Writer's Block

The wall that we hit as writer's is called Writer’s Block ~Repeat after me...I will not write, I will not write. Your mantra for when you suffer from WB.

We’ve talked about inspiration, motivation and all of the good stuff that makes your writing flow, but we haven’t touched the brick wall that writer’s hit in their writing routine.
Writer’s block isn’t just merely a hindrance in your writing it is a sudden blankness that covers you like a wet blanket adhering to your skin. You try to shake it off but it clings not wanting to give you any mobility

The old Block comes when you least expect it. You’ll be on a roll writing your heart out and one day you sit down and the vacant page stands up shouting out to you like a humongous abysmal billboard. It screams for something to be on it, yet you drive by glancing at it with your head out the window like a lost puppy with his ears flapping in the wind.

You begin daydreaming of what you should be doing (and that’s writing) but nothing comes, so you sit and stare hoping for some inspiration. Writer’s block can last a day, a week or sometimes a month! (YIKES) As you can see I’ve had it once or twice myself. I’ve never had it as bad as Mr. Henry Roth, author of Call it Sleep, whose block lasted for sixty years!

The day begins in anxiety and ends in frustration. I have a little trick I’ve tried and told a friend about who tried it and it worked for BOTH of us in overcoming the block!

First I relaxed my mind, I started the day by cleaning the house and not thinking of writing at all. I told myself the little mantra, "I will not write, I will not write." As I was cleaning, I had to dust the desk and keyboard. I gazed at it like a one-eyed cyclops, "Nope, I’m not writing!"
I continued trudging along with my day like not writing was nothing new, ignoring all the pings and pangs of anxiety, I just released all the tension through scrubbing and vacuuming. Boy did my place shine that day!

The next day I had nothing to clean, so I sat at my keyboard and blank screen. Did I write? You betcha! I couldn’t STOP writing! I went on and on about how my house cleaning went. Then I wrote about my elderly neighbor who was walking her dog again, and I wondered what her lonely life must be like being a widow, living alone in a big old house, how she must feel facing everyday without Henry, her husband.

Before I knew it I had a short story of almost 3,000 words or more!

Mind over matter can be a strange thing. You can trick your mind into believing something so absurd as, "I will not write." And before you know it, your talent licks you in the face, yup like a puppy again, and you’ve freed yourself from the imprisonment of The Block, Writer’s Block, (not the cell block.)

Tips of the Trade

Listed here are some helpful tips to get those keys on the keyboard to belt out a tune! (or your pen rolling)

1. Free-write without stopping.
This is where you pick a word, picture, idea, and start writing about the subject without stopping. You can write about your day, your mother or sister, your dog or pet, anything, just to write something.

2. Don’t make plans ahead of time
Just write the first thing that comes into your mind. Don’t debate whether it is a good topic or whether you’ll have enough to say, just keep writing.

3.Always keep tapping the keys on the keyboard. (Or keep the pen moving on the paper)
Don’t glance up to see if you’re making mistakes. (Or stop writing when you catch a mistake on paper.) Turn the internal editor OFF. There will be plenty of time for editing when you’ve written a few thousand words.

4.Sometimes it is helpful to have classical (or what ever you prefer) music to help you along.
If it becomes a distraction, turn it off and find whatever puts YOU in the mood. Is it complete silence? Is it background noise that helps? Maybe its rock & roll? Lit candles?

5.Make your workspace fun and enlightening.
Having yourself surrounded in tranquility can help those stressful days of no-writing and turn them into productive days of key tapping. (Having a dish of m&m's next to you helps too.)

6.Write with confidence.
If you are a writer, then having the confidence of a writer means that you will accomplish something on any given day. We, as writer’s can not say, "I’m not good enough." That shows lack of confidence in your writing. When you sit down in front of the keyboard, repeat after me, "I AM a WRITER!" Then write your heart out!

7.Study the craft
Make sure you have studied long and hard the craft that you are about to embark on. Roads have been paved for you, sure you can make your own paths, but if you lack the confidence of ever becoming a writer, it is for certain that you will NEVER become a published writer.

8.Step out of the box
You need to find a place where you fit in comfortably. Maybe you like non-fiction, spiritual tales, horror tales or sci-fi. Whatever the case may be. Don’t be afraid of stepping out of that comfort zone and trying on new clothes. Sometimes you might find a comfortable fit in sweats and a tee, but never be afraid of trying on that little black dress. (If it still fits after all the m&m's you've eaten.)

9.Show determination
If you are not determined to be a writer, how will you expect to ever become a published writer? Writing for family can be rewarding, but are they hearing what editor’s are reading? No, editor’s expect professionalism from you and it is your determination to strive for the best that will make the editor stand up and say, "Now THIS shows promise!" Give them your best!

10.NEVER GIVE UP!
I say this because there will come a time when you just feel like throwing your work in the trash, times when you wish you could curl up in a ball and wish this talent away. But I’m afraid to tell you, that if it is a true talent, it will haunt your days and nights like the ghost of Christmas past, present and future all rolled into one!

"The hot air balloon comes in many different shapes and sizes, but it always soars above the earth making its mark as special among the airborne." ~ joni

Freedom

FREEDOM
The pen is mightier than the sword…

How often have you heard that one? To me it is a mighty mantra and I put it to good use. Whenever I want to lash out at someone, instead of verbally abusing the situation, I sit down and write. Often times its just me babbling, but more times than not my pen becomes a sword while I watch a storm (story) brewing beneath the surface. With the blade sharpened it even becomes a mighty tool in the machinations of my work.

