Free Wrii--iiiting - writercize #193

It's hard for me not to hear Tom Petty "Free Falling" in my head when I think of free writing, hence the extra i's. Just imagine the long drawn-out melody as you read it.

Recently, the fabulous local writing group, Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles, aka CBW-LA, revamped our website. As the publications editor, I am responsible for spearheading a quarterly newsletter (tick tock, tick tock) as well as populating the website with writing prompts. They are a tad more sterile than my twisting and turning writercize set-ups, but the gist is essentially the same. In order to succeed at writing, one must ... write. Anything at all. Even frequent e-mail can hone your skills as long as you don't take too many short-cuts.

When it comes to my work, I spend most of my writing time in my head, composing the outline and constructing a lead, editing fluff, tapping into the voice I want in my piece. That way, when I sit down to write, it pours out rather quickly and with nothing more than a quick edit or two the piece is ready to leave my hands and visit my trustworthy editor. Often, I find the story takes an unexpected turn or two as I clickity-clack on my keyboard, but that just means my subconscious is doing its job of finding the story's flow.

When it comes to my blog, there are days when an entire post has appeared in my mind ahead of time, but oftentimes, especially as it pertains to my sample writercize, what you see is what you get. Raw and unedited. Sometimes a little awkward, but generally, hopefully, worth getting to know.

Today's writercize is sheer instinctual writing. There is absolutely no editing, punctuation, capitalization, thought. It will be messy. But it will speak truth. And that is more important than precise construction, for without a heart, no story will pump life. That is true for every genre, at every age group. A great story speaks to the mind and emotion of your reader.

I borrowed and slightly adapted this writercize from a CBW-LA writing workshop I attended last Spring, and a highly truncated version of this post is available over at the CBW-LA website under writing prompts. (Visible to the public! Only members can comment, but anyone can find great writing prompts, events, challenges, lessons and more.) It calls for a timer and a pencil and paper or a keyboard.

writercize: Before you dive into your current manuscript, put yourself in the right mindset and allow your mind to free fall. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write - without punctuation or capitalization. Coherent and connected thoughts are not even necessary. 

This is your time to free write, within some guidelines. Find one theme or topic within your manuscript and use that as your free write title. From there, write any thoughts on the theme or topic. (Do not use this time to relate any free writing to the book or devise an outline.) 

If you are stuck even getting to a manuscript, try one of these free writes:

• Want to write for children? Free write about your favorite games and toys to play as a child.
• Want to write for teens? Recall the names of friends, activities you enjoyed, clubs and sports, even mistakes you made.
• Want to write poetry? Pick one element - earth, water, wind, fire.
• Thinking of nonfiction? Free write newsworthy events in the past year.

I love reading your comments and especially your writercize results, so please, drop me a line to let me know if this worked for you! Better yet, share it with the world. :)

Click "read more" for writercizer sample response - all about some of my favorite things to do as a child. So much fun to reminisce and get back to childhood!

Caption It! Contest at How is Bradley?

Long-time followers know I love a good writercize accompanied by an image. Pictures are not only powerful communication tools - they are great fun to inspire captions and stories!

Today I ran across a post by a true to life friend that I wanted to share with all of you. He is starting up a weekly "Caption It" contest on his "How is Bradley?" blog. 

The blog in general is an invaluable resource for anyone struggling with bipolar disorder or weight loss - he is an honest and perceptive voice - but, the Caption It contest is all about humor. Brad is a really funny guy, and I always appreciate his unique ability to laugh in the face of adversity. 

I am fortunate to not face bipolar disorder or weight loss in my own life, but I certainly have family and friends whom I love and adore who deal with one or the other, and that portion of his blog helps me gain a deeper understanding of what they are dealing with.

Beyond that, I hope you will join me every Wednesday for a little humor with Brad as we find out what in the world he may ask us to caption. I won't totally give this week's photo away, because I want you to see it for yourself, but let's just say there is booty shaking and grumpy old men. Now, go. Have fun with it! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Writer Seeking: Genre to Compliment My Every Thought

Heads up: I recently decided to allow myself a little more flexibility within writercize. I often find inspiration strikes for a blog post, but it doesn't quite fit in with the writercize theme, so I paralyze both the thought and the blog. Therefore, I hereby allow myself to post the occasional opinion and/or reflection on the writing life as I see fit to indulge. I have updated my 'writercize in a nutshell' description accordingly through one additional paragraph.

