your dreams.

Bill

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”

Tags: , , , ,

Face Your Fears In Writing

23 May

003Happy Thursday to all of you!

What are you up to today? Are you working on an article? A book? Have you submitted anything lately?  That’s what we writers do you know….we write and we submit.

Are you ready for some pearls of wisdom?

TIP OF THE DAY

You can’t get published if you don’t submit your work.

There, how was that for a firm grasp of the obvious?  Seriously, though, I personally know a few writers who have not submitted their work because they do not believe they are “ready” for that step.

Hello????  When will you be ready?  What’s the worst thing that can happen if you submit?  You will be rejected, which means you join the company of other rejected writers like Hemingway, Blake, Alcott and yes, Stephen King.

Stop making excuses and send your work to some magazines and publishers.  The process takes all of a half hour.  Can you spare a half hour of your life to open some doors of possibility?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”~Robert Benchley

Come on…that’s a great quote!  Talk about self-effacing and humble…..I love this guy’s attitude and his great sense of self-worth.

There is an interesting truth in this quote. I have said often that being published is often times a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  I have also mentioned that I have read some terrible books by some terrible authors, and it is true…..and still, they were published.  One can only surmise that they were in the right place at the right time. How else could they have gotten published? The writing gods were smiling on them that particular day.

We must believe in ourselves. Rejections come and rejections go, but our belief in our ability must never waver.

SITE AND FORUM OF THE DAY

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America can be found here.

This really is a great site if you are interested in this genre.  You can hang with like-minded folks. You can join the forums and you can get constructive feedback on your writing.

GUEST BLOGGER TIP OF THE DAY

From Liz Davis:

“Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, face your fears. Talk about the issues in your life that you try to avoid, whether it be a character flaw, a painful memory, or something else that keeps you up at night. This not only creates tension that keeps your readers hooked, but it also works as a healing process.”

You can find Lizzy on HubPages here.

Thank you Liz!

SECOND BLOGGER TIP OF THE DAY

From my good friend Kelly from HubPages:

“.I try to rewrite and delete unnecessary words. I go through and always make sure I don’t have double negatives or extra junk words!”

And I thank you, Kelly!

WRITING PROMPT OF THE DAY

A man walks into his favorite watering hole looking dejected.  The bartender asks him what’s the problem….he says……

PICTURE PROMPT OF THE DAY

IMG_0208

No Yellowstone today….this one is from Alaska….enjoy the majesty that is Denali and hopefully it will shake loose some words for you.

MORE TOMORROW

Yes, tomorrow is Friday and that will be our last effort for the week. I hope you found something in this post that was helpful.  If not, sorry about that; keep checking back and hopefully I’ll give you something you need in later posts.

Bill

Tags: , ,

Use Your Own Experiences In Your Writing

2 May

003Welcome back to Artistry With Words.  I’m happy to entertain you for a few minutes during your busy day.  If you are here then you must be a writer at heart and as such you are my peer and friend.

Check out the quote of the day.  It speaks to my writer’s heart.  When I was first starting out I hesitated writing about of my own experiences.  My first thought was that nobody would be interested in my life.

How wrong could one man be?  It wasn’t so much that my life was fascinating; it was the fact that we all have similar experiences that we can relate to.  I found my writer’s voice the day I decided to draw on those experiences and find lessons in them. I found so many people who understood perfectly what I had gone through, and a bond was formed between me and my readers.

Use your past life.  It is a part of you and as such needs to be a part of your writing.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time.”

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950)

I agree with George 100%.  We are each unique individuals but we share common traits with everyone else.  Do not ignore that aspect of your writing.  You have a treasure chest of information to draw upon.

SITE OF THE DAY

If you have never visited Fivrr then now is the time. You can find it here.

Fivrr is an interesting site where you can sell things for five dollars.  What does that have to do with writing you ask? Well, I have sold quite a few writing gigs here.  I offer to proofread a paper for five bucks. I offer to write blogs for five bucks.  Give it a try if you want some supplemental income. You just might be surprised with the results.

CONTEST OF THE DAY

July 11th deadline for this Horror Writing Contest.  First prize is $100.

TIP OF THE DAY

Well, I already gave you one tip now didn’t I?  How about a bonus today?007

These five tips from author P.D. James:

5 Bits of Writing Advice

  1. Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.
  2. Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.
  3. Don’t just plan to write—write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.
  4. Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.
  5. Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer—however happy, however tragic—is ever wasted.

PROMPT OF THE DAY

Yellowstone 2009 019

A picture is worth a thousand words….so here is your picture of the day. Let’s call it Word Bonanza Thursday.  What do you see when you look at this picture?  By the way, this is a picture taken in Yellowstone National Park.

MORE TOMORROW

I’ll be back tomorrow with a new Writer of the Day, and other goodies that are free for the taking.  Remember to write and write often, and have a great Thursday wherever you are.

Bill

Tags: , , , , ,