The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Category: Quotes

  • Writing is an exploration.

    E. L. Doctorow                         Quote by E. L. Doctorow

    “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”

     

     

  • Concept is simple, execution is difficult.

    Once again, I’m embarking on a new food plan. I’ve done this one before and lost a ton of weight. Then I slipped into old habits and all that weight I released came drifting back.

    This time, it feels like . . . scratch that. . . It is a lifetime change. I’m eating very simply: lean protein, most vegetables, some fruit and a little grain. Minimal processed food.

    It’s a very simple concept, yet hard to execute. It takes determination and keeping my eye on the goal: being healthy.

    It’s a lot like writing. Many of us want to write but either don’t have the time or don’t know how to start.

    Right now about 56,000 writers are participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). When you come up for air, NaNoWriMo Campers . . . let us know how you managed to fit writing time into your busy lives.

    For the rest of us, here’s an idea: Take inventory.

    Make a list of all that you do in a day. Write down everything. Include daydreaming time, Facebook browsing, meals (planning, shopping, preparing, cleaning after), cleaning house, laundry, shopping, work, commute and so on. Everything. When you are done, set your list aside (but don’t forget about it. Okay, forget about it for a day or two).

    Next: Plan for a time to go over your list when you won’t be interrupted. Get out of the house if you need to. You really need some thought-full time for this next step.

    And be honest. You’ll only set yourself up for failure if you aren’t honest here.

    You can use highlighters, colored pencils, stickers or symbols to categorize your activities.

    Highlight/mark things that you have to do. No negotiating with these items. Maybe a red pencil will be good for this. Or check marks. Or star stickers. Or hand-drawn stars.

    Next: Use a colored pencil or marker to underline or highlight the things that bring you joy. Don’t give up activities. Joy in your life is very important.

    Now, perhaps the hardest one: Put a line through activities that you don’t have to be doing. Can you give up the areas that are stressful or cause unhappiness? Be as honest as you can. You probably can’t eliminate all these items, but perhaps you can modify. Brainstorm how these unpleasant things could be accomplished quickly or with a positive attitude. Perhaps when you cook a meal, prepare enough for two meals. And if you don’t like to cook, crank up music, or listen to an inspiring podcast.

    Continue with categorizing your list: Cross off anything that has no meaning for you. These are the “shoulds.” Things you think you should be doing. . . but really, do you have to keep doing them? If not, cross off.

    Now, go back through your list. What can you let go of to achieve your goal of writing? Maybe it would be more fulfilling to write than watch TV or scroll through Facebook or play a computer game. Maybe you could get up earlier, stay up later to write. Perhaps you could write during work breaks, or lunch time. This isn’t forever. . . just a break from these activities so you have time to write.

    Lolita.200If you want to write and don’t have a particular topic in mind, or if you need a warm-up (like stretching before exercising), take a look at this list of prompts or jump on the magic carpet and select one of these prompts. Settle on a prompt and write.

    Be determined and keep your eye on your goal.  Just Write!

  • Everybody Is Talented, Original and Has Something Important to say.

    So says Brenda Ueland and I agree with her.

    Her book, If You Want to Write, is one of my all-time favorite writing books. She is practical, straightforward and delightful.

    Brenda UelandFrom the preface:

    For many years I had a large class of people at the Minneapolis YWCA. I think I was a splendid teacher and so did they.

    My teaching differs from that of others in this way: I am blessed with a fascinated, inexhaustible interest in all my pupils — their thoughts , adventures, failures, rages, villainies and nobilities, “Tell me more. Tell me exactly what you feel when you tried to kill the man.” . . . “You say his muscles rippled through his shoulders.” Did they really ripple? Did you really see that?” Then the young novelist’s excited defense: “Yes, they did! His muscles were so big they seemed to burst the seams of his coat!” Myself: “Well say that! Hurrah! Put it that way. That’s alive, great!”

    Marlene’s Musings: Write your story as you remember it. Tell the tale as it wants to be told. Truth? Yes, sometimes you will write the truth, other times just write whatever you want.

    Think of yourself as a story teller. . . whether you are writing about something that really happened or fiction. . . you are telling a story.  Tell it however you want . . . just write!  Seems like Brenda and I think alike. Click here for another of her quotes.

  • There was something awesome in . . .

    Doyle.1There was something awesome in the thought of the solitary mortal standing by the open window and summoning in from the gloom outside the spirits of the nether world. — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Note from Marlene: Perhaps it was this ability of Doyle’s that enabled him to write with sensory detail, especially the sixth sense.

  • Show me the glint of light on broken glass . . .

    “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
    —Anton Chekhov

  • Cast off the fear

    “I was terrified about writing stories about where I came from because I was embarrassed. Truly great writers are not afraid to bare their souls. Sometimes you may feel like: ‘I shouldn’t have put that in there, I don’t want people to think it’s about me or look at me differently.’ Toss those thoughts aside. That’s a mental block. Don’t think about it. Just do it. As long as you write from a place of purity, and it comes from your heart, you can’t go wrong.”—K’wan Foye, interview with Alicia Anstead, October 215 issue of The Writer.

    Kwan Foye

  • Writing as an organic process. . .

    “Think of writing as an organic, developmental process in which you start writing at the very beginning – before you know your meaning at all – and encourage your words gradually to change and evolve. Only at the end will you know what you want to say or the words you want to say it with.” –Peter Elbow

    Peter Elbow

  • “The publishing world is always changing.” Jane Smiley

    “As long as there’s a persistent audience for reading novels, then there’s going to be some way for them to be published.” —Jane Smiley, interview by Adrienne Crezo, Writer’s Digest September 2015

    Jane’s daughter works at Book Country, an online writing community where you can share your work-in-progress and receive feedback from community members.

    “Connect with fellow writers on the discussion boards and learn from accomplished authors and editors on the blog.”

    Book CountryInformation at Book Country, “Treat Your Book Like a Start-up“

  • Start at the height of desire — David Lavender

    Many of us have heard “start your story in the middle of the action, or the height of the conflict.”

    David Lavender suggests “start at the height of desire.”

    You need not worry about being dull if you can present within the first few hundred words a definite character in the grip of a definite emotion.

    “But introducing a character and his motives to an audience must be done deftly and without explanation. For example, if setting up a boy-loves-girl story, Lavender says, ‘I must show the boy immediately engaged in wanting the girl. I must do it with unobtrusive little touches. I must bring it out through the way he acts and what he says, being at all times careful not to let the reader guess that he is having something explained to him.’” — Nicki Porter, August 2015 The Writer magazine

    Argue

  • Silverstein wrote for the ear

    Where the sidewalk endsShel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends “resonates because Silverstein wrote for the ear. Purposeful rhythm. Calculated pace. Challenging riffs. Delightful melodies. Words selected as much for their sound as their meaning.” —Jack Hamann, “For the ear — Writing with rhythm,” The Writer, July 2015

     

    Tips to make writing stronger, inspired by Jack Hamann, “For the ear.”

    • Vary pace – “bookend longer sentences with short, rhythmic declarations.”
    • Use a thesaurus.
    • Use alliteration (see below).
    • Give weak verbs the boot.
    • Omit unnecessary words, especially “the.”
    • Read aloud. You’ll notice places that need tweaking.

    Alliteration is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series: But a better butter makes a batter better.

    Marlene’s Musings: Have fun with this. Choose a prompt and write. Then, revise, using the tips above.