Here you are: "The site will also be peppered with a few opinions here and there as well as insight on the growing pains and highlights associated with a burgeoning writing career. Please bear with me. It's my blog, so I get to indulge my ego every once in a while. Right?"

(See it along the right hand side there? Man, I love the power of sidebar.)

Now, onto the topic at hand. Genres. Without a writercize at the end. (Eek. Can I really do this?)

Here's the thing about genres. They kind of freak me out. They're like labels. Sticky little labels that tell the world who we are and what we are meant to write. She writes romance. He writes horror. She writes board books. Sure, they help land an agent and define a readership, but they also feel a little like shackles - or unspoken glass ceilings.

I will be perfectly honest - I don't especially like labels for myself. I find them sort of, well, confining. And I don't much like to be confined. Look at my Facebook labels - I chose "independent" for political views and "an amalgam of sorts" for religious views. I do quite enjoy the label "writer" to be honest. That is one label I'll be happy to hang on to for a bit. And I love "Mom." But should anyone begin to pigeonhole me by a label and attempt to relegate me to the land of the like-minded, I shall break away screaming my little head off.

I get why they are important. I get why they may be comfortable to some. Once a genre is selected, the mind can focus on the most appropriate story lines, and networking can occur within a familiar zone. Agents and publishers can follow established routines and marketing campaigns to get books into the hands of the most likely readers. It all makes sense. It truly does. But it still gives me chills.

Nutschell, my good friend over at The Writing Nut, tells a story of how she decided to write a memoir a few years ago. Memoirs were hot, and she felt like she could tell the story of her life. She sat, and sat, and sat. For more than a year. And she had nothing on the page to show for it. She had backed herself into a corner with the wrong genre. A memoir was not living in her soul. Finally, one day, she looked at her shelf, and saw it was filled with YA and fantasy. That was what she loved to read, and that was what she was meant to write. She found her genre, which she now states proudly as she works on her second manuscript and leads the non-profit children's writing group, Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles.  

I joined CBW-LA a few years ago, as a stay-at-home mom tired of reading drab stories to my kids, and longing for a chance to harness my first dream career in life and write. I felt that I had the responsibility to give myself that chance. Since I didn't have the time as an SAHM (those labels again!) to twin toddlers, I thought I could join and start writing picture books. I really like picture books - they were one of my first loves growing up. I admired the authors who would visit my school and sign my books. I would really like to publish a picture book. But, I am not a naturally born story-teller with visions of characters and plots dancing in my head shouting for a turn on the page. And from that standpoint, picture books are hard. They need inspiration. I need inspiration. As I wade through manuscripts and half finished stories, I see that my inspiration is education. I will never be able to create a story that is whimsical and just for fun. My stories will always serve a purpose - to teach a child about a love of writing or a topic that may be slightly uncomfortable or nebulous to teach without a book. I am coming to understand that, and I am pleased with that distinction in my mind.

Most of the time, when I write, it is for our local weekly newspaper. I work as a freelance journalist and cover city government, school news and features. It is far and away the best way to get to know a city in the world. (My humble opinion.) I do not opine in the newspaper. I simply tell facts. I conduct interviews. And do a ton of research. And in the end, I attempt to tell the facts as a story, a riveting account that draws a reader into the subject and educates the reader as fully as possible within an 800-word limit.

Looking forward, first and foremost, I want to continue my life as a journalist. Because, hey, that's my connection to local life and that's my consistent bread and butter. And I do want to write for children. And I do want to write for adults. And I do want to tell real stories in a fresh, new way. And I think I finally found my label, my genre, that will allow me to do this.

My label, my genre, is called "creative nonfiction."

Creative nonfiction is defined by Lee Gutkind, founder of Creative Nonfiction magazine, as "true stories, well told." He writes: "The words “creative” and “nonfiction” describe the form. The word “creative” refers to the use of literary craft, the techniques fiction writers, playwrights, and poets employ to present nonfiction—factually accurate prose about real people and events—in a compelling, vivid, dramatic manner. The goal is to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled by fact as they are by fantasy."

