November 16, 2009

Creative Writing – Choose Your Words Wisely (B)

Part 5 of The Creative Writing Crash Course.

If you are just joining us, you can read the Introduction to our little Creative Writing Crash Course and then start with Part 1 of the series.

*****

Choose Your Words Wisely
lesson B

1. Learn to see the world through a descriptive lens.

Ask This:
How do I see the world? Is it colorful? Am I able to notice and describe details?

Know This:
Writers are artists. Writers see the world in a different way than others see it. Truly good writers see the world through a descriptive lens much like a photographer sees the world through a camera lens. In fact, if you or someone you know is a photographer, I’m sure you know that the photographer sees camera angles everywhere they go. Well, a creative writer sees description and color and words everywhere they go.

Do This:
Go outside with your camera or a good eye. Observe your surrounding area. Take a wide shot, zoom in on one aspect of that wide angle. Then zoom in a bit more on that one thing. Try to describe what you see in each “shot” with accuracy.

2. Take words away from their ordinary setting to spice up your writing.

Ask This:
Am I creative in my word usage? Can I make sentences sing and paragraphs dance? Can I think outside the box?

Know This:
In Lesson #2 I wrote these words:

“The first few words you utter upon a page are crucial.”

Think about what I just said there…do words written on a page “utter”? No, they don’t really.

Take a look at the Ask This section directly above. I wrote:

“Can I make sentences sing and paragraphs dance?”

Are sentences capable of singing? Do paragraphs really dance? Absolutely not. Yet, I am sure most everyone who read those words knew precisely what I was saying.

When you take words from their ordinary setting and use them elsewhere, you bring a new dimension to your writing. You put pictures in your reader’s heads that bring new life to otherwise mundane words.

Do This:
Look at this picture:

Look closely at the petals. Rather than simply say, “the petals are red”, think long and hard about what the petals resemble that has NOTHING to do with flowers. (This is something I touched on in my post on Logic. This is a GREAT exercise for young and old, student and teacher. It helps you to begin to see your world in a new way.)

OK, what do you see?

How about the skirts of a flamenco dancer?

Maybe a sea urchin?

How about one of those koosh balls?

This is how you learn to think outside the box. Thinking outside the box is a must for learning to write creatively. Here’s another picture for you to try on your own:

Don’t look at this picture and only see the rainbow. See how the rainbow sits in the sky. Think about all of the out-of-the-box descriptions you can use to bring depth and creativity to your words. Dig deeper.

3. Use literary techniques

Ask This:
Am I familiar with literary tools I can use to make my writing flow? Can I hear when a sentence just “sounds good”? Do I regularly read what I’ve written out loud to check for how it flows?

Know This:
Stylistic Devices are VERY important when it comes to creative writing. It is much more apparent in poetry, but is just as crucial to the flow of prose as well. The easiest one to grasp that can make a real difference in your writing (in my humble opinion) is alliteration.

Alliteration…
“consists in repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in close succession.” (from wikipedia definition of alliteration)

In addition to this, think about using similar sounds within the words that make up your sentence.

Here is an example from my post A Day To “Celebrate”:
My children need to see stability and strength.
(the words “see”, “stability”, & “strength”)

And from A Surprise Concerning My Header Photo:
While I still embrace my wifely and motherly roles, while I still stand amidst trials, while I am still a thinker and an analyzer, it is time for another side of me to emerge.
(“still embrace”, “still stand amidst trials”, thinker…analyzer…another..emerge)

Are you seeing it?

I’ve gotten where I no longer notice I am doing it. It is automatic, but it makes all the difference.

*****

Ok, everyone, we are nearing the moment of truth. Have you learned anything? Are you enjoying writing more? Are you seeing things in writing you never saw before? How are you feeling about your blog posts and other creative writing ventures?

Link up anything you feel like sharing!