We writer’s have a freedom that every human being should have, but too often they would rather lash out in a verbal attack, not knowing that their pen is mightier. Writer’s can take the red, white and blue to new levels.

The red is the crimson that boils under the skin, painting a woman’s cheeks a soft hue. The blue is the battered bruising that a conflict can cause or the shade of sadness that creeps into your heart. The white is the glorious purity of a whimsical soul that has been allowed to soar amid the fluffy clouds creating the mystical lure to drink in the reader.

The flag stands for something to our country America. But what the symbol exudes is our freedom that was well earned through the bloodshed of men, the bruising of ego and pure love of a land that was/is worth fighting for to keep all of our constitutions words alive.

Words! Did you read that? It was words that brought about our Constitutional Rights. It was then followed by actions to make the rights of a nation stick like gum to asphalt. Sometimes they can appear a little gummy and uncertain, but in the end when all is said and done, the Law becomes a firm adhesive in forming a nation.

Just as writing will bring about an unwavering adhesion and will cling to you no matter where you go in this world. Words will build you a structure, shape and mold a story, bring you to move into action, so you become published while a nation stands in awe of your work. You raise the flag of freedom. You praise the country you live in, then you thank God for giving you the best gift anyone could ever receive, and that is the talent of writing.

So what are you waiting for? Let the Freedom of Writing take hold of your psyche allowing you to move into action as the cause and affect leap onto your keyboard. You will mold, shape, structure a tale then through action cause it to be released into the world on its own wings, watching it fly like the beautiful eagle.

Our fathers’ God, to Thee,

Author of liberty,To Thee we sing;

Long may our land be brightWith freedom’s holy light;

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

Inspiration

"Inspiration is the beauty we see in the everyday world that makes us have an intimate relationship with the awesome power of...ourselves."~joni

Now where, as writers, are we going to find the inspiration to carry us through a short story, article or novel? We need to look deep within our artistic self, get a glimpse of a character and build a house.

Take a log cabin for instance. In days of old, it was built one log at a time. They had windows and doors that allowed for a view and expansion of the outer world. Now, think of your story as a log cabin, building it one word at a time. Climb through the doors and windows of your imagination allowing the words to flow like silk in the wind.

First you’ll need a character. I like to find mine in everyday people that I see as interesting. Whether it’s a man walking a dog, or a woman jogging, or even a waitress serving food.

There are many circumstances that can lead to inspiration of a character in your story. You don’t need to pick any special person. Just pick out five people in a day that you have encountered. A policeman? A teacher? A businessman? Now give him/ her details of your own. Let’s mold him into who WE want him to be.

After you mold this character, give him/her a job to do. Is she a mother struggling on welfare with three kids? A father working seventy hours a week trying to pay for his six children?

Now lets build a plot, add some conflict, make the tension rise like a mountaintop peeking out of the clouds. Then slowly bring your character down the mountain and resolve any unfinished business. You now have a story to work with.

Like many people, ideas don’t just come from the rain falling on the ground and making a puddle. We need inspiration to move us along. If you’ve stumbled upon what to write, finding writing exercises usually helps alleviate the tension of not having a word on the page. (The link to your left, Pumping Your Muse, has EXCELLENT writing prompt ideas to get you motivated.)

Sometimes going through the dictionary and picking out ten words (related or unrelated to one another) can spawn a mecca of ideas. Don’t let the blank white space in front of you make you run for shelter, instead pick 10 words at random and build your log house to make it a wondrous story that you can tell all your friends about.

Once you’ve gotten your house built, furnish it with people and furnishings of whatever era your tale is set in. Now sit at the desk, (that you’ve placed right next to the window) and dream your way into the clouds, flying high above the earth. Do you see the world through different colors? I bet you do. I bet your imagination has taken on its own entity and is now inspired to roll right along, like a wagon wheel of motion.

Plagiarism Part II

Plagiarism Part two

After my post yesterday, it got me to thinking about the collective conscious. (I think a friend started it) :P She knows who she is!

But as I read many, many books I come across writers who I feel FEED off of each other’s ideas.

Two right off the top of my head? Dean Koontz and Stephen King! Not that they plagiarize each other but feed off of a single thought or idea.

What do I mean by "feed off of" and would you like some examples? Ok, I just finished reading The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz AND I read Duma Key by Stephen King. I read Duma first! Do you want to talk about an awesome book? I could go on and on!

Anyway in Duma, there is this man who sketches (yeah the pencil and paper kind) and the pictures just so happen to become a reality. There is a ship, a haunted ship (that only the artist sees) sitting out in the water. I won’t go any further because I will never give a story away.

DEotY by Koontz, has an architect who sketches a dog. A haunting dog with beautiful eyes that seem to speak to him. There is a ship (minor player in this tale) but you see, these books were BOTH published the same year, so there is no way one took the idea from the other but they (being of the same genre) THINK ALIKE! I have had the opportunity to note this happening on more than one occasion between the two authors.
Except the books were published in different years.

I have read books where it appears that one idea has spawned a whole story from a different author. They are not stealing the idea and writing the same story, or stealing sentences and words, calling them their own. They are creating, like any artist would.

