Newsletters

I subscribe to several newsletters each month that deal with writing. Some I don’t give more than a cursory glance through; others I read avidly. I haven’t canceled the ones I only glance at simply because I don’t know that I won’t need it tomorrow.

One such newsletter is the Poetry Market Ezine. Now, each year, a new softbound book is published that proclaims to have the latest and greatest markets for publishing poetry. I believe there are similar books for short stories, etc. This newsletter gives me a select few entries each month similar to what can be found in the book. This newsletter may actually be more accurate since it is updated monthly. The book published for the year 2005 is actually released 3 to 6 months prior to 2005.

Let’s say I’ve written a phenomenal poem. I can go back to my email newsletter and see if my masterpiece fits any of the guidelines currently being advertised. If I find something that works, I can go ahead and submit. If not, I still have a good piece of poetry under my belt. In another month or two, someone may be looking for it.

Let’s say that I don’t have a phenomenal poem, but I want to write. I can look through the guidelines to see if a particular theme for a publication appeals to me. This may give me the incentive I need to write. This doesn’t mean that I will necessarily submit, but it lets me know what people are looking for and gives me some incentive to produce.

Other newsletters get a thorough read. I have once from WriteSuccess that fascinates me. I read to find out what other writers are doing. I read about their successes and their failures. I find out about new products and services as well as new ways of looking at things. I make mental notes of things I want to look into in more depth. I store any new ideas that I might read for a future date.

Newsletters are a great way to explore the particular world you have an interest in. If you have an interest in science fiction writing, subscribe to some science fiction ezines or newsletters. Whatever your interest is, do a search to see what you can get your hands on. Even if you don’t read them faithfully, reading just one might send you flying through space.

Web sites for the two newsletters mentioned are listed below:

The Poetry Market
Write Success

So-So Results

If we’re in the habit of writing everyday, some days will yield much poorer results than others. Does this mean we shouldn’t do it? No, this means no such thing. It means that we take the good with the bad and deal with it. Even our worst writing days can provide us with marvelous gems that are well worth the effort.

Just to fortify our mission to write everyday, keep a pile of your bad work. Highlight the gems hidden within. On a day that we can’t find the inspiration to write something new, pick up something from the questionable pile and redo it. Choices would range from re-writing the piece to doing some heavy editing. We might just want to take the general idea and start with a clean slate. See if we can rewrite it better than we did the first time.

If we remain true to writers, we are also reading as much of other peoples’ work that we can. While you read, make a note of anything you see that really “works.” I certainly don’t mean to copy passages, but make a note of general ideas that made the article. We never, ever want to copy someone else’s words. Maybe it was a certain type of description that just made everything clear.

All of this, of course, assumes a self-imposed deadline for writing. Self-imposed deadlines allow us the luxury of re-do. If we have a deadline from an editor, we may have to revisit the piece later the same day. If the piece is as bad as you think, walk away from it and do something else for a while. Then, pick the work up with a fresh eye. It may be that there were four really good sentences on the entire page. Maybe we can start with these four sentences and re-write the rest.

Find a method that works for you. Experiment with different ways to improve your work. We want to be flexible enough that we don’t want to box ourselves in. Yet we want to have enough discipline that we can meet our deadlines and turn our quality work in the process. We just need to remember that everyday will not result in a masterpiece even if that’s what we would like.

From Point A to Point B

It is generally a good idea to have a complete plan when we begin a project. We have an idea of what we want to say and where we are going. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes, we are able to identify Point A and Point B but aren’t sure exactly how to get there.

My advice, in this instance is to go ahead and write what we know. Once it is down on paper, the path from the one to the other may become clear. If not, we have our starting and ending points and can set this aside for a later date. It may be that we simply haven’t given thought to how to connect the dots. On the other hand, maybe we thought the two points would be enough to make our case. Once we actually write it out, we find this is not the case. Either way, we may be able to fill in the blanks at another time.

I’m an advocate for writing everything we can about a subject and then pruning the unnecessary information afterward. I’m probably wrong for thinking in this way, but I don’t believe in stifling creativity when it is flowing freely. The worst case scenario, in my opinion, would be that we may write enough to complete three works instead of just one. There’s nothing wrong in that.

I suppose it depends on what we’re working on. If we have specific guidelines for what needs to be accomplished, this overwriting can get us into trouble. We need to adhere to posted guidelines for any job that we tackle of a professional nature. Never presume that you know what’s better for a publication than the editor. You’d never see another offer of work from them again. Once you’ve established yourself, you might be able to make suggestions. Until then, hold your tongue.