Links to other posts in this series:
Introduction: Let the Creative Juices Flow
Part 1 – The Message
Part 2 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (A)
Part 3 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (B)
Part 4 – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)
THIS POST IS PART 5 -
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY (B)
Part 6 – Wrapping It Up

November 9, 2009

Creative Writing – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)

November 2, 2009

Creative Writing – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (B)

Part 3 of The Creative Writing Crash Course.

If you are just joining us, you can read the introduction to our little Creative Writing Crash Course and then start with Part 1 of this series.

I also wanted to mention again the fact that these creative writing exercises are not solely for the purpose of your blog. These relate to just about any writing project you might have. So, don’t feel confined to your blog when using these lessons…branch out!

*****

1. Don’t beat around the bush (aka Just come right out and say it)

Ask This:
Is my audience lost? Am I lost? Why are we lost? Am I getting the message out within the first sentence or two or am I holding back?

Know This:
If your audience isn’t drawn in by the first sentence or two, you will more than likely lose them. No, you don’t need to get your entire message out in the first paragraph, but you need to get enough of it out that your reader knows what and why they are reading.

Do This:
Randomly pick one of your posts. First of all, look at the title. If it were on another blog, would you stop to read a post with the same title you chose? Why or why not? Now, look at the first 3 sentences. Is there at least a hint of your message there? Would someone reading it be able to give a good definition of what your post was about or would they totally miss the mark?

2. Repeat with a purpose.

Ask This:
Is there a phrase I can repeat throughout my writing to drive home my point?

Know This:
I recently attended a Crisis Pregnancy Center benefit where JJ Jasper was the keynote speaker. He told a story about taking his children to the circus shortly after Cooper died and how the children wanted to ride the elephant (by the way, this is precisely what we did after Emily’s death…took the children to the circus AND rode the elephant). JJ apparently balked at the $8 per rider price until his daughter reminded him over and over again, “Dad, it’s an elephant.” He referred back to those 4 words several times during his brief speech, but there was a purpose in his repetition. As he closed his time with us, he used those 4 words to motivate people to give to a worthy cause like the Crisis Pregnancy Center because “Folks, it’s a baby.” He took the four words his daughter uttered and turned them into a way to drive home his message. This was repetition with a purpose.

The Bible is replete with repetitions of key points. Why not try this literary tool yourself?

Do This:
Try writing a post using a repetitive phrase. Be careful to avoid OVERusing it, but you will find that repetition can provide poignancy and beauty to your posts if used well.

Here is an example from my post “This Time Last Year“.

3. Be sincere.

Ask This:
Am I passionate about what I write? Do I truly care what my reader takes away from it?

Know This:
We’ve already explored who you really are in Part 2-A, but even if you are real with your audience you can still manage to be insincere. Sincerity is when you really want your reader to take something away from what you’ve written. It’s when you truly care what the person reading finds within your words. It means you care deeply about what you are writing and you want to share that passion with your reader. Yes, it means you are opening yourself up, but beautiful writing begins when you bare your soul.

Do This:
This is an exercise I did in acting class years ago. It just helps you to find the emotion and passion behind things. It is not meant to teach you sincerity (as that is not something that can be taught), but it is meant to teach you to reach deeper within yourself to understand what events God has placed in your life and how those events have affected you and your world. If this is too intense for your blog, feel free to write your list privately. You are also welcome to only do a partial list. I do not want anyone writing something they are uncomfortable sharing.

For each of the emotions listed below, give a brief description from your own life as to where you draw the deepest expression of that emotion. What is the story behind that deep expression?:

1. Love
2. Anger
3. Sadness
4. Surprise
5. Joy

Here is my list:

1. Love – My husband and I have been married for 13 years and have been through a lot…2 deployments, the loss of a child, the loss of a parent, many moves and job changes. I love him dearly and fiercely.

2. Anger – private story

3. Sadness – The loss of my 7 month old daughter.

4. Surprise – Finding out I was pregnant with our 4th child. I believed it was difficult for me to get pregnant and here I was pregnant just 6 months after delivering my last child!

5. Joy – Each of the births of my children has brought me such joy, but my own rebirth in becoming a follower of Christ is the number one event I draw joy from.