Artists can look at the same Willow tree in the setting sun and both paint a different picture. A photographer can snap a picture of Redwood trees and a totally different photographer can capture the exact same trees but in a different light and maybe make the National Geographic cover.

This is what happens to writers sometimes in their writing. In my writing workshop, there are weekly prompts. I set the stage and the author writes at least 500 words or less from one sentence (maybe two.) On more occasions than one, we have often leaked into our writing the same story and sometimes we unknowingly used the exact same character’s name.

There is a difference in surfing ideas off an image, ideas or a word and plagiarism. The two do not walk hand in hand like lovers under the moonlit sky. As writer’s we feed off of what others write (by reading a story) and out of our imagination our own story forms, and we’re down the stretch to making the individual piece our very own artistic masterpiece.

An idiom that comes to mind, "Great Minds think alike." I don’t know the original author of this or I would surely give her/him credit for doing so. Because, in a nutshell we are all of one collective conscious, kindred spirits where like minds collide in a kaleidoscope of thoughts and ideas.

Writers are the artists that form beauty from words. I’ll leave the painting to those artists.

"In a world of discoloration, the writer reigns in beauty all with the mighty word." ~joni

Plagiarism

PLAGIARISM: even the spelling of this word is ugly!

From wikipedia.org: Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work

The UNC Honor Court defines plagiarism as "the deliberate or reckless representation of another's words, thoughts, or ideas as one's own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise."

Taken from plagiarism.org:
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary plagiarism is defined as:
1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
2. to use (another's production) without crediting the source
3. to commit literary theft
4. to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

The word itself conjures shivers down my spine. One of the very reasons that I never wanted to be in an online class or send my work out was the fear of plagiarism. I started writing poetry when I was young (maybe about 8) and I knew absolutely nothing!

I had a poem published in a local weekly paper when I was 20 and the editor liked it so much that he sent it into a contest, where I won honorable mention. I was so excited that someone had read and liked my work, the bug of writing had bitten me and I was off on a journey I had only dreamed of.

I then entered the contest again and again and sure enough they loved my work. I was on a roll. Until that is, I dug deeper into who was running the contest (after many snail mails garnered no response.) My instinct told me that the Vanity Publishing House was using my work to make them money (as well as millions of other dreamers.)

Discouragement set in deep and it wasn’t until almost 20 more years were added to my life, that I got a computer and started releasing my work to the internet. I didn’t care if someone stole my work, just to see it on the screen made me feel like I was accomplishing something. That is when I took a two-year writing course to further me along in my writing.

The writing bug that I thought I had put to sleep was awakened like Rip Van Winkle. I had writing fever and I couldn’t stop. My mentor at the time was impressed that I had never written anything but poetry and he encouraged me to continue writing. That is what I needed, encouragement. Since no one in my life had ever encouraged me to do anything, I was determined to set out and encourage every person I could find. If I liked their writing and saw potential, I was going to be the arm that nudged them into realizing their dream.

Now with more determination than ever, I continue to write. I still have people admiring my work and saying things that stem from my early writing like, "That has a poetic feel." or "Your style of prose is wonderful." A compliment to a bruised ego. But as I take this leap of faith, that haunting word comes creeping back and I watch as it slithers up my leg and tries to seep further up until it reaches my mind. Plagiarism! The dirty ugly bug that leaks in my system covering me with fear.

Creativity is one’s own beauty and can not be taken or substituted. You can’t steal someone’s work, call it your own, and mask it to look original. Eventually it will catch up to you (like I’ve seen happen to a few of Oprah’s books of the month club.) Someone will eventually say, "Hey, that sounds an awful lot like so and so." And it is at that time that the river of doubt comes streaming down and people start to take notice and then you are considered a fraud.

I know that as writer’s, we have a tendency to think alike. It is as if we’re in the same stream of conscious awareness and we pick up what our fellow writer’s are going to write or are about to write and we begin writing with little or no clue that they have already been there done that. But it is up to us as writer’s to make our work original! Make it a piece of art, mold it to form to YOUR personality.

A true writer is an artist in his/her own league. They have an aura that hangs over them making them stand out among the crowd. Sure everyone wants a little piece of the magic that the artist/writer has, but if you don’t make it your own, then you are plagiarizing the very person that you look up to.

Speed Bumps

Speed Bumps of life…find the hidden moments in your day and make use of them.

"Behind every cloud there burns a brilliant sun waiting to shine down on you to help you make the most out of every living second." ~joni

Do you know why speed bumps are placed in the road? It is to make us slow down, and take notice of what we are doing.

It is wise for writers (new and old-timers) to place speed bumps in their writing life. Maybe you run around too much, can’t find time to write, dream of writing but for some reason beyond your control you can’t seem to find time? Maybe this is a good time to say, "Hold on there pardna." And slow down! Place a speed bump in your writing career.

I read some peoples work that looks too rushed and hurried, to where you can’t make one bit of sense out of it. Does a polished piece have the look of a woman who has just had an overactive night of sleeping and wakes to find her hair standing on end? It shouldn’t.

A polished piece of work looks like a well-shined shellac floor, almost perfect. (I say almost perfect because even a well-shined shellac floor has imperfections.) Taking the time to slow down causes you to organize your time where you make the most well thought out decisions of where your piece might go, how will you go about it and most of all how it will read to others.

