“Wiki loop” is one of those phrases that has popped up to describe a phenomenon we’ve all experienced: getting stuck reading endless Wikipedia articles. If you’re like me, you may wonder why this could ever be considered a bad thing. But I guess some people have better things to do on Friday nights than click through… Continue reading Embracing the Wiki Loop
Category: Advice
Getting to Know Your Main Character
This is my favorite part of writing. Your main character will make or break your story, and unfortunately they will not just appear from your head fully-formed, Athena-style. That is why this getting-to-know-you stage is arguably the most important part of writing. If you’re not sure what I mean by “getting to know” your main character,… Continue reading Getting to Know Your Main Character
Confidence: A Writer’s BFF
Sometimes it’s hard to have confidence in words, even when they come from your own brain. We write them down, question them, write them again. Then we stare at them, wondering if they say what we want them too. It’s only second nature, but it’s also damaging when we don’t trust our words. I’ve been… Continue reading Confidence: A Writer’s BFF
Trusting the Workshop
We tend to think of writing as a personal, internal experience. Thought to paper, right? And that idea is fine until someone actually reads your work. Then you have to think about what your writing means, its relationship to reality, what people think of it–all the stuff you would rather avoid while just continuing to write. I… Continue reading Trusting the Workshop
Translating Experience to Fiction
I’ve found myself relying more and more on my experiences as I’ve been writing this semester. It’s weird for me, since I tend to write less from “what I know” and more from research. But I think there are just some experiences that beg to be written about, and I discovered a lot of them… Continue reading Translating Experience to Fiction
All You Need is Something to Write In
I’ve been abroad for a week now, and I haven’t even attempted to do any creative writing. And yesterday, as we were walking around and exploring the city, I realized that part of this is my fault for not taking advantage of all the inspiration around me. So I bought a journal, and last night… Continue reading All You Need is Something to Write In
Social Media: No Limits?
So I don’t normally blog about social media, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. Since I will be 5000 miles away from most of the people I know in less than a week, figuring out the best way to use social media is kind of important. I know some people who… Continue reading Social Media: No Limits?
Inspiration: The Writer’s Excuse
Let’s first note that I am not saying inspiration is bad. Inspiration is a great thing, often the best thing a writer could hope for. So what I’m addressing today is what happens when you don’t have inspiration. We have all said these words, at least in our heads: “I’m just not feeling inspired today, so… Continue reading Inspiration: The Writer’s Excuse
Real Writers Don’t Have Free Time
That’s a bold statement to make, isn’t it? I don’t mean it as harshly as it sounds, but I do see a bit of truth in it. Don’t worry, I’ll explain – Sometimes we get so caught up in the novelty of simply having free time that we do nothing with it. After a busy… Continue reading Real Writers Don’t Have Free Time
Train Track Thoughts
There are some moments that are just ripe with good ideas. Last night I had two of them – they were identical, except for the fact that one I took advantage of, and one I didn’t. On my way downtown, I got stopped at the railroad tracks. The train took almost five minutes to pass… Continue reading Train Track Thoughts