This is my genre. This is my purpose as a writer. This fits me like a glove. Creative nonfiction. I'm so happy to have finally found you.

writercize is back on board: April #AtoZChallenge Here I Come!

This year marks the fourth year of the #AtoZChallenge, the brainchild of Arlee Bird with Tossing it Out. He began the challenge as a way to develop community among bloggers, and since its inception, it has grown to an event worthy of the greatest blogging praise, with nearly 350,000 page views since last January and a list of around 2,000 participants for each of the past two years.

The concept of the challenge is simple - blog A through Z every day in April, except Sundays - and visit as many participating blogs as you can. Any topic, any genre, any format, so long as the title of the post begins with the right title. It's a great lesson in time management and scheduling blog posts, and it's a wonderful way to meet fellow bloggers.

Two years ago, as a brand new blogger, I met some of my favorite bloggers through the challenge, and was able to complete the challenge with inspiration to spare. Last year, I made it past the half way point and didn't quite see it through to the end. Vacations and exhaustion as a mom caused me to pause. However, last year I was far more successful in visiting other websites - while I may have visited 5 a day that first year, last year I made it through about 25-40 every day, thereby increasing my contacts and visibility, and learning some really cool things to boot.

This year, I hope to take lessons from the past two years to both post daily all the way through to Z and visit a great number of sites along the way. And ... give writercize some love. Concurrent with the challenge last year, my freelance work picked up considerably which was wonderful for my portfolio and general career satisfaction, but not so wonderful for my beloved blog. I hope that A to Z lights that fire once again to bring inspiration and creativity back into my daily writing!

To see an interview with Arlee Bird, check out this article on Technorati media from last year.
To sign up for the challenge, visit the A to Z Challenge blog.

Your writercize challenge today? Sign up! And start that list of A to Z blog titles now!

Take Action - writercize #192

This week our nation has succumbed to violence. A mall shooting followed up three days later by a school shooting, at opposite ends of the country, with the same chilling results. Fear of the everyday. Uncertainty over what may be just around the corner. Confusion about what drives individuals to that breaking point. And, perhaps most importantly, the realization that we can not control our environment or understand where danger comes from.

What did I do? Turn off the TV and the radio, for one. I fear one of two things will happen if I watch - I will crumble with sadness and blaze unwanted images into by eternal sub-conscience or I will have to create such a strong, impermeable shell in order not to crumble with sadness that I will lose a bit of my humanity. Neither seems terribly appealing.

What couldn't I do? Ignore it altogether. Turn away from Facebook. There is something slightly, subtly comforting in processing fear and disbelief with others via social media. It is not the same as an intimate conversation with a loved one or small group in person, which I also did, but in many ways it opens up the opportunity to more depth and reflection as people share inner thoughts uninterrupted. I don't believe it is false or unworthy to share such experiences via social media - I believe it has the power to be cathartic, particularly when one has established real connections with Facebook friends.

I read thoughts by others - some simple, some direct, some lengthy. There were those that prayed for families, those who sought understanding, those who wanted to discuss gun control, those who looked for solutions to a seemingly impossible problem, those who wanted their families to know how much they loved them, those who were trying to figure out how to broach the subject with children, those who just wanted to speak up and say,  "hey, I heard too. This means something." And I felt honored to be given access to my friends' minds.

Here is what I posted:

"Violence permeates our society once again. It feels so "normal" by now to be faced with such news, that I am honestly shocked to think that Columbine, the first wild gun rampage I can recall, was *only* 13 years ago. 

As much as I wish all this could be blamed on guns - that answer strikes me as too simple in a complex problem. (And I do believe in stringent gun laws, and I do believe guns serve 

no purpose beyond harnessing the ability to kill, but even with my convictions, I am not ready to blame them for what is happening.) 

I am really at a loss on how we can prevent this, as I don't believe threat of a prison sentence or punishment works either. I even wish I could blame it on the state of the economy and desperation some individuals feel in a hopeless situation, but I don't think that's it either. 

The only thing I can come up with is that the one way to prevent individuals from this insane violence is to somehow ensure every member of our society feels loved, valued and cared for, and that every person feels deeply connected to a (positive) community. I hope against all hope that human love, compassion, a healthy respect for one another, animals and the earth and real, offline face-to-face heart-to-heart connection could be the trigger to stop violence, and that empathy can be learned. 