When I present my work to others, I never give a rough draft. And if for some crazy reason I have asked my peers to look at my rough draft, I tell them right up front that it is an extremely rough draft. Writer’s and their workshops understand that, but editor’s don’t. They expect a polished piece. One that has already gone through the ranks and rigors of a workshop or an excellent editing tool that you have.

By placing a speed bump in the road to writing, you are not only taking a longer glance at your writing habits but also showing respect for your craft. You can’t bring to the table a meal that has the ABC look (already been chewed.) No way! You want to bring to the table a plate that looks like it was designed by a professional chef with all the fancy trimmings.

A speed bump gives you time to slowly look over your work, make it shine and bring forth a delectable treat good enough for the elite to bask in and savor. The bottle of Dom Perignon is for the acceptance you feel when everyone is pleased with all your time and hard work. Believe me, it pays off in the end!

Now what are you waiting for? Place the speed bump in your road to writing, get organized, prioritize and know that a delectable meal with fine wine awaits you at the end of the day!

"To hear a clock tick means that it is slowly making its way through a day. Make every second count." ~joni

Rejection

A Second Chance!

Okay, we’ve learned that we are passionate about writing, we know what it is going to take (persistence) we know that in the end we’ll have a polished story ready for submission. Now what do we do from here?

Well, we go over our work and fix it up for the editor. Hand him/her a polished piece of art so he can show it to the world and be proud of the choice they made in deciding to pick YOUR story for publication. But suppose they reject it?

Oh dear, I think this is what all writers fear the most and that is the face of rejection. For some reason a rejection from an editor makes us feel like somehow we’ve failed. That is what rejection has stood for all these years whether a parent rejects you, a boyfriend or anyone for that matter rejects you, you drink it down like a dose of failure. It has slapped you in the face and there is no medicine for the cure when you’re a writer. (There is no medicine PERIOD for rejection.)

When one strives so hard to succeed, we feel like failure has come over us like a dark soggy cloud draping its gloom over our head in the mirror of rejection. But as writer’s we NEED rejection. We need to be told that our work just isn’t up to par so we can work to make it better.
When a parent says, "Your best isn’t good enough." We will run and hide in our bedrooms and linger in self-doubt for ages, UNLESS we say to ourselves "My best IS good enough, but I can do even BETTER!"

This is what writer’s do when an editor tells them their work isn’t what they need. We writer’s seek out who DOES need our story, we make it so perfect that it squeaks like vinyl! Shiny and perfect our work is handed to the right person, at the right time, and is taken out of our hands and fed to the world like an ant on sugar. It has been bitten, liked, and now published.

Our walls become a place tacked with the art of rejection. With each new note, our collage grows and soon the entire wall is covered in rejection notes. But instead of looking at the wall as a wall of failure, see it as opportunity! It is a wall of chances to do better!

How many times do you think that a football player (or any sports player) said to themselves, "If I only had one more shot, just one more chance?" They don’t get the second chance that writer’s get. Their shot or play is FINAL! But in the writing world, rejection slips are our SECOND CHANCE!

So what are you waiting for? We’ve eliminated the fear, now on to our next rejection!

Happy Second Chances!

A Writer Reads...before he writes

Writer’s are adament readers before they become affluent writer's!

If you are a writer, you didn’t just stumble upon the idea one day and dream it into existence. You had to begin somewhere. More than likely you were young, took a liking to reading and thought that maybe YOU could be a writer too!

I started with poetry at a very young age. The passion inside never left as I waltzed through life trying on different fields of color, never coming up with anything of substance except my love of writing. I wrote in journals, in notebooks then I moved onto the computer.

My life took on a whole new world where my imagination not only lived but soared above the skies, floated through the clouds, landing gently on a piece of paper. Where I once had lived in the mind of Alice (in wonderland) or through Gem’s mischievous ways (To Kill a Mockingbird) or dappling into the unknown with Eleanor (Haunting of Hill House.) I was now writing stories of mystery and intrigue through a child’s eyes, (Jenny’s Plight) or through a ghost who loved her tenant, (The Haunting of Mrs. Willowby.)

Writing stemmed from many years of reading. Continuing in my reading I also interlocked with educating myself not only in the craft of writing but also the art of writing.
Writing as an art form should not be overlooked. Making words stream together like a gentle river or a rapid stream, you can form a story and make a masterpiece of something so simple as language.

Read, educate, write, produce; writing will then become to you all the doorways it holds for me. I can do your homework for you and list the many books out there to help you attain your dream but it is much more fun to dig and find them yourself. Amazon.com is loaded with Creating Fiction, Shaping the Story and many other books to start you on your lifelong journey with your love of writing. (or you can go to your local library and dig too.)

Come on, what are you afraid of? Become a writer. Read your heart out and gain knowledge and smell the sweet aroma of success. If not for anyone, do it for YOU!

Reading is to the writer, what the sun is to the earth, the sustenance of life. ~joni

Submission

Submission Time is upon us...

Now that we’ve written the story, we’ve workshopped it with fellow writer’s (or revised it five times to make it perfect) and now we feel it is ready to submit!

First you will search out markets for your work. I would look specifically for where you think your piece of work is going to fit in. Don’t send a child’s story to an erotic magazine, and whatever you do don’t send a teen pregnancy story to a sports editor. In other words, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Most publications offer online guidelines for you to follow. It is of the utmost importance that you FOLLOW these guidelines right down to the line. Word for word, check what each one wants and expects from you, the writer.