If the project is one of our own choosing, the more words we write, the merrier we’ll be. We may have just written the first three installments of a serial.

Keep Going

Let’s say you’ve done all of your homework and you’re ready to start writing. You know what you want to write and you have a plan for writing it. You sit and the computer and the words come. You’re moving along quite nicely when all of a sudden words just gush forth. The gush is welcome except that it isn’t the exact path that you had previously outlined. What do you do? Don’t stop the flow!

If the words are coming that easily, let them come. They can always be moved later. As long as the words continue, go with them. It may be what you’ve just written will be better than your original plan. If not, they can be moved to another area of the document or to another document completely. They may even provide the foundation for a totally separate work. Nine out of ten times when this happens to me, I am able to use what I wrote. Never turn off the fountain, though, when it offers a wealth of words.

Instead, learn to use your word processing program to your advantage. Take advantage of the cut and paste feature. Move the words or paragraphs you’ve just written to another place. You might move them to a blank document until you know whether you can use them. Please, please, remember to save your work often. Save the document you’re working on and save the piece you moved. It is always better to be safe than sorry. You wouldn’t want to lose that valuable work should the computer fail.

To this day, I still use the backspace key to fix mistakes. I backspace over everything I just typed, erasing letters and words, to re-type something very similar. I am consciously trying to break myself of the habit. It is so much more efficient to use the arrow keys or the mouse to return to the spot where a letter needs to be added. I can save myself the retyping if I would remember to do this. I can also go back after the fact and fix these errors if I would do a better job of proofreading my own work.

Fixing errors after the fact allows your flow to continue without interruption when you’re writing. The first priority is to get it down. If you stop too often to fix the little things, chances are you’ll lose the train of thought that got you going in the first place.

There are three things, then, to consider today. 1) Never interrupt a flow of words even if they are not exactly what you wanted. 2) Be flexible enough in your plan that these outbursts can be worked into the piece. And, 3) know how to use your software efficiently so that you have the advantage of the first two considerations.

On Writing

This one was written awhile back as an article in the Wired Poet Newsletter. I thought it would fit in well with some of the things we've been talking about.


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For some of us, writing is as natural as getting dressed in the morning. It is something we do. It is much like breathing and living. The spontaneous expulsion of words to paper is a necessity. The artist in us must express everything about life. We look at things differently and we express them accordingly. We do so because we can.

We write to create an artistic response to our universe. Life without art is bland. Written art is simply another form of expression. The tools for writing are easily accessible. We need an idea, a desire to express the idea, and the means to output the final product. These days, no one needs paper and pencil since we have computers. Since we all have ideas, it is only a matter of publicizing those ideas.

Some of us just have more success in writing our thoughts than in expressing them verbally. Personal, or face-to-face, communication contains three basic elements: the words themselves, tone of voice, and body language. Coordinating all three of these elements leaves some people at a loss. Even the words themselves can become mired if we suffer from a speech impediment or are self-conscious. We may exhibit too much or too little emotion in our words than intended just because we need to get them out. If we hesitate too long or speak too fast, our meaning may be lost. If we are shy, we might never release the words.

The blank page is an inanimate object and does away with everything but the actual words we wish to convey. We avoid confrontational issues when we write since we only share our thoughts with paper or computer screens. The paper does not talk back or argue. We are in control of our words and have the freedom to erase and modify easily. The spoken word is often hard to take back. We must remember, though, that the absence of other elements means that our words must carry more weight and must get their intent across correctly.

Writing is an outlet. Rather than keeping things bottled up inside, we jot them down. Some of us can purge our minds in our writing. We write it down and then move on. The problem addressed is safely onto paper and does not need to reside in our heads. We safely release the toxins that have built up in our systems and we can go forward. Along the way, our written pollution may find sympathy and understanding in another’s eyes.

Eventually, we learn to maneuver our ideas into more acceptable formats. Our writing evolves. When we share our written work, we enter a learning process. Instant feedback can spur us on and help to make our words better. We receive validation of our voice and acknowledgment of our existence. We are recognized and affirmed, and, are challenged to do more and do it better.

The internet is one such outlet for the written format. The blank page on the internet can take many forms. Posting our words on the world wide web helps us to normalize our insecurities and insanities. By sharing our thoughts, we form bonds with people of similar thoughts. We learn. We learn that we are not alone and people will listen to us. We learn there is so much more to learn.