*****

Today’s Final Assignment:
Now it’s time to begin creating! Besides working on your topic post, begin using what you’ve learned in the last 3 lessons to write other posts. Choose topics you know and hold dear. Try different methods of grabbing your reader’s attention. Keep evaluating what you are writing, ask others to evaluate with you. Are you seeing improvement? Are you feeling more satisfied with what you write? Keep working at it!

Link up your answers to this lesson and any other blog posts you’ve done that you’d like others to take a look at! (Separate links for each post, please. )

Links to other posts in this series:
Introduction
Part 1 – The Message
Part 2 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (A)
THIS POST IS PART 3 -
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION & KEEP
IT (B)
Part 4 – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)
Part 5 – Choose Your Words Wisely (B)
Part 6 – Wrapping It Up

October 26, 2009

Creative Writing – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (A)

Part 2 of The Creative Writing Crash Course.

If you are just joining us, you can read the introduction to our little Creative Writing Crash Course and then start with Part 1 of this series – The Message.

*****

First impressions are important. The first few words you utter upon a page are crucial. They will determine whether or not anyone keeps reading. They either whet the appetite, making the reader want more, or they make the reader yawn with mediocrity and walk away from the rest of the page.

However, you cannot simply grab your reader with one ferocious shake at the beginning and expect them to sit through 17 more paragraphs of ordinary, everyday blah, blah, blah. So, this creative writing session is all about how to:

Grab Their Attention & Keep It
lesson A

1. Tell a story and refer back to it

Ask This:
Do I know any good stories that help convey my message? Are they quick to the point and engaging? How can I kick them up a notch so people will want to read more? What aspects of the story can I use along the way as I write the rest of my post?

Know This:
Some people are natural story tellers. You know them…they tell story after story about all these outlandish things that you are just sure could never happen to any single person, but you know they aren’t lying. The same thing could happen to someone else and the story would be excruciatingly boring, yet when it happens to Mr. Storyteller, it has drama, excitement, tears, and laughter. What Mr. Storyteller is good at is “kicking it up a notch.” A story is only as good as its storyteller, so what you need is an arsenal of descriptions and stories that capture your audience. Then, as you continue to write you are able to weave the story into the tapestry of your writing so as to hold your audience’s attention.

Do This:
Come up with 1 funny story and/or 1 serious story (preferably from your own life) and write down the basics of it. For instance:

The lights during the wedding dance were shining right past the bride and groom and directly onto my husband and I.

Now, take each noun and see if you can add more description to it that makes the story pop (remember not to overdo so people don’t start rolling their eyes).

Now kick it up a notch. No, I don’t mean lie…I mean take what happened and make it worth reading. I’ll do it and then explain how I did it:

The blinding lights from the DJ station at the wedding dance shone right past the blissful, (and thankfully, oblivious) bride and groom and directly onto my husband and I, who were sitting ever-so-casually against the far wall. Staring into those two bright lights, neither one of us could resist…my husband slowly brought his hands, shaped to resemble antlers, to the top of his head as I turned sideways and proceeded to make shadow puppets on the wall.

The real story is…we didn’t make a spectacle of ourselves like it sounds. Everyone was watching the happy couple (we think…these lights really were very blinding so there’s no telling how many were watching us too), and my husband’s antlers and my shadow puppets lasted all of a nano-second. It really wasn’t much of a show. But, kicked up a notch, it makes for a good story.

Now, you try!

2. Be real, but encouraging

Ask This:
What part of my life can I share that my audience can relate to? How can I show the real me without making this the most depressing post ever? What has happened in my life that I have learned from and can share with my audience as a way of encouraging them?

Know This:
When your reader can relate, they read. When they see themselves, they read. When they find encouragement, they read.

Do This:
Go back and look over the list of posts from #1 of Creative Writing – The Message. Chances are those posts were more you. What about them spoke of you?

Now, make a list of who you are in real life…what makes you you. This is NOT a list of who you wish to be nor is it a list of all your negative traits. Be real.

