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I’d rather write than talk. Nobody interrupts! Posting monthly or less now--see below. |
My original purpose for this blog, which I started in August of 2019, was to see if I could maintain consistency, to discover what I want to write about, and to find my writing voice. In January, I started a "niche-less" blog at Wordpress.com where I've published weekly. -- Kit’s Kontemplations  . -- I'm preparing to start a Catholic blog on Wordpress.com where I'll post weekly, and another site to put the rest of my writing. I also want to spend more time reading other blogs and offering thoughtful comments, both here on WDC and elsewhere. At most, I will publish once a month at no set time in this blog starting in September of 2020. Thank you to those who have read and rated any posts on this blog. I really appreciate it. I did NOT want to write “about” me on this blog. I wanted to share my interests, discoveries and maybe a few useful insights. If anything I've written helps even one person, whether or not they respond to the post, then this blog has been successful. |
| When I buy something new, I always read the instruction manual. I do it when the device is completely new. I do it when I’m replacing something I’ve used for decades. I read the manual that came with the last microwave I bought even though I got my first one in the early 1980s. Who knows what feature I might miss otherwise? So when I decided to return to writing after about 15 years away from it, I started looking for advice about how to do it effectively. Since I’d already realized that fiction is off the plate, this process would be less overwhelming. My first roadblock came with contradictory advice. I came across the concept of “morning pages” when I was looking for articles about increasing my creativity or removing any creative blocks. Doing them exactly the way that Julia Cameron dictates in The Artist’s Way simply did not appeal to me so I wanted to know if other people tweaked this tool to work for them. If I didn’t do this in exactly her way, would it be completely ineffective and a total misuse of my limited free time? Can I adapt it and have it still be somewhat helpful? Is the whole idea a bad fit for me and, therefore, not worth doing at all? I’ve found a lot of writing advice with some items contradicting other ones. At least one article suggested not looking for writing advice and spending that time writing. Yet, much of what I found is worth following. I’ll share about all of that in another post. Some of it is useful for others but it doesn’t work for me. Some of it is no good for anyone. The three “hazardous” suggestions were: writing with a full bladder, ignoring hunger and quitting your day job to be a “real” writer. If my bladder is full, my mind ceases to function, period. If I’m “in the flow”, I don’t notice hunger, but I wouldn’t ignore what my body needs. That’s not how I’d go about weight loss. Being retired, I no longer have a “day job”, but I’d never consider quitting it if I did so as to be a “real writer”. I already am a “real writer”. Still, I’d have taken a few days here and there to get an extra long weekend, giving me the opportunity to focus on writing if I had a deadline. Bad advice for all writers: Spelling and grammar checking software will solve all my writing problems. Spelling and grammar are not the whole of writing. There is syntax and sentence structure, not to mention the quality of the content itself. A spell-checker will not detect “too” when you meant to use “to” or “through” when you meant to use “though”. Nothing replaces the human editor who carefully examines the text and also reads it aloud so as to catch any awkward phrasing. Useful for other writers but not for me: “Challenge yourself to write something in a much shorter time than normal. “ I don’t find that applying speed helps any task to be done well, much less something creative. I understand the usefulness of shutting off the inner editor when writing a first draft so that you’re not fixing it up as you write it. I get around that by writing with pen and paper with no extra space between my lines. I’m never tempted to edit when I write this way because I know I’ll type it up in a day or two and edit as I’m doing that. I see the value in setting a timer and writing for the duration, but I do it in a slow and relaxed way. I only write at a quicker pace when my hand can barely keep up with my ideas. Although I can type faster than I can write, the ideas don’t flow through my keyboard as they do through my pen. The most common advice is to write every day. I wrote a detailed response to this in another post where I shared my personal experience with this and the result. I disagree with those who imply or say outright that you’re not a “real writer” if you don’t write every day. If it hinders you, takes you down the wrong path, f***s with (disputes) your creative process, causes more confusion than clarity, that’s bad advice. So when you’re sorting the good from the bad, go with your gut, and don’t let anyone bully you into their way of thinking, regardless of how credible, famous, or experienced they are. --How to Spot Bad Writing Advice: 6 Red Flags to Look For Reflection:  Do you look for advice when you’re trying something new or do you jump in and try your hand at it? Do you find yourself able to draw out the treasure from the trash in the advice your net scoops up? If not, why do you find this discernment difficult to do? What piece of writing advice do you most regret following and why?Sources How to Spot Bad Writing Advice: 6 Red Flags to Look For The Worst Writing Advice on the Web 11 Types of Bad Writing Advice {x-link:restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires}HOW TO WRITE FASTER: 10 CRAFTY WAYS TO HIT 1,000 WORDS PER HOUR{/x-link} HOW TO WRITE ON PAPER FASTER & BETTER {x-link:https://becomeawritertoday.com/rollerball-vs-ballpoint-pens/}Rollerball vs Ballpoint Pens: A Guide{x-link} |
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Yes, I know some people do that but I'm a creative writer not a journalist. Poetry sells ... but it's a money-maker for only a few. I write A LOT. Almost 180 pieces since Spring equinox. My goal is 300-400 per year. One year I went over 1,000. I need to do more editing, polishing, sharing, submitting. Writer's block? Who has time for that? I don't.