Writing Tools and Information
Here's a solid resource that's worth bookmarking. The Writer has recently updated its list of 30 essential digital tools, apps, & resources for every writer. Take a look - you will find something that will help you with your creative endeavors.
https://www.writermag.com/writing-inspiration/products-for-writers/digital-tools-for-writers/
Photo by Jenni Chen, license CC BY
Keeping any type of journal will help with improving any mental health issues. However, if you want to tackle a specific problem you’re having, it will help to determine the right type of journal to keep. Keeping a particular kind of journal may work best for your issue.
Boosts Your Mood – If you want to boost your mood, keeping a gratitude journal is where it’s at. Once a day, preferably before bed, write down what you’re grateful for today. It might not seem like much but it’s powerful for going to sleep & thinking positively about your life.
Increases Your Sense of Well-Being – As you write out your thoughts, you’ll start seeing issues from a new angle just because you’re opening your mind to think about it. This is going to make you feel more capable of dealing with whatever happens.
Lessens Symptoms of Depression – Understand that depression is different from sadness and that you likely need a counselor. Writing it all down can make it seem less horrific so that you can feel better. Plus, you can look back at days you thought life was "over" and see better days after.
Reduces Anxiety – The problem with anxiety is that it was designed to help us get away from immediate danger. It triggers the "fight or flight" response. If each time you have that anxious feeling you choose to write in your journal how you are feeling and why, then you’ll start to control it better.
Lowers Avoidance Behaviors – Many people who have mental health issues practice avoidance behaviors such as not going to places that cause them anxiety, or not doing the things they need to do due to how they feel. When you write it out, it helps you get the feelings out but do the thing anyway.
You’ll Sleep Better – Pouring your heart out into a journal is a great way to get things off your chest. However, for sleep, go to the gratitude journal and write down what you’re thankful for today and go to sleep thinking of that.
Makes You a Kinder Person – Exploring your emotional state and accepting your feelings while you work through what makes you who you are in your journal is going to make you naturally more empathetic to others too. Letting go of judgment for self improves your thoughts for others also.
Improves Your Memory – This is almost a situation where you want to say "duh" but it must be said. Writing down things helps you remember them because you can go back and read it, but also because the act of writing something down enables you to recall it.
One thing that can help you make your journaling work is to learn how to keep one effectively. Make some journaling rules, do it every day to create a habit, and keep it private unless you decide to let your therapist see it or you decide to use it to help others. This is for you and only you for the most part.
If you’ve ever written anything, from a paper to a novel, you know how hard it can be to come up with the best ideas. Writer’s block hits us all from time to time, and that includes published authors. Authors work very hard to craft compelling stories that their readers will not only enjoy, but love. For many this takes years of hard work and planning. It may even mean hundreds of rejections, thousands of edits and loads of re-writing. They may draw upon their own life experiences, or the tales of others, or simply upon their imagination. Some authors however, get lucky and dream the entire thing.
Since science is still a little uncertain as to why we have dreams in the first place, they have an almost mystical quality about them. It may not be magic, but it can seem like it. Our dreams can be filled with bizarre creatures, people, and scenarios. Even from mundane activities to fantastical situations, they can be quite memorable. For some authors, this makes them a great starting point for novel ideas.
If you yourself are an aspiring writer or creative, there may be a way for you to tap into your dreams as well. Thinking of your book or project as you fall asleep is one of the best ways to dream about it. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to stumble upon inspiration as you sleep, it’s important to remember that creativity is deeply personal, and finding what works for you can take time. For the full list of books inspired by dreams, plus some tips on creativity, check out this link and visual by Sleep Advisor:
https://www.sleepadvisor.org/books-inspired-by-dreams/
This resource is such a goldmine that I must share it.
As Tyrone Li mentions on the BookBub site, GrubStreet held their annual Muse & The Marketplace conference for writers in April. There, "authors, agents, and editors hosted talks and panels on craft, the publishing process, and book promotion strategies. We gathered lots of helpful publishing insights and promotional tips on a variety of topics, from marketing on social media to participating in bookstore events-- and even to dealing with author envy! We're excited to share some of these tips with our readers who couldn't attend, and hope you find these takeaways useful."
You'll find those tips online at https://insights.bookbub.com/promo-tips-muse-marketplace-2019/. There is some great information here. For me, the author social media hints and the insights on juggling a day job with your writing practice to be particularly helpful.