Lastly, randomly read a few of your blog posts and consider if your reader is getting a true picture of who you are. Are they edified by what you have to say or does misery love company?

Here’s my take…

My blog posts:
Obviously, what makes my grief posts real is that I really am grieving. I really do miss my little girl, and I really do struggle with so many things pertaining to this grief. It pretty much just pours out of me in these posts. The quiverfull posts are similar. Being quiverfull has not been a simple road. I have walked it with years of no babies and years of many babies. I am passionate about what being quiverfull truly means…”letting God control your family size.” I’ve witnessed first hand how very little we have to do with it, so there is a lot of emotion behind my quiverfull posts.

Who am I?
I tend to be both sarcastic and silly.
I am a thinker and an over-analyzer.
I have a one-track mind when I need something resolved.
I am a reader and a writer.
I love my children and my husband fiercely.
I am reverent in all things pertaining to my faith.
I’m too efficient for my own good sometimes.
I think out loud.
I often have to have the obvious stated to me.
I am forgetful.
I am an introvert married to an extrovert.
and the list goes on and on and on…

A random
read reveals…
I definitely see myself because this blog has always been very Amy-ish (wow, I say that word out loud all the time, but to see it written down, it looks peculiarly like “Amish” doesn’t it?). However, at the other blog (that I no longer use, by the way), I see evidence of someone I don’t know. She is someone who thought she had to sound all put together and polished. She only appeared every now and then, and I even wrote a post about her, but I honestly don’t know who she was and I hope she stays far, far away from this blog!

As for being encouraging…
I know my grief posts are pretty raw at times, but for the most part, I think I manage to avoid being a disparaging mess from beginning to end in most of my posts. The comments I receive from all you lovely readers tell me I’m headed in the right direction.

3. Shock ‘em and then pick ‘em up off the floor

Ask This:
Is there something I can say that will really grab the reader’s attention without overstepping my boundaries?

Know This:
Have you read The Daily Poop? Sandy knows precisely how to shock a person; however, she doesn’t leave you there all shocked and stupified. She picks you back up and explains things to you like a good slap in the face. (lol…love ya, Sandy!)

Now, shocking your reader doesn’t mean you say something rude or mean. It means you say something off the wall to grab the reader’s attention and then you explain yourself. Hopefully, the next exercise will help you see what I mean…

Do This:
Take this phrase and build the bare bones of a post around it…(this post can be about anything)

I’ve Had Enough!

Notice this isn’t some rude, horrible thing to say, but it is something that catches the attention. Your readers are going to read that and think, “What in the world has happened???” So, tell me…what have you had enough of?
(I’m not going to build a post around this because I don’t want anyone inhibited by what I write.)

*****

Today’s Final Exercise:
OK, folks, time to start formulating your posts…you know, the ones you talked about in Part 1 of this course. We’ve got some interesting topics on the table…some serious, some fun, some informative. Start thinking about how to begin your post so that you captivate your reader’s attention.

Part B of this post is coming soon with more ideas on how to grab and keep your reader’s attention! Link up your answers to these exercises and any posts you’ve done that you would like to showcase or have other critique. (Do separate links for each post, please).

Links to other posts in this series:
Introduction
Part 1 – The Message
THIS POST IS PART 2 -
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION & KEEP IT (A)
Part 3 - Grab Their Attention & Keep It (B)
Part 4 – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)
Part 5 – Choose Your Words Wisely (B)
Part 6 – Wrapping It Up

October 19, 2009

Creative Writing – The Message

To read a short introduction to this crash course, click on the picture or HERE.

Is everyone here? Raise your hand if you’re not…(don’t all good teachers use lame jokes?)

Welcome to Part 1 of The Creative Writing Crash Course. Can you feel the electricity in the air? (Rub your feet along the carpet and touch the person nearest to you…trust me, there IS electricity in the air!)

If you are able to spare an uninterrupted moment, I would highly encourage you to read this post straight through. That way you have a “big picture” in your mind when you come back to this post and work through all the little snapshots.