Try Something New

We are always willing to try a new recipe. Why shouldn't we do the same with our writing? Many recipes teach a method. Ingredients can be interchanged and substituted to create many different, wonderful dishes. The same applies to our words. If you're a bit intimidated by trying something totally different, try the substitution bit.

I suppose what we would do in the substitution method is stick to our usual format and select a subject or topic that is foreign to us. Maybe we've never done a humorous piece or a romantic poem. Humorous romance sounds like it might be fun! Seriously though, try something different.

Maybe we've always written free verse. It might be time to try another type. Can we create a concrete image out of what we've written? Would a tanka or haiku be better suited to our mood today? How about taking something you've already written and paring it down into a haiku or tanka? Doesn't that sound like fun? This is a great exercise in discipline.

Whatever you attempt, please make it a serious effort. You might find that you've got a real knack for such things. I like to think that I have a knack for writing articles. Whether that is really true remains to be seen. I should try submitting an article somewhere. This is just one more thing to add to my "to do" list.

I realize that much of the stuff I write in this blog becomes repetitive. Most of it is stuff we don't evern consciously think of most of the time when we write. I am simply trying to raise an awareness for everything that goes on when creating a written page. The more aware we become of these items, the more natural it is to incorporate them into use. At least, I hope that is true.

For instance, how much attention do we give to transition. Transitional clauses help us to shift our focus from one issue to another or one place to another. They help to keep our readers moving forward in a smooth motion. We can't effective jump around from one thing to another without providing some kind of transition. Please overlook the fact that this is exactly what I have just done. Any way, the more we are aware of these items, the more effective we become is using them. Also, knowing why we use them helps a great deal. Knowing gives a reason to our madness.

So, try something new. Pay attention to how all the pieces fit together.

You Never Know

Each week I receive a column via email. The column is written by a woman with MS. This woman is known as a humor columnist. I’m not sure the title is entirely appropriate, but for lack of a better title, this is what she is. The article is generally written one month previous and is emailed when it appears in her local newspaper. A selected group receives the column by email. It is also posted on a web page on the internet.

I stumbled upon this column quite strangely. I was researching missing persons for our high school reunion database and received an anonymous email with a link to the web page. I started reading about this woman. I don’t remember her from high school, but the column has become my weekly conversation with her. She’s two days younger than I and she totally amazes me.

The columns are little glimpses into her life. She talks about her pets, her aide, her husband, and sunshine. She loves the sunshine. Her strength and optimism are astounding. She no longer has the strength in her voice to use the voice-to-text function of her computer, so she dictates her column and someone types it for her. She’s very vocal about handicap parking and wheelchair access as well.

She wrote once about having to replace the small appliances in her kitchen. These appliances were dear to her because they had apple appliqués on them. After purchasing new appliances and exiting the store, she remembered the appliqués and immediately turned back into Wal Mart to find some. It was a lost cause. There were none to be found.

I happened across some apple stickers in the dollar store one day. I remembered her story and bought a couple of packs to send her. She dutifully applied them to all of her appliances when she received them and her kitchen was back to normal.

Another time, she wrote about hooded sweatshirts with attached mittens. She couldn’t find them any where. She had searched high and low on the internet for them. The sister of the man who originally made these sweatshirts showed up at her door one day with several samples for her.

When she wrote about a magazine that she and her husband were starting, I subscribed. I also reviewed the magazine for a newsletter I was writing at a time. The second year of my subscription is almost over, but I will renew again. This magazine even published one of the poems I submitted. One feature that I missed in the last issue was a submission from my friend. All other issues contained something by her. The last one didn’t. I missed it.

I would feel the same way if the email suddenly stopped. I would miss it terribly. The email tells me that she’s doing alright. I have to remember to account for the fact that the article was written a month earlier. Awhile back, the web site hadn’t been updated for a few weeks. I emailed her to make sure everything was okay. It turned out that the friend who updates the web page had fallen behind. Ever since then, I’ve been on the email list.

I suppose the whole point of this post is that our writing can affect people in ways that we cannot possibly imagine. This gives us one more reason to write and write well.

Spoken vs Written Words

When we write, we do not have the audio or visual cues that are available when we speak. We don’t have tone, inflection, body language, volume, or emotion. We can’t cover our blunders with “forget I said that” because the words will continue to stare at us from the written page. We have a responsibility to convey our message and all of the audio and visual cues that go with the message. We only have to write it.

We do this by the actual words we use, in how we use those words and also in how we punctuate those words. We use colorful language, spelled correctly. We use description, narration, explanation, and any other tools we have. We do it carefully and we do it correctly. We proofread our work and evaluate it ourselves. Then we move forward and find our readers.