If they accept 2,000 words, do not think that ONE WORD over the limit is allowed. It isn’t. Don’t surmise that it will look better in a fancy font. It won’t to their eyes! If they ask for 12 pt. Times New Roman , then by all means that is what you will deliver to them.

A lot of times they accept email submissions but in a rtf. format. Again, DO YOUR HOMEWORK and find out what a rtf. format IS. It is a Rich Text Format that makes the work of the editor much easier, and often times that is why they request your story in that format.

Sometimes they want your story in the body of an email, that is what they want, and that is what you will send them. If they want Snail Mail with a S.A.S.E (Self addressed stamped envelope) It is your job to deliver the goods in the form that they require.
You want them to read your work not toss it in the bin. If you fail to adhere to simple guidelines, maybe you aren’t ready to be a serious writer.

Now we’ve submitted, what’s next? Well my friend this is where you will need all the patience of a monk. This is where you wait. My advice? Forget you sent it in and when the acceptance comes in the mail (or rejection) you can say to yourself, "I forgot I even sent that story out!"

But we all know that you will have already made a file for where (and to whom) you’ve submitted and WHEN you’ve submitted. And more than likely you will look at it every day and wind up becoming a nail-biter before the "You’ve Got Mail" voice arrives with an acceptance or rejection.

Sit back, have a drink (preferably green tea) and wait…and wait…and wait some more!
Nooooooo, you start a NEW STORY! That’s what we writer’s do while we wait! Then we have submissions and works in progress going at all times so that we truly DO forget where and when and who and what we’ve sent out into the world. (I’m kidding)

Always have a record of your work! And don’t forget to BACK UP your files! You never know when the great power outage will sweep across America, and at least YOU will have a copy of all of your work!

Or…you can just BLOG!

Write on!

It is okay to be planted, but it is so much nicer when you bloom! ~joni

Write,Read,Revise!

Write it, read it, revise it ….

Okay now we know that we WANT to be a writer, the passion has been fired up and we’re ready to roll, now what? Well your first step is to write something. What? Where do I get idea’s? That’s the easy part. All across the internet you can find writing prompts some good, some not so good, and some daggone awful!

Writing prompts are simple sentences or pictures that you look at and write, let’s say 500 words or less. You then expand on those five-hundred words that you wrote to make it either a fictional short story, if you’re lucky it may become a novel, or maybe even a non-fiction article idea will surface. Note that not all prompts will elucidate a creative writing tale. This is why you need the discipline to do many many exercises and prompts! (but you’re a writer, you can handle it.)

You’ve written the words now what? Well, you need to read them, OUT LOUD! I can’t emphasize this one enough! When you read your work out loud (it’s okay, no one will think you’re crazy) you will HEAR what is wrong in the sentence structure, the dialogue or the paragraph. Take note of what you’ve noticed. Is it clumsy? Is the dialogue not sounding believable enough? Is that comma giving you a problem?

I always use my MSWord to do my work with. On occasion when the computer isn’t available (usually for poetry) I actually use the old-time pen and paper. Either way I have a yellow highlighter within my reach. (MSWord has one or there is one in my hand.)

Now we’ve written our words, have them compiled into what looks like a possible story, now what do I do? It is time to let it rest (for a day at least) then we come back to it and revise it.

What is a revised piece of work? It is where you’ve gone over it with a fine-toothed comb, highlighted all the spots that are not working out for you and you fix them!

Please be diligent and check for spelling errors. Grammatical errors can be picked out by your group, but not taking the time to FIND your spelling errors (sorry MSWord won’t do the work for you) makes you appear to be either a hurried writer or a lazy writer.

It is helpful if you have a study group (there are many online writing study groups or at your local library.) Writer’s Village University is a wonderful source for my inspiration. You might find another one useful to you. Maybe you seek out in-depth student/instructor assistance? Maybe you desire a one-on-one mentor? Whichever you choose for the writer in YOU is what will work best for you.

Now get writing! Do your best and make it shine!

Within every writer is a magical world just waiting to be explored. Remember that Columbus didn’t discover America just by looking out at the sea! ~Joni

The Write to Choose?

Does one choose to become a writer?

I’m thinking it is inbred in our being, becoming a heat seeking missile erupting feverishly if we never call upon it into existence.

Why become a writer?

Is that the write question we need to be asking? What called you to become a writer?
Again this is assuming that people who have never written, never felt the churning inside, just educate themselves because ‘becoming’ a writer looks like fun?

I don’t think so.

I think that no matter what career you chose in life, whatever path you were headed down as a profession, if you were meant to be a writer, it surfaces like a volcano. The volcano was standing right there all along, you saw it but you never REALLY bothered with it because it never bothered you. Volcano is the perfect metaphor because as a writer you feel it simmering. You’re going through life…a cashier, a nurse, an accountant, but then you feel the simmering brewing like a fresh pot of coffee.

It begins with a low bubbling, you think to yourself, "I’d like to write for my colleagues." Or "The pastor has asked ME to write in the newsletter!"
Whatever the case may be, the volcano erupts in a frenzy and you find yourself pursuing the art of writing.

