Questions to Gear Up For Meaningful Writing in 2014

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Happy New Year!  Another whirlwind holiday season has come and gone, and here on the East Coast, we're gearing up for a pretty big snow storm that should be arriving momentarily.

For those of you who don't know me well, January has always been one of my favorite months.  I know, I know--you think I'm crazy don't you?  It's not that I jet off to a tropical location for this month, or celebrate my birthday or any other family milestone, it's really quite simple--I love January because it's a fresh start.

I go back and forth  each year on whether or not I'll be setting New Year's resolutions.  Some years I'm completely caught up in goal setting and making changes for the incoming year and other years, I sit back and just reflect on what went well in the previous year and how I can focus on my blessings rather than what didn't work so well.

For 2014 I'm  mixing it up.  I'm setting a few New Year's intentions, rather than resolutions so that I don't put so much pressure on myself to make change happen.  For instance, I have wanted to finish my novel for the past two years and set it as one of my goals each year, but since it hasn't happened yet, this year, I have set an intention that my chapters will be finished and my goal will be to edit my novel, carefully and thoughtfully, throughout 2014.

I have a few other writing intentions for the New Year as well as for my personal life all of which have me feeling inspired and excited, not like a failure because I didn't do as well as I would've liked last year.  My biggest intention for myself on a personal level is to be kinder and more accepting of myself.  Just writing that down makes me smile.

In order to figure out exactly what I wanted to create and give positive thought to this year, I sat down on New Year's eve with the following questions and answered them in my journal so I could physically have something concrete to refer to throughout the year when I get into one of my "reflective" states.

I thought I'd share my questions with you in hopes you might share some of your own with those of us here at The Writer's Crate.

1.  What was the single best thing that happened to you as a writer this past year?

2.  What was the single most challenging thing that happened to you as a writer this past year?

3.  Pick three words to describe you best this past year?

4.  What were the three best books you read this past year?

5.  What was an unexpected joy this year that influenced you as a writer?

6.  What was an unexpected obstacle this year that influenced you as a writer?

7.  In what way did you grow professionally?

8.  In what way did you come out of your comfort zone as a writer during the past year?

9.  What was the single biggest time waster in your life this past year--both as a writer and personally?

10.  What will your "mantra" be in the New Year to help you achieve your writing goals?  (mine is reflected below in the photo!)

What are your hopes for your writing year ahead?  

Junot Diaz--How I Became A Writer

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

In my last post, I shared an essay that I wrote that will be published in one of the magazines I regularly contribute to, "The East Greenwich Monthly", about following my dream to become a writer.  As I celebrated Christmas yesterday with my family (8 very excited kids ages 8 - 21) I quietly sat back and observed and absorbed their innocence and excitement as they opened gifts, joked with one another, and simply lived in the moment of Christmas morning 2013.

As they exuberantly gave thanks for receiving the gifts that they had opened, I quietly gave thanks for the gift of my family, oh, and for the gift of doing something I love for a living--writing.  I can honestly say that not a week goes by that I don't pinch myself for the opportunity to write every day as well as get paid for doing so.

And although I feel privileged to write professionally, I still have many, many goals and dreams that I yearn to fulfill as a writer, the biggest one to finish the novel I've been working on for the past three years and then to see it published by a major publisher.   So when I feel overwhelmed that this seems like such a lofty goal to complete, I find that reading about how other author's "finally made it" is just the inspiration I need to give me a "kick start" in the 'write' direction again.

An author that I've recently enjoyed following is Junot Diaz, who I had the privilege of seeing in person at an author's event last year.  He did an interview with Oprah this past summer which I found raw, real, and passionate.  

In light of the brand new year ahead, I thought I'd share it with you with the hopes that if you are striving to make your writer's dreams come true in 2014--this might inspire you as well.   

So I became a normal. A square. I didn't go to bookstores or read the Sunday book section of the Times. I stopped hanging out with my writer friends. The bouts of rage and despair, the fights with my fiancée ended. I slipped into my new morose half-life. Started preparing for my next stage, back to school in September. (I won't even tell you what I was thinking of doing, too embarrassing.) While I waited for September to come around, I spent long hours in my writing room, sprawled on the floor, with the list on my chest, waiting for the promise of those words to leak through the paper into me.