You’ll find I refer mainly to the content on your blog, but this isn’t necessarily only applicable to blogs. There are many different venues for creative writing and the basic principles are the same.

Ready to start creating? Here we go…

The Message

1. Who is your audience and what is your purpose?

Ask This:
Who reads your blog? Who do you want to read your blog? What past posts have gotten the most traffic? What kind of posts on other blogs do you enjoy reading?

Know This:
Everything written has an audience (even your diary!). You don’t need to change who you are and write things just for your audience, but it does help to know who is reading. If you are writing mainly to young ladies, then your tone will be different than if you are writing to seasoned mothers. You will use different analogies and assume they have a different knowledge base.

It’s best to concentrate on the audience you already have. They are there for a reason and ignoring them while you seek after new readers just isn’t nice.

Do This:
Go back through old posts and find which ones had the most comments. While this isn’t a sure-fire way to find out what topics are most popular, it is the easiest. Study those posts and comments and figure out what made them special and who the audience was/is.

The posts I have written that have gotten the most traffic have been those on Grief and those on being Quiverfull. There are several other topics that get a fair amount of traffic as well, but these are the biggies.

2. What do you know?

Ask This:
What does my day consist of? How is my life unique? What things do I know that could help others? Have I seen another blog post about something I do, but in a different way?

Know This:
No one wants to toot their own horn, but for most of us, we aren’t even sure there is a horn to toot. Stop thinking about it as telling others how to do something and more as sharing what you’ve learned, imperfections and all. Be real.

And no matter what, know your subject. I once walked out of a book signing when I realized the author knew nothing about the subject of the book she had written. The book was an adventure about photographing polar bears. She had never seen a real polar bear and she wasn’t even a photographer. She had no credibility in my eyes.

Similarly, I could never write a post on adoption because I’ve never experienced adoption. I have no credibility and it would be ridiculous to act like I do. However, if I were to start the process of adopting a child, it would be a wonderful idea to blog about the process in order to share with others. I wouldn’t have to know everything about adoption, but it would need to be personal.

Do This:
Brainstorm your life and come up with a list of 5 topics that are part of your life (hopefully, some of them coincide with the list you made in #1). My list looks something like this:

grieving the loss of a child
freelance writing
homeschooler for 7 years
larger than average family
all things crafty

3. Is the topic worth discussing?

Ask This:
Is this interesting to anyone? Can I find enough to say on the subject that will make a worthwhile post? Am I too emotionally involved with this topic and will find it difficult to keep my emotions from running this post (emotions are good, but not when the reader has trouble wading through them)? Would it be better to just keep my thoughts on this topic to myself? Will my talking about this serve any worthwhile purpose? Is what I want to say God-honoring?

Know This:
Not everything needs to be written about, and not everything is easy to write about. If you find yourself having difficulty writing a particular post, let it go for a while. Come back to it later and make sure it truly was something worth writing about.

Do This:
From either the list you made for #1 or the list you made for #2, pick a topic and begin brainstorming ideas for a post pertaining to that category.

For instance, someday I’d like to write a post on Hospitality in a Large Family.

4. What do you want your readers to feel and know after reading what you’ve written?

Ask This:
Do I want my reader to DO something with this information or do I want them to FEEL something? Am I able to take this topic and clearly convey a message?

Know This:
Not every topic is easy to work with, but just about any topic can be transformed into a good post depending on the viewpoint you choose. The spots on my carpet and the fact that I have no idea how to get them cleaned up is only going to hold my reader’s interest for a short time. However, if I can take that topic and parallel it with something much deeper (like how we are unable to remove the spots in our lives on our own and thus need the saving power of Jesus), THEN I have an awesome blog post in the making. More on this in #5.

>
Do This:
What would I like my reader to know about the topic I’ve chosen?

For a post on Hospitality in a Large Family, I would want my reader to realize that there is no need for a mother of a large brood to quit having people into her home. However, her expectations must change and her definition of hospitality must be redefined.

