Writing Prompts

This week's other prompts, for your writing pleasure:

• A cloud of Monarch butterflies….
• The sound of thunder made Jack….
• Have you been to a wedding at a Las Vegas wedding chapel? Tell us about it.
• Thelma snatched the Valentino gown off the thrift store clothing rack….

Remember, the goal here is to write for ten to fifteen minutes without stopping or self-correcting. Ready, set, go!

The Flames of Creativity

This week’s warm-up prompt for my writing group was inspired by current events.

Have you ever had a fire in your home or vehicle?

At first, a collective moan went up. Sometimes a prompt falls flat, so I suggested, “Think of fire as a starting point for anything. Go with fiction. Or use one of the other prompts.” But being diligent and determined writers (I daresay some of us may even be stubborn), everyone plunged in. When we shared the results from the prompt, we found something interesting.

The more fire stories we shared, the more we remembered. Those people who initially said they had not experienced a fire in their home or vehicle suddenly remembered flaming pot roasts and tea kettles left unattended. To use an overworked but apt cliché, the fire stories spread like wildfire.

When I started thinking about fires, I initially remembered my friend Cindy. She set a package of light bulbs on a hot burner, accidentally causing a small fire that we squelched with baking soda. Cindy’s next fire was in her Firebird. (Yes, I know it’s a pun, but what can I say. That’s the car she had, complete with the bird on the hood.) She was driving down Maryland Parkway when the smoke began rolling out. I think she may have even spotted flames. Her brakes failed, and she careened through a vacant desert lot, smoke belching from her hood, her steering working only partially. When the fire department arrived, she had come to a stop. She had also wet herself. “Were you trying to help put out the fire?” joked the firemen. Cindy broke out bawling, if I remember correctly. Or maybe I just remember what I would have done if my car caught fire and took me on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Then more fire memories emerged. I remembered my dad pulling a flaming broiler from my oven, shrugging, and shoving the fire-engulfed drawer back in. Baking soda again saved the day. My mind flew to the years one of my nephews developed a fascination with fire, as so many boys do, and managed to scare the bejesus out of everyone in the family. “Arsonist” is a frightening label to consider. Or the dim recollection of the childhood Christmas when a house down the street burned to the ground. The single lady living there fell asleep with a lit cigarette, and never woke up.

How about you? What are your fire memories?
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Photo Notes: Once again, as you can see, Blogger has decided that it doesn't want to fully display any pictures I upload. According to their truly auful "help" site, this has something to do with my column width. Personally, I'd think they might want to fix that, but instead you're on your own. To see the whole picture, visit http://www.sxc.hu/photo/890483

Dollars Over Sense

Last week at my writing group, I caught some subtle comments (shall I say hints?) about the blog.

“Well, I had to call so-and-so because I didn’t have the prompts,” was one I heard, and I’m sure there was an unsaid second half, something along the lines of “because she hasn’t updated the !$%# blog!”

Both my blogs have been neglected over the past couple of months. It’s certainly not a case of me running out of things to say. Heavens no! The reason I was MIA is one common to writers striving to write for a living. Sometimes the projects that warm your heart leave your checkbook cold. I enjoy writing my blogs, especially since they give me the freedom to write about whatever I want. For some bizarre, Murphy’s Law reason, whatever I get paid to write about is usually diametrically opposed to my interests and passions. Which is one way a writer can get into trouble.

You’ve probably heard the old adage about not leaving your day job – a piece of advice given to all artists, musicians, and other creative types. After I tossed that pearl of wisdom onto the trash heap of my former job, I discovered that I had taken this advice all wrong. When I read “don’t quit your day job,” what I really thought they were saying was, “Of course you haven’t got enough talent to succeed in such a cut-throat, over-crowded, underpaid profession! And how will you get health insurance?! Stick to what you know or you’ll go broke and embarrass yourself.” In the six years since making the leap into full-time writing, I’ve found that one of the quickest way to smother your creativity is by using your talents solely for a paycheck. A day job allows you to pay the bills without spending all your writing time working on projects that leave you brain dead and frustrated.

