inspiration

Writer’s Wisdom 81

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What happens when writing does not meet your expectations?

There are many ways we can approach the answer to that question.  It is a matter of individual experience, and whatever your expectations are as a writer.  At one point or another we will ask that question to ourselves, to the writer inside, and we may or may not like the answer.  Or maybe, we might not have an answer at all – at least yet. 

Sometimes, you will work hard, and harder, but the results and rewards just don’t show up in a pretty package.  What then?  Do you beat yourself up?  Do you get discouraged and stop writing?  Do you take a break to clear your mind and find a new path?  Do you just ignore your feelings and keep writing anyway?  Maybe, you will think of another approach to your writing.

Whatever your answer, it is one that you must deal with to be able to find your way as a writer – I am still figuring that one.  If writing is your passion, keep at it.  If you have to try different approaches, then try them.  If you need to take a break and clear your mind, then do so.   Do what you have to do, and what you need to do to find your writing path.  For some it will take longer than others.  Look at the different life stories of best-selling authors.  For some it happened fast, while others took years figuring out that they belonged writing.

I guess my point is, a true writer finds a path.

Writer’s Wisdom 80

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Live and Write

If you are busy freelance writing, you may find that it takes most of your day, and sometimes, a few hours at night.  It may also take some of your weekends.  Assignments come and go, and the competition is fierce – you are lucky if you can grab it.  However, how much is too much?  You know you have to eat, right?  But at what cost?  Be thankful for the assignments you get, but also live your life.  Make time for your spirit, yourself, your family, your pets, and your friends.   If you don’t, you will find yourself in a less than perfect mood for writing.

Create a balance, and write.  Live and write.

Writer’s Wisdom 79

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Change your daily routine – fool your Muse.

Most of us have a daily routine for writing.  You might wake up early in the morning, turn your PC on, while waiting for a cup of coffee, or maybe you check your email right away.  Well, one thing leads to another, task after task, and soon you are following your usual routine.  Sometimes, you feel inspiration may have left you for a while, and you fall into a writing rut.

Sound familiar?  It may take, a simple change, such as sitting outside to write (weather permitting) or just move to your living room with pen and paper instead of your PC, to break the rut and feel inspired once more.  Maybe your Muse was asleep and you surprised her by changing your routine.

Give it a try, and see if it changes the atmosphere for you.  Surprise your Muse!

Writer’s Wisdom 78

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Writing for Pleasure

You have deadlines to meet, and many writing projects awaiting you, but there are times when you just need to write for pure pleasure – just for you.  It is important to nurture this part of writing and give it a place in your hectic schedule.  If you only write because you want to get paid, you will be missing on this important aspect.

When you write for pleasure, you enter a realm of enjoyment, and you are opening the gates of inspiration.  When this happens, ideas can come from anywhere, and you will experience the power of the written word.  Many of us are so worried about making the deadlines and earning a living (out of necessity,of course) that we forget to take a bit of time to just relax and write for ourselves – just for the pure enjoyment of it.

From time to time, relive the early days of your writing career, and take a few minutes to write for the simple pleasure of it; recapture the magic.

Poetry

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To start the kick-off of Inkspeare Poetry Month I will post my latest poems.  I’m far from being a poet, and my poetry does not follow any rules.  So, think of it a freestyle poetry – if there is such a thing.  To view some of my poetry, please visit the tab Totally Inspired on this blog.

Writer’s Wisdom 72

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 What stops you from writing?

Since I can remember I’ve had a love affair with the written word.  I’ve been an avid reader my entire life.  My desire to write was in the back of my mind for many years.  Deep down, I knew that I was meant to write, but I could not start.  It was always something I would do one day, when I had more time, and life wasn’t so busy.   Many years passed, and life got busier and busier, and I completely forgot about it – or at least did not think about it that much.  It wasn’t until a series of unfortunate events, that I was forced to slow down and look into my soul.  There it was, my desire for writing.  Since I had nothing to lose, I gave it a try.  It felt like a good pair of well-fitting jeans – comfortable and fitted.  That day, I decided that no matter what happened I was going to continue writing – and I have.

