…ny times along with the emotions the writer was struggling to express. But writing by hand is dying. We send emails. We type a blog post or story on the keyboard and save it. Schools in Washington state aren’t even required to teach cursive writing anymore. (I thought that when I started learning ‘cursive’ in third grade that I would have to learn to write using swear words, but that’s another story.) How writing by hand makes me a more creative b…
Search Results for: writing by hand
What I Learned On My 5-Day Social Media Diet
…uld be published. What it means for me: The realization that talking about writing doesn’t earn me as many points as the writing does. Cats in sunglasses, political rants and pics of Dim Sum sap my energy. If you are a curious person, if you enjoy engaging people and hearing what they think about things, Facebook is the ultimate distracter. An interesting discussion starts and, well, I have something important to say about that. And before I know…
5 Ways Reading Fiction Helps You Up Your Blogging Game
…us,” you should consider letting that sense of humor shine through in your writing.) Writing often, even if it is just scribbling in journals, will get you much closer to your true voice. But what helped me the most to find my authentic voice was simply turning off the television and picking up a book. Stephen King reads between 70 and 80 books a year (and claims that he is a slow reader!). When you read fiction, King says, there is a learning pro…
Is Writing with Vulnerability a Sign of Low Self-Concept?
…readers We should not be afraid to inject a little vulnerability into our writing. To admit our fears. To be human. What about you? Do you see vulnerability in someone’s writing as a sign of weakness? Do you ever write from a place of vulnerability? Do you think more or less of a blogger who is open and honest about her feelings? A note to my readers who use mobile devices to access the blog: We just installed the plugin WP Touch Pro here at the…
5 Cheapish Gifts to Recapture the Inner Child
…me). 3. Drop the tech tools. Ditching those digital/keyboarding habits by writing by hand, for just a few minutes a day, might be just the thing to reignite those neurons in your brain and get things moving again. Try mind mapping for idea generation and don’t forget those nice, thick-point pens. Ideas: Roller Writers (my favorite cheapish pen); fountain pens (more expensive, but so fun); Sharpies. 4. Being an artist is not the point. The nice th…
Confronting Fear: The Elephant in the Writer’s Office
…y good writers own their fears. One of my favorite authors on the craft of writing is Bonnie Friedman, who wrote a little jewel called Writing Past Dark. In it she said: “Every day I must prove I am a writer. The knowledge goes away in my sleep.” Cynthia Ozick, author of numerous novels and shorter works of fiction, said: “I have to talk myself into bravery with every sentence.” And even the authors of our beloved classics are not immune. Writing…
5 of My Favorite Blogs for Writers
…man – You probably already know who Jane is. She’s a leading expert in the writing and publishing industries. I follow her blog closely for everything from posts on the craft of writing to trends in publishing. Read Jane’s blog here. Follow her on Twitter (@JaneFriedman) and join her Facebook page. Rachelle Gardner – This was a new one for me this year. Rachelle is a literary agent whose blog has lots of rich, writer-focused content. I first got h…
The Judy Lee Dunn Blog: A Renewed Focus
…inish my novel, The Bark Peeler’s Daughter. My blog’s goals are trifold: • Writing advice– What I have learned that, hopefully, will help you become a better writer, too. • Book reviews- Expect personalized reviews of books I have loved—a mix of bestsellers, current and past— and what I learned from them that I have applied to my own writing. • My progress toward publication of The Bark Peeler’s Daughter– (Cue the suspenseful music here.) The ups…