Early this month, two-thirds of my writing business dried up. It’s a pretty common thing for businesses in Las Vegas to be struggling right now. “Slow” is only the tip of the economic iceberg here in the Foreclosure Capital of America. When I got the news that two of the magazines I was writing for were about to fail, my first thought was that I would finally get to finish my book proposal, one of those “unpaid” things that had fallen to the bottom of my project list. For this entire month, I’ve been working off-line, away from the temptations of the Internet. Bliss. Pure Bliss.

Then the e-mail arrived yesterday - an e-mail with an assignment. Shouldn’t we all be happy to see our editor’s name in our in-box? Shouldn’t we?

Now the challenge becomes how to balance the demands of dollars against my creative desires. Do you think it’s too late to get a day job?

A Plethora of Prompts

Okay, I admit it. I’ve neglected the blog over the past month. A whole host of writing projects and assignments landed on my desk at about the same time my husband went to a night shift… and the result has been barely controlled chaos. However, as so often happens with writing work, all that work left as quickly as it came. The stories and projects were researched and written, the deadlines were met, and now I’m back here to post a big old fat collection of prompts. So pour yourself a cup or glass of your favorite beverage, pick a prompt, and write for ten minutes without stopping. Don’t even think about picking up a dictionary.

Ahhh, it feels so good to be back!


--Holidays like Labor Day meant nothing to Carrie. She worked every day at the….
--Here’s the headline – you write the story: “Missile launcher given in trade for sneakers.”
--Do remember the route you walked (or biked, or were driven) to school?
--Giselle aimed the gun at Lewis. “I just want you to know that I’m not shooting you because of Lulu. I’m shooting you because….”
--When I really feel like living dangerously, I….
--Paul fell ten feet….
--Cathleen didn’t believe in ghosts, yet she could clearly see….
--Combine a paper weight, an angel statuette, and a clock in a story.
--Eddy had seen everything in his pawn shop from wedding rings to hand guns, but he had never seen anything like this before. The woman standing in front of him wanted to pawn….
--Martin knew he shouldn’t read Janie’s diary, but he couldn’t resist. The shock of the first sentence made his heart thud. He couldn’t believe she had written….
--Tell us a story about a piece of jewelry you lost.
--Have you ever visited an observatory?
--The red rose….
--The sleeping dog….
--He remembered her perfume….
--Being responsible means….
--The knife blade….

Happy writing!

One In Four

If you're a writer, than means you're a reader -- well, it should mean that, but that's another discussion -- so I know you aren't a part of this sobering statistic: One in four Americans read no books at all last year. Nary a one. Read the story here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101045.html

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Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/lus

Writing Prompts

For our last writing group, I went with a “less is more” approach on prompts. Take ten minutes to see what you can construct from these snippets:

~Leann’s purple dress….
~Under a full moon….
~The weeds took over the garden….
~Blood dripped from….
~An open door….
~Her green eyes sparkled….
~The dog’s silky coat….
~Screams erupted….

(Note to Writing Group Members: Regular Wednesday meetings will resume on September 5, 2007.)
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Photo courtesy of EMiN OZKAN at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/surely

The Courage of Writers

If you’re a writer, you’ve been blessed with courage. Oh, not me, I can hear you saying. I’m not brave at all sitting here behind my computer typing my (fill in the blank). You may believe that the courageous writers are only those found on the frontlines of wars, or going undercover for a little muckraking. Dear writer friend, I hate to tell you this, but you’re wrong. You may not be dodging literal bullets or interviewing felons (yet), but you’re brave. Anyone willing to commit his thoughts to paper is taking a courageous step. Why?

First of all, tackling a blank page is daunting. I once had a lovely lady working as my assistant who was terrified to write a single sentence on her own. I discovered this when I asked her to write a two-sentence memo. After a week had passed, I asked her where the memo was. She blushed a little when she admitted, “I couldn’t think of what to say.” She was deeply embarrassed to confess that she’d tried and failed to complete the memo. Now, this was as simple as a writing assignment can get. We had an employee who had failed to show up for a training class, and we needed a memo that said something to effect of: “Sally Smith was absent from XYZ class on Tuesday due to being sick. We will reschedule as soon as possible.” As simple as it sounds, my assistant was defeated by that blank page and blinking cursor. Her terror paralyzed her. Writers must overcome the terror of a totally white Word screen on a regular basis. If the sight of a blank page makes your heart pound, take a deep breath and remember that you are courageous. You are ready to translate your thoughts into words, and no blank page should stand in your way.

