Picking up Random Knowledge

Tags

creative, Introduction, introvert, Writing, writing break

It’s good to have skills outside of writing to draw on. I looked down on such knowledge when I was first becoming a writer. “I am creative!” I thought. “All I need is sufficient imagination and skill at writing to be able to portray whatever I wish!”

Yeah. We all go through it. Doesn’t make it any less embarrassing.

Setting Reasonable Goals

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changing target, goals, priorities, screaming into a pillow, Writing

Subtitle: I have a schedule now that only Google is capable of remembering and somehow I still expected myself to keep writing at the same pace as when I had almost nothing else to do.

This was mostly just a post about my frustration with myself. Or it was, until I remembered the fact that this struggle is hardly unique to me, so now it’s kind of an attempt at commiseration. Because all writers go through this.

Children are Crazy But They Know Their Stories

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Babysitting, brevity, kids, stories, strange choices, Writing, writing lessons

I babysit a lot, which means I get to meet a lot of kids. Since I love stories, one thing that generally comes out sooner or later is me telling them a story, either to be acted out as we go or to be listened to in bed. Stories are good because they’re still engaged but they’re sitting down and I won’t have to chase them. And because there are stories involved, there are at least a few lessons to be learned.

The Opposite Problem

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projects, writer's block, writing goals

I write plenty of words but I’m having trouble writing anything useful. Which at first sounds like the opposite of writer’s block, but it’s really just writer’s block coupled with an inability to sit still mentally. So I’m going to take a breath and find some new strategies to deal with this particular form of that cursed mental virus (since my usual strategy of “just write and it’ll work eventually” is already not working).

The Emotional Journey of Typical Writing Week

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gifs, week, writer's block, Writing

I felt like writing a goofy blog post. So I wrote this. It serves no purpose and adds very little to the overall discussion about writing. It was just fun to do. (As told through gifs) (With two for Sunday because reasons)

Monday

Writing is work. I must plow through and write all ten thousand words of my goal or else the whole week will be ruined.

Tuesday

Writing is exhausting. I’m going to watch a video.

Wednesday

Writing is hard. And now I feel guilty about yesterday, so I’m going to stay up late and catch up.

Thursday

Writing is emotional. I have a headache, and I can’t even see straight enough anymore to properly procrastinate and watch TV, so I’m going to sit here and blindly type through all my feelings and thoughts about this character who is keeping me up at nights.

Friday

Writing is hard, exhausting, emotional work. I can’t believe I thought I could do this, but for the sake of consistency I’m going to at least finish this piece before I go hang out with friends.

Saturday

Writing is so much fun! I had the greatest idea after I got home from being social, and that writer’s block is gone just in time for me to write all weekend long if I want to.

Sunday

Writing is my happy place. Why no, I don’t want to leave the house, because I just have to find out what happens next and since I’m the writer I’m the only one who can make that happen so bye!

Bye-bye! Cave time.

Also Sunday

Writing requires naptime. Give me my computer back or so help me I’ll….

Here’s hoping this next week’s writing isn’t quite such a roller coaster as is represented here.

Descriptions Are Like Little Gifts

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description, gifts, inspiration, Writing

Little things have meaning. I recently had a birthday, and I got some pretty great gifts. It got me thinking about descriptions, how the right one can be just as perfect for a reader as the family heirloom I got from my grandmother was for me. Or like how each one can be like a delicious little cake (I didn’t have any stock images of presents, I had pictures of cake. It probably says something about me that I deliberately chose to store such a picture on my computer.)

Now I get to make a metaphor!

Writing From the Waiting Room of Doom

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car repairs, dragging a laptop, I will survive, meltdown, Writing

I am in the habit of dragging my laptop with me to every occasion where I might be afforded five minutes to work on my writing. Sometimes this means that I lug around a laptop in its bag for a few hours and then unpack it and watch the accusing orange light as it recharges. Sometimes it means I have something to do while I wait. On (fortunately rare) occasion, it becomes a form of needed stress relief. I’m not talking about serious emergencies when all you can do is sit and pray.
I’m talking about the annoying ones. Like expensive car repairs.

40 Reasons Why I Write

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exploration, legacy, positivewriter, reasons why, Writing, writing challenge

Read a blog post challenging people to list 40 reasons why they love writing, so I decided to give it a try. Here’s my list! (Find the original challenge here, at positivewriter.com)

The Right and Wrong Advice

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adverbs, description, right and wrong, Writing, writing rules

Every writer, myself included, has advice for other writers. Some of this is excellent and comes from a place of expertise. Some of it is terrible and no one should listen. Some is in the middle, so is either vague and unhelpful or else accurate but not coming from personal experience or knowledge gained. There is such a thing as right and wrong advice. The problem is, it varies from person to person.

Where To Start A Career

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fear, mistakes, new site, Writing, writing career

Well, I’ve made a huge mistake. But it’s okay, I can fix it. See, I read this article about a big mistake someone made creating their writing website. (And this is someone who has made a career out of helping authors build a platform, so if she says it’s a mistake it’s something to at least consider.) This mistake is to start with a free website.