There are many things on my plate now, but I won’t stop writing.  Take a look into your soul – what is stopping you?  For me it was the illusion of more time and the fear of not knowing what to write.  At one point I was petrified, to glance at the piece of paper in front of me.  It took something bigger than my doubt to put things in motion.

If you have thought about writing, but it seems very far in the future, get that image out of your mind.  Pick up that pen or PC and start writing whatever comes to mind.  It is just that first step away.

Writer’s Wisdom 70

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Balancing emotions

Emotions are everywhere, there is no way to escape them.  From the very happy cashier to the very upset man next to you in traffic, from the time you wake up till the time you go to rest – even in your sleep, while having some very emotionally charged dreams.  So, if emotions are all around you, why wouldn’t they be part of your writing?

When writing a piece, pay special attention to the emotions of the characters.  Emotions should match the situation, and the character type.  It would be weird to have a character that just suffered a heartbreaking loss, be worried about triviality (just to continue the story) – unless it is done on purpose to stress the unusual personality of this character or the particular way to cope with trauma.  Such is the case of the serial killer experiencing ecstasy while murdering someone.  It is all a balancing act.  When you balance emotions in a piece of writing, it helps the natural flow of the story.

The question is, can you use emotion to dictate the story?  Some pieces of flash fiction are a very good example of this.  It starts with an emotion and the emotion develops the story to the end.  Do a little experiment; when writing your next piece, pay special attention to what the characters are feeling and see how it is relating to the flow of the story.

Writer’s Wisdom 69

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“Write what you know.”

I have heard many authors say this, when watching their interviews.  This is a very good point and excellent advice for us aspiring writers.  Even when writing fiction and creating our own universes, those universes have to be filled with something – and that is when “what you know” comes handy.   At the beginning, it is easier to write from knowledge than going through lots of research and deep waters.  It is good practice and it comes from you.  If you have a background in law, you will probably apply your knowledge in that mystery or crime novel, and so on …

That doesn’t mean that we will be writing what we know forever; at one point or another, we will embark towards unknown seas and shake our confidence a bit.  It just means that it is easier to write about something that will flow naturally to us and keep us going.  Eventually, we all know when it is time to cross that bridge.

Writer’s Wisdom 68

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What fits into the story?

When writing a story many ideas will come to you; sometimes the gates of inspiration will be open and a flood of characters, circumstances and themes will overtake you.  You may be tempted to incorporate all in your story, after all, you may think – they came to you while writing that particular story.  Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Some things may not fit in the current chain of events, and may fit later – or not fit at all.  However, write down these  ideas as they will become fuel for other writing projects.

When editing your current story, mind how things fit together.  Cut out what doesn’t fit right or what seems lengthy and does not contribute anything to it.   Readers will devour a story with an easy flow .  The Twilight Saga from Stephenie Meyer is a good example of mammoth books with excellent flow for the reader.

Writer’s Wisdom 67

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Between the lines … a Writer’s Heartbeat

While reading a fellow writer’s article on how much of a writer’s life and beliefs are reflected on a piece of writing (see link below) it dawn on me that the adage “we are open books” is not so far from a writer’s truth.  I agreed with the premise and my comment to her was the following:  “There is always some truth about the writer hidden in a piece. Even when the piece is written on a subject totally alien to the writer. I find poetry a good example of this. You can express anything on a poem, even something that does not agree with your values (such as a poem about betrayal) – but somehow a writer’s truth will emerge between the lines. Other times, the writer let’s it all out.”

Soon a question emerged – how much of yourself do you let others see in between the lines?  And when is much too much?  The answer is as unique as an individual’s privacy and disclosure preferences.  And as a reader, how much do I want to know about that writer?  And again, the answer is as unique as that particular reader. 

There is also one thing to consider – with every heart beat amongst the lines, there is an image of a writer being born to the reader – growing, and developing.  Mind those beats.

Here is her article.  

http://writinghood.com/writing/how-life-reflects-in-your-writing/