Maybe I would have gone through with it. Hard to know. But if the world is what it is so are our hearts. One night in August, unable to sleep, sickened that I was giving up, but even more frightened by the thought of having to return to the writing, I dug out the manuscript. I figured if I could find one good thing in the pages I would go back to it. Just one good thing. Like flipping a coin, I'd let the pages decide. Spent the whole night reading everything I had written, and guess what? It was still terrible. In fact with the new distance the lameness was even worse than I'd thought. That's when I should have put everything in the box. When I should have turned my back and trudged into my new life. I didn't have the heart to go on. But I guess I did. While my fiancée slept, I separated the 75 pages that were worthy from the mountain of loss, sat at my desk, and despite every part of me shrieking no no no no, I jumped back down the rabbit hole again. There were no sudden miracles. It took two more years of heartbreak, of being utterly, dismayingly lost before the novel I had dreamed about for all those years finally started revealing itself. And another three years after that before I could look up from my desk and say the word I'd wanted to say for more than a decade: done.

That's my tale in a nutshell. Not the tale of how I came to write my novel but rather of how I became a writer. Because, in truth, I didn't become a writer the first time I put pen to paper or when I finished my first book (easy) or my second one (hard). You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway. Wasn't until that night when I was faced with all those lousy pages that I realized, really realized, what it was exactly that I am. 
Junot Díaz's novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Riverhead) won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Where do you look for inspiration to help you fulfill your own writer's goals?

Finding Ways to Improve my Writing

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Although I've been writing professionally for about 15 years now, I've had a pen and journal in hand since I first learned to write.  Even before I could write anything that made sense, I still jotted down words, made lists, and even pretended I was a reporter because writing and taking notes made me feel important and empowered.

Today, I still feel empowered when I am able to take any thought at all and bring it to life on paper.  Depending on my mood, and how creative I'm feeling there are times when my fingers can't keep up with the ideas flowing from my mind.  There's nothing more exhilarating than writing non stop for hours without any blocks or  limitations, regardless of the finished product.

On the other hand, there are also plenty of times that I've sat with my laptop and written for hours and when I do review my efforts, I can't believe I was capable of writing such drivel.  

I believe in myself and feel that my passion will guide my writing career down a healthy and inspired path, but I also realize I still have a lot to learn so I need to be open and receptive to learning how to improve my craft.

Here are 5 tips that I gathered from various writing sources that I am using to guide me in my quest to continually improve my writing so that I can grow and challenge myself along the way.

#1.   Read everything aloud

Read your writing aloud in a natural conversational tone.  By reading what you've written at the same pace as if you were talking to someone, you will spot mistakes, stiff areas, awkward sentences, or weak-sounding words right away.

In 2013 I  have vowed to improve my  writing skills, including making the time to read more.

#2.  Write Now, Edit Later

Many times, your own worst critic—in writing and in life—is you. So, when you’re writing, it’s really important not to judge what you write down, at least at first. Even experienced writers don’t often crank out a perfect first draft, so setting your expectations too high from the outset is unrealistic (not to mention discouraging).

A good exercise in nonjudgmental writing is to set a timer for 10 minutes and just write. Write down what you know, what you feel, or whatever’s on your mind. Don’t try to write too carefully or too intelligently or too accurately. In fact, stop trying, period. Writing goes much better when you don’t work so hard at it or criticize your every word.

#3.  Just Write

The more you do it, the better.  I'm focusing on everything in my life that involves writing, including composing well-crafted emails and clever facebook statuses.

I read a great tip about making a game of it. At the beginning of every day, pick two or three words you want to use that day. Write them on post-it’s and stick them on the wall in front of you, and find a way to use them in your writing that day.  Whatever I can do to sneak more writing into my day, I'm going to find it.

#4.  Be concise

This is the classic “use one word instead of two” advice. Tight language is easier to read and will move the reader along more quickly. This is one area that I constantly strive to improve!

#5.  Get your tools and resources in order

Writers don’t need a lot of tools, but they definitely need something to write with, whether it’s a fancy computer or a great pad of paper and a favorite pen. Make sure you have any necessary resources on hand too, like dictionaries, grammar and style books, and a few of your favorite writing reference books.

For 2013, I made a promise to myself to read as much as possible.  I want to read for pleasure first not only because I enjoy getting lost in a good book, but there is so much I can learn by paying attention to my favorite authors' styles.  I also have plenty of inspiring "writer's reference" books easily accessible in my writer's crate so that I can continue to learn from the masters.

What has helped you become better at what you do? Share in the comments.

The Beauty of Writing Prompts

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Writing is so many different things to me.  I have always enjoyed articulating my daily schedule into a written "to do" list.  Organized pagesI  of grocery shopping lists, household improvement lists, personal, professional, and family written goals are truly a part of who I am.