And, when a person does not have empathy or frightens others with a lack of humanity or dark intent ... or when we see a person under attack or faced with bullying or extreme loss ... or when we see a child chastised and made to be afraid of the world or human connection - we can not turn our backs and try to ignore that situation away. We must be brave and speak up and make others aware of our concerns. We must at once reach out and take precautions to protect one another and our families and friends.

We need to bring back the culture of neighborhood community and caring that would have made this news so utterly shocking a generation or two ago, and we need to look our children and those lost in society in the eye and let them know that someone believes, and insists upon, the concept that they can be a power for good. Somehow."

It felt good to put it out there. 

Then I wanted to do a little something more. So I went to the White House website and began a We The People petition. If you haven't heard of it, it's like a direct link to the White House - provided you can find 25,000 people who agree with your cause within a month - and the first 150 without your petition appearing on the public website. No easy task, my writercizer friends! However, the payoff is great - if a petition receives 25,000 signatures, it will be taken under consideration by the administration and a response will be issued. That is pretty amazing. I welcome you to sign mine if you like - verbiage below - but regardless, I encourage you to look at something in your own community that needs a little exposure, and expose it.  

Here is my link to the We The People petition:

http://wh.gov/Ryzh

Take action through your words.

writercize: Choose an issue that you want to champion or bring attention to, and write about it. Put it on Facebook, write a blog post, send a letter to the editor, email your friends and family, start your own petition - just get it out into the world.

Please paste a link here, or leave your words as a comment below. I want to know what matters to you. My sample response below is taken directly from the We The People petition linked above. There is an 800 character limit.

writercizer sample response:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Implement a national anti-violence PR campaign via multimedia, community meetings and school assemblies.

Through schools, community groups and multimedia, educate our community about gun safety and ways to minimize violence and isolation in our society with a nationwide PR campaign.

Roll out a la Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" to drugs, early 90s efforts to teach AIDS prevention, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and recent efforts by cigarette companies to emphasize the danger of smoking.

Educate through direct exposure to victims of violence, particularly gun violence and those with permanent scars, and share the stories of family members who lost loved ones to violence. Use powerful images and stories, and relate a message of community, caring, empathy and civic responsibility as a way to build up resistance to violence. Address dangerous effects of bullying and violent media.

Welcome Guest Kelsey Clark - Color Quandary

Please join me in welcoming guest Kelsey Clark to writercize! As many of you know, I love playing with colors and fanciful words, and Kelsey's great writercize brings the two together. Please read on, then give it a try. My writercize attempt will be in the comment section. Everything you read below is by Kelsey!
 

Color Quandary 

by Kelsey Clark

When I am stuck for ideas on what to write about it seems like I will never be able to write again. Sometimes I get stuck because I have too many ideas and just can’t seem to get them out. Other times I feel like I have no good ideas left at all. When either of those things happens to me, I know that I just have to start writing again and I will get back into the swing of things. One idea I have used to get writing again is this:

Writercize: Focus your attention on color. Pick one basic color and start your story from these. It can be a poem, a description, or even an entire story can start from your color choice.  

All you have to do is come up with a color and get started writing. If you have trouble or get stuck just think of things that are that color and include them in your writing. Here are some colors and objects to get you started, or you can think of your own:

·       Red – blood, cherry, lip, rose, crimson, rust, ruby, fire engine, barn, raspberry

·       Blue – moon, blueberry, sky, sea, navy, cerulean, cobalt, sapphire, indigo

·       Yellow – sun, star, buttercup, sunflower, butter, wheat, rubber duck, taxi, lemon

·       Green – tree, leaf, grass, mold, broccoli, kiwi, lime, jade, emerald

writercizer sample response:

It was a blue day. There was just no other way to describe it. I knew that I was feeling down, but it wasn’t just my imagination. The glimpses I got of the night sky were dark blue, almost navy, as the rain clouds hung heavy and grey-blue, trudging their slow path across the horizon. The rain, a pale, translucent blue, gathered in the upside down umbrella before me; it’s happy, bright, bluebird blue almost glowing in the dim light of a, you guessed it, blue moon. If I had ever liked the color blue before, the fondness had now been driven completely from me. Besides, blue was his favorite color and I had enough reminders of him, thank you very much.