5. Choose an analogy and make it the driving, yet subtle, force behind your post.

Ask This:
What kind of things go along with my topic? Can I take one of those things and make an analogy that makes sense with the message I am trying to convey?

Know This:
A vision for the direction your writing is heading in is imperative. A good theme or analogy makes the subject “pop” and brings to life what you are trying to convey.

Do This:
Brainstorm anything and everything that comes to mind when you think of your topic. (this is just like a word association game) Choose one thing from that list that makes a good analogy for your topic and then brainstorm all the ways you can make that analogy “work” for the message you are wanting to convey.

For my topic: Hospitality in a Large Family, a brainstorming list would look something like this:
teacups, fine china, wedding dishes, candles, fireplace, warmth, soft glow, lively conversation, Mary vs Martha, my mom, family atmosphere, comfort, small kitchen, antique table, mismatched chairs, casserole, desserts, coffee, good friends, joyful noise, etc.

I could take something like my antique table and make a list that looks like this:
My antique table is large like my family.
The wear and tear of my antique table is what makes it beautiful and familiar.
It’s imperfections are endearing.
My antique table is the centerpiece of my home just as I want hospitality to be a centerpiece in my home.
Those who gather at my antique table are not there to admire my table, but are there to enjoy what my table represents.

***Once you have some thoughts down, try writing a post. Don’t get carried away with your analogy, but make sure it is subtly there and you use it to your advantage.

*****

Now, one last exercise:

Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?
This question, asked by the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, is the perfect example of taking random everyday stuff and meshing it in a creative way. So, here’s how it works…

1. Look up from your computer. What is the first thing you see? (ugh…my daughter’s stuffed monkey…this should be interesting! lol)

2. Pick a room in your house. (my kitchen)

3. Answer this question: Why is [the room you chose] like [the item you saw]?

My answer: My kitchen is like my daughter’s stuffed monkey because it is ugly.

Did you follow along with these exercises and want to share? Add your name and post to the McLinky below! Be sure and leave comments on the other posts, so we can all learn from each other!

**To clear up any confusion…
If you do a post containing the exercises you’ve done here, then link to it, so we can all share. There’s no right or wrong way to do it and you are welcome to add the button to the top of your post.

Links to other posts in this series:
Introduction
THIS POST IS PART 1 – THE MESSAGE
Part 2 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (A)
Part 3 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (B)
Part 4 – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)
Part 5 – Choose Your Words Wisely (B)
Part 6 – Wrapping It Up

October 15, 2009

Let the Creative Juices Flow

In 2000, I graduated from a liberal arts college with a degree in English. Writing has always been a passion of mine, but it was the classes I took and the professors I came in contact with while attending college there that really honed my skills as a writer.

But guess what?! You don’t have to go to college to work on your creative writing skills! All you need are a few exercises you can practice right at home to train your mind to think creatively and then write creatively.

With Georgiann’s comments on my post about Logic as an inspiration, I’m offering a crash course in creative writing here on the blog that will hopefully inspire you to write with more meaning and feeling and beauty. Not that I have the market on creative writing (trust me, I don’t), but I do enjoy the written word immensely. I love the way words look and feel and taste (yes, words do taste!), so I figure anything you are that passionate about ought to be shared.

There is a button in the sidebar you can grab to put on your own blog to get the word out. We’ll be starting on Monday, October 19. I’d like to keep it nice and informal and as un-scary as possible. If you want to link up, fine. If you don’t, fine. If you want to have your writing critiqued, fine. If you’d rather just work on things yourself, fine. Creative writing is something that is uniquely you. I guarantee you will see progress whether you join in publicly or privately.

So, crack your knuckles (never mind, don’t do that…it’s really bad on your hands!), start your engines, and let the creative juices flow!

Would you like to take the Creative Writing Crash Course? Read the following posts:
THIS POST IS THE INTRODUCTION
Part 1 – The Message
Part 2 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (A)
Part 3 – Grab Their Attention & Keep It (B)
Part 4 – Choose Your Words Wisely (A)
Part 5 – Choose Your Words Wisely (B)
Part 6 – Wrapping It Up