I have no problems with blank pages, you may say, and I still don’t see how sitting here writing my family history constitutes courage. Do you think that everyone who reads your work will agree with you? Are you sure that your memories will match those of your family? I suspect the answer to both questions is “no,” in which case I maintain that spilling your mental beans on paper, for all to challenge, contradict, and criticize, is quite brave.

In my own case, I’ve had to learn to steady my nerves when I must call people to ask any kind of questions. Asking questions is a routine part of journalism – even mundane news stories need correct facts and a few quotes – and not everyone responds to e-mail. When I have to call someone to get information, my palms sweat and my mouth goes dry. For some bizarre reason, phone calls are worse for me than talking to people in person. I worry that I’ll sound like an idiot, or even worse, an imposter. In the back of my mind, I’m worried that someone will challenge my right to talk to them: “Who are you!? You’re not a real writer! Why should I tell you what our entry fee at the children’s zoo is?” Even if you’re not doing news stories, you still may have to call or interview people. Trust me – I can verify from years of personal experience that most people are happy to talk to a writer. I find people either are thrilled to hear from me – what I call the “Thank God you called” reaction – or they act like I’m on assignment for 60 Minutes. (Those in the 60 Minutes group are a topic for another day.)

A friend of mine sent me a one-line e-mail last week: This is hard. He’s working on a book and has run into the doldrums of an extended project. This illustrates another form of writerly courage – the courage of perseverance. This type of courage is the most important for writers to cultivate. Even if you love the blank screen and aren’t afraid to ask people for intimate details, you must be brave enough to keep writing even when it feels like your project is the equivalent of jamming bamboo shoots under your nails. You must be brave enough to keep writing when your internal critic is screaming at you that what you’ve done sucks, that you’ll never finish, that you’re a hopeless pipe dreamer to ever think you could succeed. Every writer has been at this point, and this is when you must summon your courage, banish your internal critic, and get back to work.

Still think you won’t be dodging any bullets? I say grab a flak vest and a notepad, and let’s go!
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Note: I originally included a great photo of a danger-loving person on a line ride, undoubtedly a writer facing his inner courage issues, but for some strange reason Blogger won't fully display any images I upload. Dealing with Blogger.... grrrr.... yet more grist for future blog entries!

The Challenge With Blogs

If it feels like everyone in the known universe has a blog, then that’s because they do – at least that’s the way it feels when you’re a writer. Whether you’re writing for fun or profit, blogs have now passed fad status and have acquired a kind of Internet stodginess.

But I like blogs. I like my blogs, and that’s where the challenge emerges. Amid everything else I do – facilitate a writers’ group, writing for local publications, working on my book proposal – my blogs just don’t get updated as often as I would like. In actuality, this probably isn’t anything I should lose sleep over. I doubt that people are standing around the water cooler in the morning saying, “Did you check Just Write today? She still hasn’t posted anything new!” I recently read that the average blog has one reader, which comforts or frustrates me, depending upon my mood.

Should writers bother with blogs? This debate, while nowhere near intensity of the “should writers ever write for free” question, is on the rise. It's a question that applies to all writers, not just those writing professionally. Blogs can serve many purposes – an online portfolio, a way to reach out to readers, a way to stay in touch with friends, a way to express your creativity. Instantaneously self-publishing our own work carries a whole host of pros and cons, but I think it boils down to a question central to all writing practices: does it work for you?

(Let’s just digress for a second and say that those who blog for a living and thus pay their rent by blogging have already answered this question. This is for everyone else.)

Does your commitment to a blog make you write? Is it something you enjoy writing, whether you have one reader, no readers, or a million? Are you happy with your blog – the way it looks, the way it reads? Then keep writing.