Many of us stumble or blunder some when speaking. Those blunders are more obvious when writing. We have to watch our spelling, grammar, and punctuation. When we speak, no one knows whether we can spell the words we utter. It doesn’t matter. When we write, it matters very much. Grammar is a totally different story. We speak a certain way because that’s how we are. When we write, however, who we are isn’t important to the reader unless it is an autobiographical work. The message is what’s important. Grammar becomes important for this reason. Punctuation provides additional assistance in our expression. It can help to show excitement, pauses, etc.

How the words flow on the page will determine whether the reader will keep pouring through those words. If he stumbles, it interrupts the flow. Each time he stops to consider our errors, it is one more opportunity for him to abandon our work. It is not up to the reader to determine whether we used a word correctly. It is not up to the reader to find the errors in our grammar. It is up to us, the writers. The better our flow is, the better chance we have to make it all the way through.

Misspelled words, incorrectly used words, grammar and punctuation are all things that cause our flow to be interrupted. They cause our reader to stumble. We want our work to be a pleasurable experience that imparts a message. If our reader becomes battered and bruised when attempting to read our words, we have not succeeded.

To summarize: Presentation matters.

Don't Lose the Message

Our first priority is the message. There is a reason we take the time to write. There is a message we want to convey, whatever that message may be. We need to get this message to our audience. If our reader never finishes reading what we have written, we have failed to deliver our message. We need to give them enough to keep them interested but not enough to overwhelm or bore them. We need to keep them reading until the end. And, we need to have them understand what we say. Failure anywhere along the way and we may as well not have bothered to write in the first place.

We want to do more than say "the room is red." We just don't need to spend three pages on it. By then, our reader no longer cares that the room is red. He won't even care why he needs to know that the room is red. In poetry, especially, we don't have the luxury of wasting needless words on equally needless descriptions. While "the room is red" is a little too Dick and Jane even for me, "the room was the color of hell and being in it warmed me uncomfortably" is sufficient. This example is far more interesting than the "room is red" but doesn't go overboard.

Several principles we've discussed previously come to mind:
KISS - Keep It Simple, Sweetheart. Don't bury the message in unnecessary information. The room is red is much less important than the character is blind. Give the proper weight to the details.
Have a Plan - have a pretty good idea of what you're going to write before you start. The plan can and will change as we go along, but we must have an idea of the direction in which we are heading.
Who, What, How - understand the message and the audience. The hardest part is keeping the audience interested long enough to get the message.

Poetry in generally is shorter. It is succinct. We want to choose our words very carefully. If succinct isn't working for us, perhaps an essay would be a better fit. Always, though, keep the message, plan, and audience in mind. If we lose sight of any of these, we've lost everything.

When writing poetry, one possible objective is to make the reader think. However, any images presented should come easily. They should fit within the context of the rest of the poem and not be overwhelming. The same for descriptive phrases. Part of the wonder of poetry is being able to describe something without using a whole bunch of extraneous words. If it gets overwhelming, you'll lose the reader.

That's the last thing we want to do.

Back to Basics

Remember those very simple questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why? These become two-dimensional when dealing with writing. We have one dimension of the author and another dimension of the writing.

The Author
Who
Well, that would be you, the author.

What
What are we writing today? Will it be a story, a poem, or a song?

Where
Where will we write? Will we write at home, at work, in the library?

When
When will we write? Now sounds good.

How
Will we write longhand or use a computer? Maybe crayons would be more in keeping with out mood.

Why
This is probably the most important question we need to answer. Why are we writing. Words can be used for a variety of reasons. We can express something, explain something, create something, or whatever else suits us at the moment. Knowing why helps us to answer all the other questions.

These are very basic questions and using don't even require acknowledgement, but they actually do need answers every time we write.

The Writing
Who
Who are our characters? Who is telling the story? Why is the story inteded for, our audience?

What
What happens in the writing? If this is a poem, what are we writing about? What is the outcome? What do we hope to achieve?

Where
Where does the story take place? This can be very broad or more definitive. Is it in another country? Is it in a dark room?

When
When does our story take place? This could get really interesting. Is the story in the past? Does it take place in the future? We could even base our story in the present.

How
How will we get our message across? Will we present the message straight out or will we use other means such as imagery or inneundo? Will it be a serious piece or will there be humor involved?

Why
Why does this message need to be delivered? Someone needs to care in order for our writing to be worthwhile.

