Picture Prompts - A Policewoman & More

We've all heard the saying: a picture is worth 1,000 words. In the case of today's photo prompts, who knows how many words you may write? Take a look at today's pictures and perhaps you'll be inspired to write a story, article, essay, or poem.

Name of photo:  "One of first US Policewoman"
Other info on its flickr page: The picture was taken in 1918.
Photo courtesy of Ruslan

Name of photo: "Crash Turkish Airlines TK 1951"
Other info on its flickr page: "Crash site of Turkish Airlines flight TK 1951 at Schiphol, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. February 25, 2009; Copyright Fred Vloo / RNW"
Photo courtesy of Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Name of photo: "Light and Noise"
Other info on its flickr page: Lots of comments about the composition, especially the light.
Photo courtesy of Paul Falardeau

Name of photo: "Annoying Noises Prohibitted [sic]"
Other info on its flickr page: "You know you're in the south when the word 'holler' appears in a county code," plus a wealth of funny comments.
Photo courtesy of BarelyFitz

How the Digital Age is Changing the Way We Write

My son recently asked me, "Do you have every book you've ever owned?" If you look around my house, it's easy to see how he could come to this conclusion.

"We would have to have a much bigger house if I did," I said. The last time I thoroughly cleaned out my book collection, I needed a hand truck to haul my donation into the library. That was about 12 years ago, so I’m due. If I ever convert to a Kindle, a Nook, or an iPad, I could conceivably ditch my entire book collection.

The digital age is doing more than revolutionizing the way we buy and keep books and magazines. It's changing the way we write.

Writing is shorter and snappier. No one wants to wade through long introductions. No one has time to wait for the key points of information. No has patience for run-on sentences. Fragments, however, are okay.

Paragraphs are smaller. Remember how you learned in school that paragraphs should have at least five sentences—and that they should never be only one sentence? A five-sentence paragraph is too long for digital media. And the one-sentence paragraph is here to stay.

Bullets, lists, and headings are vital. Watch people reading on their smartphones. They don't read thick chunks of material. They keep scrolling. They're looking for the things that stand out—the stuff in bold or with numbers next to it.

White space is important. Because of the fast-paced, scanning-style of reading that is becoming the standard, a layout that includes plenty of white space is important. Material that's too dense—tiny print, skinny margins, squished paragraphs—is hard to read on a computer or digital device.

Word counts are getting smaller. An average blog post runs about 350 words. I do my best to keep posts under 500. When I was doing regular articles for print media, the word count was 1,500.

"But I'm not writing for the Web," you may say. "I'm working on a novel, and I want it to be published in the regular, old-fashioned way, dead trees and all."

No matter what format you're aiming for—print, blog, ebook, papyrus scroll—chances are at least some portion of it will wind up in digital media.

Writers, are you changing the way you write because of blogs, social media, smartphones, and e-readers? 

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Photo courtesy of Rin Zebramädchen

The Trash Can & Other Writing Prompts

• An overflowing trash can….
• Do you do any volunteer work?
• What's your favorite period of history?
• The wilted roses….
• She said, "I should have…."
• Use this quote as inspiration: "There are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses." --George Bernard Shaw, from "Mrs. Warren's Profession." 

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If you've never used a writing prompt before, you may want to read my sidebar note, "What is a Writing Prompt and Why Would I Use One?"

Photo courtesy of Jason McArthur

Rolling the Dice & Other Writing Prompts

• Andy rolled the dice. . . .
• Are you afraid of insects?
• The last time she called. . . .
• In 1936. . . .
• Amy said, "I've never liked. . . ."

#

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Image courtesy of Alan Cleaver

Type A or Writer?

I was reading Anger Management For Dummies-- don't laugh too hard -- it was more of a research thing than an attempt at self-help. But since I knew everyone at my house would like to see my alter-ego, the Deadline Ogre, driven out of our village, I kept reading. 

The more I read, the more I wondered if being a writer is a one-way ticket to being a Type A.

I racked up an impressive five out of seven on the "Do you have an aggressive personality?" quiz, for instance. Competitive, impatient, intense, demanding and forceful in pursuing goals. And the problem is. . . .?

Then I hit the chapter on Type A personality and this heading: "Focusing on who you are rather than what you do." Uh oh. A few pages later, I was advised to take the "tombstone test"--you know, how you want your epitaph to read. "Wrote a best-seller that was so fabulous Oprah returned to doing a talk show just to interview her" was not on the list. I suspect the author would have filed my preferred inscription under a scarlet A.

