Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Traits of a Writer & Benefits of Blogging and Writing

Welcome To My Reality - October Prompts
PROMPTS FOR OCTOBER 2015

1. In your opinion, what tools and traits does a writer need in order to be good at their craft?

I was listening to an author speak at Word On The Street in Kitchener last weekend... I believe it was Andrew Pyper, and he was saying what a writer needs is TIME. Sure there are other things, but making time and committing to your project is the only way you are going to get it done. You can talk about wanting to be a writer all you want, but unless you carve out the time and put your but in the chair and do the work, it's not going to happen.

He mentioned a man he knew with all the time in the world - a guy with a trust fund and no need to work beyond writing and still the guy 'did not have enough time to write'. Other writers carve out bits and pieces writing in the cracks of their life - while waiting for their children to finish dance practice, while doing the laundry... you have a five minute gap... you write. Don't go anywhere without a pen and notebook... I have even been known to talk into a phone app to save an idea when I am walking or doing something... heck, I have jotted notes while walking behind my client on our trail hikes... his cerebral palsy used to make him slow so I would let him pick the pace and follow his lead... sometimes I would have to jog a bit to catch up - good thing the trails I did this on were long and straight. Now that he walks faster, I find I have to say things into my phone... my client is also deaf so he does hear me story talk... and he also has autism so he doesn't care so long as we are hiking.

So beyond that what other tools and traits... a need to tell story, a fascination with other people so far as 'what is their story', curiousity to ask 'what if' questions and see what comes from that, being comfortable with being alone and working alone, and possibly a persistence to stick with a story until it is done.

Tools... you need to be able to get your story down... now-a-days that could be as writing, typing, recording... so long as you can get your story down.... Once its in black and white you need to be able to revise and edit to make it better

You need to be able to share the story once it is down on paper... to get feedback... this requires a kind of confidence to let it go and be open to other's opinions. Then you need to take that feedback and see if it can work for you... remembering that your work is ultimately your own and you don't have to take everyone's feedback to heart, just the stuff that makes sense to you. Having a community like Writing.com has really helped me with this last aspect and I am so grateful for my friends here.

Beyond all that is it boils down to write, then write some more... you will only get better if you keep at it.

3. What do you think are the benefits of blogging, or writing in general?

I write to know what I really think. If I let my fingers type away or if I put pen to paper and just let the words fall as they may, I am able to access an inner knowing that is very good at guiding me... so long as I follow. Blogging is a bit more focused in that a prompt sets your thoughts in motion, but writing in general - particularly free writing or stream of consciousness writing lets you tap into that inner guide. It is that Good Orderly Direction that Julia Cameron talks about in The Artist's Way - when she talks about doing three long handed written pages a day to access that part of yourself that can help you over the hurdles of life. If certain things keep coming up it often forces you to deal with those issues - face them instead of hiding and letting them sap your power as they drain your energy with worry.

I have also chosen to write about a character who is going through a rough patch with her husband... it reflects my own concerns but with a fictional distance to help me work through my own issues. My characters may start out being like me and my husband but will be bent into something different so that I can give a necessary distance to the work.