I haven't decided which of these questions is most important to the writing. In order to be successfull, all of them need to be carefully considered. It sounds rather dumb to use such small words to evaluate our writing, but I think they are valid issues.

What do you think?

Why Bother?

Why bother? That's a very good question. We bother because we hope someone will "get it." We bother because we hope someone will understand. We bother because we hope our words will affect someone. Write your heart out!

What happens when we get a bad review of our work? Get up and walk away! Don't hit the delete key; don't reach out and slap at the computer; don't blow up; and certainly, don't reply, not yet. Just take a deep breath and get up and walk away. Once the initial reaction is over, come back and deal with the bad review.

Most online boards try to foster an atmosphere of encouragement. Some people never seem to get the hang of that. Some people never learn tact. Both of these are critical when reviewing the work of others. When we review another's work, try to find something positive to say. Try some of these:

I see that you've been revising this piece. I like what you've done so far, but maybe just a little bit more. I see...

I like the idea behind this poem, but I have a problem with....

The opening to this is wonderful as is the ending. The middle, however, might work better if...

Each of these comments starts out with something positive even when we have something not-so-positive to say. Each one of these tempers the initial reaction to lash out. Hopefully, each of these will have the writer evaluating the ideas presented.

Now, back to the bad review. Is there anything in the review worthwhile? Can we ignore the lack of tact and lack of people skills in order to gain something from the comment? While you consider the review, also remember why you bothered to write the item in question in the first place. If you can respond rationally to the review, then do it. Otherwise, wait for another day.

Remember, too, this is the opinion of one person and not necessarily the opinion of anyone else. If the suggestion doesn't make sense, or even if it does, it is your work and you don't have to follow the advice. You might make a comment as to why you won't follow the advice just to show that you considered it. Don't, and I mean don't, stoop to their level.

Some people just never get the fact that there are feelings attached to works of art. Some people don't play well with others. Let's try not to be one of those people.

Finding a Starting Point

When writing short stories we need to find a good starting point. This starting point needs to grab the readers attention as well as keep us within a reasonable length. One editor advised me to start with the pickle. In a way, this makes sense.

What is the conflict or predicament that our character finds himself in? Does it really matter how he got to that point? How our subject gets to the problem isn't as relevant as the problem itself. In a novel or longer work, this makes great introductory material. In a short story, it doesn't matter much.

We can, of course, cover some of this information in the telling of the pickle. More importantly, though, is how our character deals with the pickle and what he does to overcome the problem. Other details should be used to add interest to the piece and provide transition. Adding too much will make our story drag.

One major objective in a short story, is to keep the reader interested until the end. Grab the reader immediately with a predicament and move him with you through the solution. I realize this is somewhat vague, but hopefully it will help you decide where to start.

One editor told me to take my story and re-write it with the ending first. I never did. If I follow the advice above, maybe I should.

Getting Into the Habit

We need to get into the habit of writing. This blog has become my habit. I set aside time every day to write something. Hopefully, what I write helps me and those who read it.

If we can set aside the same time every day to write, this is even better! Maybe we have an hour after the kids are in bed to ourselves. Maybe there's a half hour in the morning before we need to leave for work. It doesn't matter when it is, just "schedule" that time for writing.

This allows us to prepare for the writing session. We mentally run through ideas for that next session with pen and paper or in front of the computer. Maybe you can even use the time you spend in the shower to think specifically about our writing. It doesn't matter as long as we do it. Think. Write.

Of course, life never works out the way we plan. One of the kids will be sick and won't stay in bed or we oversleep. It happens. This is your writing and your schedule. It is flexible. Maybe the best we can do today is jot down a few notes to consider tomorrow. That's okay.

I just think that if we plan to write every day (see that word popping up again? plan), we are more likely to do so. If we have something of a schedule, we are more prepared to use that time well. Remember, we won't be writing earth-shattering pieces every time we write, but if we're serious about writing, make it part of our everyday lives.

Finding the Best Fit

Don't think that just because one editor rejects your work that it isn't worthwhile. Even if two editors reject your work. It may just be that your work doesn't "fit" that particular publication. Check previous issues of the publication to see if there is a possible match. Another publication and editor might be a match made in heaven! Never give up.

Even when an editor accepts your work once, there's no guarantee that he will accept each and every piece you submit. If, however, the editor takes the time to tell you what he thinks is wrong with your work, give his comments serious consideration.

When our daily audience tends to be friends and family, critique may be tempered with loyalty. An impartial third party may see things that someone else overlooked. Revised and send it in again. Tell the editor that you have reviewed his comments and made adjustments. Would he be good enough to look at your work again? Why not.