But, hey, I could do the rest of the how-to-get-over-being-Type-A suggestions. I can play games without having to win. I don't wear a watch. I do my best not to be in a hurry all the time. And the section on finding the right work environment--heck, I work at home! No problem there, right? "Type A's...tend most often to seek out places to work that are hard driving, time pressured, frenetic, competitive, and full of deadlines." Well. So much for that theory. You can't be a writer without deadlines, sorry, and all of those other adjectives as well.

After the Type A chapter, I became skeptical about my chances of transforming to the (desired) Type B personality while still being a writer. I kept reading, noting that I was already on track with most of the suggestions about being tolerant, forgiving, and responsible for my own actions. When I got to the chapter about adding balance to your life, this sentence got me: "Is your personality too one-dimensional--work, work, and more work?" Of course I work all the time. Are there professional writers who don't?

Ideas and deadlines don't stop at 5:00 p.m. If I didn't like what I do, that would be a problem--but my work is the most fun I have all day. Most of my writing is travel writing, which means that not only do I get to read and write about fun stuff all day, I also get to go do those fun things on a regular basis--and that's "work" for me. Yes, I'm constantly on the computer, or taking pictures, or reading, or scribbling notes--and that's way more fun than cooking dinner, doing dishes, or pretty much anything else I can think of.

Does my single-mindedness make me a Type A? Probably. But I think I did something better for my Type A personality than futilely attempting to change it. I elected to change my career to something fulfilling and meaningful to me. Call me Type A if you want to, but I think I'm just a writer.

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Photo courtesy of Denis Dervisevic

The Broken Cup & Other Writing Prompts

• The cup broke....
• Pets are....
• Use this quote for inspiration: "Be the change that you want to see in the world." --Mohandas Gandhi
• My family....

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Photo courtesy of Michael Hashizume

Just Write Group Meetings Discontinued

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." --Orson Wells

After an interesting eight years, I've decided to stop facilitating my weekly writing group.

When I started the group in 2002 at the Northwest Senior Center (a City of Las Vegas center that is now closed), I had a partner: my mom. We planned a six-week class, but the writers who showed up during that first meeting captivated us. They inspired us. And so we stayed.

Over the next eight years, we moved from being a class to being a group. We lost some members; some moved, some drifted away, and some passed away, including my mom.

In 2008, the Just Write Group moved to the Derfelt Senior Center at Lorenzi Park after the Northwest Center closed. It's been a bumpy few years since then. Like so many Las Vegans, I've had to focus more on work than on soul-enriching activities. Late last year, I put the group on hiatus, hoping it would be temporary, but this week I decided it was time to end the Just Write Group.

While I am going to miss the weekly meetings (honestly, who else other than a group of writers cares about apostrophe abuse?), I will be posting prompts, links to interesting articles about writing, and the occasional observation about the writing life. I welcome ideas and guest posts from JWG members. Who knows? Perhaps cyberspace will expand our little group.

One thing hasn't changed since that summer day in 2002: the writers I know still captivate me, inspire me, and encourage me to be a better writer. For all that, I thank each and every writer who has been a part of our group.

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Photo courtesy of Stephen Nakatani

The Trouble With E-Mail

How many e-mails do you get every day? I receive around 150 messages a day, and the majority of them require some sort of response or action. I’d bet it’s the same for most writers, especially those of us working primarily on the Internet. For press releases, news flashes, and notices about library books that are due, e-mail is great. I can take care of those messages at any time of day or night with a few clicks. Most of the time, e-mail is an effective way to communicate. But like most utilitarian written communication, e-mail has one glaring deficiency: it can’t convey tone of voice, facial expression, or body language. Writers know the importance of non-verbal cues—when we’re writing narratives, we describe those things. When we’re responding to e-mails, however, that’s not usually the case.

You’ve probably read that up to 93% of communication is non-verbal. This number comes from studies at UCLA and if you Google “93 communication nonverbal” you’ll see that a whole bunch of people have been working hard to clarify or even debunk this finding. Their assertion is that this misunderstood statistic makes a blanket statement about all communication when it only applies to certain circumstances. If you’ve ever had an ugly e-mail exchange with someone, however, you know that there are plenty of instances in which that 93% thing holds true. That’s why we put in little smiley icons in our e-mails or write LOL. Sarcasm, humor, and witty remarks—minus body language and tone of voice—can often come across as just plain rude. I once had a terrible e-mail snafu with a boss (complicated by her decision to hit “reply to all” so everyone could read her cutting comments to me) because she interpreted my statements as insubordinate. I almost quit over that e-mail. That experience taught me some valuable e-mail lessons that I use every day:

For professional e-mails:

• Leave out humor, sarcasm, or witty remarks. Cheerful is acceptable. Snarky is not.
• Take a deep breath and wait before responding to an e-mail that sounds ugly. Double the wait time if it’s your boss.
• Concentrate on the words alone. Totally suspend conclusions beyond a strict interpretation of just the words.
• When responding, keep it short, simple and professional. Do not try to slide in a dig at perceived insults.