I myself have always written cards, since I was a kid. I never gave much thought to ‘becoming a writer.’ I had teachers tell me how nice my work was, I had family that loved my poems but as a ‘chosen’ field. Nah, not for me. So I went aimlessly in search of something that maybe I COULD do! I helped the elderly, took on menial jobs (slave labor), cleaned houses, attended beautician school (for a short lived term), still I wandered and wondered what is it, what is this CHURNING inside!

Then I dug into the anthill. "What is YOUR job?" I asked the ants as they scurried out of the mountain of sand. They didn’t respond (Thank God) but they did show me something.
They climbed the mountain of sand, all in a row they marched like little soldiers, never cutting in front of the other, just content to be going all in the same direction. I watched as their little world HAD direction. (Aha, I need direction!) They carried (I should say lugged) food into the anthill. (Aha, I need nourishment!) They came marching down the anthill as if trudging to war. War with the enemy (seasons.) But it wasn’t war at all that kept them moving it was determination! (Aha, I need determination)

So late in the seasons of my life, something called out. (no it wasn’t the ants) The churning volcano inside erupted into a cataclysmic frenzy and smacked me so hard in the face it was not to be ignored.

So here I am. Not CHOOSING to be a writer. I don’t seek fame and fortune. I don’t seek the all empowering Great American Novel. Writing chose me! Something more powerful than the ants, more powerful than anything science can explain, more powerful than any deliciously well-prepared thought out meal with all the RIGHT ingredients.

The mountainous volcano has a natural flow (like the ants) Did you ever watch a volcano erupt? It erupts in colorful molten lava, (like writing erupts in the soul?) Then the hot lava begins its way down the path of creation (just like the writer creates) making fissures along the way. (A writer opens many worlds in these fissures.) As the lava flows it weaves a sinuous impression on the earth. (Just like the writer leaves an impression.)

Soooooooo my longwinded point being… Once I knew I needed direction, I aimed myself toward the moon. (A GOAL) I fed myself all the information I needed to get me going down the right road. (Nourished mySELF) Then I bathed in determination! Everything has fallen into place all on its own. Always has and always will.

Just remember…"Everything happens for a reason. For every season of your life may your branch extend into the groping sunshine and cast an effervescent light upon you to give you clarity. Then maybe you can BLOOM!" ~~ Joni's quote! ;-)

Embrace the Storm

Embracing the Storm… as a new writer

As a new writer there are a few mistakes you just might make. (We all make mistakes, sure, but to the newbie here is one thing you might want to keep an eye out for.)

Let’s say you want to write an article. You may at first want to try sounding too smart for the reader of the magazine/ezine/newspaper (or God forbid, the editor). By sounding too smart I mean using convoluted sentence structure or complicated words. This will have you either making a fool of yourself or worse cause the reader to put your article/story down, and quick.

Then there is the time when you may feel the need to say too much. Don’t ruin your work with mundane details of every single step your character is taking, just to move the story along. If what you are saying doesn’t move the story arc to the next place then it is unnecessary to give the entire minute nail biting fragments of dust. If you’re a reader, do you want to know how Timmy got from the bed to the breakfast table? Step by painstaking step?

Sometimes this HELPS to move a story along but if it hinders it, then cut it out of the story all together.

Then there is the time when you can say too little to the reader and he is left scratching his head. You have to make the connections for him/her so that he is getting a clear picture of what you’re writing. If Timmy is walking to his car, maybe we don’t want to know he glanced at the phone on his way out. That he stopped to pick up his keys and saw yesterday’s unopened mail. He may have even patted Toby, his dog, before he finally took the needed steps to get to the garage and into the car.

Timmy went to the car and drove off in a hurry. Flurries of concrete stirred in the wake of his screeching tires.

You see? Timmy made it to the car. The reader KNOWS he was in a hurry or angry. (That’s for the story) But Timmy made it to the car without miniscule details following him.

Now get writing! Be it a blog, an article, a tell-all novel, a short story or a poem. Ahhh poetry…that’s a topic for another day.
Keep an eye out for the manufactured look of your work. Make it stand out as special and maybe you too will become the next Great American Author!
Hey, we can dream can’t we?

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."
Edgar Allan Poe

Is WRITING your Passion?

Are you too busy to write?

I often hear that one is just too busy to sit down and write. A friend of mine says if you sit idle for one second, that second can be used to WRITE. Do you take your child to the playground? Take a note pad with you, and scribble your heart out! One word doesn’t make a sentence but it does create an idea.

Example: Walk. What image is conjured in your mind when you read that word? It is only one word but it conjures so many images. Are many people walking? Is it you alone on a path? Is a walk a morning routine that you have made a useful part of your day?

Write. What image does that summon up in your mind? Is it YOU that you see, sitting behind the keyboard tapping out words that are making sentences growing into an article, surpassed the article limit and turned into a full blown short story?

Action. Now that’s a tough one because in my mind’s eye this brings too many images. But most of all it brings ME into action. I place myself in many scenes, whether it is walking, running, swimming, playing or driving, I am building a story using me. But wait, I see others in action too. They’re talking, whispering, shouting, eating and moving.

Now I have something to build!

My morning walk begins in the park. I see two women walking in front of me. I’ll give them names Mary and Judy. Mary and Judy are taking their morning walk when a dog leaps out of the bushes and jumps on one of them. The dog is not being playful , he is on the attack. From out of nowhere arrives a man on the scene calling out to his dog, Whimsy.