In addition, I crave my sacred, early morning writing time where I can focus on what makes me tick as a writer, therefore feeding my muse with wide-open time slots to journal, work on columns and articles, conduct interviews for articles that I'm writing, work on my novel, or many times just sit and write about a random thought just for the sake of writing.

When I decided that I wanted to take my writing to the next level, I started investigating as many creative and insightful writing books as I could find.  One that I came upon during the recent holidays was The Writer's Book of Matches, and it's truly helping me to change how I look at any ordinary topic by teaching me how to just "let go" and write without any inhibitions.

You'll Love This Book If:

• You need writing inspiration
• You're looking for writing prompts
• You have a case of writer's block
• 
  

The Writer's Book of Matches is packed with hundreds of writing prompts to jump-start your writing! Whether you have a case of writer's block, are looking for writing inspiration for your next story, or want to get back to writing regularly, you'll find tons of creative writing prompts.

The Writer's Book of Matches provides three types of writing prompts. Each prompt details a conflict, revelation, or unusual situation.

The first prompt is called a situation prompt. These types of prompts provide an obvious protagonist who finds himself (or herself) in an unusual or emotionally charged situation.

The second type of prompt is a dialogue prompt in which you have to create the context in which the dialogue is being spoken. This gives you more freedom to create a plot, while at the same time forcing you to deal with character interaction before anything else.

The third type of prompt is an assignment prompt. They present a shared context in which multiple characters find themselves. Your job is to create a situation or conflict for each character given the context. 

My prompt for this morning was:   At exactly midnight on New Year’s Eve you receive an email labeled “Open Immediately.” The really strange thing is that the email is apparently from your future self. What does it say?

I wish I had seen this on New Year's, but it still got me thinking and before I knew it I had written an entire essay.   The book suggests you write your prompts in 500 words or less, which is extremely helpful in helping a writer to hone in and stay detailed without rambling, but many of these writing prompts are quite cathartic in nature, and I'm finding them helpful not only for my writing, but for my own personal life as well.

I hope you'll check this book out if you are looking for similar ways to jump start your creativity, but if you have another book or way that you launch your creativity, please share with us what that is.

The Ultimate Writing Guide for Students

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

As I journey into the second full week of the New Year, I am still as motivated and excited about all my writing goals for 2013.  I believe when we are passionate about something, that in itself keeps us full of high-octane fuel to keep moving forward each day as we work towards our goals.

I have several writing goals for this year including finishing my first novel, getting published in a national magazine, tightening my finished written pieces so they read sharper and fresher, improving my blogging skills, in addition to writing every day for at least an hour or so on anything that strikes my fancy.  Throw in a handful of invigorating, fun-filled, and inspired literary adventures with my amazing blogging partner, Kate, and my year will be beyond complete!

I get up each morning (well, most!) excited and determined which definitely helps to guide my days with joy and purpose.  Not only do I have writing goals for myself, I also have some for my newspaper club students.  I have been the adviser of The Mariners’ Catch Pier Middle School newspaper for five years now, and it is one of the most wonderfully, challenging writing jobs I’ve ever had.

There are many components that go into publishing a successful student newspaper, but the most important is having a group of students who are dedicated to the process of bringing the best paper possible to their student body and teachers.  We have to be a well-oiled machine to ensure that everyone meets deadline, something that is hard enough for adult writers, never mind 12-year-old kids!

Deadlines are a work in progress for our student staff, and probably always will be, but another area that our roving reporters are always trying to improve upon is their grammar and basic understanding of the do’s and don’ts of all those confusing rules about punctuation, parts of speech, adjectives and adverbs and so on and so on.

Luckily for them (and me) we have a fantastic resource that we rely on when writing stories, columns, essays and anything else that is associated with The Mariners’ Catch.  The Ultimate Writing Guide for Students written by my Macmillan Publishers Quick and Dirty Tips colleague, Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty), a New York Times Best Selling Author.

This book is not only easy to understand, Grammar Girl makes it fun for the students!  They each have a copy and we refer to it as their “bible”!  To be honest, I have found this book extremely helpful when I’ve come across a grammatical situation I wasn’t sure about, so it’s not just for kids!

I’m looking forward to enjoying all of my writing goals for the remainder of the year, and I hope if you’ve made any in regards to writing that you stay the course as well.

Do you have a favorite writing reference book that you consider your bible?  Please let me know in the comment section.