If you are stuck, try a small break. A short walk, a drink of water, perhaps sleeping on it… any of these will sometimes inspire a solution. Let go of wrestling with the problem consciously and try letting your mind drift to something calming.
Archive for the 'Writing Tips' Category
Note that characters who violate the red, orange, or yellow principles tend to be victims, and characters who violate the blue, indigo, or purple principles tend to be villains. Could you subtly imply a character trait by associating the character with a color?
What are the consequences of your characters’ actions? Your fiction will gain a great deal of depth if you show how their actions rebound to them.
If your dialogue falls flat, spend more time listening. Notice the different concerns people have, and the different ways they express them. The principles of good listening also take interviews from bland to electric. I believe that the time Neil Gaiman spent as an interviewing journalist strongly contributes to the quality of his dialogue as a fiction writer.
What is the value your writing offers to others? Will your readers gain excitement, how-to information, laughs, or something else from reading your writing? Will they be moved? Know what you offer your readers in exchange for their time and money.
Make a gift of your writing. Find occasions where your writing can be a gift - to family members, to the world, or to yourself.
How important is writing to you? Does writing serve your other priorities? Because writing is a quiet, long-term activity, it is especially easy to let other tasks push writing aside. So, if writing is important to you, make sure you seize enough time to match its importance.
Market your writing. Try finding a hungry market, discovering exactly what they want, and writing it for them. Even one small sale can be a huge boost to your confidence and motivation.
Simple organizational schemes make writing easier. In the main body of this newsletter, I used the seven colors of the rainbow to organize my thoughts about how to relate self to others. Another favorite, easy way to organize an outline is the “Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell, Tell ‘em, and Tell ‘em that you told them” plan. For fiction, the formula “hero with problem, complication, complication, complication, resolution” meets many needs. Would one of these suit your next writing project?
The longest conversation we ever have will be with ourselves. Pick a day this week to give your writing twice as long as you usually do, and see what happens.