The bright yellow taxi that pulled up in front of me seemed as blinding as the sun, and the taxi driver that got out was equally as surreal. His canary-yellow rain coat squeaked as he splashed through the puddles to open the rear passenger door for me. He stood in a several inch deep puddle, grinning at me as I stared at his lemon-colored galoshes. I got into the taxi, the blond faux-leather seats ripped but clean, and we set off. As he drove I watched his hands move across the wheel and wondered at the mustard tinted fingertips. How many cigarettes must he smoke to make his wizened hands so spectacularly stained?

Author Byline:

Kelsey is the editor in chief for www.findananny.net/. She loves to write article and ideas that parents & nannies would be interested in hearing. She helps society on giving information about nannies through nanny services. She is a professional writer & loves writing on anything.

Welcome Guest Katheryn Rivas - Finding Motivation

Please welcome Katheryn Rivas to the writercize platform today. After college, Katheryn temporarily lost her passion for writing - see how she found it again! Her story is compelling and easy to relate to!
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How I Re-Discovered My Motivation to Write After College

by Katheryn Rivas

I majored in creative writing in college, and spent pretty much every day of my college career working on some writing project for one of my classes. When I graduated, I thought this trend would continue. I imagined myself completing a book of poems and a novel the year after I graduated, while I idly passed the time at some office job and applied to MFA schools. Then life happened. The economy was a wreck. I had to move back in with my parents. I spent most of my free time writing cover letters, not poetry. By the time I finally found a low-level editing job, I hadn't written anything creative in almost six months.

My editing job was mentally taxing, and I rarely felt like writing when I got home. I rarely felt like reading either. A year passed, and I still hadn't prepared the portfolio I planned to use to apply to MFA schools. I started to wonder whether I even wanted to go to graduate school for creative writing. Was I even good enough to make it as a writer? Without the validation I received from my peers in college, I started to seriously doubt my writing abilities, and I nearly lost all the motivation I had to be a writer.

I've heard this happens to a lot of writers. It's even happened to many of the people I know who've completed MFA programs. Some writers don't know what to do with the lack of structure in the real world. Unless they're forced to write for their jobs, they find it difficult to produce any written work.

Fortunately, over the past year, I've started writing again. I write a poem or work on a short story almost every day now, and I'm getting close to completing my novel. One night, in the middle of a deep phone conversation with a friend from college, I realized that life had become dull and lifeless because I didn't write anymore. And I thought of the Rilke quote from Letters to a Young Poet:

"Search for the reason that bids you write; find out whether it is spreading out its roots in the deepest places of your heart, acknowledge to yourself whether you would have to die if it were denied you to write. This above all—ask yourself in the stillest hour of your night: must I write?"

I asked myself Rilke's question over and over again for the next few days after my realization. My life had lost meaning because I wasn't writing anymore, but was I not writing because I intrinsically didn't need to? My feelings about this matter confused me. I knew it was time to stop thinking and start writing.

Writing had always helped me sort out my feelings. So, I sat down at my computer, started typing, and all of my pent up creative energy just seemed to pour out. What started out as a simple electronic journal entry turned into me writing a short story about a girl who struggles to define herself after she graduates from college. It was similar to The Graduate in many ways (minus Mrs. Robinson), and it wasn't very good. But it was something, and writing it made me feel amazing. So, I kept on writing. Sometimes I didn't feel like it, but I didn't stop.

Now, I keep myself motivated by reminding myself that, for many reasons, I must write. My life loses meaning if I don't. I've joined a local writing workshop group to help keep me focused on completing projects in a timely fashion. I set aside at least thirty minutes every evening for writing, no matter how tired or busy I am. I keep myself healthy by eating well, sleeping enough, and exercising. This gives me more energy to write and helps keep my brain as sharp as I need it to be to produce quality work.

Writercize: Make a list of what prevents you from writing. Then make a list of what motivates you to write. Think about how you can eliminate some of the factors in your life that stifle your motivation.

Katheryn Rivas is a freelance writer and blogger who contributes to a variety of sites about her experiences as a writer and human. When she's not working on professional writing projects for www.onlineuniversities.com, she's working on her novel and staying up late writing poetry.