A Pen In Each Hand 2004
Starting to write
By Baker
Create a folder on your computer titled "writing notebook" or find a notebook to write in, like a spiral-bound single subject notebook or a steno pad. When you have an idea for a story, poem, blog entry, etc. make yourself a note. Later, when you are in the mood to write but have no inspiration, pull something from your writing notebook.
Starting to write poetry
By Baker
Find an object in your writing space (your home, a park, etc.) and write down ten nouns (people, places, things or ideas/concepts) that come to mind when you view the object. Write down ten verbs (action words) that pop up when you touch the object.
Starting to write fiction
By Baker
Open a magazine and note the first word that jumps out at you. Write that word in the center of a blank sheet of paper and circle it. What's the first word that comes to mind after reading your center word? Write it and circle it, connecting it to the first word with a line. Don't worry if the association makes no sense; that can make the exercise more interesting! Continue doing the word association until you run dry (or run out of room). If you get stuck, go back to the center word and start a new set of associations. When you are finished, draw a large circle around a section of words and write a story using as many of them as you can.
Starting to write non-fiction
By Baker
Magazines are full of articles like "10 Diet Tips for the New Year" or "Five Ways To Make Him Blush." Make a list of a dozen pieces of advice you would tell the "you" of ten years ago, like "buy a savings bond" or "ask your co-worker out for coffee." Save this list in your writing notebook and use them for article ideas. For example, if you said, "Buy a savings bond," why? Did something specific happen or did it just sound like a good idea? Expand just a little on your reasoning behind each piece of advice and before long, you'll have an article-length piece!
Starting to write a weblog
By Baker
How about keeping a "writing blog?" You could share your triumphs and your setbacks and get some writing done at the same time. Don't forget a link to Toasted Cheese!
No Excuses
By Beaver
You can have the greatest ideas in the world, but if you don't write them down, who's going to know? Often the hardest part of writing is simply finding the time. Sit down with your weekly schedule and figure out when you can realistically fit writing in. It may mean giving up something else, but if you're serious about finding the time to write, you can do it. Once you have your writing time scheduled, those appointments should be as unbreakable as work, school, or dentist appointments. A good rule of thumb: if your excuse isn't good enough for you to miss work, it's not good enough for you to skip writing.
But What is Your Story About?
By Beaver
It's been said that if you can't summarize your story in one sentence, then you don't know what your story is about. You may not have a finished manuscript yet, but writing a synopsis can be a great way of maintaining your focus when you're writing a longer work of fiction. Try this: start by boiling your story down to a one-page synopsis. Next, cut that synopsis down to one paragraph. Try not to omit any of the key points. Finally, write the one sentence that says it all.
The Key is Discipline
By Beaver
If you're a morning person, try writing for an hour each morning before doing anything else--even if it means getting up an hour earlier than you usually do (yes, it's okay to put the coffee on before you get started, but don't wait for it to finish brewing before you actually start writing!) On the other hand, if you're a night person, try writing for an hour each night before you go to bed--even if it means staying up an hour later than you usually do (I wouldn't recommend coffee for that purpose, though!)
Create a Weblog
By Baker
Create a weblog about your writing. Post samples of writing, keep track of your submissions and acceptances/rejections. Talk about what it means to be a writer. Use TC writing prompts of FUM questions to inspire entries.
Blog Makeover
By Baker
Give your existing weblog a makeover. Add new links, new images, change the typeface, etc.
The Crying List
By Beaver
When I was in high school, some of my friends and I would write notes to pass to each other in the halls between classes. Some of the notes were simple observations on what was happening in the classroom--I still remember the one C wrote me about counting the spots on the biology teacher's tie--or queries: "What should we do at lunch?" But since we were teenagers, the notes often spiralled into angst. Out of these notes grew the crying lists. Crying lists were recitations of all the reasons one needed a good cry: "I feel like crying because I got 7/20 on the last French quiz and I'm going to faaaaaiiiilllll!"
The lists always started with serious (or at least semi-serious) reasons for the writer's general state of miserableness, but the idea was to keep listing until you couldn't think of anything else to add--and that meant the reasons would get progressively more silly and trivial the longer the list got: "I feel like crying because the vending machine was all out of Oreo ice cream bars so I had to have a Fudgesicle!" By the time the list had been passed around and read, the serious issues commiserated on and the silly ones laughed about, the writer inevitably felt better. Somehow, writing it all out had a way of putting our problems into perspective. It was cathartic--kind of like a good cry.
Has it felt like everything and everyone has been conspiring to keep you from your writing lately? Try writing your own version of the crying list--this one with a writing focus. Start with "I'm blocked because..." or "I don't have time to write because..." or whatever start-phrase fits your situation. Then list every single thing that's preventing you from writing. Give yourself permission to wallow in self-pity, to lay blame, to whine. When you've finished your list, pass it on to a friend or fellow writer--someone who will understand--to read. Commiserate, discuss, laugh, and know that you've kicked a hole in your writer's block by writing something.
Miss Takes
By Beaver
Write a short story in which one character repeatedly makes a particular grammatical error.
Textured Descriptions
By The Bellman
Find a description in a printed book that you think has too much visual description. Rewrite the description in a way that produces an emotional impact.
Transferable Skills
By Beaver
Take an activity (job, hobby, sport, etc.) that you consider yourself successful at and think about what skills or lessons that activity has taught you. Are you using those same strategies when you write? Try applying one or two principles to your writing. What happens? Post at Chasms & Crags and let us know.
Procrastinate With Purpose
By Baker
Get Your NaNo On
By Billiard
Write 1,600 words today. Don't edit.
Rinse, Lather, Repeat
By Beaver
Make three writing-related resolutions that you know you can keep. Write them down and stick the list where you can see it when you're writing. Cross the resolutions off as you achieve them. When you've met your three goals, set three new ones.