For personal e-mails:

• Ask for clarification on comments that sound funky. “Did you mean,” or “Is everything okay,” or any other variation will do.
• If it sounds really awful, pick up the phone and call.
• When attempting humor, be clear that you’re being a smartie and not a jerk. Use some smiley icons, LOL, or anything else that communicates “I am joking.”
• Call them. Seriously. Before they un-friend you on Facebook.
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Photo courtesy of Chelsea Oakes

Writer, Interrupted

"Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around." –Stephen King

Almost ten years ago, I decided it was time to make a career change and do what I’d always wanted to do for a living: write. I naively imagined my writerly-life-to-be as Shangri-La with a bookstore and a Starbucks. What I didn’t know was that almost no one else in my life had that same vision. Not only was I alone in my Shangri-La-bookstore-Starbucks fantasy, I was also the only working writer that many of my friends and family had ever met. They had no idea about the basics of a writer’s life, much less the idealized version I had in my head.

My friends and family were confused. For instance, why couldn’t I take their calls while I was writing? And if I did answer the phone, why wasn’t I available to talk for hours? After all, if I was self-employed, didn’t I get to do whatever I wanted? Eventually, I gave up trying to explain that when I left the world of 9-5 employment, I also left the world of a guaranteed paycheck—along with paid lunches, sick leave, and vacation. One of my friends got angry when I told her that I could not help her paint her house during the middle of my work day. People who called when I was writing left me irate messages: “Terrisa! I know you’re there! Pick up the phone!” and were irked when I didn’t call them back until after my work hours were over. My husband was aghast that “working at home” did not mean “cleans house and does laundry all day,” and told me so. I knew that if I didn’t set some firm boundaries, I would not be a writer. I would be a unemployed person who wrote occasionally.

After the people in my life reluctantly (and grudgingly) realized that I was not going to give up my bewildering new career, the complaints I heard changed. Some variation of “You work all the time” started cropping up in conversations. Instead of assuming I was available all the time, my friends and family were hesitant to call me. When my very ill mother told me she didn’t want to bother me because I was so busy all the time, I realized that I’d crossed the line from firm boundaries to tunnel vision. I pictured the pained look on people’s faces as they contemplated calling me: “Well, yes, little Lisa does need the blood transfusion right away and Terrisa’s the only one with a compatible blood type, but do we really want to call her? She’s so busy.”

I learned to ask myself, “When I was employed by someone else, would I have taken time off for this?” If the answer is “yes,” I make adjustments accordingly. I’ve learned to think in terms of what I can do instead of what I can’t. Sometimes that means I have to stay up late to meet a deadline. Sometimes it means that I have to put a project on the back burner. When I read Stephen King’s quote (above) in On Writing, that summed it up for me. Yes, I had made a deliberate choice to become a writer, along with all that it entailed. But even if I’d discovered that Shangri-La-bookstore-Starbucks place, it would have been lonely if I’d arrived all alone.
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Photo courtesy of Martin.

Writers & TV

How much television do Americans watch every day? According to Nielsen, most people in the United States watch more than four hours of TV every day, for a total of 28 hours per week. That’s like a part-time job. The average amount of time spent reading, by contrast, is measured in minutes—which is disheartening to most writers.

I’m not sure exactly how much television I watch every day, but I know it’s not four hours. Except for the time the A.C. Nielsen people drafted me, I’ve never kept close track of my TV viewing, but I do have my own non-scientific measurement. I haven’t come up with a catchy name for it yet—I guess you could call it the Unfamiliarity Measure. I took a look at "TV Guide’s" list of the 100 most popular television shows, and I’ve seen 12 of the 100 shows listed. Which, I know, makes me kinda weird in a society filled with people who feel sitting mindlessly in front of the television deserves almost 30 hours per week of their time. This means that I have a lot of conversations that go like this:

People are enthusiastically discussing aspects of the latest reality TV show or murder-mystery cop series, while I listen without making any comments. Then they remember I’m sitting there: “What about you, Terrisa? Don’t you think they should vote Fancy Franny off the island?”

Me: I don’t watch that show.