There are many possibilities out there. Scan the internet for publications. Many of the print publications will publish sample issues online. Many ezines publish work on a regular basis as well. Read some of the published issues. Some publications offer to send you a past issue for a nominal fee. It might be worth your while.

Make sure that you read the submissions guidelines. Some publications only want specific types of work. Some work on a theme basis. Many editors prefer work to be emailed; others will accept nothing short of snail mail. Follow the guidelines for the publication you select.

One final thought, you won't be published if you don't submit.

The Audience and The Tools

So, we can find inspiration a number of ways and this gets us started. We need to know where to go once we have the inspiration. We've talked about having a plan, starting small, and keeping it simple. As long as we write, we're okay. Who are we writing for?

Many writers claim they write for themselves. I'm not sure if this is egotism or inexperience that makes these words spew forth. If we were only writing for ourselves, why preserve the words? Don't we really want others to read our work and get something from the magic we have spelled out?

Defining our audience might be one of the hardest building blocks to learn. If, for instance, we declare that our work is meant for the general population, we must strive to keep the language consistent with the audience. If our audience is more technical, then our language can change accordingly.

When we express opinions in our work, are we doing it so that the least number of people will be offended? Or, do we not care? If we don't care, we can almost guarantee that many of our readers won't give us a second chance. Be careful with your words.

Now would be a good time to remind you to use the tools available to you. Use a good word processor with a spellcheck. Remember, though, that there is no substitute for proofreading. Be careful here though, since you know what you are saying you might not actually "see" what you wrote. A spell check program won't tell you that you've used you instead of your or pubic instead of public. All four are legitimate words.

Don't be afraid to use a dictionary and thesaurus. They can do wonders to help us clarify our writing. Run your work through a grammar check as well. The grammar check normally has settings for reading level; you can set this in accordance with your audience.

The most important thing in writing is to actually write. Once we gat passed that point, there are many things to keep in mind. Your audience and your tools are just the beginning.

Audio and Visual Stimulants

The other day we talked about ways to become inspired. Rather, I talked and you read. The ideas presented previously were basically using the written word. We don't want to rule out all of the other possibilities. There are plenty of audio and visual stimulants that can lead to inspiration.

Watch a movie. How did the movie make you feel? Was there something in the movie that kept nagging at you? Write about it.

Check out some pictures. What does the picture say to you? Write about it. Several poetry web sites have picture poetry. A picture is posted and members are asked to submit a poem about the picture. It is really interesting to see how perceptions differ between people.

Listen to some music. Maybe you put music on to mellow you out. Write about it. Maybe you put music on to keep you company. Write about it. Or, maybe music is an outlet for you. Put that down as well.

Take a walk and see what nature has to offer. Walking is a good exercise as well. Strap on the pedometer before you start out. If you don't see anything inspiring during your walk, maybe you can meet a goal that you set for yourself. Write about that.

Take some time out of your walk to observe the people you see. What are their stories? Obviously, you don't know, but imagine what their stories would be. Now, tell us about them. Maybe you see something that is a little odd. Tell us about the oddity and how it came about.

In other words, write about anything that makes an impression on you. Carry a pad of paper and a pencil and just jot down your ideas throughout the day. None of us have time to act upon every idea when they happen. Save the ideas for a later time when they are more easily digestible.

Outline to Write

I remember how much I hated doing outlines during school. I was terribly surprised, then, when I tell people to write an essay or short story by starting with an outline.

Start with the basic ideas of your story. This part you can do in your head in many cases. If you do this on paper, leave lots of room between entries. Your story will just about write itself. You might start with something like this:

boy meets girl


boy and girl fall in love


girl is killed in a car crash


boy is devastated


Take each basic idea and write a sentence about the idea. This sentence should be your basic action or plot of that particular part of the story. The sentences don't need to be elaborate. This is basically just the blueprint for your story. And, since it is your story, it can change as you go along. You can even add more than one sentence per subplot. Just make sure you have enough room to write. An example, very basic, would be as follows:

Boy meets girl during summer vacation.


Boy and girl fall in love and arrange to attend the same university in order to be together.


Girl is killed in a car crash when she is on her way home from a late class. It was a drunk driver who fled the scene.


and so on.

Once you have your basic sentences done, start filling in the details. You might need more paper for this. You might even just start with a fresh piece and write the story following your blueprint. Just write. There is no right or wrong way to tell your story; it is your story.