Photo by Frame Harirak on Unsplash
For those who are looking for a little bit of guidance in finding a home for their poems, I have dusted off and reposted an awesome resource. Check out “How To Submit Poems To Literary Journals And Magazines” at Writer’s Relief. Follow these seven steps and you’ll find your work in the limelight in quick fashion.
Photo by Raul Varzar on Unsplash
Poets and writers are always looking for a way to “pop” and appear vivid against the blah backdrop of the internet. Creatives are attention whores – me included - and the only way to make an impression and find greater success is to stand out.
As part of my endless/obsessive pursuit of improvement, I discovered this new-ish article by Robert Lee Brewer about “five things author websites need to find more success.” There are some solid takeaways that both experienced and novice writers with websites can put into practice and find results. Enjoy.
https://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/5-things-author-websites-need-to-find-more-success
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Writers spend a lot of time focusing on the craft of opening lines. This is true for fiction, poetry, essay, and even speeches. But what about endings? Aren’t they important, too?
Of course they are. And in this piece from the Washington Post, Ron Charles gives some much-deserved love to some of the more impactful closing lines in literature.
Whether we admit it or not, we all make mistakes. This article by Kyle Massa on the ProWriting Aid website will help you correctly use some of the most commonly misused words. Full disclosure – I’m guilty of number two on this list, but now I know better.
When you get a chance, check out “Social Media Advice for Authors with Limited Time”. It’s an exceptional post from Crystal King on the Grub Writes blog that has a lot of useful tips. I bookmarked this resourceful article for future examination and use – and you might want to as well.
https://grubstreet.org/blog/social-media-advice-for-authors-with-limited-time/
Improvement comes from practice & process. And when I think process, I focus more on editing rather than the writing itself. A clear process has helped me make consistent strides in my writing skills.
I think real improvement can be found through stronger editing...and maybe that overall concept can work for you.
There are few things more quintessentially American than a road trip. The sheer size of the country, an abundance of connected highways, diverse regions and incredible landscapes of our national parks make a cross-country road trip the ultimate bucket-list experience. Discovery is ingrained in our culture. Recognizing that many Americans are descendants of immigrants who left their home countries, John Steinbeck wrote, “Every American hungers to move.”
Naturally, it makes sense that so many of us yearn for the open road. One might even say it’s symbolic: the vehicle being the visual representation of freedom, a drivers license the ticket and the route the destination. Road trips go far deeper than simply a travel experience, which is why literary lions like Tom Wolfe, Jack Kerouac, and John Steinbeck documented their adventures by car in the form of novels.
Inspired by some of the most popular travels in American literature. CarRentals created this guide to literary road trips. Only, instead of living these adventures through the pages of a book, they re-created the author’s routes to give us a list of road trips you can actually take.
https://www.carrentals.com/blog/your-guide-to-literary-road-trips-across-america-infographic/
Bookmarked for future reference - the folks over at Blogging.com have put together a great list of the top resources, links and tools that will help freelance writers find more (and better) work - https://blogging.com/freelance-writer-resources/.
This list is worth checking out!
Crafting conclusions to essays can be challenging. It takes skill to end on a good note and drive your points home one last time. It’s the final chance to impress and give readers understanding as to why your essay matters. The style of the conclusion that's most effective will vary depending on the tone and point of view of your essay. However, there are some key points that apply no matter what style of essay you're crafting.
A good essay conclusion restates, not rewrites your thesis from the introduction. It usually consists of three sentences minimum. And it concludes thoughts without presenting new ideas.
One standard structure I've used is to Restate, Review, Connect, and Combine (I remember it as R-R-C-C):
Sentence #1: RESTATE the thesis by making the same point with other words.
Sentences #2-4: REVIEW supporting ideas; summarize how they prove the thesis.
Sentence #5: CONNECT back to the essay's main premise and relate your closing statement to an opening thought; make it relatable to impress a reader and give them something to contemplate.
Lastly, COMBINE these sentences into a conclusion. Eliminate redundancy. Add a transition word or phrase to make it clear you're concluding. Just try to be more inventive than the standard "In conclusion..." or "In closing..."
There are pitfalls to avoid. Resist the temptation to write any new information; focus on summarizing the thesis and statements. Try not to share personal thoughts unless it's a first-person opinion piece. Don’t attempt to restate every detail - that's what the body paragraphs are for. And finally, don't use boring, mundane words. Choose concise but vivid language instead.
