creativity - Write to Done

Beyond The Basics: 5 Ways To Take Your Writing Further

Do you want to take your writing further?

It’s important to learn the basics of writing well, but at some point, you need to add nuance to your words and depth to your message.

Here are five ways to take your writing further.

1. Go deeper into yourself

We are complicated people, you and I. We have depths which no one has yet seen. We have demons roaming in our minds and dark things nestling inside our hearts. The aspects we keep hidden can be the fuel for some powerful writing but mostly, we’re too scared to let them out.

But if you want to take your writing further, you need to mine yourself first. Take your past failures, your fears, your dreams and pour them into your writing. Give of yourself and the words will reward you.

2. Tackle bigger themes

The bite-size internet (and indeed, list posts like this!) means we tend to skim the surface of meaning a lot of the time. There is a tendency to rush content out the door without delving as far into it as we could. There isn’t enough time to debate the deep and meaningful topics in this fast-paced world, right?

But actually, people are crying out for meaning and emotional resonance, and you can give it to them.

When you’re writing, decide on the deeper levels of meaning you want to illustrate. For example, I write action-adventure thrillers which at one level are about hunting down bad guys and blowing stuff up, but I also explore the question of whether there is a God, science vs. faith and whether miracles happen. Writing on two levels gives us a way to connect more powerfully with people.

3. Use free-writing

Free-writing is a short period of time, say 10 minutes, where you write from your own stream of consciousness, or around a specific topic. Don’t censor yourself, because you won’t be sharing the words in this format. Just let your mind and fingers go free.

Some recommend writing by hand as it accesses different parts of the brain, but I don’t think it matters. The important thing is not to stop writing, even if all you write is ‘this is terrible’ over and over again.

Set a timer and just write. When the timer goes off you can go through the text and see if there are any ideas in there you can use. Whatever happens, save the writing, because I guarantee that you’ll go back to it later and be surprised.

4. Copy the greats

Austin Kleon’s book ‘Steal like an Artist’ contains some fantastic advice, and I particularly liked this quote.

Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find yourself. ~ Yohji Yamamoto

Find the books you consider great and copy their style. Yes, actually copy their words out by hand or by typing them. You’re not doing this to plagiarize, you’re doing this to learn.

In copying, you will see how great writers approach aspects of writing and you will notice things that you wouldn’t if you just read the words. You can also use this as a jumping off point for free-writing, as above. Riff off their words and create your own. Use their style to expand your writing repertoire.

5. Rest your work for longer

One of Stephen King’s tips in ‘On Writing’ is to put your manuscript away after you have finished it. Print it out and put it in a drawer until you have forgotten enough of it that you can return to it with fresh eyes. Only then are you emotionally removed enough to be able to edit freely.

I believe we should do this with any piece of writing that we want should resonate with an audience, be it a guest blog post, or a letter/email to a loved one.

When you take the writing out again, you can edit but also add layers to the work around the themes you want to illustrate. You can make the work richer and more resonant. You can refine your word choice. This will make the writing stronger and you will have put more of yourself into it.

So take the challenge and go deeper into your writing craft. You will see the benefits in your own artist’s journey and your readers will thank you for it.

How do you go deeper into your writing? Please do share in the comments below.

About The Author:
Joanna Penn is the Amazon bestselling author of the ARKANE thrillers, Pentecost, Prophecy and Exodus. Her site for writers www.TheCreativePenn.com has been voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers 3 years running and offers articles, audio and video on writing, publishing and book marketing, plus the free Author 2.0 Blueprint.

Image: Woman running courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

Introducing Scene Stealers: Flex Your Creative Muscles with Writing Prompts

If you want to try a fun way to flex your creative muscles, please read on.

Welcome to Scene Stealers.

Here’s how it works:

We set the scene
You steal it, make it your own, and
Share your creation in the comments section

It’s as simple as that!

Of course, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t want to share your work, but we hope you’ll do the exercise anyway. As they say, practice makes perfect ….

Now for the ground rules:

You must use the exact wording we provide.
Your scene/story must be 300 words or less.
Your work must be original and not previously published.
WTD provides an encouraging and safe environment for writers to learn. When commenting on someone else’s work, please list everything you like first. Only then offer careful suggestions.
We reserve the right to delete any comments or entries that we deem inappropriate and those that do not meet the specifications above.