TV Watcher: Really? Never?

Me: Never.

TV Watcher: You must be watching “Ridiculous Suburban Tales”—or, I know, you used to work for the police department, so you must be watching “Armed and Stupid.” They all come on at the same time.

Me: Uh, sorry. Don’t know any of those. Haven’t seen ‘em.

TV Watcher: Never? Really? The person is now staring at me like I have grown a second head.

I might as well say I’ve never seen an airplane, or that I still have a party-line telephone. It’s incomprehensible to many that there are people who do not spend the evening in front of the television. If you’re a writer, however, I’d urge you to think about the time you're spending in front of the Brain Sucker—if you gave up half of your viewing hours (assuming you are taking in the full 28 hours per week), can you imagine how much writing you could do, or how many books you could read? And if you want other people to read your work, well, I’d say it’s a good idea to return the favor. Step away from the TV, fellow writer. Just step away.

Photo courtesy of Neil Anderson

Ten Writing Rules

The Guardian, a UK publication, published, "Ten rules for writing" in February, and writers around the web are still talking about it. Elmore Leonard, Jonathan Franzen, and PD James are just a few of the writers who weighed in with their insights about writing. Read the article, and you might find a few good tips. For instance, Leonard believes that using adverbs is a mortal sin--a piece of advice that makes me worried.
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Photo courtesy of Peter Dutton

Comedy and Tragedy

Do you feel a story must be dark to be serious, or does humor have a home in your deeper stories? William Skidelsky's article in the Guardian.co.uk/TheObserver ("Women authors can lighten up and still be taken seriously: When Daisy Goodwin complained of too much 'grimness' in this year's list, she was lambasted. She should have been applauded") makes some points about the lighter points in life--and thus, in writing. Here's an excerpt:

...As a form, the novel has always worked best when, like life itself, it contains both joy and sorrow. Most great novelists have been brilliant at comedy as well as tragedy. And this is no less true of Jane Austen and George Eliot than it is of Tolstoy and Dickens.

Recently, however, there does seem to have been a movement away from comedy in fiction, a growing feeling that, in order to be serious", novels have to be dark in tone....

I admit that I'm biased on this point; I was raised by parents who believed that if you'd lost your sense of humor, you'd lost it all. I've had to suppress laughter at a funeral, and in the midst of every crisis I've had a moment during which I laughed to avoid crying. What do you think? Does comedy, however dark, find its way into your writing? Must a piece be devoid of humor to be "serious"?
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Photo courtesy of Julie Elliott-Abshire at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/306215

The Casino & Other Writing Prompts

Pick a prompt that intrigues you in some way. Freewrite for ten minutes on the story it inspires--write without stopping or editing your work. At the end of ten minutes, you may have a story worth exploring. Or you might not. Don't worry about how it will turn out--just write!

--Ann walked into the casino....

-- I like spring because....
-- Dan began smiling. "Really? If that's true, then...." -- Is your clutter under control?
-- Combine a box, a tape recorder, and a fish in a story or poem.
-- If only he'd known....

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Photo courtesy of William Picard at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/837612

The Wind & Other Writing Prompts

Looking for a little inspiration? Pick a prompt and freewrite about whatever the prompt brings to mind. Write without stopping, and minimize your corrections. Just write!

--The wind blew so hard....
--Describe the last wedding you attended.
--"That hole's not nearly deep enough," said Terry. "It'll need to be a lot bigger for...."
--He was waiting at the corner....
--Do you like to go out, or would you describe yourself as a "home-body"?
--Combine paper clips, batteries, and tulips in a story or poem.
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Image by Christian Ferrari - http://christian-ferrari.blogspot.com/

Writers, Don't Be Boring

MovieLine recently published an article by Seth Abramovitch about a memo written by the well-known screenwriter (and director, among other things), David Mamet. "David Mamet's Master Class Memo to the Writers of The Unit" reproduces the entire memo, which is worth a read both because it's full of good writing points (regardless of the genre or medium in which you write) and beause it's funny. Abramovitch describes it this way: "Besides the fact that it’s written in all-caps, there’s nothing particularly ranty, pejorative or potty-mouthed about it. Rather, Mamet lays down an extremely sensible case for what makes good television, imploring them to avoid expository writing for what he characterizes as authentic 'drama.'"

Although writing for television or the screen is a very specialized form of writing, the basics of good writing remain the same. One of those basic points is that we must not bore our readers (or viewers, in this case). Mamet's memo to this a group of TV writers is very clear on this point:

"IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT WILL BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE."