Give your characters names and backgrounds. Describe where the story takes place. Describe how the characters interact with each other, what they think, and what they do. Build the details of how they met and what it was that made them fall in love.

I guess the general idea is to have a plan before you begin. The best plans are subject to change but have a better chance of success if thought out in advance. An outline is just one type of plan. What I diagramed above isn't really even an outline but is only based loosely on outlining principles.

Good luck!

Stimulating Creativity (When Words Won't Come)

There are a number of things you can do to stimulate creativity. Many of these things I should be doing myself.

1. Read other's poetry and figure out how you would have written the same poem. Be careful with this one since many writers would not appreciate this exercise. You might try offering a suggestion or two of what you came up with. You might try this with a classical artist. I think it would be fun to write a modern version of a Shakespear epic.

2. Try magnetic poetry. If you do not have magnets, take a paragraph out of a book. Use these words found in the paragraph to write. Don't change any or the words either. It doesn't have to be great. Once you're done, see if any of it is salvageable. If so, take what you have and go with it or post as is. If there is something worthwhile hidden in your work, by all means, edit. This is now your own creation, add words, remove words, change the word forms, do whatever it takes to make you happy.

3. Take the same text to see if you can create a poem that summarizes the paragraph. See if you can find a better, more imaginative way of saying the same thing.

4. Read some of the classical authors. Read the work of others on a poetry site. Just read. And don't just read, think about what the author has written. Why did he use the rhyme scheme he used? Why did he break his lines the way he did? Does it make sense? Just because a particular poem or author has been published, doesn't mean that we can't perform and in-depth critique of the work.

5. Take one of your old poems and view it with a critical eye. Try to rewrite it. Put it through a workshop if need be. If it is a poem that you didn't particularly like, figure out why you didn't like it and try to fix that aspect of it.

6. Brainstorm. Take a word or an idea that interests you. Write down everything that comes to mind about the selection. Don't stop until you have developed a good list. Review the list to see if anything is worthwhile. Play with the selections.

7. Take the list you created in your brainstorming session and write sentences or ideas for each of the words in your list. Review what you came up with to see if there is a common theme other than the original.

8. Work with a friend and swap brainstorming ideas. Let them write sentences for your words and you write sentences for their words. This is based loosely on the idea that the grass is always greener...

9. Try another form that you have previously not written. The oriental forms are actually quite a disciplined art, but well worth mastering. For this, you might try one of your brainstormed ideas and see if you can fit it into the haiku or tanka pattern.

Don't Force It

Say that you sit down to write a stunning haiku and the syllable count just doesn't work out, write it anyway. The restriction of haiku is self-imposed. Write what wants to come out, it may result in a more satisfying free verse. Once you're done, that haiku may be hidden in what you've written.

I don't know how many times I've sat down to write something and it just didn't work. The poem that was so good in my mind just wouldn't stay as a poem but made a great couple of paragraphs. There have been times when I've taken my finished paragraphs and written the poem from it. In this case, you may be able to avoid frustration in not accomplishing what you set out to do. You may also accomplish twice as much.

There's nothing worse than a forced rhyme. If it takes that much forcing, maybe it would be better not to rhyme. Rhyming poetry is probably one of the most difficult things to write. Rhyming, itself, is easy. Creating a natural sounding rhyming poem is much more challenging. It may be that most of use attempt to use the end rhyme or perfect rhyme. There are so many other options available. And, there's also the option of not rhyming at all.

Consider it brainstorming if you just start writing wildly about your chosen topic. Put down as much as you can without worrying about wording, images, and anything. Simply write. Later, you can crawl through what you spouted and pull out the finer morsels. Use these morsels to create the perfect meal. This is, by the way, one way to stir up the juices of inspiration.

More Kissing

One shouldn't aspire to write the great American novel on their first attempt at writing. Something shorter that allows us to ease into the process is more the ticket. Maybe a short story would be a good project. A short story can always grow into that great American novel at a later date.

Tackling too large of a project at the outset can cause problems. When we get stuck, we might feel a sense of failure. Starting small offers a sense of achievement in accomplishing specific goals. It offers a sense of completion as well. Commitment to a smaller project is often easier.

You ask who I am to be offering such advice. I am only an ordinary citizen who likes pen and paper. So, feel free to disregard my advice and tackle a major project. I would still advise to break that down into smaller, more manageable pieces. Give yourself the sense of accomplishment for completing a small piece. It may provide enough incentive to keep you going. Face it, we like our rewards and sometimes writing has few rewards to offer.