To end an essay in a strong manner, consider its type and audience. A conclusion is your last chance to impress readers. R-R-C-C can be effective, but don't be afraid to take a more creative approach if it presents itself...just avoid the pitfalls I mentioned.
So let’s say you’ve been diligent in writing every day. Now you have a huge pile of poems, stories, and essays that you’re ready to show the world. But how do you take your creative works from your hard drive and get them onto the pages of a literary journal?
One place to start is by reading Nausheen Eusuf’s “Where to Submit Your Work” on the Submittable blog. It provides an awesome list of places where you can find journals to submit all your brilliant stuff. Good luck in finding homes for your literary darlings!
https://blog.submittable.com/2018/04/where-to-submit-your-work/
Save the introduction for last. This tactic helps. I don’t write the intro until the rest of the article or blog post is finished. By doing this, I push right into the info readers want, and I don’t waste words on a long intro that’s often expendable anyway.
Focus on what readers want. If a piece is supposed to provide “5 ways to do X”, the bulk of the text must be about those 5 ways. Don’t spend too long on your intro or explanations. Drill down on what readers need, and don’t give too much extraneous info.
Formulate an outline. It doesn’t need to be extensive. Often I create a quick-and-dirty one such as:
Research to find support for the meat of your article or blog post, and then list those sources in the outline before you start writing. It will help you write faster by linking the sources to the point they are supporting.
Writing is a process that goes through many stages. Revision is the catalyst that helps it progress from stage to stage. It’s not just changing a few words, adding a sentence here or there, or deleting material that’s unnecessary. Revision is a chance for a writer to actually re-vision a piece…in other words, to see a piece with new eyes and visualize it in a different way, all with the hope of seeing improvement.
There’s a short list of questions I ask myself when I’m writing and editing, whether it’s poetry, fiction, essay, or other. These questions help guide me towards clarity.
What is it that I’m really trying to say?
What words will express my thoughts without ambiguity?
What analogy, metaphor, or simile might make this concept clearer?
Are the images vivid & fresh enough to have an impact with readers?
Can I say all of this more concisely?
Am I using big fancy words just to use them?
Have I said anything that’s offensive? If so, can I eliminate it or soften it and still get my point across.
It’s not a perfect list, but I believe maintaining the habit of going through these questions improves each piece of my writing.
My motivation comes from acknowledging my writing has value, making a commitment to write, and making sure I find time to do it. This has culminated in me building good habits that help me write consistently, whether I feel a surge of inspiration or not.
It’s easy to blab about writing you’re going to do someday. I’m guilty of talking about a novel I claim I want to write, but doesn’t exist even in outline form. But if you’re always yapping about writing and never actually doing it, then your goals will never get accomplished. You must sit down and write consistently to build a habit.
Some experts say you need to write daily. That’s a good idea and one that makes it harder to forget to write, but it isn’t easy. Other habits can also work. Choose to write every other day, on a half day on a weekend, for thirty minutes of weekday nights after everyone else is in bed, or as part of a lunch break at work.
It’s not about following someone else’s concept of when and how much you should write. It’s more about building a routine that works for you and keeps you writing consistently. Once you build this habit, writing gets easier, and you’ll fall into a productive mode more quickly and easily – which is a beautiful thing.
At times motivation arrives with fanfare and magical forces guide my pen or keystrokes. But those times are fleeting and rare. If I waited around for that blessed inspiration, I’d never produce new material or content. My advice is to develop an ongoing habit as a substitute for an emotional flurry, then take advantage of your uber-motivated moments when they do happen. Developing a consistent routine is a practical form of motivation that pays dividends.
I sometimes discover having writer’s block is a caveat that I need to fix some other aspect of my life.
Writer’s block is horrible and unproductive. We all hate it and bitch about it. But part of it could just be that your mind or spirit is in a really bad place at a certain point in life. If you’re in a shitty mental state because of money problems or relationship issues or day-job drama, it doesn’t matter how much effort you put into writing or creative endeavors. You have to fix bigger things than your writing and then go back into it with the passion it deserves.
"When I write, I imagine a particular precipice and then work backward. I ask myself: What kind of journey would find its meaningful end here?”
I stumbled upon some interesting writing advice from Naima Coster, author of Halsey Street, over at the Poets & Writers Writers Recommend feature. She has a pretty cool perspective on constructing good fiction by starting with a worthwhile ending and building the story backward from there.