On the other hand, if keeping up a blog – be it once a month or once a day – has become a way to avoid other projects, or nothing more that the route posting of whatever crosses your mind, perhaps you should re-think blogging, at least as a way to aid your writing. We all know that the Internet can distract as well as aid us, and that includes blogs. Put your blog in perspective. And remember that when you publish your work on a blog, anyone can read what you’ve posted. Anyone. Make sure your blog is a positive reflection on you.

In my own case, I intend to keep blogging. I wish I knew how the successful writers I know manage to juggle all their projects and do daily blog updates. I suspect it’s a combination of writing shorter posts and writing faster. For me, blogging is a great way to exercise those writing muscles.

Do you blog? How has it helped or hindered your writing?

You Lucky Writer

Local author Jack Sheehan had me laughing out loud with his column in Sunday’s Sun, “How this getting words down on paper gig isn’t really all that bad, once you get past the first line.” For some reason, I assumed that authors of his standing – his list of published works is beyond impressive – didn’t get approached by literary panhandlers.

In case you’re a writer who hasn’t experienced this phenomena, let me just assure you that it’s only a matter of time before someone corners you with his Incredible Idea for a Bestseller that you, you lucky writer, can write for him, so that you can then share in the bountiful sales that his Truly Amazing story will generate. All you, you lucky writer, have to do is to agree to donate your time and talent for an unspecified amount of time to accurately transcribe the genius idea that the non-writer is just dying to share with you. Take my advice on this one and RUN AWAY. Make something up – if you’re a writer, this shouldn’t be too challenging. Tell the non-writer that you suffer from a highly contagious disease. Tell him that you eschew modern devices like computers in favor of writing everything by hand with an authentic quill pen. Tell him anything, but make sure that you are leaving the area when you toss off your pearls of wisdom. He won’t notice, anyway, because he’ll be scouting for the next Lucky Writer to corner.

Two major problems generally plague the arrangement that the non-writer seeks. First, the non-writer doesn’t want to pay you anything. Why should he put any money up front when his book is a certain bestseller? Aren’t you willing to eat dirt for a couple of years and live in a cardboard box so the non-writer can fulfill his dreams? You must not be visionary enough to see that his book will top every best seller list and make you both gazillionaires. Second, the non-writer hasn’t a clue as to how much time and work goes into a book. Once they’ve finished a first draft, these are the people who are appalled to hear that you must then edit your work. They’re also the same people who’ve never heard of writer’s guidelines, word counts, line editing, or any other detail associated with the business of writing. These are the pesky details that you, you lucky writer, will be handling. Telling this non-writer he needs 80,000 words for a novel is like me explaining trigonometry to my dogs: useless and frustrating.

What if you find the non-writer’s idea irresistible? If you do decide that you want in on his Incredible Idea, make sure to address a few key points:

--Insist on a deposit or some sort of up-front payment, even if it’s minimal. People rarely value anything they get for free, and that includes writing services. Agreeing to work for free on a project that can go on for years is a mistake you’ll regret.

--Get an agreement in writing that specifies EXACTLY what you’re going to do. Are you ghostwriting or co-writing? How will you be credited on the book’s cover? Will you be doing promotional work?

--Who makes the creative decisions? If your partner decides he wants three chapters in his children’s picture book devoted to his theories about JFK’s assassination, how will you handle it?

--What will happen if the author chooses to self-publish? Make sure to address this in your written contract. Since the whole idea is that you’re working for a share of revenue, what will happen if Putnam isn’t interested?

--Google your prospective writing partner. This can uncover all sorts of interesting details that he may have forgotten to tell you. You may discover that you’re not the first writer he’s approached.

You, you lucky writer, will feel much luckier if you’ve done your homework on these points. Better yet, why not just work on your own stories? I know you’ve got a bunch of them. Or how about writing about the non-writer and his idea? Sometimes these folks make great profiles or human interest stories. How about going for a different kind of relationship? You could tell him you’ll give him your best hourly rate for your services as a personal writing coach or editor. Or you could just smile and run away. Sometimes that’s the luckiest move of all.
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Photo courtesy of Steve Woods at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/woodsy

In Memory Of Jim Freund

I’m sad to report that one of my writing group’s former members has passed away. Over the weekend, I got the news that Jim Freund had a fatal heart attack and stroke this past May.