This is not a contest, so we’re not asking you to vote for your favorite and we’re not awarding any prizes.

At least not yet …

But we do want your opinion of this idea. So please let us know in the comment section.

We’ll see how this goes and, if the feedback is positive after we do a few of these, we just might turn Scene Stealers into a friendly competition down the road.

Here’s the first Scene Stealer for you:

Anna watched the sun come up for the fifth day in a row. Sleep had eluded her since the accident.

Now, steal this and take this story wherever you want …

We can’t wait to see what happens.

By Cheryl Craigie, Contributing Editor at Write to Done. Cheryl also blogs at The Manageable Life.

Does Writing Make you Feel Like a Failure or a Fraud? (How that Can Boost Your Creativity)

How feeling like a failure can make you more creative If writing makes you feel like a fraud or a failure, you may have experienced T. S. Eliot’s version of hell, where “nothing connects with nothing.”

Good!

No, I’m not crazy.

And I’m not kidding.

It is good.

Turns out these negative feelings are an essential part of the creative process.

So go ahead and wallow in them—at least for a little while.

Here’s why.

Before the breakthrough there has to be a block, according to Jonah Lehrer, author of Imagine: How Creativity Works.

You may need to give up so you can move on.

Our brains actually need this “stumped” phase to realize that it’s time to try something new.

Then, and only then, can your brain search out new ideas to help you blast past that block.

So learn to recognize when feelings of fear or frustration mean that it’s time to stop.

Then surrender to the unknown.

Give your brain the break it needs to look elsewhere for inspiration. (Click here for my previous post on using the brain’s reticular activating system to spur creativity)

“Creativity is the residue of time wasted,” according to Albert Einstein.

Einstein was right.

It is precisely this wasted time that often gives rise to insight, which is commonly known as the “eureka” or “aha” moment, according to Lehrer.

Working harder, with focused attention, when searching for new insight is simply the wrong strategy,

Yet how many times do we find ourselves sitting in front of the computer staring intently at the screen, trying to will something—anything–to happen.

You can’t force an aha moment to happen.

So stop trying.

Get up and get away for a while or work on something else.

As you begin to practice this strategy of letting go, you’ll train your brain to know when it’s time to search out new paradigms and new associations.

Soon those new ideas will be flowing freely.

Just don’t forget to come back and get to work.

Here’s the rub: The epiphany or breakthrough is just the beginning.

Then the hard work begins.

This involves the other half of the creative tool box—focused attention and stick-to-it-iveness.

Focused attention gives you the ability to structure your writing and to be a ruthless editor, removing all the superfluous material and choosing the best words to get your point across.

These skills separate the pros from the amateurs.

The pros possess the ability to deal with the pain, the knowledge to take a break and then have the determination to get back to work, slogging through the tough stuff.

Remember–Frustration, fear and failure will always be just around the corner.

And that’s a good thing…

It just means your skills and abilities are about to grow.

Please share in the comments section how you’ve overcome your fears and frustrations so we can all learn from your experience.

Cheryl Craigie is the new Contributing Editor for Write to Done. She’s a former broadcasting and foundation executive who left the fast track to build a life in the mountains of North Carolina. She’s kept a journal most of her life and has written numerous articles, blog posts, editorials, grants, newsletters, personal essays, scripts, short stories, and speeches. She describes herself as a mountain-hiking, guitar-playing, bird-watching, cat and dog lover.

Her blog is called, The Manageable Life. The tagline says it all: ”Choose to live better”.

Now that’s Cheryl’s on board, we’ve got lots of exciting plans in the works. Here are just a few examples:

Amping up our content based on suggestions from our new DreamTeam. Click here for more information about the DreamTeam and to sign up if you haven’t already done so.
Developing Resource Pages. Soon you’ll find a carefully curated selection of our favorite writing books, journals, etc., available directly from our site. However, if you want to purchase Imagine: How Creativity Works now, click here. (For Kindle edition, click here). We receive a small commission on sales from Amazon.
Creating online courses which will help you overcome your fear, jumpstart your creativity and polish your writing. We’re just in the beginning stage of content development, so please be patient. We don’t want to roll these out until we’re confident that they meet our exacting standards.

