Write On Wednesday

This week's Write On Wednesday:

How about you? Do you do writing exercises or warm ups? Do you think they could be valuable? Have you found warm up exercises helpful in some other area of your life, e.g. art, music, athletics?

Extra Credit: Try one of Johnson’s exercises above, and post about your experiences. Or create an exercise of your own and share it.

When I'm journaling, the words seem to come easy and I can flow through the day with little effort. However, sometimes when I'm working on creative projects, I find the muse can be a little stubborn.

One thing I have learned in a recent workshop is how to use "jump starts" to get my creative juices flowing. It can be as simple as picking a headline out of the newspaper, or a quirky quote I heard on TV. After writing down my jump start, then I write non-stop for 20 minutes about that subject and nothing else. Many times these writing sessions will last longer than 20 minutes, and many times I end up with really interesting story ideas. Once I have the story idea, then it is easier to flesh it out and make it better.

Another exercise I enjoy is going to a local diner. My favorite is The Bus Stop, which used to be a Greyhound Bus Stop, but it has been turned into a small diner/cafe. I usually go around 7:00 in the morning and sit at a table with my back to the door (which is something I'm normally paranoid about doing!). There is always a group of older gentlemen who congregate during that time of morning. I will order myself a Coke and wait with my pen and paper ready. These men always have the most fascinating conversations and I am able to jot down many great quotes, local gossip and old wives' tales. This exercise really helps when I'm working on dialogue, but I've gotten some great stories as well.

I've run out of time, so I'll tackle the extra credit later.

Write On Wednesday

This week's promt from Becca at Write On Wednesday concerns writing practice

"How about you? Do you have a writing practice? What’s it like? How has it helped you become a better writer? If you’re thinking about starting a writing practice, how do you envision it? What would work for you?"

Occasionally, Write On Wednesday will offer a writing activity to use in your writing practice notebook, or as an idea to blog about. Here’s one to start you off…

"Writing Practice Idea: Write about a time in your life when you were learning a new activity - a musical instrument, a sport, a language - and how you went about practicing it."

I typically write for 15 to 20 minutes every morning before work, but the bulk of my writing comes in the afternoons. I work parttime, so when I come home for lunch every day, I start writing. I consider this my second "job", though, right now, I'm not getting paid for it. Sometimes I will work on short (1200 words) articles for my monthly column, other times I may be working on one of my books.

For anyone who reads my blogs, you are probably aware of the fact I have ADD, so I have trouble concentrating on one project at a time. It is easier for me to work chapter by chapter. This week, I'm trying to work on my young adult book ("Charlie" is the working title), but I keep getting sidetracked when something reminds me of another book I'm working on ("Deep Creek"). I keep separate notebooks for each of my larger writing projects, so sometimes I'll have several notebooks spread out in front of my, jotting down notes in each one. I try to write at least 4 pages every day - that is the minimum I allow myself. Of course, this is only Monday through Friday; anything I write on the weekend is free pages!

The practice of have separate notebooks for each project has helped keep me on task. I used to worry about the fact my attention span was all over the place, but the separate notebooks have brought a calm peace to my writing world. Now I don't feel like I'm shortchanging one thing for another. I'm also a list making, so the separate notebooks are like a big list for me!

The greatest writing advice I have learned came from Stephen King's book On Writing. He says that writers write, every day, no matter what. When I was younger, I didn't think of myself as a writer because I couldn't stick to one topic. Now, I've learned how to channel that energy to improve all my writing. It may take me longer to finish a project because of the ADD, but when I am finished, I know it's the best I can do.

Of course, blogging is also a way to practice writing. I have become obsessed with blogging and it is helping me to hone my focus. Hence the reason I have so many blogs! Just like my separate writing notebooks, I have separate blogs for my different interests. Now it's a juggling act to keep up with all of them, but it makes me happy!

In addition to the notebooks I keep for each project, I also have a general journal that I write in daily. This usually has ideas, quotes, observations or anything else that catches my fancy. I will start using this journal as my practice notebook, so for today's assignment, I'm going to write about learning how to knit.