Balancing Facts With Narrative “Fact-packed prose might feed the mind, but stories stir the soul. This is where structuring your narrative to build interest comes into play. The goal is to weave your facts into a story arc that escalates the wonder, making each page a gateway to the next surprise. By balancing detailed factual content with engaging narrative structures and vivid scene-setting, you transform your nonfiction into a compelling story. This isn’t just information, it’s an experience, a journey through the phenomenal world of your subject that educates and enchants.” — “From Ordinary to Extraordinary,” Ryan G. Van Cleave, Writer’s Digest Sept/Oct 2024
Create Original Phrases
Rather than using a tired cliché, create your own phrases that might become popular and memorable. Like this one: “ . . Maureen Seaton wrote beautiful poems the way some people eat potato chips.” — Mario Alejandro Ariza, “Writers on Writing,” Writer’s Digest, July/August, 2024 Have fun with clichés. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Concise Poetic Forms
“While excess can be fun when writing nature poems, many poets find minimalism is preferable. Emily Dickinson wrote several nature poems — often in fewer than 10 lines — including ‘Who robbed the woods’ and ‘My river runs to thee.’ One of the most concise poetic forms is also a nature poem: the haiku! Many poets debate the number of lines and syllables (not everyone believes in the 5-7-5), but every haiku poet agrees haiku should focus on a brief moment, provide a sense of enlightenment, and offer a cutting and season word.” Excerpt from “Poetic Asides” by Robert Lee Brewer, Writer’s Digest, July/August 2024. More about haiku and nature writing: Nature Journaling Crystallize a Moment Why I Love Writing Ekphrastic Poetry #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Nature Journaling
“With nothing more than a pen and a notebook, nature journaling can help you slow down and create a reference you can call upon to bring your reader into the worlds you build on the page.” Excerpted from “How Nature Journaling Can Help Your Writing,” by Maria Bengtson. Writer’s Digest, July/August 2024. Go outside with pen and notebook, get settled, observe, use sensory detail to enhance your writing. Bengtson suggests using these prompts I notice . . . I wonder . . . It reminds me of . . . “Your observations will create a reference that will help you transport your reader from their cozy chair to the world on your pages. Sketch a tree or flower or a critter you see. The work of creating a rough map, schematic, or stick-figure diagram forces you to think about how things are related to one another, and how the environment…
Do Not Be Afraid to Write What You Know
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Do Not Be Afraid to Write What You Know By Mashaw McGuinnis An acquaintance of mine texted after reading some of my novel-in-progress. “Don’t try so hard with stereotypical language and trailer park folks . . . I don’t buy it.” I wanted to disappear into the furniture, but instead I texted back a bumbling explanation that I wasn’t trying too hard, that the people in my stories are the people that I know, and I know them well. I always dread sharing my work because my middle-class friends never believe me when I say my characters, experiences, and vernacular come directly from my own dysfunctional, lower-class upbringing. By “lower class,” I mean more than low income or under-educated. I was raised by Dust Bowl migrant grandparents. Two generations back, only one had more than a…
At Least . . . Prompt #804
Before writing: Stretch. Get comfortable in your chair. Take some deep breaths in and release. When you are ready: Prompt #1 Making lists List 3 things you don’t want to write about. Just a list. List 3 things that happened a long time ago that you are still angry, resentful or hold a grudge about. Just a list. List 3 things that happened this past week that made you mad. Just a list. Prompt #2 Write: Choose one of those experiences. Write about it. Be as detailed and as explicit as you can. When did it happen? Day of week? Time of day? Where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you wearing? Remember to look up and breathe if the writing is difficult. Write for 15-20 minutes. When you are finished with this writing, shake out your hands. Breathe. Intro to Prompt #3 You can use writing…
It’s more than okay to ask for help.
Regrets . . . Prompt #803
Regrets: We all have them. There are four parts to this writing prompt. You can do all four at once. Or, take breaks. Write on one prompt at a time. Take care of yourself while writing: Look up. Walk around. Look out a window. Take some deep breaths. Part 1: Write about a regret you have. Something you did or something happened that you wish hadn’t happened. Write what happened as if you were a journalist. This happened. Then that happened. Write for 20 minutes. Part 2: Write about the emotions surrounding that experience. Remember: Take care while writing. Part 3. What are you resisting writing about? Take a deep breath. Capture whatever you can about what happened. Put your thoughts and feelings into words. Part 4. Let go. Notice what you are feeling. Allow your feelings to be. Deep breath in. Let it out. Release. Turn your attention to…
Re-visioning aka editing
“An editor’s job is to make you, the author, look good and save you from embarrassing mistakes.” — Unknown source Hiring an editor is like looking in a mirror before you leave the house, checking to make sure everything is where it should be and nothing is showing that shouldn’t be showing. — Marlene Cullen Editing is like a captain having a good crew to help steer the craft. — Marlene Cullen Let’s talk about editing. Or, as I like to think: Re-visioning. Some writers love to edit . . . making their writing better and better. Other writers loathe to edit . . . finding it tedious and nerve wracking. Some writers are in the middle, or elsewhere, on the continuum. The best scenario: Writers and editors work together as they dovetail their skills and expertise to come up with a product that is ready for publishing. It’s a…
Passions
Going through an old (paper) file folder, I found something I wrote around 2011: I am passionate about writing. It is my joy to find the exact right word for what I’m looking for. Some people work crossword puzzles for a hobby. If there was such a hobby for finding precise words, that’s what I would do. Well, it is what I do! Grant Faulkner also appreciates discovering the right word, as described in his Substack essay, “A Grab Bag of Trinkets, Flotsam, Jetsam, Doo Dads, Dad Doos, Rusty Objects, Found Objects, Attempts at Erudition—and More (but not less): “Words have halos, patinas, overhangs, echoes.” —Donald Barthelme “I steal “frotteur” from James Salter, who said, “I’m a frotteur, someone who likes to rub words in his hand, to turn them around and feel them, to wonder if that really is the best word possible.” As a frotteur of words, I love this quote,…