When I first met Jim in 2002, he had an idea for a novel – a very detailed, well-plotted idea. During our writer’s group meetings, Jim was brash but polite, keeping discussions lively with his feisty opinions. He always gave us a warning before reading any piece with blue language, which for Jim was most of his work. He had an innate sense of dialogue, and Jim’s characters talked like the truckers, soldiers, and con men they were. Jim completed his book, Tripwire, and opted to self-publish because he said he didn’t have time to mess around with the waiting game of conventional publishing. A born salesman, Jim was a tireless promoter of Tripwire, attending book conferences and calling up Norm Clark at the Las Vegas Review Journal to pitch his book.

Besides being a good writer, Jim was also an artist, a former car salesman, an avid golfer, and an incredibly proud grandfather – and that only scratches the surface. He had a wealth of great stories guaranteed to make you laugh, and a sharp mind that he used to beat the casinos’ games. I’m grateful I got the chance to know him, and saddened that he’s no longer with us. I hope that when he got to the pearly gates the angel said, “Jim, I hope you’re ready to tee off, because we have hundreds of golf courses just waiting for you!” That, I think, is a welcome he would enjoy.

A New Blog For Lifestory Writers

Sharon Lippincott, author of the blog (and now book) The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, e-mailed me recently. She also works with seniors and was searching for blogs discussing life story writing, which through Internet serendipity led her to me. I facilitate the writing group at the City of Las Vegas' Northwest Senior Center, and although I didn’t set out to learn as much as I have about memoir, biography, and personal writing of all kinds, my group has taught me a thing or two about all these subjects. The most important lesson sounds simple – if you want to write, then sit down and do it – no excuses, and never mind what the kids, the spouse, or the family say.

Sharon's book of the same name, The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, has just come out. It’s great to see more information coming out for this segment of writers. Many writers are more interested in writing strictly for the enjoyment of the craft instead of as a means for publication, and this type of book speaks to them. Sharon has done her homework to cover all the practical points, including sections on using computers – often a bugaboo for the inexperienced user.

If you’re thinking about writing your story, both Sharon’s book and blog are a great resource.
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Photo courtesy of Stancu Alexandru at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/motionstil

Prompts

Time again to turn the TV off, unplug the phone, and barricade the door – at least for ten minutes. Pick a prompt and write the story without backspacing, crossing out, or otherwise censoring yourself. Think of it as brain yoga – get in the writing position, and hold for ten minutes.

~As Mary fell from the ladder, all she could think was….
~Do you have a favorite restaurant?
~The wooden stairs wound to the top of….
~Have you ever seen a sequoia or a red wood tree?
~Alice didn’t know she was allergic to caviar….
~Where were you in 1976? What do you remember about that year?
~Spencer was a handsome man, but he didn’t know it. When Mitzy Batten propositioned him….
~The robbery went all wrong when….
~The fluffy, furry ball of hair….
~My favorite summer vacation….
~What do you think of the City’s fight with the car dealership over the size of the dealership’s flag? (See the story at: http://www.lvrj.com/news/7644007.html)
~Danny watched the car flip over the median into oncoming traffic….
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Picture courtesy of Martin Louis at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/martinl

Las Vegas Writers

Las Vegas is both a great place to write about, and a great place to meet other writers. I’m fortunate enough to know local author Cathy Scott, who recently profiled Matt O’Brien’s new book, Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas. Those who know Las Vegas know that one of the heartbreaks of our city is that the brutality and desperation of our street life is so at odds with the decadent consumerism of the casinos. O’Brien, a CityLife editor, first became interested in the tunnels when a murder suspect escaped into the flood culverts and tunnels that criss-cross the city. He eluded police for a week; but the story captivated O’Brien.

Scott herself is an accomplished author with two more books on the way, one on the Hole in the Wall Gang and one on the animals rescued during Hurricane Katrina by The Best Friends Society, an animal resucue organization she works for. Check her web site at cathyscott.com to read about her other books.

