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
Tag: writing
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
Writing Abroad
Writing is something you have to make time for. I know this. What I didn’t know is how easy it is to make time for writing when you’re doing things like homework and laundry all the time…it’s much harder to make time in between traveling, eating out, and sightseeing. During the five weeks I was… Continue reading Writing Abroad
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
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
Adventures in Journaling
There’s something reassuring in writing down the day’s events. It’s acceptance, in a way, that certain things happened, and however you may feel about them, they aren’t going to change. When you finish an entry in your journal, the day is over. It doesn’t matter if it was a good day or a bad day… Continue reading Adventures in Journaling
The Universal Experience of Writing
Writing is such an integral part of our society that it’s hard to imagine civilizations existed without it. Writing is a tangible method of communication, one that withstands the test of time and space – writing is universal. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I prepare to travel. There are so many… Continue reading The Universal Experience of Writing
The Identity of a Writer
Identity is an important thing. It’s what defines how you act, how people see you – it’s who you are. So it’s important that, as writers, we identify ourselves as such. In fact, I think the first step in being a writer is being fully convinced that you are one. The great thing is that… Continue reading The Identity of a Writer
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