"Whimsy, you bad dog." He takes the leash that Whimsy still has around her neck and Jack begins pulling him off the scared woman. I watch as the three of them (four if you include Whimsy) begin talking (not Whimsy of course.) Whimsy has begun her playful look-at-me tail wagging episode and from a short distance I can see the apologetic Jack making amends.

Now they all begin walking down the path, making a bee-line for the café that is ready and waiting for the morning commuters. They head in that direction and I can only imagine what will take place next.

Did you just read all that? From a simple walk, a simple action, I made characters, built on the tension, and gave three (four if you count Whimsy a part of the scene) characters a chance to bloom into a story. It is THAT simple!

So what are you waiting for? Time? Time is not going to last forever you know! If you don’t take action NOW, there might never be enough time for you to find the passion bubbling within you to be all that you can be! And that is the passionate writer you always dreamed that you would one day become.

Now find some classes (WVU is a great start) Find critique groups, get some imperative feedback, read others work and comment on what you read. Only then will you understand all the little cogs that are in the workings of a writer’s mind! And that my friend, is YOUR passionate mind

Are YOU a Writer?

Work like a Horse!

I know a lot of people would like to be writer. They sit and tap on the keys or write with the Neanderthal pen and paper, but is what you write consistent with what publishers want?

I am a poetic person so when I write, my language can be very full of imagery. The water doesn’t just glimmer in my eyes it sparkles with an effervescence of lucidity. Punctuation is another key factor to keep an eye out for. Never take it for granted that YOU know what is right or wrong when writing that short story or article.

I have a friend in Helsinki who does short articles for the newspaper there, and when she asks me to look at her work, I have to remember that the requirements are for ENGLISH not American English. There is a difference. In English form (and Canadian) I may labour all the live long day. But in proper American English, I labor all the live long day.

To the left of this blog, What a Writer Need’s you will find an extremely helpful link to your GRAMMAR. Guide to Grammar & Writing AND Grammar Slammer. They are helpful in that they give you some idea of where and WHEN to use a comma properly, when to hyphenate, and when NOT to over-hyphenate. In the blog world, many people are reading what you write, but is what you’re saying making any sense to the reader? Do you do a spell-check to make sure you don’t look like a first grade student

The internet is over populated with acronyms but to become a successful writer the acronyms have to be tossed out the window. You want to be taken seriously so show some professionalism and do your homework before you begin writing your blog.

Now don’t go picking out all of my horrendous grammar mistakes because we ALL make them. A blog is the best place to make them. But in the real world of publishing (the ink, paper and pen field) your grammar expertise is a welcome sight to an editor.

The world can be seen through many windows, preferably you allow your reader to see through a clear window instead of the fog-laden murky window. As changes in the atmosphere causes changes in the weather, so does the changes in people reflect a change in style of writing. But one thing has remained and that would be proper etiquette of the written word.

To be taken seriously, don’t let someone else do your work for you. Achieve your dream by striving to be the best you can be. In a world of turmoil be a voice of the future. Lead one person down the path of enlightenment, write about it to the best of your ability and take pride in all that you do! One day…all your hard work will pay off!

Tell me your story...

Everybody has a story…

Are you one of the people who think that you have no story to tell? I’ve heard so many times in my life from many different people in many walks of life, "Have I got a story to tell you!" Me, being a writer has the urge to say, "Do tell!" But more often than not I just listen.

Listening to people tell me of their day, their past, their hopes for the future all spurn in me ideas to write. Normally I think to myself, ‘What if this were to happen or what if that were to happen?’ and then I go to my keyboard and write.

Writing for me has become my right arm, without it I’d be a hopeless mess. I take all the whispered tales I hear and turn them into my own. Not necessarily using the persons entire tale but I gather a moral from the story, write about it putting in my own characters and from there the idea has spawned in me the ability to build a story.

Every story should have a beginning, a middle and an end. It is a little like building a house out of brick instead of straw. If we construct the story from a sound foundation and build it layer by layer (the structure, the outer walls, the inner walls) we can finally conclude that we have sealed our story with a firm design and are ready to show it to the world. That would be after we furnish the house (story) with lots of imagery using our senses!

We have five senses to display in our story (some use six.) We have sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and the sixth being the unknown! In the construction phase you want to SEE the house being built, what sounds do you hear while it is being shaped? Do you smell sawdust in the air? Apple pies being baked at the neighbors, wafting by tickling your nose? Can you almost taste the newly lain sod? Will you explain how the new carpet feels under your bare toes?

Now dapple in the unknown elements, mix it all together and you’ve built a house (story) out of brick! Leaving all of these integral elements out of your story, you will see a house made out of straw and slowly thread by thread it will fall apart and never be seen by anyone.

Poetry Sunday ~ A Summer's Breeze

A Summer's Breeze
All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

A summer's breeze has passed my way,

lending me the soft scent of newly fallen rain.

Warm in procession,

it carries me to loftier times.

Memories forgotten;

Days of youth begotten.

A summer's breeze can melt my heart

while unleashing the swift laps of my hair,

wafting…fluttering.

Looking on in admiration

I watch the trees flow in an endless haze.

I think of younger days.

A summer's breeze has caught my attention.

I firmly stand to inhale the flux of air,

as it penetrates my skin, my mind.

It holds me in it's bosom

comforting me; caressing me.

Remembering days that use to be.