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This post first appeared on my Vegas Girl blog.

Prompts

Grab your pen (or keyboard) and take ten minutes to write about....

· Do you speak a foreign language? How did you learn it?
· Nick didn’t want to cut down the oak tree, but it stood in the center of his property. By his estimates, it was smack in the middle of his living room to-be. As he pondered his options, inspiration struck him and he decided….
· Tell us about your first apartment.
· Denise thought river rafting would be the perfect vacation away from everything. She never thought that….
· Melinda was tired of snow. She was ready for spring, for grass and flowers and sunny skies. “As soon as it gets warmer,” she thought, “I’m going to….”
· Cynthia never imagined that the dance-a-thon would last so long. After fourteen hours of dancing, she wanted to stop, but her competitive nature kept her going. Abby Lerner, Cynthia’s rival since grade school, was smiling like she was on hour #1. Finally, Cynthia decided….
· Do you have a favorite television show? What do you like about it?
· What is your favorite desert?
· Zachary noticed the scattered papers before he saw the ransacked briefcase outside his open front door. Clearly, Christopher had arrived ahead of him. Zachary took a deep breath before stepping into the house and….
· The little boy’s smile was contagious….
· Mr. Paul was accustomed to complete and total obedience from his students. When Luke refused to follow directions….
· “I am the master of my own universe,” Toby announced before he….
· Combine a toy, an exit sign, and the color blue in a story.
· Tell us about the last call you received from a telemarketer.
· What do you think are the most important characteristics of a leader?
· Congratulations! You’ve just won your dream house. Price is no object, either for the building or the furnishings. What does it look like and where is it located? Will you live there full-time, or will you go there only for retreats? What item(s) will you splurge on?
· The stone bird bath under the privet tree….
· Gary was tired of waiting, so he….
· Have you ever undertaken your own home decorating/home improvement project? How did it turn out?
· Combine these three things in a story: bricks, a guard rail, and candles.

Happy Writing!

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Photo courtesy of Davide Guglielmo, http://www.broken-arts.com/ or http://www.sxc.hu/profile/brokenarts

Bird by Bird

This is my second time reading Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott’s classic book of writing advice. Many consider it to be advice applicable to life in general, and her quotable writing makes it easy to see why:

“…thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’ ”

My favorite aspect of Lamott’s writing is that she advocates writing purely for the sake of writing. She points out that publication isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (she’s right) and that good writing springs from a desire to communicate, not to get a pay check. (Naturally, for those of us doing this as a living, the goal is to combine both.) Her descriptions of neurotic writerly behavior (checking the mailbox ten times a day, finding 101 things to do other than sit down to write) will make you laugh out loud. And when she’s profound – “Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious,” for instance – you’ll be thinking about her message long after you set down the book.

Time for Prompts!

Tell your internal editor to take a coffee break, then ask your muse to come in and chat for a little bit. Write for ten minutes without stopping, crossing out, backspacing, or otherwise editing yourself – and if no topics spring immediately to mind, try one of my prompts:

--Write about your favorite book store.
--What was your most memorable Valentine’s Day?
--Jackson didn’t think twice about walking down the alley. He took the smelly shortcut every day on his way to work. He was lost in thought when he heard the crash….
--If only I had ______, I would ______.
--Do your pets do anything odd or unusual?
--Write about your last shopping excursion.
--Tell us what you think of this quote about writing: “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ~Sylvia Plath
--Joshua couldn’t swim. He didn’t know the creek was only a foot deep, so when his brother pushed him into the water, Joshua thought….

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Photo Courtesy of Dain Hubley at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Daino_16

The Dark Side

My writing group has been talking about “the dark side” – that place where death, depression, chaos, and tears live. Can writers become stuck in the dark side? Conversely, what if you want to tell a dark story, but just can’t get there?