Stay tuned for more details.

Do you want to become a successful blogger? Join the A-List Blogger Club, the insanely useful training for all stages of blogging. Click below to find out more.

Amazing Advice for Aspiring Writers by Neil Gaiman

Every once in a while we get to hear great advice from someone who’s actually done what we hope to do–achieve extraordinary writing success.

So check out the video below.

In what has been described as “one of the best commencement speeches ever, ” author Neil Gaiman shares his thoughts about how build a creative life.

Gaiman started his unconventional career as a jounalist and then went on to create, among many other things, the ground-breaking Sandman comics series and the children’s book Coraline, which became an Oscar-nominated film.

Gaiman encourages us to:

Be wise
Make amazing mistakes
Break rules
Leave the world a more interesting place, and
Make good art

Do yourself a favor and watch this 20 minutes video. You’ll have the rare opportunity to hear from one of the most creative voices in recent years.

(If you are receiving this post via email, click here to view)

What do you think about this video? Please share in the comments.

Join the A-List Blogger Club, the insanely useful training for all stages of blogging. Click below to find out more.

Know Thyself. 7 Truths About Writers

A guest post by Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn, one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers

Claiming the word ‘writer’ for yourself can be a big step. You may have been writing all your life but do you actually call yourself a writer?

Know Thyself was inscribed on the ancient Greek temple of Apollo at Delphi. People would go there to seek knowledge of the future or to find revelation about themselves. The words were a reminder that the first step to truth is to look inside.

Fundamentally, writers write, they put words onto a page or screen. But there are other aspects to writers. Do you recognize yourself in these traits?

1 We are loners

Writing is a solitary art. Even writers who collaborate create their pieces separately and knit them together later. We are not naturally team players. To be a happy writer is to enjoy solitude for creation. Writers are often introverts in the sense that they are energized by time alone with their minds. They may love being with people but it tires and drains them. I spent many years thinking I needed to be a team player, that it was essential to being a rounded person. Then I did the Myers Briggs test and found that introversion is just a natural state for some of us and certainly more dominant in writers.

2 We want recognition

Writers have egos and our desire to see our words in print or type stems from this need to be recognized. We want the six figure book deal. We want to be on Oprah or the New York Times bestseller list. We want to write words that change people’s lives. We want to be read. For all that to happen, our writing needs to be out there in the world.

3 We are scared and doubt ourselves

We want people to read our words but at the same time, we fear criticism and negative reaction. We compare ourselves to others and we often come up short. We doubt that we are original or that people will even want to read our words. We worry that we have opened ourselves up too much to the world, and then we fret because we haven’t been truthful enough.

4 We are deeply creative but sometimes forget this

When I was working as a corporate IT consultant, I found my creative side withering and dying from lack of exercise. I wanted to write a novel but I couldn’t imagine even starting one. I didn’t believe I could find that creativity in myself. So I started saying an affirmation on the daily commute. ‘I am creative, I am an author’. I said that over and over, and gradually I began to explore ideas and start to write. Four years later, I have two novels available on the biggest bookstore in the world. Although we may spend years in the wilderness, we can resurrect that creativity.

5 We know execution matters

Ideas are abundant. They swirl in the air about us and we pluck them down. We form them into finished works. People talk to us about the ideas they have, for this book or that story, but they don’t execute on the idea. We write, and we finish what we started.

6 We are always improving

Writers are readers. We learn from others by their words and we constantly try to improve our own ways of expression. We take courses on how to improve our writing. Sometimes we spend more time on reading books about writing than we spend actually getting white on black. We are obsessed with understanding why this works and why that is successful and we put what we learn into practice.

7 We know there are dark places within

Inside us are memories, emotions and an imagination that runs deep. We go there to tap into the experiences that make our writing resonate. Sometimes what emerges may be violent or horrific, resonant in truth and raw in emotion. We write with the knowledge that most people feel these things but they don’t admit to themselves that they exist. We have the ability and the strength to write those words without apology.

Do you agree that these are truths about writers? Are there any more?

Joanna Penn is the author of thriller novels Pentecost and Prophecy. Her site TheCreativePenn.com helps people write, publish and market their books and has been voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for writers 2 years running. Follow Joanna on Twitter @thecreativepenn