Know your subject and what you want to do with it. Break it into bite-size pieces so it is easier for you to digest. And, go for it!

KISS

There are three things I wanted to touch upon today. 1) Keep it simple, sweetheart (its my blog, I can make it what I want!) 2) tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them and 3) write what you know.

If you're just starting out in writing, KISS is very good advice. Keep it simple! Simplicity applies to the topic, the language, the vocabulary, and the conclusions we make. Once we try to complicate things, we end up in trouble.

Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them. I've heard this for years. Truthfully, I think we're telling them too much. Repetition is good for effect, but too much repetition is overkill. This, again, is another way of saying that you need an introduction (what you're going to tell them), a body (tell them), and a conclusion (what you told them). This is also a possible way to set up a paragraph. Put the important item first, explain the item, and then summarize or conclude.

Write what you know. Of course, we are most comfortable with what we know. If we were to write what we don't know, we would be forced to do research or come off sounding exactly like we are, unknowing and dumb. Most of us have some experience under our belts. That experience will often relate to other areas. For example, I once helped a school teacher apply for a job as a store manager. If a teacher can manage a classroom why couldn't she manage a staff of employees? Experiences in the classroom will often translate to experiences elsewhere. Unfortunately, they were not my stories to tell, but I was able to see the relationship and am able to build upon that.

Subjective Appreciation

The written word is so subjective. What I write and what I mean may not be the same as what you read and what you interpret or understand. The written word, in one sense, allows for a greater depth to be given to our thoughts. We can use language and illustration to make ourselves understood. We can use the proper jargon or syntax to aid our case. We can reduce our explanations into laymans terms if need be. Even then, it doesn't always work. There must be a meeting of the minds in order for communication to take place.

This reminds me of a television commercial involving a car salesman who makes his pitch. The parents hear exactly what the salesman is saying. The child hears garbage...until, the DVD player is mentioned. In this case, I was call the phenomena selective listening. Our previous example may be more of a deductive matter although I somehow fail to see where logic enters the picture.

There is also the distinct possibility that some people are just plain idiots.

I digress. We can't allow one misinterpretation to divert our attention from the goal. In this case, we haven't actually defined our goal, but masterpiece was part of it.

Another Day

Writing requires some standard or uniformity. We write because we can and because it is easily transferable and portable. It is a way of capturing our thoughts for longer than the breath it takes to utter them. If we can't say something well and if we can't say something meaningful, should we bother to say it at all? Once we decide there is something to be said, we are left to answer even more questions.

What form will our daily novel take today? Shall we use prose or poetry to express ourselves? Will a quick note do the trick or is a sonnet more in keeping with the mood of the message? Is formal language needed or would slang be acceptable? Who needs to hear my message and exactly what is that message?

I think therein lies some of the problems with writing and writers. There are too many decisions to be made and too little time in which to make them. There are too many subjects to cover and too little paper to capture them.

At some point, the well runs dry. What do we write about today? There are only a vast number of topics to be written about. Technically, this is a finite number of topics and many of them have already been well exhausted. What can I say that is so different from those before me?

Well, there seems to be one topic that is always popular. We can always write about writing! There's a neverending subject in that one. There's why we don't write, why we can't write, why we shouldn't write, why we do write, how we could write, and a whole host of others.

Obviously, though, I'm babbling. I expect when I finish, though, I will be able to piece together some extraordinary masterpiece.

Feeling Better

I came up with something the other day and now I need to decide what to do with it.

Anything we do in poetry requires moderation. Poetry is both an Art and a Science. It is an Art in that we need vision to see what we want to say. It is a Science in knowing how to say it.

It rather goes well with the following:

"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary." -David Bailey

and my comments to that:

The same thing goes for writing. What really hasn't already been said? It takes a lot of imagination to find new and improved ways of saying the same old thing. Think about it!

I need to examine the relationship between art and imagination. The way this has been outlined above, there seems to be a direct correlation.

One definition of art from Dictionary.com:

a. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
b. The study of these activities.
c. The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered as a group.

"The conscious production or arrangement" of words fits right in there with poetry. The production would follow art, however the arrangement may be more of a science.

To go just one step further, Dictionary.com gives the following definition of science:

Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.

So, the more we do, the more we know? The more we read, the more we experience.

And Why Do I Need a Blog?

I really have no use for a blog, but everyone seems to have them. I guess I can get on board. Of course, when you're sick it is not the time to strike out into new creations, but what the hey.

I must admit that I am more concerned about others than myself these days, that's probably why I got sick. Allergy-induced asthma is no fun, let me tell you.