It’s easy to get stuck in the dark side because a wealth of material lives there. Our writerly instincts tell us the material is interesting: newspapers are full of tragic stories and murder mysteries are bestsellers. Good writing connects us with the emotions of shared existence – and pitch-perfect description is necessary for that connection. Tragedy can burn events into our minds, giving us vivid memories to work with. Writing’s therapeutic value is well-known and can draw us towards certain topics (Stephen King, for instance, wrote The Shining while battling alcohol addiction). For these and many other reasons, writers may submerge themselves in sinister or sad material. This can be exhausting work. What should a writer do if she’s tired of death and disaster? If you’d like to lighten your work, look for humor – it’s always there just under the surface of tragedy. Try another genre. Study authors doing lighter topics. Too often we label ourselves narrowly and hesitate to venture into new territory.

If you want to write darker material but hesitate to drop into the back alleys of your mind, take it slowly. When writing fiction, sinister characters almost always show up wearing a black hat. Just let them be themselves. Non-fiction can give you the benefit of a more objective stance, although even journalists become deeply affected by the topics they cover. Personal experience/memoir can be painful because you relive the experience to a degree. Every writer deals with this in her own way – when I wrote my memoir, I tackled the hardest material in small doses. Many people say they had to give themselves permission to feel (and suffer) the emotions of the past.

Some of us write about funerals, some about weddings. Both events resonate with us on several levels. Look closely and you’ll find both comedy and tragedy in both.

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Photo courtesy of Donna Louisa Mock at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/paleangel7

The Grammar Police

One of the things that stymies the creative process is worrying about the grammar police. Early experiences can scar people. I assure you that your sixth grade English teacher will not look you up and chew you out because you misused an apostrophe or misspelled a word. Grammar is simply the mechanics of writing, and it can be fixed. But unless you put the words on the paper, nothing exists for you to fix – so banish grammar worries and forge ahead.

Give yourself permission to make mistakes. When you’re editing you can unleash your inner word maven. Until then, keep writing. If you’re writing longhand, limit your strikeouts. If you’re writing on the computer, leave the backspace and delete buttons alone. Ignore those squiggly red and green lines Word inserts under your grammatically offensive words (you can even turn the squiggles off). Let your thoughts sprawl across the paper. A few drafts later – after you’ve filled in the holes and patched up the roof of your story – it will be time for the finish work. That’s when you can stress about the commas and capitals.

While the grammar police won’t necessarily hunt you down and beat you with blunt punctuation marks, plenty of volunteer grammar policepeople are just waiting to give your work a thorough proofing. Don’t let these people see your early drafts, but be grateful for them on that last draft! After all, who would you rather catch your embarrassing error – your retired English teacher auntie, or the editor at a magazine?

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Photo courtesy of Daniel Wildman, http://www.sxc.hu/profile/danzo08

Writing Down the Bones

Natalie Goldberg's book, Writing Down the Bones, is a must-read for all writers. Goldberg is addressing the person who writes because she must, not because she dreams of publication. Each chapter stands alone and ends with a call to action or a writing prompt. Goldberg's theme is simple and powerful: Write because you want to; write because it gives you a way to relate to the world. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or order one from the link on this page. Be sure to have a pencil and Post-It flags handy, because you'll want to mark such wisdom as "Writing is deeper than therapy. You write through your pain, and even your suffering must be written out and let go of." (p. 114)

Writing Prompts

Q: What is a writing prompt, and why would a writer use one? Is it like a shoe horn, only different?
A: Sometimes our minds go blank, or sometimes we become so focused on a project that we need a break. Sometimes it's just fun to flex your creative muscles. Try it for yourself: Pick a prompt, write without editing yourself for ten minutes, and see what happens!

· Describe the worst hair cut/hair style of which you were a victim.
· What’s the coldest weather you ever experienced? The hottest?
· Betty heard the floodwaters before she saw them. Instinctively, she picked up her tiny Pomeranians and began to run. She never expected….
· Take a piece of your work and change the genre or point of view – how does it change your piece?
· Harry hated New Year’s Day because he felt he should make a resolution, but he had stopped making resolutions the year that….
· Smoking, drinking, eating too much – everyone has a bad habit. What’s yours and why haven’t you given it up?
· “I ought to shoot you now,” Tammy said. Her Glock was pointed right at me. I thought quickly. One false move and I was toast.

“You don’t want to shoot me,” I said, “because….”