Why I Love To Write

By: Ginger Bruce (Guest Writer)

When I think of writing I am reminded of how words express my heart, embraces the lives around me, empowers communication, reveals the action in our thoughts and strengthens my vocabulary.

When I express my heart there is meaning and experience in my words.  I share what has impacted my life with wisdom and learning.  What I am thinking I can put in writing better than speaking.  The picture we create in our imagination as we read is the mental image we hold in a memory.  This is called visual learning.  I would like my writings to touch others inspirationally as much as others writings have touched me.  I have discovered focusing on terms and the meaning behind words build my vocabulary to understand and comprehend the value in communicating.  The more words I know the more optional ways I can express, explain and gravitate how to write what my heart and mind are connecting to put in writing.

Whether writing is for our imagination, information, advice, encouragement, history or discovery the impact of interest is what draws my passion to write.  Words easily flow from my heart and thoughts onto paper.  Thoughts can be an emotional healing, experience, past childhood memory, what I have learned, who I have met, spiritual reflection, adventure, making a difference, transformation, revelation or educational.

I vision myself sitting by a calming stream of water listening to the voices of nature.  Oh, how the chirping birds sing with their own language.  The smell of the fresh water and flowers lighten my spirit.  The whistling of the wind breezing through the trees is calming.  As I rest in the freshly live grass starring up at the numerous shaped clouds wondering the existence beyond.  I am focused in my own world enjoying nature. 

 

5 Useful Resources for Writers

By: William Snesrud

Any person who wants to write will eventually click into the internet and type into a search engine looking for the best websites for writers.

            If you, like I have been, are a writer wanting to take a love or gift of putting words together and make it into a part or full time income, then you will need some place to start boosting your output potential.

            Yes, I have been there.  But this time I am going to come from the angle that maybe you are that newer writer and may be looking for a place to get an edge, a start.  These are what I call 5 of the more useful websites for writers, especially newer freelance writers.

I have found and used these 5 useful websites, each because of the potential they offer to help you increase your writing production, quality and marketability.

If you are looking for help with writing ideas (like story starters and poetry prompts), information on the craft of writing (how to on 6 styles of writing) plus a writer’s shop – then it is a must to check out www.creative-writing-now.com.  One bonus I found with the set up here is they also have a free 3-day writer’s course, great way to get the mind and words flowing.

            Now www.freelancewriting.com is a place that will take your writing up another notch.  I know my time clock can get lost on this website with the articles, tutorials and reading material, so be careful.  Plus here you start finding writing contests to enter and listings for freelance writing jobs.  Notch it up.

            One of the first websites I turned to when I started taking the craft seriously was www.writing.com.  This is a great spot to build a portfolio of your writing.  Not only can you share and build that portfolio, other members of the website have the opportunity to give you feedback – great way to learn and improve.  You also can review other writers and earn points to save on cost of membership upgrades and writing materials.

            Poet and Writers magazine has a website, www.pw.org, which also gives a person the opportunity to gain insights to writing, researching and marketing.  Their section “tools for writers” is unbelievable in the amount of information you can find on a wide variety of topics. Poet and Writers magazine has been around a long time, they know the ins and outs of the writing craft.

            The final of my top 5 is www.writersweekly.com. New information weekly, usually on Wednesdays, it will include a list of quality markets looking for writers and a liberal list of job openings.  Not as fancy as some of the others, but I find the information they share very reliable and sometimes great for the newbie.

            So there you go.  Where you go with this is totally up to you and your incentive to grow both in your writing craft as well as a marketable writer. 

            I will throw in two old time standard websites, simply because they have been around it seems like forever either in print or internet form, and still give writers a massive amount of information.  For the old reliable you should always have bookmarked click on www.writersmarket.com and www.writersdigest.com.

            So now you have it, websites to spend the next few days looking over, trying out and signing on.  From here it is up to you and your initiative to follow the stepping stones in building your craft. 

            Good luck and happy writing.

The Cure For Writers Block?

By: Samantha Ryan (Guest Writer)

It never occurred to me that I might, one day, write about writing. To be perfectly honest, the whole idea seems absolutely outrageous. Ridiculous, even. Day after day of deliberation has passed, and although I’ve wracked my mind of every possible topic that has to do with writing, I cannot seem to focus in on one specific prompt. It seems I have reached an impasse—a writer’s worst and most treacherous enemy: Writer’s Block.

            It seems, however, that within this battle, I have found my goal. This enemy has lowered their sword and opened their arms, as if to say, “Here I am, right where you want me.” As I take up arms, I find my resolution. I have defeated this fiend using exactly the same strategy I wish to convey.

            As I stated before, writer’s block can be one of the most harmful mental blocks that exists, especially within the world of writing. I have encountered this beast numerous times, though I have only discovered one weakness. So many essays, short stories, and poems have been put off because of this crippling ailment, and I know very well how troubling and frustrating it can be.

            Writer’s block, though difficult to overcome it may seem, is actually quite simple to beat. Of course, I am positive there are other methods, but this is the only strategy I have seen with a substantial success rate. Keep in mind, there is always the possibility that you might still find yourself battling away, fruitlessly, even with my advice. In that case, it is up to you to defeat him. And with that, I give you my strategy: fight fire with fire.

            Write.

            Write about absolutely nothing, if you’d like. Argue pointless arguments, write thoughts or ideas down, random words strung together until you’ve found usable material. My own personal preference, though, is to record exactly what I’m thinking at a particular moment, and as my train of thought develops, so do my ideas. Sometimes the defeat is quite sudden. Other times, I have found it to be tedious and unending. Either way, each time I’ve used this method I have found inspiration and the ability to write again.

            Writer’s block is elusive. He disguises himself and prods the mind into a different direction—I should really start that paper…but I’ve got laundry to do.