How can you tell if you're boring your readers? If your mind starts to wander when you're reading your work, that's a clear sign you need to re-think what you've written. If you can't hold your own interest, you probably aren't captivating your readers, either.
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Photo courtesy of Michael Lorenzo at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1094329

Writers & Blogs: Can You Be Your Own Editor?

In this digital age, writers have a self-publishing option unknown to any prior generation: blogs. Blogs give writers tremendous freedom, but like all forms of self-publishing, blogs require a writer to wear many hats: editor, proofreader, and publisher.

If you’ve seen the movie "How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days," you probably remember that Kate Hudson’s character, Andie, is a writer. She longs to write about politics and news, but she writes for a women’s magazine that wants articles on Botox, diets, and shoes. After tormenting Matthew McConaughey’s character, Andie writes an article that her editor loves. The editor tells Andie that she’s earned the green light to write about whatever she wants. “Wherever the winds blow you,” says her editor.

“Even politics?” Andie asks.

“Well, the wind’s not going to blow you there,” her editor responds.

Keeping blog posts on topic, in the right tone, and in line with readers' expectations can be tough. I know, from my own blog experiences, that even the most well-intentioned posts can fall flat, annoy people, and result in lost readers. In hindsight, if I'd been thinking like an editor instead of a writer, I might have known better. Think about it: if you were the editor of your blog, what would your guidelines be?

Who is your audience? What is the tone of your blog? Can you describe your blog's topic or goal in one sentence? If you want to attract readers, these are questions you must consider. Just as an editor rejects material that isn't a good fit for her publication, you should be critically looking at your own work in the same way. Unless, of course, you don't care about attracting readers, in which case you can let the wind blow you wherever you want.
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Photo courtesy of Nic McPhee at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nics_events/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Running Away & Other Writing Prompts

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for a fresh batch of writing prompts, hot off the hard drive. Pick a prompt and write about anything it brings to mind. Write without stopping for ten minutes. Minimize crossing out words, and don't even think about using a dictionary. At the end of ten minutes, who knows what you might have?

--Eric decided to run away because....
--For dog lovers: do you prefer big dogs or small dogs? Why?
--The clock ticked....
--Betty was frustrated. She said, "It isn't funny, Ernest. How can you laugh about...."
-- The view from the top of the mountain....
-- Combine firewood, a wind chime, and a rat in a story or poem.

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Photo courtesy of Brennan Paezold at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/398823

A Question for Murder Mystery Writers

An interesting question was posted on the "Sisters in Crime" blog by Ellen Hart:

I remember the first time I was asked this questions: Does it bother you that you're writing about murder as entertainment?

What about you? Are you bothered by the homicide(s) in your stories?

Read the rest of the post and comments for some thoughts about that question.
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Photo courtesy of Deepak Malhotra at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/891948

Writing Around the Web: Dialogue

Are you pleased with the way you handle dialogue? Are you considering what is going unsaid in a scene?

Here are some thoughts from Midge Raymond, in a post, "Advice for Fiction Writers," on her blog, The Writer's Block: Living a Writer's Life, at SeattlePI.com. She is writing about what writers can learn from plays, and she's using two that she saw, Harold Pinter’s A Kind of Alaska and Ashes to Ashes, to illustrate her points:

As I'll often mention in class, when it comes to dialogue, what's not being said in a scene can be just as important as what is. During the post-production conversation, Suzanne Bouchard, who plays Rebecca in Ashes, pointed out that the play's tension was heightened by the fact that so many questions go unanswered,remarking on how this resembles real conversations, in which people often talk over and around a subject. (I love that she added she'd taken the bus to the theater that night -- an exercise I often to give to students. Eavesdropping is one of the best ways to get a feel for real dialogue, on public transportation in particular.)

As a fiction writer, going to the theater reminds me ofwhat is possible to achieve through dialogue alone; it's something I tend to forget when I get caught up in description or interior monologue. In these two short plays, Pinter creates fully human characters not only though their words but through the spaces around them.
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Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1066564

Rising Water & Other Writing Prompts

Your mission, fellow writer, should you choose to accept it, is to pick a prompt that intrigues you and freewrite on it for ten or fifteen minutes. Don't stop, try not to cross-out, and go with the story in whatever way it presents itself. Just write!

--The water was rising fast....
--My favorite television show....
--Jane said, "No, Tim, I'm not leaving. I'm...."
--Combine a pumpkin, a boulder, and a bookmark in a story or poem.
--The room was dark....
--If your traveling options are to drive or fly, which do you prefer?
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Photo courtesy of Pietro Ricciardi at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/599291