All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

Change Making Changes

A World of Change:

I can go on and on about what is wrong in the world today. Society, moral decline, fruitless anger and hate, but can I find some of the good in the world? I will seek it out, and let you all know so that we as a community of positive people may have a hand in changing this ever-changing world.

from a mom… "We raised, as a school, thousands and thousands of cans of food for the hunger collation before Christmas, My kids donated and went to the homeless shelter to deliver their donations themselves."
from the frontlines in Iraq, there appears to be a shift in the soldiers negativity to something positive when each one saves a life. They give a life to save one and that is an exemplary gift of theirs.

In Iowa, I watch as devastation runs on the screen like butter on asphalt. Streaming on the bottom of the screen or whether it is the front story, I see glimmers of hope. Yes the people have lost almost everything but they have not lost their spirit of hope or pride in moving forward. Hands reaching out to help, offerings of assistance are taken, state to state, hands stretch out across the land to assist. I find that positively beautiful!

On a closer to home level, at Round Grove United Church of Christ, they are feeding the less fortunate children twice a week, all with the aid of volunteers pitching in to do their part. They make the lunches, deliver to the needy children, and the church is a proud sponsor of CCA . Christian Community Action of Denton County Texas:

Mission Statement
In the spirit of Jesus Christ, Christian Community Action ministers to the poor by providing comprehensive services that alleviate suffering, bring hope and change lives.
Description
Christian Community Action serves the residents of Denton County in various areas of service. Including but not limited to food, housing, education, spiritual, Christmas Toy Program, Back to School Program, Summer lunch programs, crisis intervention, and many other issues affecting the community.

On a personal level, what am I doing to make the change? I think my previous post says something about my smile a day campaign, and anyone who knows me, knows I’m keeping my part of the bargain alive! I will help people become better, I will make one person smile a day (if not tons more), I will guide learner’s in the direction that they would like to go, I will also care when no one else will. I am certain to make a change in anyone who knows me and if one day I should know millions of people then I can say that I’ve made a prominent mark on a good proportion of society.

So to this I ask you, my positive friend, what are YOU doing to make a difference in the world? Are you going to sit, looking through those rose colored glasses, peer out over the open span of your window and watch as the suffering continues and pretend that there is nothing that YOU can do?
Always remember, even the smallest of ants…joined together with his friends…can move that rubber tree plant!

Galatians 4:[20] I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

How To Change the World

Have you ever thought about changing the world?

What’s that?

You Can’t?

I had a teacher that used to always tell me that, "CAN’T means you WON’T!" At thirteen those words went right in one ear and out the other, but as I grew and matured, each time I said I can’t I thought to myself, "Can’t means you won’t!" Not being a quitter, I tried my hardest to never say the words, "I can’t."

So when I ask myself the question, "Have you ever thought about changing the world?" I say, "Sure, I’ll do it tomorrow." (Tomorrow never comes!) No seriously, I want to change the world TODAY! So I wake up each day and, look at the beautiful sun, clouds, rain, storms, weather (forget the news) and inhale deeply and think HOW am I going to change the world?
One person at a time! That’s how! But I need to start with ME!

If I am driving down the road and someone cuts in front of me (without a blinker.) Instead of going into a fit of road rage, I shoo that person along and say out loud to no one, "Go ahead you little person in a hurry, go get to where you’re going to." (Assuming they’ll get there alive, driving like a maniac.)

When I’m at the store and the cashier is in a less than friendlier mood, do I grumble at her (because she isn’t giving me MY proper service with a smile?) No, I smile at her, ask her how her day is going, and much to my surprise she responds with a little smile and tells me of her hard day. And guess what else? I actually listen and CARE how her day is going.

I see kids sitting in the one-hundred degree heat. Do I just pass them by without a care? (gripe because they are blocking my way into the door?) No, I ask them if they’d all like a popsicle, go into the house and hand them out by the dozens. (it is always good to stock up on freezie-pops in the summer.) They’re cheap enough and I have made a lot of little kids happy!

There are many more instances that I have the ability to make one person smile within a day. I take on the job of changing the world by making that one person smile and MAYBE they will do the same for someone else. Maybe it will spread like a rapid disease across the land and I can say, "I had a hand in changing the world one person at a time." Will a smile change the world? Maybe, because it is warmth of love that spreads through the heart and surfaces on the face!

This may be a dream of mine to change the world but I figure this, if every single person tries to change the world with me, maybe this will be the best disease to infest America since it was formed!

Have you smiled today? Have you made someone else smile? That is me, doing my work and it is paying off! :-)

1 Cor. 15: [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

The Lighthouse of Life

Happy Father's Day!!!

Lighthouse of Life

There comes a time in ones life
that changes do occur.
Place one foot in front of the other
We tread while life's a blur.

We turn to strength and guided hands
to show us where to roam.
We look to our father for his armor
our haven; a stable home.

He stands in the shadow of silence
giving advice when we seek.
He lends to us a pillar.
A beacon when we are weak.

On the shore of rocky oceans
His kids are out at sea.
The lighthouse of my youthful years
Was all he gave to me.

He gave me courage to stand afoot,
be strong when seas were rough.
To ride the ebb and flow of life,
Always remaining tough.

At times when tears begin to flow,
to him I would never bother.
I'll stand ashore and see the gleam,
in the eyes of my loving father.

All rights reserved: copyright © joni zipp